Hi anon! 🌈
Thank you so much for your kind message. It really means a lot. I still have a lot to learn myself, and I can relate to the struggle so much. I'd say the most important part of making gifs is having the highest-quality raw file to work with. I usually work with at least 1080p videos, but it's even better if you can get hold of 2160p quality. I usually edit in Photoshop 2025, but if I'm feeling lazy or just want to edit something quickly, I also use the VLLO app on my very slow iPhone 12. I always try to stick with the original colour-grading of a show to stay true to its original mood and vibe. That's why I don't think I have a consistent colouring style, since I don't use presets. But it means a lot when my friends and followers here can recognise my gifs, even though I don't think I have a unique editing style. Regardless of the quality of the original file, I always play around with sharpening and use the HDR effect with noise to give my gifs an overall grainy look, if that makes sense. I found tons of help from other gif makers here on Tumblr. What I've learned and use is really just a combination of everything I found under tags like "gif tutorial," "gif resources," "sharpening tutorial," etc. I have so much admiration for fellow gif makers, and I'm always grateful for the incredible work they share. They constantly inspire me. I'd say most important thing is to be patient. It's still a learning process for me too, but that's part of the fun. I don't know how you prefer to edit, but I wouldn't say you necessarily need PS to make gifs. If you're more comfortable editing on your phone, that works too. When I started, I only used VLLO and Ezgif to turn videos into gif form. I can't really give you specific tips since I don't use one standard preset myself, but if you're using PS, the Smart Sharpen filter and Gaussian Blur can work wonders. You can try playing around with the amount of sharpening and blur depending on the quality of your video.
I hope there's still something useful you can take away from everything I rambled. I wish you a smooth and fun journey with gif making, and please don't hesitate to DM me if you're comfortable not being anon 🫶🏻
