#mine:tutorial

01: select the layer u wanna cut in half and double click to add a simple stroke

02: use the lasso tool or pen tool to select where u want the split to be and how u want it to look. go as crazy as u want tbh i just kept it really simple to demonstrate. something like this: 

03: keep the layer selected and go to layer > new > layer via cut

04: u will now have two halfs of one image, just move one layer a bit to the right and he other one a bit to the left and u r done! 

to start , create ur canvas . it depends on the dimensions of the graphic ur going to make but for the sake of this tutorial , my image is 220 x 350 . u’ll have a pretty , blank canvas like so :

now this step is important . make sure u open and place ur image into ur canvas . don’t copy and paste it in . the image can’t be a smart image or the filters won’t work right and u’ll get a bunch of error messages . for the purpose of this tutorial , i’m using a picture of emrata . get ur image positioned the way u want and then report back here when it’s situated to ur liking .

the first step to editing ur image from here is lvcifer’s gif sharpening action . now i realize this isn’t a gif , but trust me , it looks stunning on pictures . u can find a link to her action here . so after u have ur action installed , go ahead and apply it to ur image . 

u can see the image is already sharper . and on the right , u can see that the action was successful as u can see the various filters that have been applied to ur layer . next is topaz . the link that i found for topaz clean has been deleted and i don’t feel comfortable posting a new download link myself . so either go the website and sign urself up for a free trial or find another source to download topaz clean . i’m sorry that i can’t provide it for u myself but i’m not about to risk my shit by providing downloads for purchased apps . it’s super popular , though , so finding a link shouldn’t be hard .

the topaz layer that i add is located here . u can apply topaz actions in just the same way u apply normal actions , so go ahead and punch that button !

ur almost done ! home stretch ! next u’ll want to duplicate ur base image by right clicking on the layer and selecting duplicate image :

now click on ur duplicated image . once it’s selected , go to the top bar and select filter > blur > motion blur . here’s a visual of that pathway :

once u click on motion blur , here are the values that i use :

now after u apply this filter , things might look a bit wonky . that is why we want to lower the opacity on that image significantly so it gives us this airbrush - like glow that we’re going after . go ahead and lower the opacity to that duplicated layer to 30% .

and that’s it ! all there is to it ! it’s a super simple method to get a really cool looking image . here is a link to my finished product after i applied a psd .

the absolute best source for videos is youtube . that’s just because you have the ability to download videos in hd . there are many different convertors out there that will allow u to download a youtube video as an mp4 , but my personal favorite is FLVTO because it will allow u to download videos that are typically restricted ( such as music videos ) and allows u to pick the quality of the video as well . the higher the quality , the longer it will take to download , but it’s so worth it . u just pop in the url , and i would reccommend using mp4 hd , it’ll look like of like this :

go ahead and covert that and download ur video . that’s basically my go - to method of downloading youtube videos . with instagram , it’s a bit different and you will be sacrificing some quality in video but some face claims just don’t have a variety of content on youtube .

for instagram videos , i recommend using google chrome as ur browser . go to the chrome extensions store , and get urself THIS extension . after installing it , u’ll be able to easily download videos from both stories and posts from ig . the download option will appear in the upper lefthand corner of the video / picture like so :

so now you know how to download your videos from either instagram or youtube . remember youtube will give u higher quality gifs , but not by much . for a visual reference , the normani gif is downloaded from youtube , whilst the cierra gif is from instagram :

from here on out , my gif making process is identical . u’ll have an mp4 file that u’ll want to open in photoshop . keep it in the video timeline format . frames are annoying as fuck in my opinion and are just tedious . i prefer having one video timeline to work from . 

i also tend to scroll through the video and find the best cropping window . sometimes u will need to have multiple windows of the same video open because some videos , mainly videos of interviews , have different angles of zooming . it’s tedious as fuck , but welcome to gif making . it’s tedious and time consuming and u can spend a long time working with just one particular video . i tend to keep my gifs either 65 x 65 px or 70 x 70 px . this is entirely personal preference , so play around with different sizes until u find what what u like . u can easily manage set ur dimensions in the crop tool like so :

once u crop ur video , go to the image > image size panel so u can officially resize ur video to the correct pixels bc more than likely , the video ur using is at least several hundred pixels big :

and the image size window will look like :

see that cute little paperclip looking thing ? make sure u have that clicked , it’ll keep the dimensions equivalent square or equal to each other if ur making a rectangle shape or whatever . it’s handy as fuck .  

so now that u have a nicely shaped gif icon , now is the time to apply ur action . don’t apply actions to ur gifs until they are sized down . besides , the action won’t work correctly on the video until it’s a smart object which cropping it turns it into . a handy thing to remember : if ur video timeline is purple , it’s a smart object . a blue timeline is not and will not be compatible with many of the editing effects photoshop offers .

click here to be directed to @lvcifcrs​ sharpening action .

make sure u click on ur video layer itself ( not the video group layer ) so the action is applied where u want it like so :

then ur actions toolbar looks exactly like a play button . if it’s not showing up and u need to locate it , follow this pathway :

regardless , here is the pathway u’ll use to apply the action :

u’ll click on the 001. layer and then go down and click the button that looks like a play button in between the circle button and folder icon . it’ll apply the action and u’ll have a beautifully sharpened gif .

that’s how u make a gif , or . . . how i make my gifs . u’ll know ur action is successfully placed bc it’ll look like this :

now as for placing a psd , i put that above the video group layer , like so :

disclaimer: this is the way i did it in some of my edits. im not claiming this is the correct/easiest/best way. it may not work for your editing style. this is a very simple animation so it will look best on flat vector type gfx and when its viewed from a distance. 01: open your gfx in after effects- if you have hair strands that are over the eyes make sure the hair is on a seperate layer (i made the illustration in ps and just saved the hair/bg layer as a seperate pngs). 

02: select the pen tool and create a layer for the eyelid (closed). make sure there are anchor points on the inner and outer corners of the eye. adjust the fill color of the shape so that it matches the color used for the skin.

03: hit the stopwatch on ur layer under contents > shape 1 > path 1 > path

04: move the time indicator forward a bit and then drag the path on the outer corner of the eye up and towards the inner corner so that u have a nice curve for the opened eyelid. u can play it once to see if u like the result and if not adjust it.

05: optional: add a bit of depth with a drop shadow. keep the distance low. u may have to add a mask to prevent the shadow from peeking out at the top. 

(no shadow)

(shadow) 

first, open your composition, select the text tool, and type in whatever you want.

make sure you go to the align panel on the right. select ‘composition’ where it says ‘align layers to’ click ‘align horizontally’ and ‘align vertically’ to center the text

now, press ‘P’ on your keyboard to bring up position.

click on the stopwatch next to ‘position’ to create a keyframe. it will bring a blue diamond on your timeline, that’s your keyframe.

now, move your text to where ever you want it. i’m moving it to the left. to do that, you can drag the text on your composition and move it to the left. make sure that you’re pressing ‘shift’ down so that it doesn’t move up or down. 

you can also click and drag the number on the left (next to the ‘position’) to move it the text either to the right or the left. (the number on the right moves the text up and down.)

next, i’m going to move my timeline indicator to around 1 sec, 6 frames. (which i didn’t do in the picture below lmao)

this time, i’m going to move my text to the right. a keyframe should automatically be added once you move the position of your text.

now, i’m going to select the first keyframe and copy it. i’m moving my timeline indicator forward to around 2 secs, 13 frames (which i didn’t do in the picture either lmao) and pasting that keyframe there.

and you just finished the basic animation for your text!

however, your animation is going to look a little like this, which is kinda boring.

to fix this, you’re gonna have to put some easy ease on your keyframes.

so, select all of your keyframes, right click, go to keyframe assistant, and click easy ease. or just hit f9 lol.

so now, your text should look like this.

you can also play around with the graph editor to get something a bit fancier, so for example,

this graph

brings this animation

and this graph

brings this animation

but i’m just going to use the regular easy ease for this tutorial (which is what i used in the mp100 edit, too)

now you have your animation!

the last thing that i did to the text was add a track matte, so that your text will only show up on the area that you defined.

so, select your rectangle tool and draw a rectangle to the place where you want your text to only show up (?? does that make sense ??)

a new shape layer will be above your text layer. make sure to properly align it, too

click the ‘toggle switches / modes’ to bring up the track matte option

now click the box that currently says ‘none’ and change it to ‘alpha matte’

this will make it so that your text will only show up in the area that your rectangle is in.

and you’re finished! go to file > export > add to render queue to export your animation

final product: