#g: tutorial

Step 1: Prepare your videos.

Ideally, 1080p videos are the best for gifmaking. However, 720p videos are also great. It’s not advisable to use lower resolution videos, but if you must, stick to making small gifs to avoid loss in quality.

Step 2: Prepare your Photoshop workspace.

This can be done on selecting Window and enabling the following options:

Actions

Adjustments

Layers

Properties

Timeline

Note: Regardless of version, ensure your Photoshop is the extended edition as timeline option is not available in the standard edition. If your timeline has two options: create video timeline or create frame animation, you are good to go.

Step 3: Capture your image frames

There are two methods that can be used to capture image frames.

Method 1: Using KMP’s Frame Extraction

1. Open KMP. 2. Right click and select Options > Advanced Menu. 3. Right click again and select Capture > Frame: Extract (or Alt+G).

4. The above are my settings.

Method: only video image.

Numbers to extract: continuously.

Size to extract: original size.

Frames to extract: either ‘every frame’ or ‘every # frame’.

6. Press ‘start’ to begin the process and ‘stop’ when you are done.

Method 2: Using Photoshop’s Import Video Frames into Layers (plus Avidemux)

1. Open Photoshop.

2. Select on File > Import > Video Frames to Layers.

3. You will be prompted to select a video. Your video MUST be the following formats: MPEG‑1 (.mpg or .mpeg), MPEG‑4 (.mp4 or .m4v), MOV or AVI.

4. The above are my settings.

Range to import: selected range only.

(Optional: limit to every # frames).

Check ‘Make frame animation’.

The trim controls don’t allow for precision so be as close as possible.

5. Select ‘OK’ and wait for the frames to load.

# What if my video is not the above formats? # What if my video is too long?

You can use VLC to cut the video but I’m not familiar with it. You can also use a converter if you have one to re-encode the video. However, a friend suggested using Avidemux to cut and convert and I find it simple to use.

a. Open Avidemux.

b. Select File > Open. Choose your video file.

c. Find the scene you want. You can specify either by frame or by keyframe. Then, select ‘Marker A’ to mark the beginning and ‘Marker B’ to mark the ending of the scene selection.

d. The above are my settings.

Video Output: Copy.

Audio Output: Copy.

Output Format: MP4 Muxer or AVI muxer.

e. Select File > Save.

f. Do the steps as stated in Method 2.

Step 4: Load the frames in Photoshop

If you use Method 2, the frames will automatically load in the Timeline panel as Photoshop is already opened. If you use Method 1, follow these steps:

a. Open Photoshop.

b. Select File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack.

c. Select Browse, choose the image files, then click OK.

d. Usually, by default, only one frame will appear.

Select the dropdown button and do the following steps:

a. Make frames from layers

b. Select all frames (or manually select the first frame and shift + last frame)

c. Reverse frames

Make sure you double check!

Step 5: Determining the gif delay

Ideally,

if you extract all frames, the gif delay is between 0.05 to 0.07 sec.

if you extract every # frames, the gif delay is between 0.1 to 0.13 sec.

However, you don’t necessarily have to follow the suggested gif delay.

For example,

my gif delay when I extract all frames is either 0.05 or 0.07 sec.

my gif delay when I extract every 3 frames is either 0.14 or 0.17 sec.

My suggestion? Experiment until you find your preferred gif delay. Just remember not to make your gifs move too fast or too slow. If you are like me who wants to be able to see what’s going on in your gifs, go moderately slow.

a. With all frames still selected, right click on the gif delay and select ‘Other’.

b. Set the frame delay.

c. This is the loop option and by default, it’s set to ‘Once’. Change to ‘Forever’.

Step 6: Cropping

If you haven’t cropped your gifs, start cropping now.

However, make sure you have an idea of the layout for your gifs to avoid the frustration if you can’t put them together. Read this post for a guide on image sizes. You can also read this post for layout inspiration.

For my gifs, the following are my gifs dimensions (width x height):

540x540 px - 1 per row

540x275 px - 1 per row

268x335 px - 2 per row

268x150 px - 2 per row

180x225 px - 3 per row

Make sure the width is fixed, but the height can be adjusted necessarily.

Step 7: Convert for Smart Filters

a. Select all the frames (timeline panel) AND all the layers (layers panel).

b. Find this button next to the loop option and select it to turn the frame animation into video timeline, as shown below:

c. Select Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. All of the layers will merge into one, as shown below:

d. Select Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. Apply these settings.

e. Select Filter > Blur > Surface Blur. Apply these settings.

f. Alternatively, use actions to make things easier and faster. You can download my action here. How to load action? Select the dropdown button, choose ‘load actions’ and load my action. Press the play button and you’re off!

Step 8: Gif preparation is completed!

Here’s what your workspace should look like so far.

In the next part of this tutorial, I will primarily explain how to do colouring plus tips on how to survive colouring the show bc consistent colours? Idk her. Additionally, I will also have a brief section on how to add subtitles.

PART A: GIF COLOURING

Gif colouring is done using the adjustment layers. If you haven’t enabled this option, you can do so by selecting Window > Adjustments. A panel of sixteen (16) adjustment layers will appear, as shown below:

The adjustment layers, from left to right, top to bottom, are:

Now, there’s no hard and fast rules when it comes to colouring. My best advice is to experiment until you find your own colouring style. When I make gifs, the way I make gifs don’t change but the way I colour gifs will periodically change.

This is one of my earliest gifsets, made in 2015.

This is my latest gifset, made in 2019.

As you can see, I didn’t start off knowing how to colour gifs. Back then, I wasn’t concerned in making my gifs look nice, I wanted to make gifs because people don’t make the gifs that I want to see.

Despite my constant complaints of the reds, the blues and the yellows of the show, I don’t hate the colours themselves, I just hate the fact the colours don’t pop. Take a look at the scene below:

It looks fine after sharpening and blurring filters, but personally, the original colours look dull. 🤷‍♀

Step 1: Curves

I create two markers, then pull one downwards and one upwards, careful not to stray too far from the original line. If the scene is dark and you want to make it brighter, pull the marker that’s usually going downwards, upwards, but again, don’t stray too far from the original line.

Besides ‘Curves’, you can also use ‘Brightness/Contrast’ and ‘Levels’.

Step 2: Selective Color

The bulk of your colouring takes place here. There are nine (9) colours: Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Magentas, Whites, Neutrals and Blacks. For this scene, I adjusted seven colours, minus Neutrals and Blacks.

(I don’t recommend messing around with Neutrals and Blacks since they usually affect the entire scene instead of specific areas. If you are like me who want the black to be true black, you are better off adding another ‘Curves’ layer.)

I don’t have any specific method besides -- adjust the sliders until you see the colours that you want. In fact, if the scene is stubborn, you may use multiple adjustment layers. Below is how I remove the blues from Marinette’s hair:

Step 3: Gradient Map

I wish I know how to explain why I use Gradient Map besides it being part of my finishing touches. For this adjustment layer, it is set to Soft Light at 75% opacity. For the scene above, I used this gradient:

#000000 | #ffffff

My usual choice is this one:

#9e868e | #a88589

My second usual choice is this one:

#383332 | #6f5b55

Do you have to make your own gradients? No. For my usual gradients, it’s actually from the gradient pack here. I encourage you to explore resources websites because they are helpful, besides, they are mostly free!

Q1: Do you need more adjustment layers?

For daytime scenes like the above, I usually maintain three adjustment layers. However, you may encounter scenes where one colour dominates the entire scene or the colours look out of place or the lighting is completely wack.

In order to fix the colours, I use either Hue/Saturation or Color Balance or Photo Filter, usually before, but may also be after, the three layers. It may or may not work successfully but at least it reduces your frustration at fixing the colours.

I will have mini tutorials covering how to colour these specific scenes later.

Q2: Do you have to use the same adjustment layers as mine?

Again, no.

As I said before, you need to experiment until you find your own colouring style. I may use 3 layers, you may use 6 layers, someone else may use 9 layers. In fact, I may use 6 layers for a specific colouring and then 9 layers for another.

It’s best to study the scenes and figure out what colours you want to bring out, what colours you want to eliminate, and what colour theme you want to present.

Q3: Can I use others’ colouring psd instead?

You can, but consider if it’s better if you learn how to colour from scratch, especially if the series in question has inconsistent colours, such as ML.

However, that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to use colouring psds. If you are making multiple gifs and they have the same theme (e.g. outdoor, daytime, blue skies), it’s easier to just use the same colouring for consistency.

Eventually, once you are used to colouring the series, you may find it easier and faster to colour manually because the results are more or less the same.

PART B: SUBTITLES

Subtitles are great for providing context, but it can be time consuming. I advise starting off with small scenes, then work your way up until you are comfortable with the entire scene.

Step 1: Choose your font

The most important aspect of your font choice is readability, even in small sizes. Common examples of fonts used for gif subtitles are Arial, Calibri and Myriad Pro. All are set to 'bold italic’.

Step 2: Add the text

Drag your cursor to the right to create a text box, then type out the text. For 268px gifs, the font size is 14 pt. For 540px gifs, the font size is 18 pt. The font colour by default is black, so change it to white.

As you can see, the text is unclear. Before we solve that problem, we need to make the text box centered. Select the ‘Move Tool’ and choose the icon below:

The text box will be centered, but the text is too far from the bottom. Using your keyboard, press the down arrow key until you reach the bottom, but leave some space between the text and the bottom.

Or, you can position the text box close to the bottom then make it centered. Either way, it should look like the above.

Step 3: Blending options

Right-click on your text layer and select ‘Blending Options’.

Select ‘Stroke’ and copy the settings.

Select ‘Drop Shadow’ and copy the settings.

Press OK.

Your text should look like the above. Your text layers should look like below:

Step 4: Timeline

If you have multiple scenes in the gif but only one scene has subtitles, you need to adjust the timing so the subtitles don’t appear in the other scene. Use the slider to find the scene, then drag the text layer so it aligns with the scene.

Let’s say the scene is short and you want to find the exact frame but the timeline is short, use the icons below to shrink or expand the timeline:

The left is to make the timeline shorter, the right is to make the timeline longer.

PART C: SAVING GIFS

You’re almost done!

Use the markers to determine the scene you want to save, then select File > Save for Web (or Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S) and these are my gif save settings:

Voila, this is how a gif with subtitles look like!

For this tutorial, I’m using:

Photoshop

Graphic tablet (or mouse if you don’t have one!)

LOTS OF PATIENCE AND REGULAR NAPS 😂

Here are the steps:

1. Find HQ screencap with subject covering half or 3/4 of the image. Crop the image if subject is not centered, but do not resize from original resolution.

2. Click on Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. Then, apply the following two filters. The following are my settings, which can be adjusted if necessary, but let’s try not to oversharpen.

Your image should look like this. It’s difficult to see here, but there’s less noise (it still exist but lesser!) and more smooth around the cheek areas.

3. Click on the rectangular button with a circle in the middle to add a clipping mask (white layer) and make sure the white layer is the active layer.

Select the Brush Tool, with the foreground colour set to ‘black’ and remove the background. However, if you make a mistake, don’t fret -- switch the ‘black’ to ‘white’ and restore the background, then switch back to remove again.

Tip #1: Use Polygonal Lasso Tool to select area around the subject, invert the selection (Select > Inverse) and use the Brush Tool to remove the background in one go.

Tip #2: Right click on the clipping mask to disable or enable the layer and help you see what you have to remove. You may remove things that look odd, such as a part of the hair that doesn’t look smooth and the outline of the arm.

4. I tried to change the hair colour but I realized I have issues with the tips of her bangs, plus the hair at her left ear look weird -- so I painted over the hair.

Create a new layer. Use the Eyedropper Tool to match the colour of the area you want to paint, then use either Polygonal Lasso Tool or Brush Tool to create shapes.

If you use a tablet pen, you can freehand, but if your hand shakes like mine, the Polygonal Lasso Tool + Brush Tool to fill in the area is encouraged.

5. So far, you should have two layers. One is the layer with the clipping mask, the other is the layer where you paint over the missing parts. Duplicate these layers, then merge the duplicate layers into one layer (Shift + Ctrl + E).

You should now have three layers:

the layer with the clipping mask (down)

the layer with the paint over (middle)

the layer of merged duplicates (top)

Now, use the Polygonal Lasso Tool and cut out the hair from the merged duplicates layer. In other words, you should only have hair on the layer.

Why did I do this?

It’s difficult to change Marinette’s hair from dark to light colours. I can turn her hair from dark blue to black (or any dark colours such as dark purple or dark green) using the adjustment layer - Selective Colour, but changing the colour drastically via painting over the hair does not give great results.

This method is only possible if the character already has light hair (e.g Adrien). You don’t have to duplicate the layer with clipping mask. You can add coloured layers on top of the layer, then set those layers to ‘Multiply’ or ‘Soft Light’.

6. With the hair-only layer as the active layer, click on Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation or Colour Balance. Both have sliders so adjust them until you get close to your desired colours, but it’s okay if it doesn’t match.

^ Hair-only layer active.

^ I duplicated the layer and adjusted the colour.

^ Hair-only layer x2 + layer with the clipping mask (+ paint over, which doesn’t have to be active since the hair-only layer already marged the two layers).

7. If you squint closely, you can still see bits of the original hair colour so create a new layer and paint over the hair. You can follow the steps outlined in Step 4.

However, I did this step as my last step since I actually coloured this screencap first before I do everything else. It’s routine for me to colour after I converted to Smart Filters, so after Step 2 usually or Step 3 if I remove the background. 😂

8. For colouring, click on Windows > Adjustments to show the Adjustments tab. Generally, I use a minimum of three adjustment layers: Curves, followed by Selective Colour, then Gradient Map. I may also use Colour Balance.

Again, these are sliders so adjust them until you get your desired colours.

Note: These layers are all set to Normal at 100%, except Gradient Map which is set to Soft Light at 75%. For gradients, I don’t use Photoshop defaults. You can create your own gradients or download gradient packs.

^ First colouring. I mentioned that I can change Marinette’s hair from dark blue to black so this is possible through Selective Colour (via blue slider).

^ Second colouring. I tweaked the Selective Colour sliders (mainly blue) so I can make the new hair colour more pink-red than pink-purple.

^ Second colouring + new hair colour.

9. Finally, it’s time to paint over the hair as mentioned in Step 7.

Since I did this step after colouring, the colours I match using the Eyedropper Tool need to be colours after the colouring layers have been added. Otherwise, the colours will be different.

^ The areas I painted over minus the colouring layers. As you can see, the colours used to paint over is different prior to adding the colouring layers.

^ The areas I painted over plus the colouring layers.

10. In the final step, I usually add a gradient background which is placed under all the layers. However, I may also add another adjustment layer on top of all the layers and it’s usually Colour Balance.

Here’s the thing about Colour Balance -- it can be useful and useless.

It’s useful if I think my colouring is too pink and I want to tone it down, but if I adjust it wrong, it’s useless. If you compare the image above and the image below, the obvious difference is the hair but the skin actually has a subtle difference. However, true to its word, it’s subtle. 😅

For now, as of the writing of this tutorial, this is the finished look. I may go back to do some minor adjustments or if I make peace with myself, I will post it as it is.

~~~

If you have any questions, please send me a DM.

Overall, I’m not an expert in hair colour edits. I practice twice a year and I learn as I go so my method as presented above may not be the same the next time I tackle the same subject again. 😅

However, I plan on practicing more so hopefully I have the patience to do them, cushioned with regular naps! I definitely plan on debuting Pink Hair Movement since it will be two years overdue if I don’t finish them this year. 🙈