#photo editing software for beginners

[zaions]

10 Essential Photoshop Tools for Beginner Designers

10 Essential Photoshop Tools for Beginner Designers

[tonkable-art]

✷ Tonk's Art Resources ✷

Hi! No one asked but I wanted to make a big list of art resources I use because I like to try and help people be creative! Not everything I list is free (mostly the books & some PDFs), but I’ll try my best to keep a big portion of it unpaid.

I've also made a carrd with the same links and a set of software links + prices but I'll be updating this with more things I find that I think would be helpful. :)

Drawing

GES DRAW PARTY - Timed model videos

Drawing Tutorials Online - Figure drawing tutorials (& fun SVA student sketchbook videos)

Line of Action - Timed model Photos

3 tips to improve your PEOPLE SKETCHING (fast urban sketching techniques), Sketching Scottie

Creating Backgrounds, Tim Mcburnie

Drawabox

Reference Angle

Kaycem

Colour Theory

Why Color Studies Are So Powerful, Light Ponderings

Marco Bucci

Colour Tips and Tricks, Iniro (PDF)

This post

Animation

The Animator’s Survival Kit, Richard E. Williams (book) - I think this one is a pretty obvious must-have

How to Animate Night In The Woods [Scribble Kibble #103], Crowne Prince - Helped me get a grip on After Effects

Little Miss Hellraiser Toon Boom Harmony Rig, Edu Bruks - Free Toon Boom Harmony rig

Alex Grigg // Animation for Anyone

BaM Animation

Storyboarding

Exploring Storyboarding, Wendy Tumminello (book)

Storyboarding Essentials: SCAD Creative Essentials, David Harland Rousseau & Benjamin Reid Phillips (book)

Storyboard Pro Crash Course/Tips for beginners, OhJeeToriG

A Guide To Storyboards, MagicBunnyArt (PDF)

Character Design

Character Design Crash Course - A huge free course document with assignments you can work through

Delicious in Dungeon - Fundamentals of Character Design, lines in motion

Writing

Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games, Christy Marx (book)

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Syd Field (book) - I have the 1987 edition

Reedsy

How to Plot a Comic From Start to Finish!, McKay & Gray

Portfolio Tips

How to make a Character Design Portfolio, Jackie Droujko

Top Tips on How to Kickstart Your Storyboard Portfolio, Brown Bag Films

25 Tips to Create an Animation Demo Reel, Sir Wade Neistadt

Extras

PuccaNoodles’ Animation/Art Resource Sheet

My Study References Pinterest board

Motivation Station - Playlist of sketchbook videos and some speedpaints that I use to motivate & inspire me

The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide, Heather Parry & Maria Stoian (PDF) - Really useful for freelancers in the UK

Software substitution chart

Adobe Suite substitute chart

Remember to check out the carrd, it might have a more updated list!

[stopdoomscrolling-cafe]

photography

hey there! welcome back to our cozy cafe! photography is an excellent way to capture and preserve memories, express creativity, and see the world from different perspectives. it helps you notice the beauty in everyday moments and improves your attention to detail. plus, it's a wonderful way to relax and connect with nature or your surroundings.

let’s explore why photography is an amazing hobby and how you can get started. 🍵✨

why photography is a great hobby:

creative expression: photography allows you to capture the world from your unique perspective. it’s a fantastic way to express your creativity and tell stories through images.

mindfulness: it encourages you to be present and notice the beauty in everyday moments. this can be incredibly calming and therapeutic.

learning and growth: there’s always something new to learn in photography, from mastering your camera settings to exploring different styles and technique.

social connection: sharing your photos can help you connect with others who have similar interests, whether through social media or photography clubs.

step-by-step guide to start photography:

choose your camera:

start with what you have, even if it’s just a smartphone. as you get more into photography, you might want to invest in a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

check out this video on choosing your first camera.

learn the basics:

familiarize yourself with basic photography concepts like exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

this tutorial covers the basics of photography.

practice composition:

learn about composition techniques such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing to make your photos more visually appealing.

watch this video on composition tips for beginners.

experiment with lighting:

lighting is crucial in photography. try shooting in different lighting conditions to see how it affects your photos.

here’s a guide to understanding natural light in photography.

edit your photos:

editing can enhance your photos and bring out the best in them. start with basic editing software like lightroom or free apps like snapseed.

this video provides a beginner’s guide to photo editing.

join a community:

connect with other photographers to share your work, get feedback, and learn from others. online forums, social media groups, and local clubs are great places to start.

so, grab your camera, step outside, and start capturing the world around you. happy snapping! 📸☕🌿

[genericpuff]

hello! i'm not sure if you remember me, a while ago i asked about digital art and if it's possible to do on an ipad or something similar. i was really grateful for your response and i got an ipad over christmas! i didn't realize how expensive the pencils were though and was only able to get one recently. now that i have all of that, i download the first art program i saw (ibispaint x, i don't know how good that is) and feel super overwhelmed by everything, all the tools and brushes and i have no idea where to begin. i know this is a super broad topic, but i don't know if you have any advice for a beginner hoping to become a digital artist? or know of any resources? thank you so much in advance and no worries if this topic is too broad to really get into properly!

Oh hey!! Congrats on getting an iPad! And yeah, shopping for the pens is a big pain in the butt, but I'm glad you finally got it all setup!

So most of the advice I'm gonna give you is very basic, starter advice that can apply to virtually any digital art software, as the vast majority of them are built with the exact same base tools, they just vary in their intended purposes which means they may differ in more advanced settings and what they offer beyond the basics (ex. Photoshop has more colors than Clip Studio because it's built for editing high quality photos whereas Clip Studio is meant to emulate comic art, but Clip Studio offers more in the way of comic-creating tools such as specialized rulers, 3D material support, built-in screentoning, etc. and all of the software available will tend to have different brush engines, meaning it doesn't always 'feel' the same to draw in one software as it does in another).

Your bestest friends:

Layers! This is the biggest pro to going digital, because now you can work with layers! So anything you draw on each layer is preserved and can't touch or affect whatever's on the other ones :3 You can find the layers tab in Ibis Paint X in the bottom right, don't be afraid to make a bunch of them and mess around with what you can do. Play around with the different blending mode settings (in Ibis Paint it's the menu that's labelled 'Normal' in the layers popup) especially Multiply, Color Dodge, and Overlay, as those three are the most commonly used to make coloring more efficient and give your art some extra pop.

Lasso/marquee/magic wand tools! These are basic selection tools that allow you to select an area within the layer you're working on, so that whatever you paint won't travel outside of that area. The Lasso is a free draw tool, the marquee tool is typically 4 sides by default (so squares/rectangles) and the magic wand detects and selects a closed area with one click! (just note that by default it's only on the layer you're on, so if you use it on a layer that has nothing, it will typically select the entire canvas).

Alpha locking! This is a simple button setting you can click to 'lock' the layer you're working on, which basically means that whatever you've drawn on that layer, anything you add can't travel outside of that drawing. So if you want to quickly shade something without going outside the lines, alpha locking is your solution!

Clipping groups/layers! This is a bit more advanced but is basically an even better version of alpha locking that you can use in conjunction with it. Clipping layers are basically additional layers that , when you click the 'clipping group' button, 'attaches' that new layer to the layer that's below it. It performs the same function as the alpha lock by preventing whatever you draw on that layer from travelling outside of it, HOWEVER it comes with the added benefit that it's on an entirely different layer, meaning you can erase and mess with whatever's on that new layer as much as you like and it won't hurt the base layer. It kinda follows the same logic as animation cels !

Masking! Y'know when you're doing a traditional painting, and you put down tape to cover the area so you can paint over it and later remove the tape and everything underneath is untouched? That's basically what masking is! Once you put down a layer mask, using the erase tool on it will 'erase' whatever the mask is applied to, and using the brush will make it magically return! This may sound silly at first, but I find masking is especially helpful if you want to erase something on the layer you're working on without it disappearing forever! It's also really helpful for comic work because you can mask whatever's outside of the panels and voila, nothing you draw will travel outside of those panels!

Stabilization! I don't know how extensive Ibis Paint X is with offering stabilization tools, but many digital art software comes with it and it's a LIFE SAVER for new digital artists adjusting to the feel of digital art. It essentially 'slows down' the output of the ink on the canvas which helps a lot with getting cleaner lines in fewer tries. It's not quite as big of a deal when drawing on iPads because obviously you have more control by default by drawing directly on the screen, but it can still be really helpful when you need to pace your hand ahead of the actual drawing tool to pull cleaner lines!

That's pretty much all I can think of for now! But here are some other commonly asked questions:

1.) There are so many brushes to choose from, which one do I use?

The round brush is small but mighty. Virtually anything can be painted with it, it's simple, but malleable, especially when you start messing around with the hardness and opacity settings. Don't get too lost in the sauce with the brushes that are available to you, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and variety. Some artists still work purely with just round brushes, some artists have custom brushes they like to use to speed up their drawing process or achieve certain textures. Play around with them, but don't get too stressed about which one you use because there's no wrong answer, the right brush to use is the one that gets the job done ! <3

2.) What canvas size should I use?

It depends on a variety of factors such as whether or not you're planning to print, where you're going to be posting it, etc. By default I like to work on 8.5 x 11 inch canvases (standard printer paper size) at 350 dpi, which if you want to make that canvas in Ibis Paint X, means you just have to make a canvas with a pixel ratio of 2975 x 3850 pixels! Just note that the lower you go in either pixel count or dpi, the lower the resolution, so it's typically encouraged you work at a minimum of 300 dpi (but you usually don't have to go any higher than 600) to ensure you don't wind up with any blurry low res JPG's/PNG's.

3.) Should I export my final drawing as JPG or PNG?

This is usually just up to personal preference, but like the canvas size, it depends on what you're using the image for. You can always export as both, the biggest difference between them is that PNG is lossless meaning you won't experience image compression like you will with JPG, BUT you're also going to have much larger image sizes. JPG is often fine for any standard posting, PNG is typically recommended if you want to have a drawing with a transparent background for printing (as JPG can't do transparent backgrounds) or if you just want to have a really high res image file for sharing outside of social media sites (as social media sites like FB/IG/etc. will typically compress the hell out of your images anyways)

Here are some other super helpful resources as well if you need some visual and/or audio guides:

Sinix Design - How to Learn Digital Painting (Beginners)

Marc Brunet - The Beginner's Guide to Digital Art

Skynix Art - 50 Digital Art Tips in 5 Minutes

One thing I also like to do is watch speedpaints of digital artists as it can really help pull back the curtain on what they're doing (or at least, it can help you see what they start with which can help you better picture the process of turning a blank canvas into a finished work of art!) And though I don't do it as often, if there's an artist whose work I REALLY like, I'll try and find their actual work files (many bigger artists sell them on their crowdfunding sites/Gumroad/etc.) so that I can actually break the drawings apart layer by layer for the purpose of analysis. Of course, all that is something that you'll grasp better over time as you learn the tools and learn to recognize what artists are doing in their own workflow, so don't worry if you don't glean a whole lot of info from the "big guys" right away, you should always be referencing artists who are higher along the skill ceiling from you but not too high that they're using techniques and tools that are outside of your realm of understanding.

Other than that, just try to have fun, don't stress too much about it, and save often!!! Part of creating art is learning to be at peace with the process, so don't stress too much if it takes you a while to get adjusted to the layouts and tools - at the end of the day, digital art is another medium entirely, so it's not uncommon at all for traditional artists to need a lot of practice to 'switch' to digital, because they both utilize different tools and techniques. Be patient with yourself, always be on the hunt for new resources and guides and references, and don't be afraid to experiment and make mistakes (the best part about digital art? Mistakes don't cost you any paint or materials!)

Good luck!! And congrats again! 🥰

[beanthebugboi]

Beeeaaaann how are you learning witchcraft?!!? I wanna learn too but I dunno where to start!! 🥺

Alright, disclaimer: I've barely been practicing lately, I haven't had much free time or energy and I'm still trying to figure out some kind of daily routine. But here's my advice!

Start a grimoire to keep track of your research. It can be hard to find reliable sources, so cross-check as much as possible, especially if you're doing online research.

Remember that witchcraft is all about intent, energy, and connection to nature. Whatever intent you put out will be returned to you, so I'd personally recommend avoiding curses/hexes/etc, especially as a beginner. And learn about grounding, cleansing, and protection!

Research supplies that you already have access to (ex. I started by researching the crystals in my rock collection, herbs in my backyard/kitchen, oils in my bathroom cabinet, etc.)

Research color correspondences! Super helpful and SUPER easy to use. If you have markers/pens, colored string, beads, whatever- you can use color correspondences.

Another super accessible tool is sigils! Remember that there's no right or wrong way to make a sigil, they're not a code or language, they're simply a symbol to channel intent into. I know a few methods, more details under the cut :)

Explore your interests, but don't worry too much about specific categories like green witch/cosmic witch/crystal witch/etc. Just do what feels right.

You're going to feel like a beginner for a long time. That's a good thing. It means you're realizing just how much there is to learn.

Probably the most important thing- take time to connect with nature. Learn local folklore, learn about plants and animals in your area, literally just sit outside (if possible) and take some time to ground yourself.

Personally, I started with a bit of research, some sigils, a tarot deck + translation book, and a piece of quartz that I usually carry in my pocket.

Lmk if you have any specific questions, I'm still learning but I'll do my best to help :D I can also share more of my research and personal spells if you'd like, I am extremely anti-gatekeeping in witchcraft (obviously this does not apply to closed practices lol, just general knowledge)

Sigil methods!

Apologies for the messiness, I'm drawing these in a photo editing software lol

Usually, I use all three methods and then pick whichever sigil calls to me to the most :)

Alright, to start, pick a word or phrase to help focus your intent. I'll use "protection" as an example.

Method 1: Sigil wheel

Remove duplicate letters (protection -> protecin)

Trace the letters over a sigil wheel.

Start with a dot and end with a perpendicular line. Follow your intuition, add little loops wherever it feels right.

3. Take away the wheel, and you've got your sigil!

Method 2: number grid

Again, remove duplicate letters

Convert the letters into numbers 1-9 (here's a chart to help) (protecin -> 79625395)

3. Trace those numbers into a 3x3 grid (again, add loops wherever you feel like it, start with a dot, end with a line)

4. Remove the grid, and there's your sigil!

Method 3: basic shapes

Remove duplicate letters and vowels (protection -> prtcn)

Break all the letters into their basic shapes

3. Rearrange those shapes into a cohesive symbol. Again, trust your intuition, do what feels right (I've color-coded the symbols so you can see which is which)

4. Aaaand there's your sigil!

[boinin]

sorry i couldn't find out how to ask on your other blog.

that book binding you posted is gorgeous btw !!

I noticed that in one of the photos you included the disclaimer that you also edited it. I just had a question about how you formatted the text.

one of my biggest gripes with AO3 is text formatting (i often feel like i'm reading a legal document vs a novel/story) . Did you change how it is formatted on AO3 compared to printed?

I feel like i'm in the 0.5% that hate AO3 formatting but i thought i might as well ask in case you have any tips for that. >,>

(also how do you decide on the page size, do you just choose a standard size for all your projects? or do you vary it depending on what you are binding?)

thanks so much for taking the time to answer and for sharing your projects :) !!!!!!!!!!!

hey anon! I have asks turned off for the sideblog, but happy to answer here. Thanks very much!

I'm taking this opportunity to info-dump and link a lot of resources. I think they're useful for people new to either typesetting or bookbinding, but not all are directly related to your queries. That said, hope this is of use!

one of my biggest gripes with AO3 is text formatting (i often feel like i'm reading a legal document vs a novel/story) . Did you change how it is formatted on AO3 compared to printed?

I do a fair bit of editing when I'm binding a fic; typesetting is often the longest part of the process. Your mileage will vary depending on your experience with using word processor software, particularly the paragraph style and page style settings. Another factor is how simple/complicated you want your typeset to look. Replicating a published novel in format is difficult but learnable for a complete beginner.

I'm not equipped to give a full tutorial on how to typeset, but I'll point you towards some useful resources for ficbinding then talk about my own process.

ArmouredSuperHeavy has a tutorial on how to make Ao3's HTML downloads into a printable book in Microsoft Word. I use LibreOffice Writer myself, so this adaptation of the same tutorial is what I follow. Both are very helpful to reference as you're learning the typesetting ropes.

Personally, I don't mess around with HTML. I find it easiest to start by doing a Ctrl+A copy of the Entire Work fic view on Ao3 then pasting that into my word processor. This video tutorial by Beautifully Bound runs through how to do this in Microsoft Word using an AO3 fic as an example, including the associated steps needed to make the fic look novel-like. This is probably the best tutorial to address your gripe with AO3 formatting. Other than that, I'd recommend looking into videos or tutorials about typesetting novels for print. Same idea, and you may get more hits than searching for fanbind/ficbind typesetting tutorials.

More under the cut! Once I start yapping, it's hard to shut me up 🤷‍♀️

As a point of comparison, here's one of my fics on Ao3 and the corresponding typeset side by side:

Beautifully Bound explains this in far better detail than I will, but off the top of my head, the steps involved:

making a new document and setting the default page size to whatever size I want the book's pages to be (A5 or A6 usually). You can also set the margins at this point, taking account of your printer settings.

CTRL+A and copying the entire work's text on AO3 then pasting it into the document.

removing all hyperlinks and AO3 frontmatter, things like the author tags, summary, notes, etc as well as any website text that got copied over alongside the fic.

(optional) running a spell check and ensuring grammar usage is consistent. For me that's substituting em dashes for hyphens between clauses, enforcing curly double quotation marks for dialogue, etc. LibreOffice Writer automates a lot of this with customisable settings, via Tools -> Auto-Correct. Here's also where to make sure character names are all spelled right, convert the text to or from US to UK English, etc.

picking out fonts for the body text, headers, page numbers, etc. This is where you'll want to use paragraph style settings. Page style settings also comes in clutch if, for example, you'd like different headers on alternating pages. I like having the author on the right, the fic title on the left.

setting the body text first line indent to whatever makes sense visually). This in particular helps make the fic feel more like a novel. You can also play around with line spacing and space between paragraphs at this stage. For this A6 typeset, I had a 0.75cm first line indent, 1.15 line spacing, and 0.15 spacing between paragraphs.

(optional) formatting the first line of the work to use small capitals and to add a drop caps to the first letter of the first word. Again, this is a convention in publishing which add a novel-like feeling to a printed fanwork.

Inserting page numbers, adding images, coming up with how I wanted the "copyright" page to look—optional for the most part, but these are details that make a fic appear more like a novel.

For multi-chapter works, there's extra work in formatting chapter titles as headings so that they're referenced correctly in the automatic table of contents word processors can generate.

Once you have a typeset you're happy with, and if you're considering printing and binding it as a book, then you'll need to look into how to create and print signatures. Personally, this is something I had to actually try (and mess up a bunch of times) before I got to grips with it. Understanding how both your printer and your PDF reader work, particularly printer margins and booklet print settings, is key.

I won't go into as much detail on this, but if it's something you have an interest in, I'd recommend starting with DAS Bookbinding's tutorial. DAS has tutorials for everything bookbinding related so when in doubt, check his channel! Plenty of other YouTubers also have good videos on making signatures.

This resource is extremely useful once you've got your head around how to print signatures manually, so here's a link for anyone in that space: GitHub Bookbinding Imposer. Essentially, this does the signature creation for you, removing the need for booklet print settings in your PDF reader.

also how do you decide on the page size, do you just choose a standard size for all your projects? or do you vary it depending on what you are binding?

I have access to both A4 and A5 sized paper and my printer can handle printing on either size. In bookbinding, normally two pages are printed per side of the paper (which are then folded in half as part of a signature). That is, when I print on A4 paper, it's to make an A5 sized book. Printing on A5 paper will yield an A6 sized book.

Before I begin typesetting, I'll usually know what paper I plan to use, so the typeset will be one size down from the paper. So far, I've made softcover pamphlets at A6 size and casebound books in A5. No real method of choice for me, it's whatever I feel most suits the project.

---

If you made it this far anon, thanks for reading! Here's links to a few general resources if bookbinding is something you'd like to explore more:

DAS Bookbinding (YouTube, bookbinding in all forms)

Sea Lemon DIY (YouTube, bookbinding and other crafts)

bitter melon bindery (YouTube, bookbinding, particularly beginner friendly!)

Jess Less (YouTube, demonstrations of fanbinding and re-binding existing novels)

Papercraft Panda (blog, lots of detailed tutorial on bookbinding)

Renegade Bookbinding Guild (collective and website, loads of fanbinding-specific resources from their members and they have a helpful Discord).

[marsmerizing-sims]

Hey, I was wondering what programs you use to create your custom content? Such as photo editing software, etc. Do you have any tips for beginners? I've been trying to figure it out but it's honestly SOOO hard :/ I honestly LOVE your cc, and use it on almost all my sims, at least one item per sim, lol. Especially the male CC. I hope that you have a good day/night, and thank you if you respond!!

Hey! Thanks for the support! I'm sorry I don't know how to shorten my reply but here it goes. For the photo editing software--I'm just using adobe photoshop :) as for the mesh maker--it's Blender. Uuuugh... the first 3 months was sooooo hard for me too! щ(゜ロ゜щ)

I think the first thing to do is getting to know the Blender first--after watching CC tutorials. Blender is a very complex software in my opinion. So, at least you need to know the basic tools in Blender that you're going to need in CC making.

I honestly just went in to CC making with zero knowledge about the Blender tools (just relying on steps from CC tutorial videos). And I continued doing so for 3 or 6 months. The confusion didn't go away. So, I had to backtrack and learn about the Blender itself and make 3D donuts (the recommended step to learn blender). And after that, with some help from sims4studio forum--things got a lot easier! But yea, you need to read and watch tutorials a lot. You'll get better answers on sims4studio(.)com with more about the technical--or coding stuff of the CC. But the most important thing to me was understanding the Blender--just to get the mesh done.

Some of the tutorials recommend you to use Marvelous Designs, I used it for a while. But now I made my mesh directly on Blender (like I said--after knowing your tools, things got a lot easier).

[renderessentialss4]

Adding extra details to your sim!

So any fans of @kikovanitysimmer ‘s renders know that she adds a lot of extra detail to her sim’s skin. Her process has changed since then, but she still hosts her old tutorials on her discord!

We’ve been getting a lot of talk about how hard it can be to follow so I’m providing a text-based step by step tutorial!

Requirements

TheSims4Ripper

Blender 2.9+ (I’ll be using 4.0.0)

Any photo editing software (I’ll be using Ibis Paint) that has these features:

Multiple layers

Adding noise

Changing brightness/contrast and Hue/Saturation/Value

Inverting colours

Sims4studio (optional)

First things first:

You do not need to export a custom skin. Using the _diffuse.png you got from exporting your sim works just fine!

It’s preferable that you export your sim naked. Not a requirement, but makes it a lot easier. Here’s a video tutorial about dressing your sim in blender.

Onto the tutorial!

Displacement Map (Pores and the like)

Import your texture. Here, I’m using Kiegross’s Kiera Skin, edited for personal use.

2. Change the texture to black and white

3. Duplicate the layer

4. Edit the Brightness and Contrast to your liking

5. Add noise. Pictured here are my personal settings

6. Erase parts that realistically would not have a lot of pores, ex. Lips, hands and feet. Kiko suggests putting your eraser hardness or opacity lower as these areas still have texture to them.

7. Save picture as is! You can delete the noisy layer if you wish, but we will need the original black and white layer for everything else.

Specular and Roughness Map (Shine)

Creating a new layer is highly recommended so you can backtrack

Using the original layer, edit the brightness and contrast. Pictured here are my preferred settings

2. Take a black brush and colour in areas you don’t want to shine. Realistically, these are the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet and their respective nails. You may also want to take a white brush to the areas you do want to shine, like lips, chest or thighs.

3. Save as is!

Adding to Blender

First things first: Go into the Shading tab. Link your sim's materials using Ctrl+L to make it easier on yourself!

Add your new Displacement and Roughness Map to your material

2. Add a Displacement Node

3. Plug the Displacement Map's colour into the Height. Change the scale to whatever you like (I chose 0.0005)

4. Add two Color Ramp Nodes to your material

5. Plug the Spec + Roughness Map's colour into each Color Ramps' Fac

6. Plug one Color Ramp into the Roughness and another into the Specular/IQR (you may need to roll out the Specular tab to find it)

7. Drag tabs on the Color Ramp to change the strength of them. For the Roughness Color Ramp, you'll need to swap them around to have the desired effect.

And that's how you get the details! There are other ways to get the details, but for beginner renderers, you can start with this!

[freedombloggers]

5 Free Software Tools to Create Stunning Images for Social Media and Blog Posts

Alright, guys, today we're diving into the world of image creation for social media and featured blog posts. Whether you're a seasoned content creator or just starting out on your blogging journey, having eye-catching images is essential for grabbing your audience's attention and driving engagement. But with so many image editing tools out there, which ones should you use? Well, fear not, because I've rounded up the best free software for creating images that will take your social media game to the next level. Let's dive in!

Canva: First up on our list is Canva – the ultimate graphic design tool for beginners and pros alike. With Canva, you can create stunning images for social media, blog posts, presentations, and more, all with drag-and-drop simplicity. Choose from thousands of pre-designed templates, fonts, and graphics, or start from scratch and let your creativity run wild. Canva's intuitive interface and extensive library of assets make it a must-have tool for any content creator.

Adobe Express: Next up, we have Adobe Express – a powerful design tool from the creators of Photoshop and Illustrator. With Adobe Express, you can create stunning graphics, web pages, and video stories in minutes, right from your browser or mobile device. Choose from a variety of professionally designed templates, customize with your own photos and text, and share your creations across all your social media channels with ease. Plus, its seamless integration with other Adobe products makes it a no-brainer for anyone already using Adobe's creative suite.

PicMonkey: Another great option for creating eye-catching images is PicMonkey. With PicMonkey, you can easily edit photos, create graphics, and design collages without any technical know-how. Choose from a wide range of filters, effects, and overlays to give your images that extra pop, or use PicMonkey's powerful design tools to create custom graphics from scratch. Plus, with PicMonkey's user-friendly interface and intuitive features, you'll be creating stunning images in no time.

Pixlr: If you're looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, look no further than Pixlr. With Pixlr, you can edit photos, create collages, and design graphics with ease, all from your web browser or mobile device. Choose from a variety of editing tools, filters, and effects to enhance your images, or start from scratch and let your creativity run wild. Plus, with Pixlr's cloud-based platform, you can access your projects from anywhere and collaborate with others in real-time.

GIMP: Last but not least, we have GIMP – the GNU Image Manipulation Program. While GIMP may not have the most user-friendly interface, it's a powerful open-source alternative to expensive image editing software like Photoshop. With GIMP, you can retouch photos, create custom graphics, and design stunning visuals for your social media and blog posts. Plus, with a little bit of practice, you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish with this free, feature-packed tool.

In conclusion, creating eye-catching images for social media and featured blog posts doesn't have to break the bank. With these free software options, you can easily design stunning visuals that will grab your audience's attention and drive engagement. So why wait? Start creating today and take your content to the next level!

[dragons-in-spaceee]

hello friend. Take this as an invitation to rant about whatever you want :)

YAYYYYYY :)))

okay so this is completely non fandom related lol I just went on a deep (ish) dive the other day about astrophotography! So as you know I do take pictures of space but I’m like the absolute beginner of beginners lol. My current equipment is a tripod and a decent camera and that’s it for photography, so I wanted to see what I’d have to get or what other techniques I could use to progress further. The biggest problem is exposure time - you need a longer exposure to capture the light needed to show the details of such faint objects as nebulae and galaxies, but a longer exposure creates star trails due to the rotation of the earth (nooooo). Also a higher magnification emphasises star trails. There are two ways to combat this: one is time consuming, the other is expensive. The first way, the one I’m going to try first as i do not have money to spend currently, is to stack photographs. I’m going to have to look more into the specifics of how this works once I have the time to try, but essentially you take a lot of short exposures of the same object then layer them all together in the right software to effectively produce a photograph of a much longer exposure. Luckily for me there are at least two recommended softwares that are free (yay!!!) and seem to work well from what I’ve seen, so I’m going to give it a shot at some point. The main thing that seems complicated is apparently you have to have different types of shots to layer? Dark ones and light ones and all sorts so I’ve got more to learn. I will be relying on the Sky At Night astrophotography explainers for this! For the exposures I am aware of the 500 rule: you divide 500 by your focal length (amount of zoom) times the crop factor (intrinsic to the camera) to get the maximum length of exposure time without trailing. I currently go over this limit sometimes as I don’t mind a small amount of trailing, but if I want sharp photos for layering I’m going to have to pay it more heed, which unfortunately means a larger amount of exposures is required to create the final image. Anyway, the second way to combat star trails is to use a tracking mount - a motorised tripod that tracks the movement of the stars across the sky. These are stupidly fucking expensive but by god do I wish I had one as it means you can almost expose for as long as you like with zero trailing. At that point your enemy becomes keeping the contrast high so, as the Sky At Night magazine highly recommends, most people still stack photos and do editing even with a tracker, but again it is not necessary with a tracker if you get the right settings. Plus less photos to stack. Currently, my plan is to first try stacking with my current equipment, then long term to buy the following equipment: 1) a tracking addition for my telescope tripod, 2) an attachment for said tripod that allows my camera to sit on top instead (ie so then the tracker kills two birds with one stone), and finally 3) an adapter for my camera to attach to the telescope itself, essentially becoming one huge zoom lens. In total this could cost up to £1000 so this is very much long term goals but THINK OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS I COULD TAKE!!!! For now, I’m waiting till the sun finally lessens its grasp on the sky and the nights darken again (as, I cannot emphasise how much it does NOT get dark AT ALL here in summer), then my targets will (probably) be the andromeda galaxy, Orion Nebula, and Pleiades for my first attempts at stacking!

[vivilove-jonsa]

rlly thrilled to hear both of you are doing well with ur books. if u don't mind me asking: is it financially viable? Could u do something like that and support urself or is it more like pocket money? are there startup costs? (feel free to ignore this ask if this is something you don't want to talk about)

Hey Anon,

I don't know if you're the same anon but I'll post the link to the ask that sparked this question for any who are curious here.

The answer to all your questions can be yes (helpful, right?)

Details below the cut...

Is it financially viable?

In my opinion, yes but you and I may be at very different stages in our lives. Are you a student? A parent with young children? Are you struggling to pay the light bill? Do you have time and energy to throw into writing daily or nightly around real life? These things matter.

Could I live off what I'm earning since I started self-publishing nearly a year ago? Hell no. I have a very good full-time job with benefits and an excellent retirement package. My husband and I have both agreed I can't walk away from that for anything less than six-figure earnings but I can say our mortgage has been covered by my writing for the past six months. That's meaningful to us and worth my time and effort.

Does success happen? It does but I won't sugarcoat it. For every Lucy Score, Cora Reilly and T.L. Swan, self-published romance authors who are millionaires, there are thousands out there who are making much, much less. From $20 to $10,000 in a month, it varies widely! But there are things you can to do increase your chances of hitting it big.

Also, I should mention that Amy and I are Amazon exclusive, part of their Kindle Unlimited subscription service. The good part about that? We earn 70% of our sales versus 30% if we were classified as Wide authors (people who can publish elsewhere like Smashwords, etc). The not so good part, you're very dependent on Amazon. For now, it's worth it for us and the (very different) niches we chose do well in KU.

Startup costs -

KEEP IT MINIMAL! I would not throw tons of money into fancy formatting software or professional editing if you're looking to self-publish your first novel. Do the work yourself, take advantage of free resources, sites and tools and see a profit (hopefully). I published my first book May 31st last year and I had made up my initial startup costs by the time my second book was released in late July.

What you actually need..

Royalty free images to make covers - $40 and up, up, up

Catch deals from Deposit Photos. Twice a year they do a deal through appsumo where you can get 100 images for $40. It's a steal of a deal. GIMP is free software you can download to make covers. Find YouTube videos to show you how. It's all out there and free. But it takes effort. Sorry, no shortcuts there :)

Reader Services - $10/month

Many, many self-published authors use bonus stories or free stories as Reader Magnets to draw readers and future fans to their newsletters. You need a system to funnel those readers and collect emails. Bookfunnel is who I use. Some of their services are free but you pretty much need that $10/month to make use of the good stuff. They also offer author swaps and newsletter building promos if you want to grow your list of followers. StoryOrigin is an alternative site some people use.

Newsletter - $0

I use Mailerlite which is free up to 1k subscribers. There's also Mailchimp. You can have freebie landing sites from Mailerlite. I haven't bothered with a paid website domain yet but I know this is something I'll need to look into soon.

ARCs - $10 to $20/month

Booksprout is the one I use. There are probably others. I think it's about $10/month for the beginner subscription to get those reviewers. I'm using a mid-list author plan now ~ $190/year. Some niches make use of SM more for this.

Advertising - $0 to thousands

Don't bother until you've got a book or two out there (come ask me if you get to that point). I'd say the only advertising you should focus on to start with is your passive marketing - your blurb, your cover and the keywords you enter on Amazon that make your book discoverable. Beyond that, paid advertising can wait.

However, you can use Tiktok to get your book noticed. Amy is learning the ropes of this and we've both seen people whose sales have skyrocketed thanks to one or two good Tiktoks to draw readers. One person made $10k in a month off of ONE good Tiktok. Other SMs have their successes, too. This is not an area I excel at though. I'd need one of my kids to teach me more... lmao.

Finally, I'll say, I didn't go into this thinking it would make me rich and famous. I wrote 3 million words of Jonsa out of love over the course of five years. I've written 350k words of original fiction the past year and it's paying the mortgage. Thankfully, I love what I'm writing and I've set myself a five-year plan for my 'side hustle' to see how I feel in 2027. We'll see where I am then. Fingers crossed I can claim I'm a six-figure author!

But what you can achieve in self-publishing can be phenomenal if you're writing to market (giving romance readers those tropes they love and hitting the expected story beats) in a genre and niche that has hungry readers. Our discord has verified tiers so people who say they're making 50k in thirty days aren't just blowing smoke. They've proven it. Imagine making money like that and then, if you're at a point in your life where you want to try, GO FOR IT.

[java-dragon]

Bookbinding Tips for Beginners by a Beginner.

Trouble Shooting edition.

As I am redoing- and reprinting a text block from scratch. I learned some stuff that may help along the way. This will be brief. I am still compiling all of the photos I need for the potential last post of this little series of mine.

But some trouble shooting.

Printing

Printers are by nature a horrendous beast. Once you think you have them figured out they will either throw a temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums, fuck up the print, or make you grovel by their perch pleading for them to read the file.

"I have single handedly gotten my grandmother, and my mother to realize that there isn't a Nigerian Prince that needs their help. I have recovered corrupt files, and gotten that 90s VCR to work for some inexplicable reason but hell it made ma happy... I am the biped in this equation.... Now print you son of a bitch!"

I can't trouble shoot those moments but I can help make misprints a little less "Void your spine and your soul" at the same time.

This is me advocating for JS Binder- and getting your pdf broken up for the pure simple reason you can track the pages easier. I have had my printer pull two pages at a time and print on one side of one page, and print on the other side of the other page. The easiest thing to do is to pull the pages that have printed, and pull the pages that have misprinted. Stand them up so they're noticeable and allow the rest of the printing to conclude.

Now with adobe you can select what pages you need to reprint from the document in question, and there is a small section around the middle/bottom that has the page count. To reprint only the pages you need track the document number down for the ease of use:

The page count for Adobe looks similar to this.

For the ease of this example I'm just going to say that my printer fucked up the first and second page of the print.

Hit print:

The layout for Adobe PDF reader will look as such.

In the "Pages to be Printed" Section near the top hit "Pages" and manually type in the page numbers. For this example One (1) and Two (2).

Also remember to flip everything on the short edge or else you will be having right-side-up and up-side-down pages alternating. We don't want that. Always ALWAYS make sure to flip on the short edge.

What if the printer misses a few pages? Similar concept but a few more steps before we get back to the print stage.

Best I can say- is if there are a massive amount of missing pages or they just don't look gook.

Check your ink levels. If it's not the ink, do a head cleaning usually there's a setting for that built into the software or on the printer itself. I can only speak to inkjet printers, if you have a toner printer.... damn lucky. Toner printers print damn fast and are quieter and more reliable than inkjet.

Anyway, once the cleaning has been accomplished and it looks like everything is as it should- see above or grin and bear the whole reprint for that section of your bind.

Usually I've gotten away with just going through the software for ink head cleanings. In extreme cases you might have to manually clean the heads. I know certain older printers are like that. Best I can say is find the manual and see how it goes.

IF that doesn't work still....

Invest in a toner printer if you can and borrow your friend's inkjet if you're printing colour covers for your books.

[defsteria]

Hello, I'm new to image editing apps. Could you recommend some good apps for editing?

Hello there! So if you want to edit photos in like a professional way and you are able to invest, in my opinion the best editing software out there is Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom. But those cost money, if you are a university student you can get a sweet deal for all of the Adobe software’s with the Creative Cloud package (ranges from $15 to $50 a month).

For something more affordable and free (and to also test the waters as a beginner) I would suggest Afterlight photo (an app). I believe it’s free and it has a great range of cool editing options and filters for photo editing. It’s a good way to start and a great app to add cool details to photos (as like Adobe’s Lightroom). Also a big suggestion is Pixlr, it’s very similar to Photoshop and I believe it’s free. It’s been a decade since I’ve last used it, but it’s a great introduction to Photoshop. Super similar, if not literally the SAME.

With Pixlr you can mess around like in Photoshop, learn how to use the tools and learn how to fix photos, enhance them, add details, remove things that shouldn’t be there, etc. the cool thing is that everything is online to learn (I’m self taught) so if there’s a specific thing you want to learn in photo editing you can easily learn it through tutorials online! (Or you can ask me).

I’ve done graphic designing and photo editing professionally for musicians and artists before with Pixlr. This was before I could afford Photoshop (later on the artist helped me out and introduced me to Photoshop and Adobe programs). So I can tell you if you learn how to use it, you can take it far.

So in short, Photoshop is the best to invest and Pixlr is the best to start with to test it out and see if you would like to take it to the next level.

Hope that helps.

[argendivas]

Tips for portrait photography

Essential Tips for Capturing Stunning Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is an art that requires a balance of technical skills and a keen eye for capturing the essence of your subject. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or a beginner, understanding the nuances of light, composition, and interaction with your subject can elevate your portraits to new heights. Here are some essential tips to help you capture stunning portraits.

1. Master the Lighting

Lighting is the cornerstone of great portrait photography. The way you light your subject can dramatically influence the mood and impact of the photo.

Front Lighting: Lighting your subject from the front is a technique that inspires clarity and confidence. It evenly illuminates the face, reducing shadows and blemishes, which results in a clean and bright portrait. This type of lighting is perfect for headshots and professional portraits where you want to convey a sense of approachability and sincerity.

Side Lighting: For a more dramatic and character-filled portrait, light your subject from the side. Side lighting creates depth and texture, highlighting the contours of the face and adding a sense of mystery or intensity to the image. This technique is excellent for artistic portraits where you want to capture the emotional depth of your subject.

2. Choose the Right Background

The background of your portrait can either complement your subject or distract from them. Always aim for a background that enhances the overall composition without drawing attention away from the subject. Simple, uncluttered backgrounds work best. You can also use shallow depth of field (achieved by using a wide aperture) to blur the background and keep the focus on your subject.

3. Focus on the Eyes

The eyes are the windows to the soul, and in portrait photography, they are crucial. Ensure the eyes are in sharp focus, as they are typically the first thing viewers notice. Catchlights (reflections of light in the eyes) can add a sparkle and bring your portrait to life. Positioning your light source to create catchlights will make your subject’s eyes more engaging.

4. Experiment with Angles and Composition

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different angles and compositions. Shooting from a slightly higher angle can make your subject’s eyes appear larger and more expressive, while a lower angle can add a sense of power and dominance. Use the rule of thirds to place your subject off-center for a more dynamic and interesting composition.

5. Communicate and Build Rapport

Great portraits capture the personality and essence of your subject, which requires a level of comfort and trust between the photographer and the subject. Spend time getting to know your subject, make them feel at ease, and guide them through different poses and expressions. Genuine emotions and relaxed poses will result in more natural and compelling portraits.

6. Use Reflectors and Diffusers

Reflectors and diffusers are essential tools for controlling light in portrait photography. Reflectors can bounce light back onto your subject to fill in shadows, while diffusers can soften harsh light. These tools are especially useful for outdoor shoots where the lighting conditions can be unpredictable.

7. Post-Processing

Post-processing is the final step to enhance your portraits. Use editing software to adjust exposure, contrast, and color balance. Retouching can help remove blemishes and imperfections, but remember to keep it subtle to maintain a natural look. Enhancing the eyes, sharpening details, and adjusting the overall tone can make your portraits stand out.

By mastering these tips, you can create portraits that not only capture the physical appearance of your subjects but also convey their inner character and emotions. Whether you’re shooting in a studio or on location, the key is to experiment, communicate, and always be mindful of how light and composition can transform your portraits.

[bohemian-nights]

Hey, can I ask you how do you make your gifs?

It took a lot of trial and error, but here is what I have learned(so far cause I'm very much still going through it):

1. Photoshop vs Photopea

To make your gifs you can either use Photoshop or Photopea. I started off with Photpea because it’s cloud-based and doesn’t take up any space on your computer, but I've since moved onto Photoshop. Most of the tutorials you’ll find will use photoshop. So if you need help or want to learn a new skill it will be much easier to find that help if you are using Photoshop.

Photoshop

👆🏽They have ones out there for mac if you search for them on here, but I happen to have a Windows PC so this is the one I use🤷🏽‍♀️

Photopea

2. Downloading videos

I get most of my videos from either YouTube or torrent sites which have a wide selection of shows and movies for you to download.

Watch So Much

👆🏽Is my favorite torrent site. You can also stream shows and movies on their site well.

YTS

👆🏽Is another torrent site I use, but they only have movies on there.

Qbittorrent

👆🏽Lets you download torrents. I should note that If you torrent you'll need a VPN. Literally do not try and download any content from HBO or Disney without a VPN, because at least here in America, they will email you threatening to disconnect your internet😅

For VPN’s do not use the free ones. They don’t work. I’ve personally used NordVPN, but there are other ones out there like Surfshark, or ProtonVPN.

4k downloader

👆🏽Lets you download most things off of YouTube(as well as a couple other sites like TikTok). I say most things because they will not let you download those free movies(ex. Twilight) YouTube itself uploads onto its platform.

Occasionally someone will upload an old movie onto a private channel which you can download with no problems, but anything new or recent you won’t find on there.

You do not have to use a VPN to download videos from YouTube.

3. Resources:

Whatever you're trying to gif will probably be on the long side. So you're either going to need to trim it down to make a 2-3 second clip that you can then use to make your gif, or you can screencap your video.

Screencaping allows you to take a shot of each individual frame* which you can then use to make your gifs out of.

*I like to use anywhere between 40-90 frames per gif.

VLC

👆🏽This is a video player that lets you play your videos and create screencaps from them.

👆🏽This is a great post on how to screencap using VLC.

KMPlayer

👆🏽Is another video player/screencapping software, but I found their interface to be overly complicated

Clipchamp

👆🏽This lets you trim down your videos to create those 2-3-second clips. There are better video editing tools out there(like DaVinci Resolve), but if you have Windows for what it's worth, it’s simple and gets the job done 🤷🏽‍♀️

rPiracy

👆🏽Has links for torrents and things of that nature.

👆🏽This is a great post on how to make a basic gif using Photoshop.

👆🏽This is a great post on how to make a basic gif using Photopea.

👆🏽This user has a lot of tutorials so when you're ready to move onto more complicated gif making, use them as a resource.

4. Lastly, have patience with yourself.

GIF making is time-consuming and as I stated it takes practice. So don't sweat it too much and have fun🎉

[creativemarkethub]

Digital Product Ideas & Strategies for Online Success

Digital Product Ideas + How to Sell Them Online, Why Create Digital Products? How to Come Up with Product Ideas?

In today's digital age, creating and selling digital products has become a lucrative venture for many entrepreneurs and creators. From ebooks to online courses, there are endless possibilities when it comes to digital product ideas. Not only are digital products cost-effective to produce, but they also provide a passive income stream once they are created and marketed effectively. In this article, we will explore 24+ digital product ideas sorted by type, discuss how to sell them online, delve into the reasons for creating digital products, and provide tips on how to come up with product ideas.

Ebooks

1. Recipe ebooks featuring unique and healthy dishes.

2. How-to guides on various DIY projects.

3. Self-help ebooks focusing on personal development and motivation.

4. Travel guides for specific destinations or travel hacks.

Online Courses

5. Language learning courses for beginners.

6. Photography masterclasses for aspiring photographers.

7. Social media marketing courses for small business owners.

8. Fitness and nutrition programs for different fitness levels.

Templates and Printables

9. Budgeting templates for financial planning.

10. Social media post templates for content creators.

11. Printable planners and organizers for productivity.

12. Resume templates for jobseekers.

Graphic Design Assets

13. Customizable logo templates for startups and small businesses.

14. Stock photos and illustrations for bloggers and website owners.

15. Infographic templates for data visualization.

16. Social media graphics for Instagram and Facebook posts.

Software and Apps

17. Productivity apps for task management and time tracking.

18. Photo editing software for amateur photographers.

19. Mobile games for entertainment and relaxation.

20. E-commerce platforms for online sellers.

Audio and Video Content

21. Podcast episodes on niche topics.

22. Meditation and relaxation audio tracks.

23. Workout videos for home fitness enthusiasts.

24. Voice-over services for video creators.

Selling digital products online can be done through various platforms such as e-commerce websites, digital marketplaces, or through your own website. Utilize social media and email marketing to promote your products and reach a wider audience. Offer discounts and promotions to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Collaborate with influencers or affiliates to expand your reach and drive more sales.

Creating digital products offers numerous benefits, including scalability, flexibility, and the potential for passive income. Unlike physical products, digital products can be created once and sold multiple times without the need for inventory or shipping costs. Additionally, digital products can reach a global audience, allowing creators to tap into international markets and grow their brand presence.

Coming up with digital product ideas can be challenging, but conducting market research, identifying your target audience, and understanding their needs and preferences can help you brainstorm innovative and valuable products. Stay updated on industry trends and consumer behavior to stay ahead of the competition and meet market demands effectively.

In conclusion, digital products present a lucrative opportunity for creators and entrepreneurs to monetize their skills and knowledge. By exploring diverse digital product ideas, implementing effective marketing strategies, and continuously innovating, you can build a successful digital product business and generate sustainable income in the digital landscape.