#have you seen a 25-gif gifset before?

[malecdiscordserver]

Welcome to the Shadowhunters Reverse Bang 2024: Presented by the Malec Discord Server

We are so excited to bring back another year of artists taking the reins, and writers finding inspiration with their incredible works.

You might be asking yourself, what is a reverse bang? The Shadowhunters Reverse Bang is a collaborative fandom event that combines fandom talents! Artists create never-before-seen art that writers will find inspiration in and create an entirely new story based off of, and together, they create magic.

Who can participate? In order to participate in this reverse bang, you must be a part of the Malec Discord Server. You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All other rules and FAQs can be found here or underneath the cut!

The schedule as it currently stands is below. This schedule is subject to change depending on the situation. You will be notified of any changes.

Artists Sign-ups Open - March 9 Artist Sign-ups Closed - April 6 Writer Sign-ups Open - April 7 Artist Check-in #1 - Due May 1 Writer Sign-ups Closed - May 16 Art Submissions Due - May 16 Art Claims Open - May 18 Art Claims Closed - May 20 Matches Revealed - May 25 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due July 1 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due August 1 Final Check-in (Fics & Art Due) - August 25 Posting Begins - August 31

Artist sign-ups will open on Saturday, March 9th. Join the Malec Discord Server for an immediate reminder, or keep an eye on @malecdiscordserver!

General Rules:

You must be part of the Malec Discord Server to participate in this event.

You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. All content must be polished and finished. No unfinished works or WIPs that you plan on continuing later will be accepted. Works that are added chapters/continuations of previously published works are not permitted unless they can be viewed/read as a standalone.

All AI content is prohibited.

Artists are asked not to talk about their projects until after claims with anyone participating in this event to keep writer claims fair.

All content must focus on Shadowhunters universe characters.

All Shadowhunters characters/ships are accepted. OCs/borrowed characters will be accepted as minor characters.

AUs and crossovers are accepted as long as the Shadowhunters characters are the main focus.

Content of any rating and subject matter is accepted, but participants must make sure to include any relevant warnings and properly tag their work.

No blatantly hateful content of any kind.

Artists must communicate readily with their assigned writer and vice versa. This is a collaborative effort and writers must be open to the ideas the artists have. The same courtesy is asked of artists.

When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

Please respect the Mods and anyone working with you throughout this event. Certain complaints may disqualify you from this event.

The password to make sure you understand all rules is SHRB24. Remember this when you sign up.

Artist Specific Rules:

Artists must create at least one finished project and no more than two finished projects for this event.

Accepted forms of submitted art include:

Digital/physical art: 1 piece, 500px minimum

Photomanipulation: 1 piece with significant editing

Gifsets: 4 gifs (without watermarks)

Moodboards: 6 graphics

Video: 1 minute

Playlists: 10 songs and a graphic

Abstract art/line art, original songs, and poems will also be accepted as long as the prompt given to accompany it gives a clear picture for the writer.

Artists are expected to be respectful of the writer’s ideas. Artists are expected to be in contact with their writers about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Artists will need somewhere to host their work so that it can be embedded on AO3.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are in need of stock images for your project please make sure that they are open source and that you provide the proper credits and sources. For gif creators using online gif makers, please remove watermarks before posting.

AI art is strictly prohibited.

Writer Specific Rules:

Writers must write a minimum of 4,000 words to participate in this event. There is no maximum limit but please keep in mind the time constraints of this event.

Writers are expected to be respectful of the artists’ ideas, likes, dislikes, and rating preferences. Writers are expected to be in contact with their artist about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Writers must base their fics off of the art prompt they claim. For example, if the art features Clary as an art student, the fic should not be Malec-focused with Clary attending an art school in the background. The fic should be primarily about Clary being an art student.

Writers signing up for the event may not get their first pick when assigned art. Please be mindful of this! Ending your commitment because of this is not permitted and if you feel this will be an issue you should not sign up for the event.

Plagiarism and AI content will not be tolerated. All content must be the writer’s own original work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to be a part of the Malec Discord Server to participate? All continuous communication for this event will be provided in a special category in the MDS. This includes all announcements, reminders, and ongoing requirements. If you want to join but don’t want access to the entire server, you can be given a Discord role based on your role in this event so the rest of the server is not accessible to you.

Sign-ups haven’t closed yet but I’m so excited about this challenge and really want to begin. Can I start working now? Artists are free to begin their piece(s) as soon as they read through the rules and requirements! Writers, unfortunately, will have to until they are matched with an artist, but we appreciate your enthusiasm for this event!

Can I sign up for more than one role? Absolutely. Many bang participants sign up for multiple roles as long as you believe you can complete all pieces before the assigned deadline(s).

What if someone doesn’t have a match? In the event that the art prompts outnumber writers, we will do several rounds of claiming so that every art prompt has a writer. If writers outnumber art prompts, we will open up the art prompts so that more than one writer is assigned to the same artist or ask artists if they are interested in completing more art. Every artist will be matched with at least one writer and vice versa.

What if I’m matched with an art prompt/partner I don’t want? The Mods (and most artists) would never want someone to create something that makes them uncomfortable, so if there is an art prompt that you don’t want to be matched with, don’t choose it during claims.

If you have any legitimate concerns about a partner (i.e. harassment or rude behavior), we ask that you please notify the Mods. Intervention by the Mods will not occur simply because of disliking story/design choices or the content they’re producing. Mods will not allow any rude or dismissive behavior by any participant. Please just be nice and work hard to help each other.

Can I repost old art or reuse/add to a WIP? No, All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. More on this in the rules.

What if I’m not around when claims occur? Claims will span three days and will not be on a first come first serve basis so as long as you are able to submit your interest in those three days, chances are you’ll be matched with one of your top three choices.

What if I’m not positive I can finish within the deadline? When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

What if something comes up after claims and I need to drop out? We understand that dropping out due to unforeseen circumstances can and will happen. We are/have always been very understanding when this happens and are willing to work with you. The quicker you let us know, the more options the Mods have.

How can I contact the Mods? Send us an ask on here or join the Discord server where we are more accessible.

[crumb]

hi! i watched the passenger back when it came out but recently your sets popped up in my dash and i ended up rewatching it and that led to me watching dinner in america which i loved! i was wondering if you have any other kyle gallner films you liked beside from jennifers body and smile. also love all of your gif sets :).

That’s so awesome to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed The Passenger and Dinner in America. They’ve quickly become two of my favourite films. And thank you! I work hard on the gifsets so it's nice to know people like them. ☺️ As for other film recommendations in Kyle Gallner’s filmography, here are some that I enjoyed/thought were worth the watch and my thoughts: Note: If you have any specific triggers/aversions please check a site like doesthedogdie.com first before watching these. Mother, May I? (2023) — I wasn’t a fan of Holland Roden’s performance (I know she can act so it was a little disappointing) but the movie was interesting and I enjoyed Kyle’s performance. I mean, I liked Holland’s too at times but some parts were really bad imo. What Comes Around (2022) — I liked this one. The synopsis I glanced at beforehand wasn’t really accurate to the film’s contents but I still liked the film overall. It wasn’t crazy good like The Passenger or anything close to it but it was still interesting. Ghosts of War (2020) — I really liked this up until the last 30 minutes. But! Kyle gives a great teary-eyed/deranged monologue in this that honestly makes it worth it. The Cleansing Hour (2019) — I actually turned this one off in the first like 10 minutes but then I went back and watched the rest and ended up liking it! Once things start really rolling it’s a fun ride. Alien Code (2018) — Concept was too big brained for their tiny budget which results in some real goofy stuff BUT I really liked the story it was trying to tell and pretty much all the actors give decent/great performances. Zen Dog (2016) — It’s a weird little indie film but I liked it. It’s always nice to watch something and know everyone had a blast making it. (There’s a 30 min BTS on Vimeo that proves this lol) The Cleanse (2016) — Kyle is a supporting actor in this so if you only want to watch stuff with him as a lead then you might want to pass. I ended up kinda liking this. It was slow at parts, but it was still kinda cool. Could have done with like 10 more minutes of story to wrap things up but yeah. The Finest Hours (2016) — Again, Kyle is only a supporting actor in this but he looks real cute in this 1950s era film. Band of Robbers (2015) — I really liked this!! It has a great cast and a fun script. It’s a quirky indie comedy and Kyle holds his own alongside some great actors & comedians. Magic Valley (2011) — It’s dark and haunting and shot really beautifully. It’s a slow ride but not boring at all. Losers Take All (2011) — So much of this movie is kinda corny but it was fun and you get to see Kyle in a band singing which is a bonus lol. The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) — I really really liked this. I’m not sure why it has such terrible reviews. There are other films in the haunted house sub-genre from around this time that are much worse but somehow have better reviews than this movie which is baffling to me. I’ve been working my way through his filmography and you can see my ratings and reviews for his films over on my letterbox account. There are more of his films I didn’t include in this list either because he only had a small role, it wasn’t a very good movie, or I haven’t seen it yet. My main take away after, so far, watching 25+ films and a number of television episodes he’s been in is that he ALWAYS gives a great performance. The only time it falters is when the script/dialogue is weak which isn’t his fault. It’s kind of insane that I have yet to find something he’s been in where he’s given a mediocre performance. At this point I don’t think he’s able to give a mediocre performance. He’s super consistent with the quality of his acting. So honestly, no matter what films of his you watch, good or bad, you’re still gonna get a great performance from him.

[blackheartsofchrome]

I posted 2,130 times in 2022

That's 1,503 more posts than 2021!

32 posts created (2%)

2,098 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@.teamroscoes

@.likelylarks

@.alpierrepine

@.sebastidanforever

@.sbinalino

I tagged 2,121 of my posts in 2022

#f1 - 1,013 posts

#daniel ricciardo - 307 posts

#lewis hamilton - 274 posts

#mo dao zu shi - 198 posts

#funny stuff - 143 posts

#shit about me - 139 posts

#asdfghjkl - 136 posts

#sebastian vettel - 117 posts

#wei wuxian - 112 posts

#charles leclerc - 108 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#and now i cannot stop thinking about that moment having been to max the equivalent of little ducks imprinting on the first person they see

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hi! I would love to join the discord server! 👉👈❤️

sorry, I only saw your message now! 🙈

yay !! :D just let me know your vague age (18+, 25+, etc..) and one thing you love about F1, and I'll send you the link 😊

11 notes - Posted March 13, 2022

#4

I would like to thank all the older F1 blogs (2009-2017) that still exist. Because even though around 90% of them are inactive by now, they decided not to deactivate, and left behind a huge treasure of content.

Thank you, truly. It’s a delight to go back and see photos/videos/GIFs I hadn’t seen before <3 

11 notes - Posted August 20, 2022

#3

THIS SPORT IS NOT REAL

15 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

#2

Let’s get it on! @/danielricciardo takes on @/PepeJeans’ #GetItOnChallenge (source)

Me posting this, was inspired by this gifset made by @.teandkimi (x)

21 notes - Posted July 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

F1 Wild Side - Discord server

After a few people in the FG server enabled me to do so (you know who you are <3), on January 31st, the F1 Wild Side Discord server was born. It’s a server for anything F1-related, with a focus on drivers and shipping.

This server is 18+ ONLY and free!

Meaning that, you can be as fluffy or as filthy as you want in the same channel. There are practically no content or topic restrictions, so let your deepest desires run wild!

“What do you offer?” Glad you asked! Currently we have:

20 channels for individual drivers (three separate channels for: Feeder series ; Retired drivers ; Formula E)

35 channels for ships (four separate channels for: Driver/Non-Driver [OC & others] ; Team Principals ; Personal Trainers ; and OT3&more)

General channels, such as: Drive to Survive ; Racing ; Memes ; Positivity+Pets, and more!

Custom emojis and roles!

Voice channels to hang out and play games!

A fun and chill community <3

Don’t see your favourite driver or ship? Worry not! There is also a Suggestions channel, ask there and I’ll add it :)

[Note: ‘A/B/O Dynamics’ has its own channels, if you’d like to avoid that specific trope. That way, you can navigate the server, and not accidentally stumble upon it :’)]

“Hmm, sounds good, how do I join?” Thanks for being interested! It’s very simple:

Click the link below:

After you join, and read + accept the rules and leave a brief intro (mandatory!) I'll give you full access to everything :)

That is all, I hope to see you there !! :D <3

59 notes - Posted February 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sugajimin]

hey everyone!! I was tagged by @jjeongukie @joonie @bangtanger and @ljuyeon  to show my giffing process so here it is! before you watch it..just to let you know this is very different 

I need to say that my giffing process is different for the most people I’ve seen hehe.. few things I want to point out is that my photoshop crushes if I try to import video into frames that’s why I use the other method which is import frames directly to photoshop.. also my laptop is not in the best condition the last year and photoshop is a heavy program so in some parts, you might see my pc lagging because I had the screen recording app open together with ps (usually I open only ps or else my laptop will explode haha). this gifset took me 25 minutes, I think. and that’s because I saved my settings yesterday so I can use them today for the video,i knew that I would spend too much time on the coloring so I did that..yeah......but there are gifsets that take me hours to make especially with a really slow laptop like the one I have. lastly, support gif makers and don’t steal or repost gifs, the process might look like it’s easy but trust me..nothing is easy in this world..there is always a difficulty behind it..you might haven’t seen it yet but you will realize it soon! that’s all.. i am really embarrassed about my giffing process, please don’t judge me xD love you all!

here you will find the gifset I worked on

i tag (only if you are comfortable doing it) @jungshiii @kookhope @cyphertaehyungie @jinsbts @taeguks @taebb @yoonseok @dearbangtansonyeondan @itseokjins @mapofbts @namgination

[lesbianrobin]

answer every 5 on the gif maker asks xox

you must always do The Most huh.... here goes <3

5. What do you dislike most about making graphics / gifs?

mmmm well before adobe started closing my t*rrented photoshop every five minutes i would have said trying to get file sizes small enough to post on tumblr. but now that adobe is closing my t*rrented photoshop every five minutes and i must make all of my gifs like i’m doing a bank heist on a clock before the cops show up i would say that i probably dislike that the most!

10. What graphics / gif trends do you dislike most?

okay this is just MY OPINION but.... super washed out small gifs that are either EXTREMELY light or EXTREMELY dark.... i just don’t love them i think they can be done well yknow but it takes a lot of fiddling and the right shots to make it work and too often it just results in gifs that look kinda muddy and it’s difficult to even see what’s in the gif! 

luckily that trend is kinda out right now, though. i know gifs like that were huge on tumblr a few years back but right now everybody seems pretty into like really bright colors and big gifs which i think is so much fun!! 

15. Colour(s) you dislike

i think.... okay i love blue SO MUCH i love it it’s a great color!!! but i swear to god the second you try to tweak the colors in a gif with lots of blues every goddamn pixel in the universe comes out of the woodwork to be like HEYYY LOOK AT ME I’M JUST HERE CHILLING IN YOUR GIF DON’T MIND ME <3 and it pisses me off!!! i’ve made SO MANY gifs with blue as a prominent color that i just never posted because i couldn’t fucking make it look any less pixelated and i got too frustrated to finish the set!!!

20. Your favourite fandom(s) to make graphics / gifs for

so far i’ve only giffed for stranger things and i love it!! i’ve thought about giffing some other shows and movies, particularly the queen’s gambit, emma, little women, and over the garden wall, but i don’t really have any particular ideas for those things that are strong enough to make me think it would be worth it to go through the trouble of torrenting/screen recording/buying them. 

25. What would you like to see others learn how to do?

hmmmm idk i’ve seen giffers do AMAZING things and i don’t know that much yet!! i do love when gifmakers do composites where they combine multiple gifs into one, and i’d love to see people come up with new ways of combining/organizing gifs like that!! i’m absolutely horrible at envisioning gifsets and making gifs work with each other, so i always love seeing how people make different gifs so visually cohesive.

30. Biggest errors you’ve made in graphic / gif making (with or without realising)?

uhhhhh not saving often!!! save your work kids because by god does it hurt to lose the last three hours of your life !! 

35. Gif makers, what is your go to frame delay? (And why!)

0.07 seconds!! @kittenscully taught me how to gif and she even wrote me a nice comprehensive starter guide to giffing which said very clearly to set the frame delay to 0.07 seconds For Reasons so i listened <3 i do sometimes set the frame delay to 0.06 or even 0.05 seconds if it’s an “action shot” of something like max skateboarding, because the slower frame delay can make some continuous or quick actions look... wrong.

i really like 0.07 for wide shots or focusing on facial expressions/casual movements, though, because i think when you put a bunch of gifs right next to each other it’s easy for things to get overwhelming, and having a slightly slower frame delay can combat that! it also allows you to take notice of small details that might pass too quickly when you’re watching the show.

40. Show a screenshot of your software’s workspace!

so i use i think the default photoshop setup??

i always like to keep at least two gifs open at a time when i’m working on a set so that i know i’m keeping my colors somewhat consistent/harmonious.

thank you for all the homework babes love u xoxo <3

[sebastiianstan]

Tumblr content school: why you don’t always get notes and how to (potentially) get a bit more

So in recent weeks, I’ve seen quite a few posts floating around that centre around the same subject: content creators, mainly gifmakers, not gaining followers as quickly as they would like to and/or not getting as many notes on their original content as they would like to. Most recently I’ve seen people share their like-to-reblog ratio, with a call to users to also reblog content instead of just liking it, which would result in more exposure and recognition for the creator.

Now, while all of those feelings are perfectly valid and you’re obviously allowed to post whatever you like on your blog, the conversation around this is quite unnuanced and, at times, a bit uninformed. I’m not claiming to be some kind of expert, but having been a content creator (gifmaker) on this platform for quite a few years, with my own small share of popular gifsets floating around and having built both my own blog an two fansites/group blogs to at least moderate success, I do think I have a certain degree of insight re: getting notes, so I thought I’d put in my two cents. Please note that I’m not making this post to be condescending in any way, or even to tell you what to do/how to create content, but I thought I’d help as much as I can, based on my own experience.

Below the cut are 1. reasons why I think gifsets don’t always get the number of notes you wanted/expected them to, and 2. tips on creating and posting content in a way that will potentially get you more notes.

Why you might not be getting (a lot) of notes

So let’s start with some general trends re: gifsets not getting as many notes as you’d like/expect, and not as many as they would have maybe a few years ago.

1. Tumblr is past its peak

Based on experience, I’d say fandom Tumblr reached its peak in 2015-2016, and was riding that out in 2017. I’ve mainly been a Marvel blog in recent years, so I can’t speak for other fandoms, but Tumblr was... wild in the lead-up to and aftermath of Captain America: Civil War (2016). Wonder Woman (2017) was a similar situation on the DC side of things. 

New Marvel releases (like Ant-Man & The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War and probably most notably, Black Panther) still get a lot of traction and fandom definitely isn’t dead on Tumblr, but I feel like 2015-2016 were definitely peak years. I only recently returned from a year-long hiatus; I stopped being active in late 2017 and even then my dashboard wasn’t quite as active as it was a year before that. Upon returning here about a month ago, most of my mutuals from back in the day had also become inactive and a lot of gifmakers I used to follow were not creating content anymore.

So it boils down to this: I think it’s very likely that the amount of active users within your fandom has diminished significantly as compared to two years ago. A set that may have gotten 10k notes within a few days in 2016 might now only get half of that.

2. The URL thing

This is a sad truth, but it does seem that having a semi-canon or canon url does at least help with getting a larger amount of notes on your content. I have no tips on getting a canon url (I got very, very lucky with this one), but this is a simple observation I have from over the years. Url trading/selling has basically become a genuine business due to this - canon urls are in high demand.

More importantly, what I can say is that it’s smart not to change your url too often. Becoming a popular content creator on this platform is basically the same as building a brand - and a brand has an easily recognized name. Once you have a url you are happy with, try to stick to it for a while. When you change your url, links break on reblogs of your old gifsets, by the way.

3. The like-to-reblog ratio has always been unbalanced

For as long as I can remember, posts have gotten more likes than reblogs. If your ratio is 2-to-1 or 3-to-1, trust me, you are doing perfectly well for yourself! Again, as with my first point, this might have gotten a bit more extreme since 2016, but it’s not a new thing.

4. Popular users support each other

Obviously there’s nothing wrong with this (in fact, I love that we all support each other), but yes, in general big/popular blogs are friends with each other and tend to reblog each other’s content, which can be discouraging for smaller or aspiring content creators on the platform.

However, please be aware that these big blogs built up the following they have by posting content for years and it just takes time. Also, know that most users on here actually really enjoy being tagged in your posts - so if you gif a movie or tv show you know a popular user (that you follow) likes, tag them in it and if it’s high quality content (I’ll touch on this later), they’ll probably reblog it.

Tips on getting more notes

Alright, on to part two: my personal tips on getting more notes. These are strictly based on my own experience, and as a repeat of my disclaimer earlier: I am genuinely trying to share my knowledge; none of this is with the intent of being a condescending know-it-all.

1. Don’t look like you’re complaining

No matter what the intent behind your post about your lack of notes and/or followers is, it’s very likely you’re going to come off entitled or ungrateful. I’ve personally unfollowed multiple users who post consistently about reaching their next thousand, who make angry/frustrated posts when their followers don’t increase as quickly as they’d like to, when they lose followers, etc. I understand that the hustle is frustrating, but posts like these are really quite annoying for your followers; you’re complaining about followers you don’t have to followers you do have, who are then more likely to unfollow you because it looks like you’re complaining. Your mutuals might understand why you’re posting this, but others probably don’t.

When it comes to posts about like-to-reblog ratios, which I’ve seen a fair few of recently, please consider a couple of things. 

When you ask people to reblog your post instead of liking it, you are essentially telling them what to put on their own blogs.

A lot of users on here have carefully curated content; while some users simply blog about everything they like, others stick to a certain set of subjects/movies/tv shows. If they see a post they like that doesn’t fall into those categories, they’ll give it a like to keep track of it and show their appreciation, but won’t put it on their blogs. You can’t tell people to reblog something they don’t want to.

You’re essentially asking people that you do not really personally care about to do something for you. Most of the likes you get on your post are likely from people that you do not follow yourself. I’m not saying that you hate your followers or don’t care for them, but you can’t really ask anything of a user that you don’t even follow yourself.

Look at it this way: Tumblr is basically a mini society, with its own market in the form of content creation. The ones who have a few thousand followers, and who get a few hundred or a few thousand notes on their posts are already the lucky ones. If you’re a user who gets hundreds/thousands of notes on their posts (even if it’s not as many as you like or deserve), you should keep in mind that the vast majority of users on here are small blogs that don’t have the traction that you have. If you post a screenshot of the like-to-reblog ratio on a post that has 2k notes, they’re going to think, “what on earth are you complaining about?”

Posts like these can really only backfire. I don’t think it’s likely that a lot of users will suddenly start reblogging instead of liking because of them. I know those posts are getting traction, because your mutuals and fellow content creators understand your frustration (believe me, I do too!), so they reblog/like/comment on it, but you’re essentially in an echo chamber of content creators. Anyone outside of that circle will not understand it and might unfollow you because of it.

2. Quality

Another disclaimer: I’m not implying that the people who have made posts about notes/followers don’t make HQ gifs. This is simply the “tips on getting notes” section of this particular post, so that’s what I’m doing. Veteran gifmakers can skip this section because I won’t be presenting anything new here.

Here’s the thing: high quality gifsets get notes. I know that what constitutes a HQ gif is subjective, but there is a consensus on this amongst big blogs, so I will summarize it below.

Make gifs from high-quality video sources. If 1080p is available, use that. Don’t gif from videos below 720p. Also, the larger the t*rr*nt file, the higher the quality. If a 1080p t*rr*nt from a movie is under 2GB in size, it’s probably not decent enough to gif from.

Use the new dimensions. Tumblr changed from 500px to 540px over 3 years ago now I believe, and all the big blogs use these dimensions. I rarely see sets like this anymore, but some users do still hold on to the old dimensions. Obviously, you should do what you like, but know that you’ll get more notes if you make the switch.

Do not skip frames. If you use screencaps, extract 25 frames per second. If you are an ‘Import video frames to layers’ kinda gal, like me, import all frames.

Sharpen your gifs! It makes an insane difference. My faq section links to a sharpening action.

Your frame delay should be 0.05. If you have a low amount of frames, you can get away with 0.06, but do not make your gif any slower than that. It will look unsmooth.

Go for natural coloring, where you simply brighten up the gif and enhance the colors (beware of whitewashing tho). I know that using PSD’s from resource blogs is tempting, but it’s very likely they will not work for the particular scene you’re giffing. It’s best if you learn to color yourself and adapt your coloring for every set. Also, it’s up to you what you think is pretty, but extremely vibrant and extremely pale coloring isn’t very popular anymore. Natural is the way to go. (This is with the exception of those gorgeous color edits people have been making recently. Y’all are queens & that shit is hard to make yo!)

If your gif is larger than the 3mb limit, NEVER sacrifice colors in the ‘Save for web’ window. Always delete frames to lower the size of your gif.

Just saying, but Photoshop CS5 has been known to make the best gifs.

For beginners out there, please don’t be discouraged. I’ve been making gifs for years, and they were absolute shit in the beginning. It just takes time to learn, but if you stick to it, you’ll get there.

3. Concept over quantity

Allow me to draw a comparison with YouTubers here - I think we all prefer YouTubers who post one well fleshed out video a week (for example, Safiya Nygaard) over YouTubers who post an okay video every day.

I think a lot of users think the way to get notes and followers is to post a gifset every day. This probably does work to an extent, but I personally think it’s better to come up with original concepts that you post every few days.

When you watch a movie, you can make five gifsets out of scenes from that movie, or you can come up with a concept. For example, parallels between scenes, parallels with other movies, the best lines of a certain character, etc. This takes more work, but sets like these are highly appreciated because they’re original, and they tend to get more notes.

This doesn’t apply to new releases, as you are probably among the first to gif a particular scene, but if you’re giffing a scene from a movie that’s been out for a while, you’re very likely not the first to do it. People will see it, realize they’ve already reblogged something very similar, and keep scrolling. But if you come up with a new idea, that’s what’ll get you more traction.

To give you a personal example; I recently rewatched all of the cap films. Now, I could have giffed popular scenes like “I could do this all day” or “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line”, but that’s been done before... a lot. Instead, I came up with this, and got 6.5k notes. I haven’t posted that many new sets on my blog recently, but posting content like that has gained me some followers and new mutuals.

4. Timing

All this requires is keeping an eye on your dashboard and taking note of when most of the people you follow are online. I sometimes see European content creators posting their sets smack dab in the middle of the day. Lemme tell y’all something: the Americans are sleeping.

I’m in timezone GMT+1. My dash wakes up around 5pm. I never post before 6pm - I’ll post anywhere between then and midnight, so feel free to convert that to your own timezone. The scheduling feature on posts comes in handy if you’ll be asleep or at school/work around that time.

If you post when Tumblr isn’t active, your set will drown in all of the other content, so be smart about timing.

5. Strategic tagging

It seems that a lot of users still don’t know this: only the first five tags on your post show up in tags on Tumblr. Anything past the first five will only be useful for your own tagging/archiving system, but will not show up in any tracked tags.

So first point: always use the most prominent edit tag for the fandom you’re posting in. Examples are #marveledit, #hpedit, #filmedit. These are frequently used, and often tracked by big blogs.

Second point: figure out who the big fansites/group blogs are, and if they track a tag, tag them. Make sure you follow them, obviously. If your post is funny, you might wanna tag bob-belcher (#bbelcher) as well - this blog is popular across fandoms and posts content from all over!

Third: tag users who you think will like your post. Don’t be thirsty with this. Again, only do this if you follow them. Tagging 2-3 users is ok, but don’t be out there tagging 8 to 10 blogs on your post. Not only is that a little pointless (because only the first five tags will show up), it also makes you look thirsty. Users might not appreciate this, and ultimately might not reblog your post because of that. Also, try not to tag the same users on every single one of your posts.

6. Popular content

If your fandom is niche, so is your content. That’s perfectly fine; don’t feel pressured to post about anything that isn’t your passion.

But if your goal really is to get more notes and followers, create content from fandoms that are big on the platform. Examples are Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, film blogs, etc.

7. Join a fansite/group blog

Every big fandom on Tumblr has one or multiple fansites/group blogs. I recommend you figure out who they are for your fandom, and apply to one that’s accepting new members. You’ll likely get in if your gifs are HQ.

I know this sounds a bit counterintuitive, as you’ll be posting content on another blog that will be getting the notes and followers from it, but it actually is a good way to gain more exposure. These blogs have large amounts of followers, and they usually allow you to reblog your own content to them, as long as you’re active. I think it’s a great way to get your content out there.

Alright, time to wrap up this post. I’m not personally calling out anyone who has made posts about followers, notes, like-to-reblog ratios, etc. I’ve seen at least 15 of those posts in recent weeks so I’m just reacting to a trend I’m seeing, by presenting a potential solution to a problem people seem to be having. 

My last tip is this: if notes and followers on Tumblr are making you feel down or frustrated, maybe it’s time for a little hiatus or a step back. In the end, you are not getting paid for this and your popularity on the platform has no bearing on your real life. This is supposed to be a fun outlet for your passions and interests, not a source of frustration and anger. Don’t take it too seriously! You’re doing amazing sweetie.

[arianakristine]

alright here we go!! *cracks knuckles*. no 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 32, 33, 37, 38, 40. yes do it!

40 Questions - Meme for Shippers

Also, sorry this took so long, but also look how many hard questions you had for me!!!

1. Talk about the first ship you ever had.     My first ship was for Roswell. I was a little tiny Junior High-er, and loved Max and Liz so much. It was the first fandom I ever participated in, and the one that made me discover fanfiction on the computer in the computer room. Sigh, 2000. My very first (terrible) fics were written about these two. I think I even had an Angelfire webpage dedicated to them. I still read for this fandom occasionally.

2. Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life.    Dreamer, because it was the first and the one that opened the door to fandom.     Then, not even a particular ship, but Heroes got me back into it after trying to leave it behind when I went to college.      Lastly, of course, Gremma. Because Gremma reignited my writing more than any other ship.

4. What’s your current NOTP?   Always Evil Huntsman, S/Q, and Swan/fire

8.Have you ever shipped yourself with a character?   Like, in fic? No. Did I love characters so much and want them to be mine? Sure, of course.

9. Do you have many ships that never got together at all?    Let’s see … not at all? I have a couple, yes. But I think most of my ships at least had canon romantic interest. 

10. Do you ship any characters that have never met?      Maybe Darcy/Loki, but that’s a minor ship.

12. Have you ever been disappointed when your ship finally got together?       YES.

15. Have you ever “shipped at first sight”?      Oh, absolutely and often.

Luke/Jessica, Pepperony, Chidi/Eleanor, Mike/Fi, Shules, … the list goes on. (shockingly, Gremma was a “I know this will happen” but took me an few eps to come to love as much as I do)

16. Talk about a ship you initially disliked.      Hmm, maybe Military Punk. I don’t think it was full-on dislike (because nothing with that first scene can truly be that), but I wasn’t into it at first. Dammit, Paul.

Also, Maeve and Hector. I thought I was going to love Dolores/Teddy when I first started Westworld, and was “meh” about everything else. Until maybe around 1x04, Dissonance Theory.

17. Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically.

       Nick and Jess, New Girl. It just got to the point where I was actively rooting for them to be BFFs instead.

21. Is there a ship you just don’t get, but have nothing against?      Captain Swan. *shrug* I tried.

22. Which of your ships have the best chemistry?       All my ships have amazeballs chemistry. Grrr, can’t pick.

23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?          Ha. Hahahahahahaha. Easy.

24. Do you mostly ship canon pairings?     Probably mostly ones that had shown romantic interest on screen. That doesn’t necessarily mean they were together forever, but at the very least there was a spark of canon interest.

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?       I thought of two for this. One was an easy Annamis, because they were so lovely and America gets things late on BBC (speaking of, will need to see Discovery of Witches, too). 

   But there was one that full-on shocked me. I occasionally peek into fandoms just to see about fic, and one time I stumbled on a Star Wars fic where a ship was just hinted at. And it started a craving for that ship, and I read a lot, and I even wrote a bit. But I had only seen the original trilogy once when I was a kid, and I think the second in the prequel series without my full attention. How this translated to Obidala? No clue.

30. Name a couple of fandoms in which you have no ships.      The Haunting of Hill House. I think the romantic relationships are fantastic and pretty layered for not being the focus, but my main love in this show is the family dynamics and character studies.      And I still haven’t figured out how I feel about it completely, but in that vein: Umbrella Academy. I like certain dynamics, but no ships.

32. Share five must-read fics. (THIS WAS HARD!!!)       At The Toll Bridge by a tattered rose. OUAT. Gremma fic, canon divergent. I love the cadence and the style of this fic so, so much. It’s so lovely and lilted, and on point. It’s got such texture and layer, and makes me want more.      The Good Kind/2 by ygrawn. Heroes. Molly’s POV when Mohinder takes over care after S1. Gosh, this one is beautiful. Such a tangible, relatable child’s perspective of all this craziness that happens, and highlights that beautiful found-family that Mohinder and Molly make.       Innocent by mockingbird39. Roswell. This is back when everything was on their own fanfic boards, and I had to do some digging to find it because it’s buried deep in there. But if there was a place to learn about where I got to my writing now? It’s likely this fic. Beautiful and nuanced … just a gorgeous fic.      I See The Light by la lisboa. Gremma. Is this cheating? I just have such a soft spot for this beautiful fic, and I love that I was able to get little sneak peaks while she was writing. Honestly, though, it is a fantastic fic, and one of the few multichapters finished for this ship (my own fault included there).      And I’ve been agonizing over this list too long, because I was trying to do different fandoms, but: Moats and Boats and Waterfalls by blueink3, because it is That Good. 

33. Name your favorite fanartist(s).      And not just because it’s you, but seriously you are one of them. I love your AUs as much as your canon gifsets, and your coloring is always beautiful.      lonesheep is another, for their beautiful drawings and graphic manips.      …basically all my Gremma people. We have some awesome fanartists in out midst.      I have to give it up to Sleeping Hook fanartists, because they are the only reason I ship it. I feel bad, because I can’t think of names, but basically just all of them.

37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?       :D :D :D   Yes. For Gremma, all the babies is my most common fic trope. And I die for forbidden romance Princess AUs, omg.

38. Do you like and use ship names?      Yep. I grew up in fandom with ship names, and while not all of my ships have one that I know of, I use them all the time for the ones that do.

40. If you could change one thing about your OTP, what would that be?      Oh, let me see, MAYBE THAT GRAHAM LIVED AND EVERYTHING WAS OKAY AND THEY HAD LOTS OF SEX AND BABIES???

[dweemeister]

Programming note: The Black Experience on Film

Hello, followers. I hope you are doing well. This programming note comes a little later than when I wanted, but here we go.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings this September (beginning at 5 PM Pacific / 8 PM Eastern / 1 AM GMT), certain posts will be tagged “The Black Experience on Film”. The films that will be featured will be based on Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) marathon of the same name -- I am not affiliated with TCM in any way, but I am a huge fan and this blog’s queue is heavily, but not entirely, based on TCM’s schedule.

From the beginning of American filmmaking, black characters have often been portrayed through painful stereotypes, having a one-note quality to them that served to dehumanize black individuals. No films using blackface -- the use of black makeup on a non-black actor to play a black role --  or the whitewashing of a role will make any appearance during this marathon. These portrayals have a political dimension to them that, though not always inspiring political change or stoking racial animus, always had the power to influence public opinion -- for better and for worse. This struggle of representation continues today, as we have seen this year in films like BlacKkKlansman, Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting, and Black Panther. This marathon, with the exception of the final day of the marathon, will concentrate on American-made films. Some films may not have a majority black cast (but a vast majority will do so), but may instead feature a prominent performance from a black actor or involved black filmmakers behind the camera. And as always, because this is a classic film blog, you can expect that this marathon will spread out its focus chronologically -- I’m not just interested in 2000s/2010s movies.

Photos, photosets, gifs, gifsets, video, and articles will be posted from these many films over this marathon.

Each of the days of this marathon will follow a specific theme (example films that will appear on those nights will appear below each day)...

Tuesday, September 4: Exploring Black Identity

Within Our Gates (1920), Imitation of Life (1934), and Daughters of the Dust (1991)

Thursday, September 6: Hollywood Confronts Racism

A Raisin in the Sun (1961), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), and Get Out (2017)

Tuesday, September 11: African-Americans Coming of Age

Bright Road (1953), Cooley High (1975), and Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Thursday, September 13: Black Romance in Film

Anna Lucasta (1958), A Warm December (1973), and Loving (2016)

NOTE: This blog takes a vacation hiatus from September 12-22, but the queue will still run for this marathon.

Tuesday, September 18: African-American Musicals

Hallelujah! (1929), Carmen Jones (1954), and Purple Rain (1984)

Thursday, September 20: Strong Black Women

Claudine (1974), The Color Purple (1985), and Hidden Figures (2016)

Tuesday, September 25: African-American Comedies

Watermelon Man (1970), Coming to America (1988), and Friday (1995) 

Thursday, September 27: Black Stories from Around the World

Black Orpheus (1959, Brazil), Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal), and Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania)

There are many resources online and even here on tumblr regarding black experiences in cinema. I do not consider myself an expert on the subject, but would gladly redirect you to some resources on this site if you do ask. This marathon is not intended to be a be-all, end-all, Super Serious History of this topic. I like to schedule these occasional programming marathons, and my goals for this marathon are simple... I hope you, my followers, will be introduced to movies you’ve never seen or heard of before, and that you’ll go out there, seek these movies out in the future, and find and learn something from what these films have to say.

I hope you enjoy The Black Experience on Film marathon on this blog this September!

[malecdiscordserver]

Artist sign-ups for the Shadowhunters Reverse Bang 2024: Presented by the Malec Discord Server are OFFICIALLY OPEN!

Artist sign-ups will close on April 6, 2024 at 8:00pm EST. That gives you three more weeks to read the rules, the FAQ, and the schedule to convince yourself to join.

We are so excited to bring back another year of artists taking the reins, and writers finding inspiration with their incredible works.

You might be asking yourself, what is a reverse bang? The Shadowhunters Reverse Bang is a collaborative fandom event that combines fandom talents! Artists create never-before-seen art that writers will find inspiration in and create an entirely new story based off of, and together, they create magic.

Who can participate? In order to participate in this reverse bang, you must be a part of the Malec Discord Server. You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All other rules and FAQs can be found here or underneath the cut!

The schedule as it currently stands is below. This schedule is subject to change depending on the situation. You will be notified of any changes.

Artists Sign-ups Open - March 9 Artist Sign-ups Closed - April 6 Writer Sign-ups Open - April 7 Artist Check-in #1 - Due May 1 Writer Sign-ups Closed - May 16 Art Submissions Due - May 16 Art Claims Open - May 18 Art Claims Closed - May 20 Matches Revealed - May 25 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due July 1 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due August 1 Final Check-in (Fics & Art Due) - August 25 Posting Begins - August 31

Sign up as an artist here!

General Rules:

You must be part of the Malec Discord Server to participate in this event.

You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. All content must be polished and finished. No unfinished works or WIPs that you plan on continuing later will be accepted. Works that are added chapters/continuations of previously published works are not permitted unless they can be viewed/read as a standalone.

All AI content is prohibited.

Artists are asked not to talk about their projects until after claims with anyone participating in this event to keep writer claims fair.

All content must focus on Shadowhunters universe characters.

All Shadowhunters characters/ships are accepted. OCs/borrowed characters will be accepted as minor characters.

AUs and crossovers are accepted as long as the Shadowhunters characters are the main focus.

Content of any rating and subject matter is accepted, but participants must make sure to include any relevant warnings and properly tag their work.

No blatantly hateful content of any kind.

Artists must communicate readily with their assigned writer and vice versa. This is a collaborative effort and writers must be open to the ideas the artists have. The same courtesy is asked of artists.

When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

Please respect the Mods and anyone working with you throughout this event. Certain complaints may disqualify you from this event.

The password to make sure you understand all rules is SHRB24. Remember this when you sign up.

Artist Specific Rules:

Artists must create at least one finished project and no more than two finished projects for this event.

Accepted forms of submitted art include:

Digital/physical art: 1 piece, 500px minimum

Photomanipulation: 1 piece with significant editing

Gifsets: 4 gifs (without watermarks)

Moodboards: 6 graphics

Video: 1 minute

Playlists: 10 songs and a graphic

Abstract art/line art, original songs, and poems will also be accepted as long as the prompt given to accompany it gives a clear picture for the writer.

Artists are expected to be respectful of the writer’s ideas. Artists are expected to be in contact with their writers about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Artists will need somewhere to host their work so that it can be embedded on AO3.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are in need of stock images for your project please make sure that they are open source and that you provide the proper credits and sources. For gif creators using online gif makers, please remove watermarks before posting.

AI art is strictly prohibited.

Writer Specific Rules:

Writers must write a minimum of 4,000 words to participate in this event. There is no maximum limit but please keep in mind the time constraints of this event.

Writers are expected to be respectful of the artists’ ideas, likes, dislikes, and rating preferences. Writers are expected to be in contact with their artist about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Writers must base their fics off of the art prompt they claim. For example, if the art features Clary as an art student, the fic should not be Malec-focused with Clary attending an art school in the background. The fic should be primarily about Clary being an art student.

Writers signing up for the event may not get their first pick when assigned art. Please be mindful of this! Ending your commitment because of this is not permitted and if you feel this will be an issue you should not sign up for the event.

Plagiarism and AI content will not be tolerated. All content must be the writer’s own original work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to be a part of the Malec Discord Server to participate? All continuous communication for this event will be provided in a special category in the MDS. This includes all announcements, reminders, and ongoing requirements. If you want to join but don’t want access to the entire server, you can be given a Discord role based on your role in this event so the rest of the server is not accessible to you.

Sign-ups haven’t closed yet but I’m so excited about this challenge and really want to begin. Can I start working now? Artists are free to begin their piece(s) as soon as they read through the rules and requirements! Writers, unfortunately, will have to until they are matched with an artist, but we appreciate your enthusiasm for this event!

Can I sign up for more than one role? Absolutely. Many bang participants sign up for multiple roles as long as you believe you can complete all pieces before the assigned deadline(s).

What if someone doesn’t have a match? In the event that the art prompts outnumber writers, we will do several rounds of claiming so that every art prompt has a writer. If writers outnumber art prompts, we will open up the art prompts so that more than one writer is assigned to the same artist or ask artists if they are interested in completing more art. Every artist will be matched with at least one writer and vice versa.

What if I’m matched with an art prompt/partner I don’t want? The Mods (and most artists) would never want someone to create something that makes them uncomfortable, so if there is an art prompt that you don’t want to be matched with, don’t choose it during claims.

If you have any legitimate concerns about a partner (i.e. harassment or rude behavior), we ask that you please notify the Mods. Intervention by the Mods will not occur simply because of disliking story/design choices or the content they’re producing. Mods will not allow any rude or dismissive behavior by any participant. Please just be nice and work hard to help each other.

Can I repost old art or reuse/add to a WIP? No, All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. More on this in the rules.

What if I’m not around when claims occur? Claims will span three days and will not be on a first come first serve basis so as long as you are able to submit your interest in those three days, chances are you’ll be matched with one of your top three choices.

What if I’m not positive I can finish within the deadline? When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

What if something comes up after claims and I need to drop out? We understand that dropping out due to unforeseen circumstances can and will happen. We are/have always been very understanding when this happens and are willing to work with you. The quicker you let us know, the more options the Mods have.

How can I contact the Mods? Send us an ask on here or join the Discord server where we are more accessible.

[faejilly]

25 and 37 for the shipping meme?

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?

Percy/Vex for Critical Role

I still haven’t even watched/listened to most of the CR campaign. I can’t follow it just by listening, I have to be able to watch it at least somewhat so I just cannot get caught up on that many hours without giving myself an emotional breakdown, as there are a limited number of chores I can do in view of a monitor/tv.

Sort of Alec/Magnus from Shadowhunters; it wasn’t so much the gifsets (though those were promising) as a friend of mine I had mostly lost touch with had been sucked in so it was originally more of an outreach towards her; but then it sucked me in and I died and it was awesome.

(LESS THAN A MONTH ‘TIL SEASON 3!) 

I feel like there are more? I mostly blacklist stuff I’m not familiar with on tumblr; I enjoy my mutual’s enthusiasm though, so some of it usually leaks through anyways and eventually I watch the thing.

I don’t remember who was watching Wynonna Earp, but I have now seen season 1 of that and it’s FUCKING GREAT and I’m sad Netflix doesn’t have season 2 yet, but besides Waverly/Nicole I’m kind of just enjoying the train-wreck rather than actively shipping anyone.

/Wynonna totally qualifies for disaster spouse, even though I usually put boys in that tag. I love her so much. 

37. Do you have a favorite trope and/or AU for your OTP?

ALL OF THEM!

I am especially fond of cyberpunk/steampunk/actual angrily addressing classism etc. AU’s, but I also enjoy most of the love-at-first-sight/meet-cute/ridiculous pining/fake relationship/marriage of convenience tropes GIVE THEM ALL TO ME I WILL DEVOUR THEM. *grabby hands*

I do generally like genre-shifting of some sort; put my modern urban fantasy into regency, the high fantasy into a procedural, the sci-fi into fantasy, that sort thing. 

Some day I might even write and post a couple of them? 

/not much luck so far though *snorts* I have all these long-fic ideas that I just. don’t. write. :P I need a creativity re-boot.

[shipping meme]

[bekksrich]

An anon inboxed me today asking if I could explain how I make gifsets that appear to have more than ten gifs in them (see, e.g. (x) (x) (x)) so here’s a tutorial answering that. Hopefully by the end of it you’ll be able to create something like this (which looks like many gifs but is saved as only one):

(Note: I realise that not everyone is like me and still stubbornly using the old Tumblr dimensions, so I’ll try to accommodate those that choose to use the current dimensions where appropriate.)

I’m using Photoshop CS5. This tutorial assumes that you already know how to make a basic gif. Fair warning that this will be image and text heavy.

When creating gifs like these, always remember the maximum dimensions and gif size Tumblr allows. Here is a current template: (x)

Firstly, we’ll start with something simple and combine two separate gifs to form one. I’ll be using this gif as an example so that I can include a few extra tips:

Important: Before you make your gifs, keep in mind that each separate gif must contain the same number of frames, be set to the same speed as the one(s) you intend to combine it with, and for the sake of this tutorial, be the same height.

Here, I’m using 33 frames each set to 0.07 seconds for both separate gifs, with a height of 130 px.

To begin, you need to make both gifs individually as you normally would but without text, colouring and (if you prefer the easy route and sharpen your gifs after converting animation frames to timeline, converting image layers for smart filters and then sharpening rather than sharpening each frame one-by-one), sharpening. You’ll end up with something like these sad things:

Then, for any of this to work, you’ll need to ‘trim’ each gif. You’ll know if you haven’t when you try combining them later. To do this, go to image > trim > and then trim away all of the transparent pixels as shown below.

Save them as separate PSDs (I’m saving mine as ‘55.psd′ and ‘56.psd′ respectively).

“Now comes the fun part!” I exclaim unconvincingly with a forced smile in case my Photoshop crashes out of spite.

Create a new workspace with a transparent background and dimensions that will fit your two gifs. Because I’m using old dimensions and I want to combine my gifs horizontally and not vertically, I created one that is 500 px in width (and 130 px in height to match the gifs I made) as the two gifs are each 245 px in width and I need to allow for 10 px space between the gifs (245 + 245 = 490 + 10 = 500 px total width). These types of gifs can be a bit of trial and error in the Maths department. If you’re using new dimensions, you’ll want to make your gif 540 px wide, because your individual gifs will be 268 px in width and only have 4 px space between them when displayed in a gifset.

(Side note: Regardless of whether you’re combining your gifs horizontally (as I am here) or vertically, always remember the natural space between gifs. E.g. if you have two gifs 130 px in heigh you want to combine verticallyt, make your new workspace either 270 px in height (to allow for a 10 px gap) or 264 px if you’re using new dimensions.)

Now go back to the gifs you just trimmed and highlight all of your animation frames for one gif, click the button circled below and click ‘copy frames’.

Go to your new, empty workspace and, using the same menu as shown above, select ‘paste frames’. Then, select ‘paste over selection’.

You’ll end up with something like this:

Because I don’t want that gif to be on the left, I’m just moving it over to the right.

Repeat this ‘copy frames’ and ‘paste frames’ step for your second gif and then move it to the side you want it to appear on. If there isn’t a natural space between your two gifs, you forgot to trim them, so you’ll need to go back to that separate gif and do that. It’s only a minor setback.

Now, you should have this happening:

Which technically, if you wanted to, you could just sharpen, save now and walk away knowing how to make one gif appear as two separate gifs (following this, you could make your gifset appear to have 20 gifs without exceeding the 10 gif limit):

Not that I’d blame you, given the length of this tutorial, but if you leave now you’re going to miss out on all my tips. And BOY, let me tell you about my tips! ... They’re pretty okay. Please don’t go.

Anyway, if you’re staying, the next section is going to teach you some basics for what steps you can take to make life less painful when you’re working with changing text, how to colour if you intend to colour the two gifs differently (e.g. my left gif is going to be black and white, and I need to add more brightness to it), and what to do if you’re using a gradient/fill.

Tip 1: The next thing you can do is add any text you may have. If your gifs don’t have any text that changes, all you need to do is make sure that your text is centred for each gif and level with the other gif (for this tutorial, I assume you already know how to do this). However, if you have a gif that requires text changing like this:

You must make sure that you apply all of your text before converting your frames to timeline animation. I only stress this because sometimes I forget about that when I make combined gifs because I’m eager to sharpen them. It’s a lot more upsetting having to backtrack when you make this mistake for combined gifs than it is for regular, singular gifs. Trust me. I have pro status for it.

At this point, there’s no harm in converting to timeline for sharpening your gif. Before doing so, double check that your animation frame speed is consistent.

Tip 2: If you’re unsure as to what you can do if you intend to colour each gif individually or plan to make adjustments to your base colouring (as I am here), know that you can simply select one of the tools below (marquee or lasso), select the layer you don’t want appearing on both of the separate gifs, and erase (or add a layer mask then fill that section with black if you’re not certain that you want to delete it).

Tip 3: If you’re using a gradient fill or solid colour fill, using the same technique as above, you need to erase the parts of the fill that aren’t within your gifs. For example, this is what the space between my gifs looks like if I don’t erase the fill:

If you don’t erase the parts of the fill between your gifs, you’ll end up with something like this top picture when what you really want out of life is the very bottom image:

Know that I got an upload error when I tried adding that first gif to my drafts to check the gif gap. Even Tumblr has standards. Love yourself.

If the space between your gifs still isn’t transparent, the only other thing I can imagine being an issue is if you applied a blur layer in addition to your sharpened layer (if you’re someone who does this, you know what I’m talking about). Just go to those converted blur layers and do the same erasing technique for the gradient fill removal so that nothing overlaps between the two gifs.

Tip that cares about your OCD but not enough to be placed earlier in the tutorial: If one of your gifs is considerably longer than the other, say 50 frames, and you don’t want to delete any, you can make your shorter gif half the number of frames (e.g. 25) and then duplicate those frames to get the same number as your longer gif. Simply highlight all frames you intend to duplicate then click the button circled below. This way, you won’t have to sacrifice important frames and your gif will continue to loop naturally.

There are of course a number of ways in which you could combine gifs into one larger gif (some of which you will have seen if you clicked the links to the examples I have before the cut) so long as you correctly calculate the dimensions you’re working with:

But, if you’re interested in knowing how I created the very first mega gif at the introduction to this tutorial and you’re not confident that you can do it without some guidance, hold my hand because I’m going to teach you one last thing that you can combine with everything else you’ve learnt so far.

Lastly, we’re going to be making a gif like this:

Now, because I’m using old dimensions, which are 245 px width for gifs like this, I’m left with an odd number. Because I know I’m going to later be making this into a huge gif that is 500 px in width, I can go ahead and create a workspace that is 246 px. I do this because I want these side-by-side gifs to be the exact same width when I place them together.

Like before, start by giffing each gif separately. I have these set to 30 frames each, 123 px width and 140 px height. You’ll get two blurry gifs like this:

Trim them and go to your empty workspace (mine is 246 px, yours might be 268 px depending on your dimensions). Copying and pasting them into that workspace, position the gifs until they sit perfectly next to one another, touching but not overlapping. Save this gif but remember not to convert your animation frames to a timeline yet.

If you make four of these ‘joined’ gifs that have same amount of frames and then follow the tutorial above on how to add them all to a new larger workspace, making sure that if you’re using old dimensions you have 8 px separating them horizontally (because I added 1 px width for each 246 px gif to create an even number so I need to subtract that from the space between them) or 4 px of space separating them from one another using the new dimensions, you too can end up with something like this (which, if you’re wondering, is 500 px width and 290 px height):

And that brings us to the conclusion of this terribly long tutorial. I hope so much that it helped you! As always, feel free to message me if you need clarity for any of these steps or if you have any other Photoshop questions.

Until next time, remember to frequently save your work!

[dresupi]

So i don't really reblog I'm more of a lurker. I have zero things on my dash, barely even set up the page and I've been around for about 6 months. So if i was going to start reblogging, what do I do? what's the deal with hashtags? I know where the buttons are to actually do it, I'm just not sure on how to hashtag (like what to use) or comment with it when I send it to give credit etc. hope that makes sense.

I’m by no means an expert, but I can tell you what I do when I reblog things.  

Set up a queue - (just so you’re not bombarding everyone with your reblogs all at once, this spreads things out a bit so you’re posting things all the time rather than in little bursts) You can do this on a browser by simply sending something to your queue instead of reblogging it, and then by clicking the little person icon and going to your queue to set it up to post a certain number of times.  I have mine set to post 25 times a day (about once per hour).  I use the queue to reblog posts that aren’t as time sensitive.  So like, shitposts or fandom reblogs or gifsets or whatever?  I send those to my queue.  That way, when I’m reblogging fics and art, I can just reblog them immediately and get those creators their stats asap.  

Hashtags- the way the tags work on tumblr (and someone please correct me if I’m wrong), but the first five tags are searchable.  In that the post will show up in the search under those first five tags.  But only the first five tags are searchable.  SO, when I tag, I put the stuff I’d search for in the tags.  If you’re reblogging fic, you’ll want to tag the characters and/or ships in those first five tags. You can also put a rating in those tags as well if you’d like.  Only the first five are searchable, so anything you tag after that will be for your use or the use of your followers, ie trigger warnings, organizational tags, general fannish comments, etc. 

Commenting-  As a writer, I know that I love getting comments and reaction gifs on reblogs, but sometimes as a reader, you’re just tapped out and you don’t know what to say, and that’s perfectly fine.  Don’t think you have to comment on every single reblog.  Even some # or #love this in the tags is lovely to see when someone reblogs. Leaving love in the tags is just as wonderful as a comment or reaction gif on your reblog. 

Credit - Tumblr kind of takes care of that for you with the source thing at the bottom.  I’ve seen in a few of the reblogs of my post that some people have had authors get upset with them for taking credit for their work when they reblog it and I honestly have never heard of this happening to anyone before, but so many people have said something about it that I realize it MUST be a thing.  (No matter how mind boggling).  But anyway, I will go over the difference in reblogging and reposting.  

Reblogging is not the same as reposting.  Reblogging is hitting the reblog button at the bottom of a post that the author posted, and reposting is copy/pasting content and posting a NEW POST from your account.  Reposting is NOT GOOD, do not repost someone else’s work, reposting can be taken by the author as you trying to take credit, do not repost.  Reblogging is GOOD, yes reblog.  If you reblog, the source of the content is right there, so everyone knows who wrote it.  Another thing you can do if you’re worried about an author’s reaction is to tag it #not my work, and maybe tag with the author’s name?  If you’re unsure if the author wants their stuff reblogged, then you can always ask them.  Send them a message or an ask or even reply to the post and just see if they’re okay with things being reblogged.  I know for me and for most of my author friends, we love having our stuff reblogged.  But not everyone does, so if you’re unsure, or if they don’t have a lot of reblogs of stuff, go ahead and ask them to see if they’re okay with things being reblogged.   

I mean, like I said, I’m no expert.  But this is what I know about reblogging fics and art on here.  If any of my followers or mutuals have anything to add, please do it! 

[iures]

Eyyy, first of all, love your tlou2 edit! Do you mind if I ask, how do you do that cool thing to your gifs to make them have such a soft transition before the loop? I'm probably wording this 100% wrong, but hopefully you'll understand.

Hi there, first of all, thank you! Secondly, don’t worry, it’s actually not the first time I get this question but up until now I never really answered it because my notebook is pretty old and I can’t make any screencaps from other programs like Photoshop but I’ll do my best to explain it this time if you give me a few minutes of your time.

I hope you don’t mind that I use a gif I made yesterday evening instead of one of the Ellie gifs from the TL.OU gifset you actually talked about.

Please note that I use this effect for over five years now and it’s completely normal for me to  apply it every day while making gifs but I’ll do my best to explain it (but I’m pretty shitty in explaining stuff, I’m sorry). 

First of all, let’s have a look at the original gif, okay? 

Good, let’s see. We have here a 500x220 px gif with 25 frames. Every frame is showed for exact 0.11 seconds before it moves on to the next frame. Now you probably wonder why you should care about how fast the gif is moving or not. Well, this effect works better when the gif is a) a bit slower and b) if you use a scene that doesn’t have much movement in it. Of course you can use this effect on every scene but I learned that it looks the best if there isn’t much movement in the gif. 

This effect actually only takes place at two points. Before frame one and in the last frame. When you select your frames for your gifs, you’ll delete all the frames you don’t need, right? Well, you delete all the frames you don’t need beside the frame before your first frame. This would mean, while this gif has 25 frames, it has 26 picture layers. 

Have you done that? Good. Then move on to your last frame. This one only has a Opacity of 50% because that’s the frame where the other one will be seen. The loop can only be smooth if you choose the frame to be seen under the last frame, if it’s the one right before your first frame. There are other gifmakers who use frame one to be seen in the last frame as well but then it looks odd. As if your gif suddenly freezes for a moment. Therefore I use one that is not there in the actual gif before. 

The last frame looks like this: 

As you can see the actual momvent only takes place as two places. The head and the arms. 

So of course that’s the only place where you can see two frames overlaying each other. The one who is see-through (as you can see at the hand) is Framer 25 with the Opacity of only 50% while the hand that isn’t see-through is the frame before the first one. Now you probably wonder why the last frame is literally only half there and it’s pretty simple. Because otherwise you wouldn’t see the frame you place under it. And that’s what makes the loop so much. You don’t start with your first frame but you have a soft start with your last one because there you can already see the beginning of the gif again. 

Of course you don’t have to do it like that. I see other gifmakers who do an even softer start, where you literally start with the beginning of the gif in the last couple of frames. 

Then it would look like this and takes place in the last four frames. You start out with Opacity   of 80%, 60%, 40% and then 20%, which leads up to the first frame in line. It looks even smoother like that but I mostly only see this effect in gifs that show off small things instead of big action scene. 

I hope this helped you and actually sounded like an explanation and not like the word vomit it actually looks to me. 

[yennefers-geralt]

16 and 25 :D

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs and graphics or similar?

Yes. Quite a few times actually. I shipped R/ss/D\melza at first purely based on gorgeous gifsets, which made me watch the show. Ugh, if only that series could have ended with S1. Being shown Sarah/Paul edits from OB was what actually got me watching that show. I also ship Bellarke in The 100 more for the edits than for their actual scenes, strangely enough.

16. Talk about a ship you initially disliked.

I’ll go with Han and Leia on this one. 

Every time I watch the original trilogy, I HATE them. NOTP all the way. I really don’t like bickering ships in general and they take it to another level by romanticizing Han forcing a kiss on Leia and educating her on what she really wants while she actively protests against his advances. The fact that he “gets the girl” after all that really promotes the idea that when a woman says “No” what she really means is “Yes”, which is incredibly disgusting. 

Yet somehow, despite that horrific beginning to their relationship, their scenes in The Force Awakens were so good, they actually make me ship them within that film. Their reunion was so well done and Carrie/Harrison’s mature chemistry overshadowed everything else that was going on. So when he dies and we see her feel his loss all the way on another planet, it was such a punch in the gut. Excellent angst. 

I also ship them in the Bloodline novel, though their material is few and far between since even though they’re married and in love and genuinely adore each other in a healthy way, they live separate lives since they have vastly different career paths. And I like that story choice. While I’ve seen a lot of complaining from OT fans about HL breaking up and not being completely centered on their relationship and their son, I thought that was the most realistic approach to picking up with them years after the war ended. They are very different characters with very different life goals. Han wouldn’t want to live his life without a constant source of danger, excitement, and adventure and Leia wouldn’t turn her back on what she saw as her duty to the government and democracy. So having them pursue their own goals while reconnecting with each other every so often made sense for their characters IMO. It also made their relationship more interesting.

[mintlocket]

tagged by @diamondacequeen <3 it’s been five million years since i filled out a meme thing on here so my responses are probably extremely boring lmao

01: How did you get into SHINee?

saw a gifset of the internet war performance and was Intrigued. watched some mvs, was Further Intrigued, and decided i needed to watch a show so i could work on telling them apart (my ability to recognize faces is shit). watched hello baby and got hopelessly enamored of them.

02: Your favorite member in SHINee is? Key!

03: Bias wrecker anyone?

Taemin.

04: Your favorite SHINee OTP (if you have one)

at the moment, i don’t have one.

05: Is there a SHINee ship you don’t like?

no.

06: The SHINee member you think is most easily shipped

Key.

07: Your favorite Korean song by SHINee

Stranger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the song, the dance, the performances, key’s solo parts, that one concert ver where jongkey stared intensely at each other lmao....

08: Your favorite Japanese song by SHINee

Breaking News!

09: Favorite album

The Misconceptions albums, probably.

10: Your favorite live performance

excuse me how is one supposed to pick just ONE shinee live as a favorite????

but okay if i have to, probably their performance of a Sherlock Remix at the 2012 KBS Gayo Daejun? if you ignore the atrocious wardrobe, dubious hairstyles and taemin’s wardrobe malfunction at the end, it’s actually a really really good performance; that whole event was plagued by audio problems (with the backing tracks not being loud enough i think? so everyone who lip-synched or wasn’t super great at lives sounded awful), but shinee came through and delivered a very impressive performance with A+ live vocals and dancing and stage presence and yeah.

11: First SHINee MV you saw

either lucifer or ring ding dong? or maybe sherlock? honestly i don’t remember.

12: Your first impression of SHINee

...my first impression was being intrigued by internet war gifs. that should explain itself lmao.

13: Is there a SHINee member that recently impressed you?

apparently Key did well in a drama he acted in, which was nice.

14: The SHINee member you think has changed the most over the years

Taemin’s vocals have improved 50000%, so maybe that? honestly all of them have changed a lot. how could they not? people are always changing.

15: The SHINee member you think has changed the least

idk

16: Your favourite SHINee MV

Lucifer!!!

17: Your favourite SHINee lyric

i don’t really pay attention to lyrics tbh. it’s not just that i don’t speak korean; i don’t pay attention to lyrics most of the time even when they’re in english, because my auditory processing is shit and i can never understand what anyone is saying anyway. i just tend to enjoy songs based on how they sound overall.

i do think the lyrics of Woof Woof and also Girls Girls Girls are very cute though.

18: The SHINee member you think has the best face

Key!

19: The SHINee member you think has the best body

jonghyun. not as in, i enjoy looking at his physique, because i don’t really understand the aesthetics of that sort of thing *hides in asexual corner of confusion* but because i think it would be nice to personally be built like that, if that makes sense.

20: The SHINee member you think has the best personality

they’re all the best, in their own ways tbh.

21: A SHINee picture that makes you smile

not a picture technically, but this gifset of these nerds becoming a hamburger.

22: A SHINee picture that makes you nostalgic

again not a picture but... their iconic Run It/Do It Well cover from 2008 pre-debut.

i don’t know why i should be nostalgic about that since i wasn’t even a fan then, but there you go

23: Your favourite quote by someone in SHINee

idk. quotes don’t stick with me tbh.

24: A picture of your bias with someone else you like in another group

honestly i can’t really think of anything, so have some more vaguely relevant videos:

Twice guesting on BlueNight

a Juliette performance from back in the day with a splash of 4minute at the end

25: Have you seen SHINee live?

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i went to their chicago fanmeet this year! it was the pinnacle of my existence lmao.

26: Do you have a favourite variety show moment?

SHINee are variety gold, so it’s hard to just pick one. but:

this incident will never not be hilarious

more recently, their appearance on the Yang & Nam Show

also, all of Key’s KnowHow

27: How would you describe SHINee in three words?

talented, entertaining, interesting.

28: Which SHINee video would you show to someone who has never heard of them before?

Lucifer!

29. Is there a memory in connection to SHINee that you will always treasure? seeing them live in chicago, definitely!

30: If you could tell SHINee anything you wanted…what would that be?

idk; i’m bad at words, and anything i could say has probably already been said to them a million times over by someone else.

[yngbin]

all the multiples of 5 for the gif maker asks, and 49?

omg kdjhsk 😵😵

5. What is your favorite movie/TV show to gif

uhh i don’t really gif movies or tv shows haha :’) mostly youtube videos and stuff u know

10. What was the first gif you ever posted

o damn the first one was actually on my main blog, i think i deleted it but this is my first gifset

15. Have you ever had gifs stolen and reposted

i’ve seen a couple on twitter without credit but mostly if people use them they link/credit which is nice :’)

20. Mac or PC

i’m 100% a mac person i feel like i’m in 2002 when i use a pc

25. Old dimensions or new dimensions and why

i don’t think i really dealt with old dimensions? but before they changed the size limit it was annoying af

30. How frequently do you like to post

since i’m on break rn i’ve been trying to post every day but when i’m at school it could be weeks between posts dskjsk rip

35. Do you change your giffing style a lot or do you have a set routine

hmm i tend to do the same things in terms of coloring, but i do try new settings out every now and then to see if i like them

40. Why do you make gifs

i really enjoy finding little moments and like,, capturing them and sharing them with people idk i like making content that other people can enjoy :’) i also started making gifs for sf9 because they definitely need more love & recognition

45. Ever gotten hate over a set

nope, knock on wood haha

49. How much would you say you’ve improved since you first started giffing

i feel like i’ve improved a good amount,, i’m def more efficient/comfortable making them and i’ve found the right text settings (thank god) but i’m obviously not perfect i’m just out here u know still trying to improve esp in terms of like the clarity/sharpness because i always struggle with that

thank you for sending me numbers!!! it was really fun to go through these 💞