RADIO.EXE

sketch it!

a plan of some sort always helps get a general idea of what youre trying to do. usually when i skip any sort of sketch, i just end up staring at the blank canvas for way too long. your sketches dont have to be perfect or clear either, in fact, most of mine are vague as hell.

see! lmao, i suck at drawing, but i still sketch the general shapes of what i know i generally want to be the focus, or smaller details i know i really want to incorporate. sometimes i don't necessarily sketch it out on paper, but instead on photopea, i'll use shapes as placeholders for things i want to add in later, so i can get a sense of what it'll look like. planning like this always helps me a lot more, because i have something to start with and general plan of what i want, once i have the basics down, i can way more easily find what smaller, cuter things i want to add lol

2. THEY SENSE FEAR!!!!!!!

DONT LOOK AT THEM TOO LONG!!! i think sometimes i spend way too long staring at an edit and trying to perfect it, that i end up adding to add more and more and then i just like it less and less. if this happens, i just stop looking at it. i either work on something else, i do something else. or lwk, sometimes you gotta add a really ugly filter over it for a couple minutes. once you look at it again, you'll notice the parts you DO like and ideas might flow to you a little more calmly. not every edit calls for a lot of layers, so you might realize you gotta get rid of some. some DO call for tons and tons of layers or clutter, and you might realize you could add more. dont let the edit scare you okay, have fun with it. if it starts to feel Not Fun, that just means its time for a break.

and honestly, sometimes, you just gotta scrap it and start over. i have tons and tons of edits i scrapped because i just wasn't satisfied enough with them. they're not failures, they're just a stepping stone to my actual goal. sometimes a fresh start is just helpful <3

3. the stricter the color palette, the better!

whether it's only two specifics colors, or a specific shade of each color, having a strict color palette reallyy helps makes everything feel so much more cohesive! all the colors should match and work with each other as much as possible!!! make the colors best friends!!!! how you go about it, depends on the vibe you're going for! sometimes you want the colors to be enemies to lovers by using two opposite colors that compliment each other well. sometimes they're neighbors, by using colors close to each other's shade! it really depends! when it comes to colors, i really think less is more!! the more consistent you can get them, the nicer it looks. if a main color is pink, try to make everything that is pink be that specific shade of pink instead of like. ten million different pinks! plus, your colors are always always the first thing to catch the eye and the thing to set the vibe, so take your time picking them!

4. #getreal

i think sometimes it's easy to get deep into editing brain that we forget how things actually..look. so look at actual pictures of them! use actual pictures of them! if your edit is scrapbook inspired, LOOK at actual scrapbook rather than scrapbook edits. graffiti inspired? look at actual graffiti art! webcore? look at actual computer uis! from this, you'll start to pick up on common layouts, textures, shadows, shapes, etc. sometimes even just looking up how certain lighting looks on people or objects, really also helps get the colors to work right! real life inspo photos are just as helpful, if not more helpful, than using other edits as inspo. not that using other edits as inspo is bad, i do that all the time, but sometimes getting the basics straight from the source really helps! plus, sometimes the real life pictures even work as good overlays/textures themselves lmao

5. balance that thing!

think of the space an object takes up as it's weight within an edit. using that as your basis, make sure the weight is somewhat visually evenly distributed. it does NOT have to be perfectly balanced, and sometimes it's a little better if not. your main focus, usually your character when it comes to fandom editing, is almost always going to be the 'heaviest' thing in your edit, and thats okay! good even, since it's the first thing people will focus on. you want to distribute weight around it, so it doesn't feel like the only thing there, if that makes sense.

like in the jade edit above, the heaviest thing there is jade, naturally since he's the biggest thing there. however, all the doodles, dots, and paper around him help balance him out so he's not the only thing you see. the patterned background also helps make 'blank' spaces still have a little more weight! how you distribute your weight will be different each time and it won;t be perfect every time and that's totally fine.

a good way to tell if your edit is well balanced, is if you can zoom out super fast and still make out the general shapes and colors that are meant to be the focus of said edit. if it looks like theres only One thing in that edit, you might want to add bigger things in the space around it!

6. your edit is yours, so make it yours!

your font not long enough? stretch it! object not the right perspective? warp it! facing the wrong way? flip it! your edit is your world, don't be scared to modify everything to hell and back to fill it. and don't be scared to get abstract with where you get your assets from!!! sure, looking for 'red png' is helpful, but sometimes you gotta get crazy. i look at pretty pictures, vintage magazines, scans of textures and walls and paper. and sometimes you just gotta make your own things! in this edit, the music notes are from the sheet music of a piano version of world is mine! get funky with it!! sometimes you even gotta make things yourself! in that edit, all the circles and lines were made by me playing around with shapes. in the jade edit above, all the doodles were drawn by me with a crayon brush i found online! i constantly use my own shirts, papers, sketches, books, bed sheets, etc as textures too! it's yours, so fill it with you!

7. CLICK BUTTONS!!! CLICK EVERY BUTTON!!!! CLICK!!! CLICK FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i've managed to do sooo many cool effects and textures by just clicking a random ass serious of buttons as i edit. experiment with every possible filter and adjustment and slider and number ever. don't be scared to, every button is there to do something, so go find what they do!!!!!!

8. and most importantly, please have fun!

the more fun you're having with an edit, the greater the ideas you'll get. the more determined and excited to do something you are, the nicer it'll come out. your love will always shine through, so do always always make sure you're having fun!!