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Downloading the Video: 

So, to download my video, I use one of two programs: 4k Video Downloader and/or Clipgrab for Mac or for Windows. Both are very simple to use and are free to download onto your computer! Definitely try and download the highest quality as possible as well! 

Loading Video Into Photoshop/Making Layers:

Alright, so you have your video downloaded. Now, it’s onto actually making the gif(s) of the particular parts of the video you would like! So, first things first, make sure your timeline is open in Photoshop at the bottom. It’s this bad boy right here: 

If you don’t see that, go to Window > Timeline and it should pop up. Make sure it says “Create Frame Animation” If it says “Create Video Timeline” just hit the little arrow in the center to change it. 

So, to actually load the video into Photoshop, you’re gonna want to go to File > Import > Video Frames to Layers. Your downloads folder will pop up and you just select what video you would like and hit OK. Something like this will show up: 

So, you see the tiny two arrow things at the bottom? Those are what you’re going to move to actually select the part of the video which you would like to gif. The left one is the start and the right one is the end. The play button is also there for you to play your selection and you can adjust accordingly if you don’t like it. So, once your selection is made and you’re happy with it, just hit the OK button. Then you’ll have something like this: 

Cropping Your Gif: 

So, first thing I do once I have that part done is I crop the gif and resize them using the crop tool on the tools panel on the left. It’s this little guy right here: 

So, Tumblr’s post dimensions are 540 pixels wide, so if it’s just one single gif that’s what you’re gonna want to have it as. For two column gifsets, I usually put it at 250 pixels wide. So, to change the width and height, when you select the crop tool, in the top select “ratio” and change the dimensions to what you would like them to be. So, if I want a 540 gif, I usually change it to 540 by 270, and that’s what I would set it as in the aspect ratio box right beside the drop down menu at the top and it will do the ratio for me and you can adjust accordingly. Once you are happy with the selection, either hit the Enter/Return key on your computer or the little checkmark at the top. Congratulations you have a gif and now all you have to do is set the timing, color and sharpen it and you’ll be good to go! 

Gif Timing: 

So, next thing I do, is I set my gif timing so it’s not too fast, but not too slow. So, in your timeline panel at the bottom, firstly, make sure your looping option says “Forever” at the bottom left corner.  Next, select all your frames in the timeline panel by clicking the first frame and while holding down the Shift key hitting the last frame and change your gif timing which is the little numbers on every layer in the timeline panel by clicking the arrow right beside the timing number. The lower the number, the faster your gif will move. So, if you have it set at 0 seconds/No Delay, it will move very fast. If you have it set at 1 second, it’s gonna move pretty slow. I usually have my gifs set at anywhere from 0.5-0.9 seconds depending on how many layers I have in a gif. Totally up to you. 

Coloring Your Gif: 

This is the fun part and the part that everyone loves to do. It’s coloring your gif to make it look better. You can make your own coloring using the adjustments panel on the right above your layers panel right here:

 and messing around with that or you can use what is called a PSD. PSD’s are essentially colorings that are made for you and all you really have to do is drag and drop the folder coloring onto your gif (Make sure all your frames are selected in the timeline!). You can find them on any Photoshop resource blog and they are just super convenient and there for you to use and you can also adjust those accordingly as well by clicking the arrow right beside the folder and turning off and on the different settings by clicking the little eye right beside it. 

Gif Captions (Optional): 

If you want text on your gif/a gif caption, that’s easy too! So, you wanna click the Text Tool (it’s the “T” on the left hand Tools Panel). At the top, select your font from the drop down menu. I personally use Arial for my gif captions, but I know some people use Calibri/Myriad Pro/etc. Totally up to you. Right beside the font selection, you’re gonna want to select your style. I use Bold Italic personally. Adjust your text size to your liking and type what you want  (Again, make sure all your timeline frames are selected.) and then hit the move tool at the top of your Tools panel on the left and adjust the text layer to your liking. If it’s a gif caption, try and keep it centered at the bottom as much as possible. Then, you’re gonna want to add what is called a Layer Style, specifically Stroke and Drop Shadow, to make them look better. So, in the layers panel at the bottom right, double click on your text layer and something like this will pop up: 

Checkmark the Stroke box on the left. Here are my settings for Stroke: 

Also, checkmark the box right besides the Drop Shadow. Here are my settings for that: 

Then, you hit OK in the top corner. Congrats! You have a gif caption! 

Sharpening Your Gif:

Last thing I do before I save my gif(s) is I sharpen them. Sharpening your gifs basically makes them look less “grainy” and just more HD and better in general. The easiest way to go about doing this is what is called Smart Sharpen. So, you’re gonna want to select all your timeline frames and your layers in the layers panel (You don’t have to select your coloring layers and/or your text layers in the layers panel. Just the gif layers.) and you’re gonna want to hit the three lines at the top right of the layers panel and select “Convert to Video Timeline” firstly.  Your timeline should look something like this: 

Next, you’re gonna want to go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. There will be a popup that basically says that the selected layer will be converted to a smart object, just hit OK. The layers panel should now have your gif layers like this: 

Then, you’re gonna want to go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. These are my settings for it personally: 

Hit OK and then you’re done!

Saving Your Gif: 

Last but not least, you’re gonna have to save your gif, of course. So to save your gif, you’re gonna go to File > Export > Save For Web. Something like this will pop up Personally, this is where I change my gif image size to the 540 by 270 or whatever I want my image size to be by typing it in below where it says “Image Size” at the bottom. Also, near the bottom left, you’re gonna see a number right below where it says GIF like this: 

You’re gonna want to make sure that that MB number is below 8 MB for Tumblr, no more, no less as that is the gif upload limit. If it is above 8 MB, your gif will not move and then you’ll have to delete some frames and nobody wants that. Preview your gif by clicking “Preview...” in the bottom left corner and if you’re satisfied, click Save, name your gif, select the folder you’d like to save it to and you’re all done!