#Programs like photoshop for mac free

[dreamdolldeveloper]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[xiaolanhua]

Hello!

I absolutely love your edits and gifs. I was thinking about making edits/gifs too but I'm not sure where to start : ( Would you be able to share some resources? Or any tips you have for someone that's just starting out? I'm not even sure where to download the videos from :/

Thank you in advance!

hello!! omg thank you so much for liking my gifs 🥹🫶🫶

Of course! In this post I'll share some tips that I think are helpful when making gifs, specially from asian dramas (mostly chinese and korean)!

Where to download k/cdrama videos?

dramaday (korean media only)

mkvdrama (korean, chinese, japanese, thai etc)

avistaz.to (they have the most complete catalog of asian dramas but you can only have access to the files if you register and they open for registration only every now and then so if you want to join, you have to have a invite or wait till they open)

2. Where to make gifs?

Mostly, the gifs on this website are done using Adobe Photoshop but I think for the past few years there is a lot of users who use Photopea which is an online (and free) version of photoshop.

3. How to make gifs?

Well, I think there's a some ways of making gifs but the 2 most common are through screencapping and using vapoursynth. Before I knew how to use and install vapoursynth I used the screencap method a LOT so I totally recommend you to begin giffing using the screencap method before you try other ways of giffing. Also, with this method, you can use on both Photoshop and Photopea.

In this gif tutorial made by @kylos you can learn how to install the program mpv to take screencaps and how to make gifs using the captures.

There's this complete guide on how to gif made by @cillianmurphy that is very helpful.

Also, this comprehensive giffing tutorial by @redbelles is great!

But if you want to know how to gif using vapoursynth (if you are an MAC user), i totally recommend this how to install post and COMPREHENSIVE GIFFING TUTORIAL (vapoursynth + ps cc 2018) post, both from my beloved @dingyuxi 🫶

If you don't have Photoshop and want to make gifs using Photopea, I think this and this tutorials will be great for you.

4. How to color?

Coloring gifs is something very personal to each gifmaker but if you want to know how to start doing it, i recommend you these tutorials:

becca’s mega coloring tutorial by @nataliescatorccio

coloring tutorial by @magnusedom

simple gif colouring for beginners by @kinnbig (specially focused on east & south east asian skin tones)

Finally, I recommend you looking at the resource directory from @usergif because they have a collection of tutorials and resources that are very handy when making gifs!

If you have any particular question from how I gif, I will gladly answer!

[sirladystitch]

Alright guys so I printed out a scale copy based on my original size for the quilt and, uh, it was big. Like, this wouldn't fit on a twin-sized bed big. So I've reduced the size a bit to something more manageable! (CD for scale, please ignore the other stuff in the room lol)

The new size will be approximately 52" high by 35"-ish wide.

Since I'm trying to make this as precise as possible I spent the evening struggling with math, lol. If people know any free, Mac-friendly programs I would appreciate it, haha. I made a mockup in Photoshop that I *think* is more exact but we won't know until I start assembling because, have I mentioned this before, I am terrible at math, lol.

I made the mockup in this way because I can use the magic wand tool to get the precise measurements of what each of those pieces are, knowing that I'll need to add a 1/4 inch seam allowance to everything.

Based on my estimates I think I'm going to need the following approximate yardage (assuming the bolt is 40" wide cotton):

1/4 yard maroon for borders

1/4 yard red for borders

1/4 yard blue for squares

1/4 yard gold for squares

1/2 yard blue background

1 yard black for trims and binding

1/2 yard red bird

1/2 yard zebra white

1 yard red orange

1/2 yard magenta

1 yard gold

1/2 yard light yellow

1/2 yard green leaves

1/2 yard bark brown

+ assorted golds, gauzes, etc.

I'm going to a quilt show tomorrow to do some initial color and fabric scouting, wish me luck! I'll be sure to take pics of anything I bring home and keep you all posted. :)

[aceofwhump]

Hey!! How do I get into making gifs? Any tips for a beginner? I literally know nothing about it just that the I'd like to start. Also is not having photoshop a big obstacle?

Hi there! Yeah I can give you some tips to get started! Keep in mind I use windows to make my gifs and not a mac.

So to get into gifmaking you don't need to have photoshop. If you find that you enjoy making gifs I do recommend you look into getting photoshop (and there are ways of getting it without paying *raises pirate flag*) but to start there are several online programs you can use.

Here's a few that i've used before I learned how to do it in photoshop:

photopea

ezgif

giphy

imgflip

makeagif

This is an excellent tutorial to using photopea to make gifs

Each one of those will allow you make a basic gif. For complex coloring, sharpening, layouts, typography, blending, etc you'll want to upgrade to using photoshop because the quality is just way better and you can do so much more but when you're just wanting to get start all of these websites are great places to learn.

I also recommend learning how to take screencaps because I find it's a lot easier to make gifsets using screencaps than it is to try and screen record, cut, and upload videos.

My recommendation for screencapping is KMPlayer. It's a video player that you download to your computer and has a very easy way to save screencaps. Then you can just upload the jpgs into whatever program you're using to make gifs.

I made a basic gif making tutorial using photoshop and kmplayer here if you want to take a look at it.

Basic gifmaking steps:

Get your video. You can download it through pirating sites or use dvds or screen record. I download from sites like soap2day.to.

Take screen caps of the specific scene you want to gif OR cut your video to just the scene you want

Upload either clip or jpgs into the chosen program

Set the speed

Do any trimming of the scene and/or cropping the sides you want to do

If your program allows you (some don't) you can sharpen it, brighten the colors, add text

Then just save it as a .gif

Some other things:

The higher quality video, the better quality gif. 1080 is better than 720. Try to get a nice quality video if you can

Some websites will have a watermark on it that can't be removed so keep that in mind. Another reason why I prefer using photoshop.

Try to keep the gif either the same speed as the episode or just a little slower. Too fast isn't good.

That's all I got for now! If you have any other questions please feel free ask! I'd be happy to help with anything!

[tenmillionthfirefly]

In light of recent events, I'd like to recommend Photoshop alternatives for current Adobe users. Photopea is an in-browser recreation of Photoshop, and it's free! If you're familiar with Photoshop's UI this will be easy to get used to. It's somewhat less refined than PS but it's a surprisingly competent replacement.

Clip Studio Paint Pro is an excellent program for all kinds of digital art, with a one-time perpetual license for Windows and Mac for about $20-25 when it's on sale, so it's worth waiting for Black Friday or holidays. (Any mobile options for CSP are subscription only and they stink.)

GIMP is a powerful photo editor that is completely free and open-source! It works on Windows, GNU/Linux, and MacOs. Its UI can be a bit difficult to work with at first, but if you're looking for a PS replacement, GIMP is PS without the AI.

Hopefully this helps artists who want to keep the rights to their work, at least until Adobe gets their crap together.

[juanarc-thethird]

What software to you use for recolor?

I use Pixelmator Pro, it's only for Mac. But it's cheaper than paying for photoshop. It costs $40 and is only one payment. Not a subscription like Adobe does with its products.

Just for the record, I bought this program because my job often involves making edits (I'm a photographer/social media manager). That's why I bought this one, but I know you can find cheaper or free programs that can also do the job.

I do suggest that you make your research on what they can do before you decided on one. There are some programs that cannot do certain things.

[scoobydoodean]

Y'all I love free software so much y'all don't even know. Have a list of my favorite free programs I have used lately when creative juices are flowing:

Gifs:

Giphy Capture: Very very easy to use (you will figure it out in no time). You can't recolor anything here, but I've found the compression options allow me to retain enough quality that I am not repulsed by the idea of posting gifsets made with this tool. They will never be as pretty as recolored gifs made in photoshop, but if you just want to make a scene and it not look horrid, this shit will get it done with a learning curve that's as flat as they come (Mac only tho sadly).

ezgif.com: Swiss army knife of gif making in your browser. You can crop, add effects, adjust brightness, saturation, hue, etc., trim, cut frames, and optimize file size. You can upload a set of images to turn into a gif, upload a gif you've already captured to edit it, or upload and video clip and render and edit into gifs all in your browser.

Davinci Resolve (18.5 Beta) - I am very excited about this one. Davinci Resolve is a professional-quality video editing software available for free for personal uses. It is stuffed full of video recoloring options, and they recently added gif rendering. This means you can recolor a whole scene all at once, split it into clips representing each gif in your set, then batch export a whole scene of short clips as gifs at the same time after adding text, cropping, cutting frames, and recoloring them as desired. Compression options on export are minimal right now, but I'm hoping as this new tool develops and moves out of beta... *rubs hands together evilly*.

Video:

Davinci Resolve - As above—professional-quality video editor available for free for personal use. Tbh the video editor pre-shipped with your OS will get you real far, but this one has a plethora of options you won't find in there, and typically will not ever find for free at all.

Ffmpeg - Need to batch convert .mkv files to .mp4 because your various softwares or maybe your PLEX server isn't playing nice??? ffmpeg has your back! If a command line is too intimidating though you can always go with Handbrake (if you can stumble your way through a command line though—ffmpeg will convert a whole season of TV to .mp4 before handbrake finishes a single episode).

Art:

Autodesk Sketchbook - I have had this puppy for a very very long time—I had it when it was actually a one-time purchase desktop app back in the day and I paid $50 and it was worth it. HOWEVER, Autodesk Sketchbook is now completely free! You can use everything I paid $50 for when I was like 16 years old for free! It runs on phones and tablets too! There are a lot of awesome free digital art tools (i.e., ye olde classic GIMP) or ones you can get for very cheap one time purchase, but this is just a free one I am fond of.

[x-mensirens]

I really like your gifs that I've seen in the X-Men Evolution tag. I was wondering, how do you make gifs? What program do you use? Thanks for your time.

Hey there! I first learned how to make them using photoshop, but I honestly don't know if my old mac could handle trying to run it.

I use a free program called GIMP.

You screencap the part you want to make a gif > open as layers in order > export as .gif tutorial

And that's it! I would take the time to edit and colorize them more but my computer literally overheats, so I do what I can lol. There are tutorials for photoshop out there, too!

[markantonys]

Hey! How do you make your gifs?

hello! when i make gifs, i need only the following tools: 1) photoshop (my version is cs5), 2) a high quality video to gif from, and 3) a screenrecording program to get that video. super serious giffers will tell you that you shouldn't make gifs of anything less than a 4k downloaded file, but i'm lazy and don't have infinite storage space on my laptop and don't care if my gif is only 720-1080p instead of super HD or 4k, so if i'm giffing wheel of time, for example, i will just screenrecord a small clip straight off the prime video player rather than download the entire episode. i use the xbox windows app to screenrecord, which is free - not sure if there is an equivalent for macs.

i did a gif tutorial a couple years ago that should still be pretty accurate! just 2 updates i would add now: 1) over the summer tumblr added something that made gifs fucked up, i forget the details but my takeaway was that in order to preserve gif quality, i need to change the speed of just 1 frame of the gif. so if my gif has 50 frames, i will make 49 frames a speed of 0.06 and 1 a speed of 0.07 or 0.05. i'm not sure if this is still necessary or if everybody hated the gif update so much that tumblr changed it back, but i still do this every time to be safe. i think it was that if your gif is all 1 speed then tumblr would change it into some bizarre file format to compress it or something, with the result that it looked awful. so just change the speed of 1 frame to get around this (it's totally unnoticeable in the final product if 1 frame has a speed that's 0.01 different from the others).

2) the coloring psd pack i linked in the old tutorial worked great for medici, the main show i was giffing at the time, but it doesn't look good for wheel of time. instead, i have created my own psds for wheel of time - i'm not going to do a coloring tutorial because i'm an amateur and i just mess around until i get something i like, and i wouldn't be good at explaining that mess around process haha so instead i will link the 2 psds i've made! with the following TOU:

please like/reblog if downloading

do not reupload, claim as your own, or use it as a base to make a new psd which you then upload and claim as your own

the 2 psds are very similar - the difference is that #1 is brighter, more vibrant, and closer to the original colors, while #2 is a bit subtler and has some alterations to decrease greens (since the original scene had a green tint)

psd #1: download here

psd #2: download here

[thejuanblog]

Demystifying Digital Images and Video: Formats, Tools, Copyright, and More.

Introduction

In today's digital age, images and videos have become an integral part of our daily lives. From personal photographs shared on social media to professional content uploaded on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, understanding the intricacies of image and video file formats, codecs, and manipulation tools is essential. This blog post aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these digital elements, focusing on the definitions of common file types, export settings for popular broadcasting platforms, image manipulation tools, and the critical aspects of image copyright.

Definitions of Commonly Used Image and Web Video Formats, Wrappers, and Codecs

Image Formats:

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group): JPEG is the most widely used image format for photographs and digital images. It uses lossy compression, which reduces file size while maintaining reasonable image quality.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics): PNG is preferred for images with transparent backgrounds or crisp, high-quality graphics. Unlike JPEG, it uses lossless compression.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): GIFs are a popular choice for short, looping animations and simple graphics. They use lossless compression and support transparency.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format): TIFF is a versatile format commonly used in professional photography and graphic design. It supports lossless compression and maintains high image quality.

BMP (Bitmap): BMP is a Windows-native format known for its lack of compression. It results in large file sizes but retains image quality.

Video Formats and Codecs:

MP4 (MPEG-4): MP4 is a widely supported video format that uses the H.264 codec. It offers a balance between quality and file size, making it ideal for streaming and sharing on the web.

AVI (Audio Video Interleave): AVI is an older format that supports various codecs. It is not as efficient as MP4 in terms of compression and is used less frequently nowadays.

MOV (QuickTime Movie): MOV is a format developed by Apple and is popular among Mac users. It can use various codecs, such as H.264 and ProRes, for high-quality video.

MKV (Matroska): MKV is an open-source container format that can contain videos with a variety of codecs, making it highly customizable.

Export Settings for Popular Broadcast Platforms

When it comes to sharing images and videos on popular broadcasting platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook, selecting the right export settings is crucial for optimal quality and compatibility.

YouTube: For video content on YouTube, the recommended format is MP4 with H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec. The ideal resolution is 1080p (1920x1080) or 4K (3840x2160) for higher quality. These settings balance quality and compatibility across devices.

Twitch: Twitch also prefers the MP4 format with H.264 video and AAC audio codecs. A resolution of 720p (1280x720) or 1080p is recommended, depending on the viewer's internet speed and quality preferences.

Facebook: Facebook accepts a wide range of video formats, including MP4 and MOV. However, MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio codecs is a reliable choice. The resolution should be adapted to the target audience and device capabilities.

Commonly Used Image Manipulation Tools and Techniques

Image manipulation tools are essential for enhancing and editing images. Here are some commonly used tools and techniques, along with their purposes:

Adobe Photoshop: Photoshop is a versatile image editing software that can be used for tasks like retouching, color correction, and compositing.

Adobe Lightroom: Lightroom is perfect for photo organization and enhancement, with features like exposure adjustment, color grading, and batch processing.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): GIMP is a free alternative to Photoshop, offering similar features for image editing and manipulation.

Canva: Canva is a user-friendly online tool for creating graphics and social media content. It simplifies design tasks for non-designers.

Cropping and Resizing: These techniques are fundamental for adjusting image dimensions and removing unwanted parts of an image.

Image Copyright Essentials

Artists and content creators must be aware of copyright laws to protect their intellectual property. Key copyright essentials include:

Ownership: Creators automatically own the copyright to their work upon creation, but registration provides additional legal protection.

Fair Use: Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, commentary, news reporting, and education.

Licensing: Creators can license their work under specific terms, such as Creative Commons licenses, allowing others to use their work while respecting their rights.

Public Domain: Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and can be used freely.

DMCA Takedowns: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) enables copyright owners to request the removal of infringing content from online platforms.

Attribution: When using copyrighted material, proper attribution is often required to credit the creator.

Conclusion

Understanding digital image and video formats, codecs, export settings, image manipulation tools, and copyright essentials is essential for content creators, whether amateur or professional. By adhering to best practices and legal guidelines, creators can ensure their work is of high quality, reaches the right audience, and is protected from unauthorized use. Whether you're a budding photographer, a vlogger, or a graphic designer, the knowledge presented in this blog post can serve as a valuable resource to navigate the digital content landscape successfully.

References

Reference list

Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, Copyright - Arts Law Centre of Australia, Arts Law Centre of Australia.

Attorney-General's Department 2022, Copyright basics, Attorney-General’s Department.

Image Manipulation: The What, How, and Why 2021, Clipping Path Campus.

Image Processing: Techniques, Types, & Applications [2022] n.d., www.v7labs.com.

Video File Formats, Codecs, and Containers Explained | TechSmith 2018, Welcome to the TechSmith Blog.

By: Juan Gutierrez.

[babycatlix]

Hi there, sorry to bother you. But I really admire your blog, and I wanted to ask for some advice on gifs? I'm completely clueless on how to gif but I really want to learn! If you could give me some how to's or advice I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you for your time.

P.s. you're one of my favorite blogs❣️

hello, anon!~

i'm so flattered that i'm one of your favorite blogs! 🥰 thank you so much!

i'm not sure what kind of advice you're really looking for 🤔 but how about some basics first! before we get started i should let you know that i use a mac, so one of the programs i mention is not available on pc's. you can make gifs on either a mac or a pc, one is not better than the other, it's all personal preference and what you have access to. remember that everything here is what i do and what works for me, you should always find what works best for you!

high quality gifs are typically made in photoshop. the type of photoshop isn't super important, most versions of photoshop have the capability to make gifs. you could use an online converter too, but the quality of the gif will deteiorate drastically and you have very little control of how the final gif will look. if you use photoshop you have full control of how the gif will look in the end! and yes, it is time consuming, but it can also be very fun! i personally use the most current version of photoshop, creative cloud photoshop 2023. but i know not everyone has access to this version and that's okay! just use what you have access to! but before you can get started on the actual giffing process, you'll have to find a video to gif!

i usually use y2mate to download my videos, but when that site doesn't want to work i use savieo. there are other sites you can use, but i use these because they're free and you can choose the quality of the video you download. you should always download the highest quality you can! this will allow for better rendering and higher quality gifs! after downloading my video i open imovie (a mac only program) to cut my clips. this makes it easier for photoshop to handle to video files when importing AND i'm able to cut the exact clip i want without guessing in the photoshop import option. you can import a whole video, but you'll have to cut the clip area you want before you can actually have frames. but this way isn't very exact and photoshop typically doesn't allow you to import more than 6 seconds before it tells you that there are too many frames and too many frames can slow down or crash photoshop. i usually like to cut all my clips before i take anything into photoshop.

once you have all the clips cut that you want you can then import them into photoshop. you'll do: file > import > video frames into layers... photoshop will then prompt you to select the video range. but if you want the whole clip, just hit "ok" and photoshop will make an animation file with the frames.

once you have your file, you can then crop it to the size you need it to be! you'll still have to resize the file to the correct pixels. the sizes i use for my different gifsets are:

single wide gifs: 540px x 304px or 380px x 304px

square gifs: 350px x 350px

tall rectangular gifs: 350px x 518px

remember these are just what i do! you can always experiment and find what works best for you!

after you've cropped your file you can then make your coloring edits, if that's something you want to do! this isn't something you have to do, but you can! coloring can be fun and rewarding, but it can also be challenging. the adjustment layers i like to use are channel mixer, brightness/contrast, vibrance, and color balance. you don't have to use these, these are just what i use! again, experiment and find what works best! when you add any of these to your file, make sure you have all your frames selected below in the timeline and that the very last frame is selected in your layers panel. otherwise the layer adjustment will only affect the frames it's above.

if you want to add a watermark, you can do that with just text, again make sure it's at the very top of your layer panel. or if you want to you can make a watermark like i have. i answered an ask about that here. but if you want something quick, you can just make an easy text one.

in the timeline you can also adjust how quick the frames play. i usually do 0.04 or 0.05. it just depends on how many frames i have and how quickly i want the gif to play. the default setting is for the gif to loop infinitely. remember when you make any changes to the timeline that you want to effect the whole gif, select all frames.

once you're happy with how the gif looks, you can export it: file > export > save for web (legacy)...

after clicking save for web (legacy)... usually a window pops up, at the top, i have "4-up" selected and i usually choose the top right. the settings for that one are 100% dither, selective palette, 256 colors. that works best for me when i'm exporting. make sure your final gif size is smaller than 10mb as tumblr won't upload anything larger than 10mb.

once your gif is exported, you can then upload it to tumblr and take a look at it! if you see anything wrong, go back to the photoshop file and make the changes accordingly. then ta-da! you've made a gif!

i also know that not everyone is like me, but i save my raw photoshop files in case i need to make changes later. i save all my raw files onto an external hard drive.

i know this was long and it was a little image heavy, but i hope it was helpful! and if you need more help, you can ask me or any of the other cc's i follow!

i hope you have a good day/night, stay safe out there and stay hydrated my friend! 💖

[mariska]

got my income for the month the other day and after 6+ months of not being able to make digital art the way i'm used to with my specific accessibility needs because of physical health symptoms with my hands, i was finally able to buy myself a new Paint Tool Sai license today, since a little while back i successfully installed an optional Windows 10 operating system on my Macbook (Sai doesn't run on Mac, at least not Version 1 which is what i need and have been using for over a decade) that i can switch back and forth between whenever and i am so so so so happy and relieved about it and so fucking excited to get to draw digital lines the way im used to drawing them after trying so many other similar programs and failing to find anything that worked exactly the same as Sai's basic built-in pen stabilizer 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i was able to quickly test out my (also ancient lol) art tablet with it and make sure everything works and it doesnt lag or anything like that and its perfect its exactly like i've always used it, i remembered which pen stabilization number setting i've been using for years and like.

dude. i know i sound dramatic right now LMAO but i CANNOT sketch or draw properly on traditional paper or sketchpads anywhere near what i can do in Sai because of all my tremors and shakiness and sudden muscle movements that make accidental lines and all that. and when i drew just one regular brush stroke in Sai and felt it move like im used to and got that super smooth sensation of 'pretty much just drawing like im holding a pencil/pen but with the shakiness of my lines improved'....almost cried a lil not gonna lie fjsgdgsgdhsgshf its been so many months and i've put so much mental energy into researching how to do that whole windows installation on my 2012 era macbook and somehow did that without completely messing it up and then having to wait until a month where i have enough extra money to buy the official version (Sai is so important 2 me and the most accessible digital art program i've ever used for my specific hand problems and i've used it for so long that i am only comfortable using the officially licensed version of it, yknow?) and also theres just something so nice about finally being able to use it again a few days before my birthday even though that timing wasn't on purpose...

AHHHHH im just so relieved. i feel like im free to just be able to make sketch pages and draw stuff whenever i have free time to and i have an idea in my head again and i havent felt that in so long and it was making my depression so much worse....and also because i've been doing my best to adapt to the similar but different settings in Clip Studio Paint, i have 2 really nice digital art programs with a lot of cool and useful features between the both of them now that i can use to like, mix and match with my art!! which is awesome!! i think Clip will mostly be used by me now for more graphic design type projects since Sai's always been my core art program, but i'd love to experiment with drawing/sketching/painting pieces in Sai and then plopping them into Clip and adding some extra fun effects or background elements or even just easier to repeat patterns with its' huge free-to-use resource library for like stamps and texture effects and more photoshop-y things like that.

ANYWAYS!! im just rambling to myself because im so happy and relieved to have My Art Program back so i thought i would share since its rare for me to feel as happy and excited and get some sense of normalcy back in any capacity these days, being immunocompromised and stuck in my house as long as i have been the past 3 years and counting. it has been a good amount of time since i've felt like i have A Victory To Celebrate and i hope that feeling lingers as long as it can 🥹✌️

[bylrndgm]

you do edits and gifs right? i am trying to find a good screen recorder (preferably free and without a watermark. kind of a tall order. i know) i just wondered if maybe you knew of one? also curious what programs/process you use to create your gifs and edits if you don't mind sharing ty

Hey! I've been making gifs for the last ten years and I got some tricks up my sleeve. It's going to be such a long post (as I'll discuss my process in detail and depth, explaining all the little things), so if anyone is interested, just read under the cut! (❁´◡`❁)

Step one: finding the video

To make an HQ gif, your video has to be HQ. The best choice is to go on YouTube and download the highest-quality video:

Example -> if there is as quality option 4K, download the video in 4K.

Remember that .mp4 videos have a lower quality, because it's a compressed file.

A better extension is .mkv, which I find preserves the quality better.

If you can't get the video from YouTube, you may still want to have a good quality video -> you can still record your screen and I suggest this open source program: OBS Studio (Win, Mac and Linux!)

Here you can play with the settings -> on the output menu, remember to select the .mkv output! (NOTE: you need to play around with the settings because depending on how powerful your PC is, some will be better than others!)

Now all you have to do is press start recording and once you recorded your video, press stop recording (it's pretty intuitive!!)

Step two: screencapping

It's the slowest way to make gifs, but it helps preserving the quality.

Once you have your video, you need to make the screencaps!

Download KMPlayer

Right click on the middle of the screen > options > preferences

These are my settings:

Open your file (you screen recorded in OBS studio) and put the cursor to the point the scene you want your gif starts

Then right click (on the screen) and select this

Make sure these are your options:

Press start and press play on the player -> now let it play until you finish your scene -> then press stop.

On the folder you chose as destination of the extraction, you should have something like this.

Step three: making the gif

Open Photoshop (I have Photoshop CC - 2018).

Go on File > Scripts > Load files into stack

Click on browse -> select all the screencaps you previously made -> once they're loaded, press on OK

Now, lean back, relax, grab some coffee because it's gonna take a while!

Turn on your timeline (Window > Timeline)

And press on Create frame Animation, there in the middle

Then press on the little burger menu on top right of the timeline and click on Make frames from layers

Click again on that menu and select Reverse frames

Now, select all the frames (the ones you see on the timeline) and right click where you see "0 sec" and choose Other ...

Put 0.04 as delay!

Step four: cropping and sharpening

Select the Crop Tool (shortcut: C) and you should have something like this

Move the handlers like this (don't reduce the image size!)

I just eliminated the black stripes on top and bottom and resized the width

Then confirm

Go to Image > Image Size and these are my settings:

If you want to make a ONE COLUMN gifset -> width has to be 540 px

If you want to make a TWO COLUMN gifset -> width has to be 268 px

Height doesn't matter! Press OK.

Now, back to your Timeline, press that little icon on the bottom left

Now, this is what should happen:

On the layers panel, select all the layers and right click -> Convert to Smart Object

Now, you can use whatever sharpening option you want -> go on Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen.

I usually do that twice:

OPTIONAL -> duplicate the layer and set the opacity to 30% -> add Gaussian Blur (radius 1.5)

Step five: coloring

Now this is the fun part, and it's always different! So, just play around with the adjustments and find what suits the scene the best!

Step six: saving

File > Export > Save for Web

NOTE: .gif files must be under 10MB to be uploaded on Tumblr

REMEMBER TO SET LOOPING TO FOREVER!!!

And that is it!? If you have any questions please DM me, or send in another ask + there is a quicker way to do this, let me know if you are interested in that.

[bunnyprismatic]

These are excellent open source options that have a lot of great tools, I highly recommend the above list! If you're looking for programs similar to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign that have a few more features, I suggest the Affinity Suite. For anyone working in graphic design, especially print, this is an excellent software suite that is a one time payment option. Affinity Suite 2 had a universal perpetual license, which means that a single license will work on Mac, PC and iPadOS. I use Affinity on all 3 platforms with no troubles. Sadly, it doesn't have a cloud option like CSP, but it might be something they implement in the future. They do have a cloud option for resources though, which is very handy.

They drop frequent updates with new features, QOL updates and ways to make the programs run better. Affinity does charge for major updates (so, you had to pay for updating for V1 to V2) but the cost is still reasonable for professionals, and nothing in comparison to Adobe, even back in the Creative Suite days. It's not perfect, there are some features Affinity hasn't brought in yet that Adobe has (Designer doesn't have good pattern making, blend tools, or gradient tools like Illustrator, and the shape building isn't quite there.) But they have a lot of features Adobe doesn't, like a very user-friendly UI, easier to operate node tools, better and easier to make asset libraries, not as processor or GPU heavy, better support, lots of _free_ learning resources on their website, and it super affordable! Oh, and they've spoken out about generative AI before, saying they will not implement anything "which undermines human talent or tramples on artists' IP". So if you're interested, you can check out their products here! (Though I do suggest waiting for their sales, usually they have a solid Black Friday sale. But there is a 6 month free trail option.) But yeah, highly recommend Affinity Suite, I've been using it for a good 7 years now, and am loving each new update.

Adobe is going to spy on your projects. This is insane.

[photoeditorph1]

The Best Photo Editors for Windows and Mac: A Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right photo editor is crucial for achieving professional-quality images. With a plethora of options available, finding the best photo editor for your needs can be overwhelming. This blog post will compare some of the best photo editors for Windows and Mac, highlighting their key features and helping you make an informed decision.

Adobe Photoshop

Overview

Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for photo editing, known for its comprehensive set of tools and features. It's available for both Windows and Mac, making it a versatile choice for photographers and designers alike.

Key Features

Advanced Editing Tools: Includes tools for retouching, compositing, and digital painting.

Non-Destructive Editing: Uses layers and masks to preserve the original image.

Extensive Plugins: Supports a wide range of plugins for added functionality.

Integration with Adobe Suite: Seamlessly integrates with other Adobe products like Lightroom and Illustrator.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Powerful features, industry standard, extensive resources and tutorials.

Cons: Steep learning curve, subscription-based pricing.

Adobe Lightroom

Overview

Adobe Lightroom is a popular choice for photographers due to its powerful editing capabilities and photo management features. It's available for both Windows and Mac and is designed to handle large volumes of photos efficiently.

Key Features

Non-Destructive Editing: Preserves original files while making adjustments.

Photo Management: Excellent for organizing and cataloging photos.

Batch Processing: Allows for quick edits to multiple photos simultaneously.

Presets: Offers customizable presets for consistent editing styles.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Easy to use, great for batch processing, integrates with Photoshop.

Cons: Subscription-based pricing, fewer advanced editing tools compared to Photoshop.

Affinity Photo

Overview

Affinity Photo is a powerful and affordable alternative to Photoshop, offering a comprehensive set of photo editing tools. It's available for both Windows and Mac and is known for its high performance and user-friendly interface.

Key Features

Advanced Editing Tools: Includes tools for retouching, HDR merging, and panorama stitching.

Non-Destructive Editing: Uses layers and masks for flexible editing.

One-Time Purchase: No subscription required, making it a cost-effective option.

Compatibility: Supports PSD files and other common file formats.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Affordable, powerful features, one-time purchase.

Cons: Fewer resources and tutorials compared to Adobe products.

GIMP

Overview

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free, open-source photo editor available for Windows and Mac. It's a popular choice for those looking for a powerful editor without the cost.

Key Features

Advanced Editing Tools: Includes a wide range of tools for retouching, compositing, and graphic design.

Customizable Interface: Highly customizable to fit your workflow.

Plugin Support: Supports a variety of plugins for added functionality.

Community Support: Strong community support with plenty of tutorials and resources.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Free, powerful features, customizable.

Cons: Steeper learning curve, less polished interface.

Conclusion

Choosing the best photo editor depends on your specific needs and budget. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are excellent choices for professional photographers, offering powerful features and seamless integration. Affinity Photo is a great alternative for those looking for a cost-effective solution with robust editing capabilities. GIMP is ideal for beginners or those on a tight budget, providing powerful tools for free. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each option, you can select the photo editor that best fits your workflow and helps you create stunning images.

[reversedout-blog]

Using Canva For Your Social Media Creative

When we first heard about Canva, we didn’t take it too seriously. Sure, you could use Microsoft Paint or Adobe Photoshop (which both cost money) but that wasn’t very helpful for everyday situations like creating social media posts. Then came Canva which made designing simple and even fun! Here are four reasons why you should start using Canva for your social media creative needs:

Canva is a powerful design app, and it’s free.

You can use Canva to create Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts for your business.

It’s a powerful design app and it’s free, but it also has some limitations:

Canva is not as expensive as Photoshop. If you want to get the most out of Photoshop, then you will probably have to spend some money on classes or tutoring sessions.

Canva is easy-to-use but there is a learning curve involved if you want to become an expert user. You will have more options with Adobe Photoshop than with Canva when it comes time for advanced editing (like removing blemishes). However, both programs offer simple features that allow users without much experience in graphic layout design applications an opportunity to produce great results quickly without much effort on their part – which makes these programs ideal choices for those looking for quick solutions!

Canva allows you to create social media posts from scratch, or use pre-designed templates.

Canva is a popular design tool that allows you to create social media posts from scratch, or use pre-designed templates. You can also create your own templates and then customize them as needed.

You can use Canva for different types of social media platforms and posts, like Instagram Stories or Facebook cover photos.

Canva uses a drag-and-drop system that makes you feel like a designer.

Canva is a web-based graphic design tool that uses a drag-and-drop system that makes you feel like a designer. It’s easy to use, even if you’re new to creating graphics or building websites. Canva makes it easy for anyone to create professional designs and share them on social media.

You can start by browsing through their pre-designed templates and images or upload your own images, text, and shapes from scratch. You’ll find hundreds of thousands of free images available on the site, but if none of them work for what you need, then there are also plenty of paid options available in the marketplace as well (prices range from $1 – $10).

Now when I say “drag and drop” I mean it! There isn’t any technical knowledge needed here at all – anyone can do this! If you want something more advanced such as adding text boxes around specific areas of an image then this feature has been created with ease in mind too; just click on the icon above wherever it says “Type Here” when selecting your template (this indicates where you want something added), select which type of box should be placed there (such as paragraph text box) then just click inside this area before typing away!

You can use Canva on your desktop, tablet, or mobile device.

Canva is an online design tool that you can use to create all kinds of graphics, including infographics, memes, flyers, and social media graphics. You can use it on any device that has internet access and a browser—that includes your desktop computer (Windows or Mac), your tablet (iPad or Android), and even your smartphone.

Downloading your designs is quick and easy, and you can use them on multiple platforms.

Once you’ve created a design, downloading it is quick and easy. You can even download multiple designs at once for use on multiple platforms.

You will love Canva for creating designs in less time and with less money than other alternatives.

Canva is a web-based design software that allows you to create social media posts from scratch, or use pre-designed templates. It has over 1 million paid users and over 40 million downloads across all platforms.

Canva is powerful enough for professional designers and easy enough for beginners. With Canva, you can create marketing graphics like infographics, sales ads, and social media posts. You will love Canva for creating designs in less time and with less money than other alternatives.

Conclusion

So, if you’re looking for a new way to spice up your social media posts, we think Canva is a great option. It has plenty of templates and tools to make your next graphic creation quick and easy. Plus, we love that it is completely free!

We often recommend using Canva to clients who don’t want to spend the money on having an agency manage their social media. Our team always uses a combination of tools along with a content calendar that ladders up to a larger marketing plan. Social is just one piece of the puzzle and if you need professional help, Reversed Out is just a call away.

Takeaway: Did you know there are some great tools out there to help you create more content for social media?

Contact Us

At Reversed Out Creative, we understand the challenges and opportunities presented by AI disruption. Our team of experts specializes in web design, SEO, graphic design, and digital marketing services. Reach out to us through our contact form to learn more about navigating the evolving job market and embracing the potential of AI. Together, let’s shape a future that combines human ingenuity with the power of AI.

Content source: https://reversedout.com/using-canva-for-your-social-media-creative/