#userphotoshop

_Screencapping

I use KMPlayer. There are other programs so use what suits you. I have never used anything else so I can't tell pros and cons. Here are my screencapping settings:

The videos I use are usually in 1080p resolution.

I usually screencap the full scene because I dislike the back-and-forth process between Photoshop and KMPlayer for the next screencaps. This works well for me since I have a large drive and ample storage space.

It's also convenient to separate my screencaps into subfolders. This organization makes it easier to import them into Photoshop.

_Import, Crop, and Resize

When it comes to importing, cropping, and resizing screencaps for creating GIFs, I follow these steps in Photoshop:

Any Photoshop version that support timeline is ok. I use CC 2018

Import: File > Script > Load files into stack.

Instead of selecting individual files, I choose the folder option and browse to the specific screencap folder I want to import. Then, "OK"

Crop: Since I prefer creating almost square-shaped GIFs, I crop my GIF accordingly to achieve the desired composition.

Resize: I go to Image > Image Size and adjust the dimensions as needed.

I retain the original "resolution" of the screencap without modifying it.

_Making the Gif

To create the GIF, I follow these steps:

I go to the timeline option and select "Make frames from layers" to convert the layers into individual frames.

Once they're created, go back to the timeline option and choose "Reverse frames".

At this stage, I don't set the timing for the frames yet. I usually leave it as the last step before exporting because any timing adjustments made earlier would be meaningless and require redoing.

Next, I convert the animation timeline into the video timeline.

Select > All layers

Then apply the filter "Convert for smart filters"

_Coloring

I start by removing the yellow washing color from the GIF, which is crucial. This enables me to freely color my GIF however I want. I rely on curves tool, which has become a life-saver for me.

There is no specific rule for this. Experiment with the settings until you achieve the desired outcome. I usually adjust each of the RGB colors individually.

After that, I proceed with additional adjustments

If I want the GIF to be brighter and less gloomy, I adjust the (brightness, contrast, or levels). But I'm careful not to use high settings because that can ruin the quality. If needed, I can go back and use those adjustments again after adding some colors.

If I want the "red hair" of my characters to stand out, I use (hue/saturation and selective color) to make the red more vibrant. This makes the hair look more natural and noticeable.

The number of adjustment layers I use varies, sometimes needing more or fewer depending on the desired effect. In certain cases, adjust the coloring for each GIF to account for changing lighting conditions, especially in action scenes.

_Sharpening

Select > All Layers.

Then, Filter > Convert for Smart Filters.

After finishing the coloring process, I proceed to apply "sharpening action". I have previously explained the steps I took to achieve the desired sharpening effect in in a previous ask. You can find that here

Apply the sharpening effect (For easy application, I have it available as an action)

_Timing & Exporting

Select > All layer

Then go to Filter > Convert for smart filters

The two steps above are important because now we are going back to the animation timeline to apply the timing.

Timeline option > Flatten Frames into Clips

Convert back to the animation timeline

Then I go to timeline option > Make frames from layers

I delete the first frame

Timeline option > select all frames

When it comes to timing, my preferred interval is usually 0.05 seconds. In most cases, the number of frames ranges from +50 to -120. However, there are instances where I choose to use a slightly longer duration of 0.07 seconds.

Now, my GIF is ready to be exported.

Go to File > Export > "Save for Web.

As mentioned earlier, I always use the Diffusion with Selective or Adaptive.

ㅤAnd that's it! This is how I usually make my GIFs.

CONTENTS:

What is the new editor?

Steps to take before posting

Making a post

Troubleshooting

01. WHAT IS THE NEW EDITOR?

Some of you may be asking yourselves what the point of the new editor even is and why it's being implemented in the first place when we already had a (mostly) functional editor. My very limited understanding of it as a CS student is app compatibility and flexibility. I'm not totally clear on the details nor am I 100% certain this is the case, but NPF posts (basically, posts made with the "new editor") first started with the mobile app. I'm unsure if the different post types were simply too unwieldy to transfer to the app - having to make a whole bunch of post types when with the new editor you can now have posts with any elements you want without the rigidity of a set post type - or if it was simply not able to be implemented, but the apps have always used NPF. The majority of Tumblr users are coming from the mobile apps. Then it became a case of having the legacy editor for the web users (which were fewer in number) and the new NPF editor for everyone else. That takes resources to keep around and it's pretty inefficient. Naturally the older editor that was used by less people was going to get the axe, especially since you couldn't tell on mobile that there was even a difference between NPF or legacy posts.

So now here we are and the posts are NPF. This means they're in "Neue Post Format." Basically, every post you make is by default a text post, containing "blocks" of other media - as gifmakers we will primarily be dealing with photos.

I understand that it's frustrating to many to see "our gifs are now rendered as text posts" and ask WHY it's happening when photos should logically be rendered as photo posts - but the fact is, there's now no real delineation between a "text post" and a "photo post." The reason NPF posts are now "text posts" is because that's how they are rendered for desktop themes, not because everyone is going to see your post as text and your gifs are going to be compressed into the quality of a potato (though I know some have seen this issue - more on that later.)

02. STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE POSTING

The long and short of it is that you may have to update your theme. More detail here for those who are interested, but check that your theme supports "new editor posts" or "NPF posts" AND that this is true for original posts (you can read more about why in this ask and, although this may be a bit time-consuming, test it out on your blog). I can say with certainty that my second theme Cygnus supports original NPF posts. This is NOT true of my first theme, though.

You can try to add the NPF Fix by @glenthemes to your own theme (beware if you don't know HTML/CSS) or try this tip by @burningblake for original posts.

Feel free to add theme makers with fully NPF-compatible themes in the notes! I have been happily using my own theme so I can't say to what degree others' themes are NPF-friendly.

03. MAKING A POST

If you're sticking around to post on the new editor and you have trouble ordering your gifs around, here's a little guide on how to post.

If I click on "Photo" from web and open up the editor, here's how it looks:

I went ahead and added three full-width gifs and the editor put them in like so:

You'll most likely also have to order your gifs around in the way you want them. You can go ahead and hover over your gifs to see the button to orient them (the four dots in the top left corner) and the button for an image description (the three dots in the bottom right corner). I've attached images of all three below:

If you hold the orientation button, move your gif around until you see the blue line that shows where your gif will end up in the spot that you want it. For example, I wanted to move the second gif below the first one, so I oriented it so that the blue line would show the marker between the two gifs:

Now my gifs are oriented nicely! Of course, this is a simpler layout, but the principles still hold.

If you save your gifs as a draft and reopen them or you just notice a large gap like this in between your gifs when you're in the editor, don't worry.

This will not show up in dash view or on a desktop theme that supports original NPF posts. For example, this is how the gifs' gap (without modification) looked in my desktop theme:

With your gifs ordered, the final step is to add alt text. You can read more about alt text and why you should use it here. (Feel free to ignore the sections about the captions on the legacy editor since it is no longer relevant. It's also unnecessary to clearly mark descriptions if they're not in the caption of your post because they will clearly show up under "ALT" on Tumblr.)

If you click the three dots in the bottom right corner as seen above, and click "update image description:"

You can add the description you like and click "update." Your photos' alt text will show up under the "ALT" bubble on Tumblr. This is generally a good practice to get into to make your content more accessible, so I hope you guys will consider using alt text regularly :)

Also, I've noticed that in the editor, if you go back and edit something it will take some time to show up. You may have to refresh the page or load it again after some time, but your edits should be there. I would not go back and edit posts again if you see your posts haven't shown up. I also advise against editing your posts on mobile because it's easier to make a mistake.

And there you go, you've successfully made a post with the new editor!

04. TROUBLESHOOTING

I'm sure you've all been waiting for this. Unfortunately I am probably going to be extremely unhelpful if the editor hasn't been refined in the last few months for those experiencing issues. I'm going to go in the categories that I listed out in my original poll, but keep in mind that I haven't personally seen any of these issues on my end so I haven't been able to contact staff with any evidence that this happened other than my poll.

Dashboard view quality issues: I haven't noticed this issue. I'm not sure if this has been fixed since the original poll was posted. If you're experiencing this issue, this is not something I know how to fix so I would contact staff with screenshots of the issue.

Desktop theme side padding: As noted before, this is a theme issue. If you change themes to something that is NPF-compatible with original posts, there shouldn't be any more issues here.

Small gifs on mobile: In my experience this was happening regardless of what editor was used; it's a bug that seems to have been fixed since this poll was created. If you're still experiencing it, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would advise contacting staff.

New editor doesn't accept gifs of size 9.8MB < x < 10MB: I haven't experienced this issue so I would say the only workaround would be to either trim the size of your gif so that it is under 9.8MB or whatever threshold seems to be the cutoff or contact staff (I am so sorry for constantly having to suggest this 😭 unfortunately there's no trick I can offer because the new editor has been taking all my gifs just fine)

Logistical issues ordering gifsets: I hope this guide has been able to answer the majority of questions and shed some light on some of the more buggy behaviors of the new editor, but if you have any more specific questions you can feel free to shoot me an ask!

HTML issues / colored text: Unfortunately it seems colored text may be deprecated entirely? This could be for accessibility purposes because I believe screen readers would read out every single letter of gradient text in captions which I imagine can get quite frustrating for users of this technology. I recommend just using the normal rich text editor. If you want small text, you can highlight and click the <s> button!

Other: If it seems like something I may be able to answer, please feel free to ask me. Otherwise... hound staff 😭

Here's where you can hound staff, btw. If you're having major issues I would advise you guys to submit support tickets. That way if there are any widespread bugs, staff will hopefully be able to fix them.