#edit tips

This may seem like a really long process at first glance but the shortcuts really cut down half the time.

I edit in rows of my screenshots, typically grouping them by post or multiple small posts.

The first thing I do is crop. My crop ratios for my posts are 7:5 for landscape and 4:4.5 for portraits.

The next thing I do is run topaz clean. I could set up a keyboard shortcut for topaz clean but I'd have to pick my preset anyways. Now for the rest of the photos I have open, I can use my most recent filter with Ctrl+Alt+F, instead of opening topaz clean and the preset every time. It will automatically use the last topaz clean preset instead.

Here are my topaz clean settings. Shout-out to the other simblrs' topaz clean settings I stared at to understand and find a starting point of what I should use for sims screenshots (mostly @sojutrait <3)

Next is my adjustment layers. I typically use brightness, exposure, and saturation. There isn't a set formula for it but here's my general method. I don't use shortcuts for adjustment layers because I'll being selecting my settings in the same space anyways.

if the screenshot isn't that bright from the get-go I'll use brightness first. If it is well lit, I will only use exposure.

I use exposure rather than brightness to brighten images and to improve highlights, add a glow-y effect, add vibrancy, and also add a little saturation.

It's pretty easy for me to tell what is too much but I suggest picking how much you want and doing a little less. The amount varies a lot per image (+0.11-0.67)

I only use a little saturation (+1-8) since I already get a lot from my gshade. Or I just don't use it

If a screenshot starts off too saturated I'll adjust the curve or lower the contrast a tiny bit instead of lowering saturation.

Then I resize the image to 1000px using the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+I. I don't resize the portrait crops because they are already at about 900px from the crop anyways. The purpose of resizing is so tumblr does not slightly blur the preview images as it does with pictures of a large size. You don't need to click on the field for width it will automatically select it. Just enter your amount and press enter.

If I am adding in a speech bubble, psd, notif, etc. I will do it AFTER I resize. Placing it on the smaller image will keep it sharper. I like to put my psds and such underneath my adjustment layers but if they are too overexposed I'll put them at the top and make a clipping layer (left click on the layer for the drop-down) for the overlay to match the brightness of the image.

Next part is important for my process. Before I move on to the next image in the row I will make sure I select the background layer (it makes sense later)

I don't save the image at this point!

I repeat the process for the rest of the images that I've opened and then I go back to the first image.

This time I use the smart sharpen filter. Here's my presets settings. I won't use smart sharpen on zoomed out exterior shots sometimes because it makes it a little crunchy. I made sure I selected the background layer before so the smart sharpen goes on the actual image and not any of the adjustment/overlay layers.

Then I save as with Ctrl+Alt+S. I'll talk about saving more further down and why I don't use quicksave.

So now I can just quickly go through every image opened using Ctrl+Alt+F (filter) and then Ctrl+Alt+S (save as). The reason I do it this way is so I can use the recent filter shortcut instead of switching back and forth between filters for every image. Again you could make a shortcut for your filters, but you will then have the filter's settings open every time. It also gives me a chance to take another look at the edits and see if there is anything I want to change after seeing it again.

After that I'll choose close all, select a new row of images, and repeat the process.

Other info

Why save as and not quick save? If you don't know, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to quick export as png. I don't use this because it doesn't follow the "save as to original folder" setting being toggled off. So you'll have to select the folder you want to save to everytime.

So I toggle off the "save as to original folder" and use the save as shortcut. After your first save to the folder you want, it will remember the folder you just saved to and that you saved as a png. Then you can just quickly press enter twice through the save as and png format option prompts. The original folder setting is in file handling (where to find file handling is under the next question)

Making a keyboard shortcut? You can view all shortcuts by menu and insert your own shortcuts for ones that don't have one or for preference. Just make sure you don't overwrite another shortcut you care about. You can also just see the shortcuts displayed in the drop-down menus next to the option.

How to bouncy text

start a new project in whatever software you use and get text (I use ibis)

you can edit it however you’d like (outlines, font, gradient, etc) just make sure when saving the text it’s transparent.

Open a new project in alight motion and add your text.

I typically animate the test straight onto the graphic or banner. But you can always use a green screen to transfer the animation over later.

First select your text then add a movement keyframe at the beginning of the text layer.

For reference, when adding a keyframe press on the layer then press the button with a diamond like shape.

Using the movement pad move the text down, this will automatically create another keyframe.

Be sure to use the movement pad otherwise the keyframe will not track.

From here you can adjust the keyframe to fit the end of the layer or however you’d like.

Pressing the graphs button, add the bounce repeat graph (the third option)

The more squiggles equals the faster the bounce will be.

Just be sure the line at the end meets the dot otherwise the bounce will have a weird abrupt cut off.

Once you are happy with the results you can then export tue project.

Keep in mind that if you do not have pro you will have to watch and ad, additionally you will likely have to use a green screen to crop the watermark.

But that’s the basic jist of things.

Feel free to leave any other questions in my inbox!