Would you mind sharing your process to create your gifs ? I really like them ❤️
i'm not very good at explaining things in detail so i'm gonna cop out of giving you a very detailed tutorial and link you VERY VERY VERY detailed tutorials for you to familiarize with the basic process of giffing
hayaosmiyazaki's detailed tutorial
baijingting's detailed tutorial
for MY PERSONAL PROCESS it's in the following order: import video frames to layers -> resize -> convert to smart object -> sharpen -> convert back into frames -> set animation frame speed -> coloring -> adding subtitles -> export
and i will share you my personal action pack and walk you through how i use my action to gif (because i think that's a more realistic answer to your question of how i make my gifs)
step 1: open photoshop -> file -> import -> video frames to layers...
step 2: choose my clip which is in mp4 format -> open -> drag the sliders to choose the range of my gif -> ok
step 3: import my action pack into photoshop by pressing the three line button -> load actions -> choose my personal action pack (atn) file -> open
step 4: (resize and crop) crop this into a specific size that i want 540 px - 400 px or 540 px - 350 px or 540 px x [whatever] px
step 5: choose convert to smart filters -> click triangle button at the bottom that would say 'play selection' if i hover it
step 6: (sharpening) choose either 'extra regular sharpening' or 'super hd+noise sharpening' -> click triangle button at the bottom that would say 'play selection' if i hover it
step 7: (convert them back into frames) choose 'adjust frame rate after sharpening' -> click triangle button at the bottom that would say 'play selection' if i hover it. my default frame rate is 0.04. if i don't like this frame rate then i would choose either one of these actions and play them in order to change my frame rate. i use mostly 0.04 or 0.05 but sometimes certain gifs call for 0.03 (for 60fps vids) or 0.06 (for gifs i only have under 20 frames)
note: this is my weird specific way of giffing, not everyone does it just how i do it. some will color and add the subtitles after sharpening and then export right away. personally i like this way so i could adjust the frame rate myself so this is completely optional.
step 7: (coloring and subtitling) i drag my ready made base coloring + font layers from this psd to the top most layer of my gif tab
i keep playing around with the layers until i get the coloring that i want. this process is all about trials and errors and there are no wrong and right ways to color. however it is helpful to look at gif coloring tutorials to get a sense of what others do, i personally just use my base own psds as a start, adjust the photo filter + brightness/contrast + selective colors layers.
step 8: (duplicating my font) this is my special not-so-secret giffing technique. first, i would edit my font into what i want it to say + click checkmark/done button at the top
then, making sure that i'm choosing the first frame in my timeline down below and that my font layer is currently being chosen on the right side tab, i would click 'set sub center' among my actions -> click triangle button at the bottom that would say 'play selection' if i hover it
and what i would get is my subtitle centered and duplicated. i personally find that one layer of subtitle is too light for my taste and i like seeing my fonts thicker and more visible through this method.
step 9: file -> export -> save for web (or when i'm very lazy i just press alt + shift + ctrl + s)
but since it's currently bigger than 10 MB, i'll hit cancel and go delete some frames so i can achieve a size smaller than 10 MB (or else Tumblr refuses to let me upload it)
now that it is smaller than 10 MB -> save -> choose folder you want to save your gif in + rename -> save
and this is my end result
this is the history of my giffing process
alternatively; on days when i'm super lazy or for gifsets that have a LOT of gifs and i just want to focus on putting the dialogues in them without cropping them into smaller size, i use my ULTIMATE action which combines the process of resize + sharpening + convert back to frames and adjust the frame rate which is these ones
i choose one and hit play
and all that's left to do is delete the frames i don't want in my gif, color and subtitle and export (like above)
that's a basic rundown of how i realistically use my action pack to make all my gifs. i really hope this tutorial made sense and happy to share my action pack which has been a key resource of mine in my two years of serious gifmaking. feel free to come back if you have any questions about how i make my gifs 🙇♀️
