#manip tutorials

Final Result:

I’m using PhotoShop CS6 for this tutorial, but CS5 and CC should work the same! (i’m not sure about any version earlier than that)

1) I really liked that dance move so I looked for a scene from their Special DVD. The night scene version worked better for this particular manip so I chose that one.

2) After choosing my frames, I resized my canvas then adjusted the anchor to the center-bottom.

3) On the Layers Panel, I made a new layer and brought that underneath my first GIF layer.

4) I color-picked on the GIF and filled the layer that I just made with that color.

5) On a separate canvas, I opened Thunder's picture and did some minor coloring (Curves and Selective Coloring) adjustments to basically make the black blacker and the white whiter.

6) I flattened it, dragged it onto the GIF canvas, and then set it to Lighten.

7) It looked okay but I wanted the focus on the GIF so I brightened it. Add a Curves layer  between the picture and the GIF layers (so that only the GIF gets brightened). I usually make two points on the curve. Drag the higher point up and the lower point down (this makes the black blacker and the white whiter).

8) I added a text using eurofurence light (from dafont.com). 

Hello! Thank you so much. :) And that's actually pretty easy to do so I hope I make sense here. I'm assuming you already know the basics of GIF-making. If not, there's a lot of tutorials here in tumblr (just search gif tutorials tag), youtube, deviantart, lj, etc. :) I use Hypercam (for scene/screen captures) and PS CS5 (for the actual GIF-making). So, on to that particular manip -

1) I took that scene from MBLAQ's Cry MV. (Tip: If the video has an option for HD, go for HD.)

2) After choosing my frames, I changed the image size by going to Image > Image Size and changed the dimensions.

3) To be able to move around the GIF inside a bigger canvas, on your animation bar, click that button on the right-hand side bottom corner. (If you hover on it, it says "Convert to timeline animation".) Click it. 

4) Now as you can see in your Layers Panel, all your layers are in visible mode. Click on the bottom layer (presumably your layer 1), hold shift key, scroll to your top-most layer, and click that layer. Now you have all your frames highlighted.

5) Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters.

6) You have the option to sharpen or not. (For that particular manip, I wanted the GIF to be subtle so I didn't sharpen it.)

7) I then made the canvas larger so I could play around with the placement. Go to Image > Canvas Size and change your dimensions. (Remember to change it from inches to pixels.)

8) I took Mir's picture on top of the GIF and set it to Lighten. With the picture on top of the GIF, the GIF became noticeably darker. So in the Layers Panel, under the picture layer, I used Curves to brighten the GIF. Make sure the Curves layer is under the picture layer so that only the GIF gets brightened.

9) I moved my GIF to make it fit into Mir's pupil. It was still too big so I resized it by going to Edit > Transform > Scale. I fiddled around until I got it small enough without compromising the clarity.

10) The GIF was too boxy that it protruded over Mir's eyelid. So I took my Tablet to manually fix this part. Using a circle brush (sized accordingly to the width of Mir's eyeliner), I brushed over the GIF. (In other words, I fixed Mir's eyeliner. XD)

11) Then I did some coloring with gradients and layers. Remember to put all these layers on top of both the picture and the GIF so there will be a sense of cohesion between your picture and GIF.

And that's really all there is to it. :)