#i wanted to thumbnail them out and i use one canvas for everything and im too lazy to delete them

[bryverros]

todays doodle yippee :)

[animatorroseoak]

Hey, em!! Idk if u have been asked this before, I wanna start my own webcomic (im struggling a bit, especially with formatting n stuff). How did you decide, or what kickstarted you to start NSS.

Also, how do u do the formatting and pacing n stuff?? How do u decide where goes what??

Also, how do u handle having a disabled main character?? (This is a very vague question, but idk how else to ask it)

I love fern, btw!! I haven't had the chance to make him some fanart, but I really really want to!!

Tysm for creating NSS.

HI!! Okay I have plenty of answers for you :)

1) the most important thing I think I can say when starting a webcomic is there is never a right time, or a time when you can be perfectly prepared for the whole thing. Before NSS I had started two separate webcomics that didn’t do very well! I enjoyed working on them, but they were kinda prototype NSS lol— eventually I got curious randomly about taking an extra language class at my school, and I ended up taking an ASL class. That was kinda the missing puzzle piece for me, and I realized there was a lot I could fit into a story based on what I was learning and what I was experiencing and struggling with in high school. Lewis has a lot of traits from my own struggles with anxiety, and because of that we’re gonna (very likely) have to put warnings on the episodes featuring his anxiousness and panicking. BUT to answer your question I guess in a more concise way, I had been wanting to make a webcomic anyway, but I ended up truly starting it because I was having a perfect storm of life experiences at the time that I want to create in a fictional story :)

2) okay so the formatting is always kinda crazy. For starting off on Webtoon canvas, I used this https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/webtoon-format/list?title_no=109936

It has the dimensions listed for everything you’ll need in the general uploading for it!

In terms of organizing the panels, Im definitely pretty amateur at this part LOL— it’s just a learning experience, but the biggest thing to know is that to keep a flow with the comic (since it’s vertical/the audience will be scrolling) it’s better to space out your panels and transitions. So (for example) having a busy comic page like a DC comic issue WOULD be doable for a Webtoon, but itd be a confusing read because of how busy the pages are.

3) So one thing I will say is (about any experiences and characters in the comic), is I try to avoid putting anything in that I haven’t had either experience with, a class in, or an interaction with. Writing a deaf character is not easy, and because of the nature of NSS being a comic (and ultimately a story), there will be parts of Fern that will be inaccurate. (Partially because they’re still images and not animated or live action). AS WELL AS!! Everyone’s story is different. There isn’t one identical experience with (for example), language— bilingualism, trilingualism, being hard of hearing, being deaf, etc!

I can share that over the years that I’ve been making NSS I’ve interviewed people, asked about as many experiences as possible, and gotten many eyes looking over and critiquing his character. So I think the biggest thing is if you’re writing a character with an experience outside of your own, go out and literally meet people and do as much research as possible.

Thank you for all the questions!! :)

[requiemofkings]

hello!! i was wondering what brushed you use to paint and render, im still getting the hang of sai myself and wondering if you had any tips! tysm bby ;w;

hi anon! beware but this got really long fast whoops :^)

tips for sai, hmm. PRACTICE!!! PRACTICE!! you should hear that very often from people but it’s true! don’t grip ur tablet pen too hard; i know that seems liek a given, but i subconsciously do it and it’s so badremember to save! the stabilizer is helpful for clean strokes; flip the canvas regularly to catch anything that looks weird; use keyboard shortcuts! my ctrl, z,x,c, and s key are fading quickly bc i use them often for sai LOL

ctrl+alt to quickly change the size of a brush

ctrl+space to zoom in

ctrl+shift and hover over certain parts of ur art to see what layer that part is in (ex is like ‘where is this fucking pixel on- oh it’s on layer 486!’)

alt+space is rotating the canvas (for windows- press the insert key to return it back to right side up)

press ctrl and click on the layer’s thumbnail to select everything in that layer

ctrl+t is the transform button (hold ctrl and drag corners or sides to individually move them- this helps for perspective work)

use large canvases! as large as ur computer/laptop can handle

hold ctrl and that can move ur layer around 

hold the space bar and that can move ur canvas around

go to view and press new, now u have duplicate canvases of the same file- if u work on full screen, go to maximize in the upper right corner to see both canvases at the same time

what u can do is zoom out on one canvas; and work on the other one up close-that way, u can see how it affects the drawing as a whole

press any number on the keyboard to change ur density of the brush that ur currently using (i accidentally press them all the time and is constantly wondering why my brush isnt doing what it’s supposed to be doing)

the very small checkered box tool near the eyedrop tool and ur primary/secondary color acts like an eraser but in the form of the current brush u are using! so the strokes are the same as the brush but it erases (super helpful for textured erasing)

preserve opacity locks everything in that layer so u can color within the strokes u made

helpful for changing black line art to another color

when it comes to painting, it doesn’t matter if ur sketch is clean- ur gonna render it anyway. also make a separate layer, put it at the way bottom or something, and use the bucket tool to make it a grey color/ or whatever to help u catch holes in ur painting!

for large gradients, coloring then blending the entire canvas can make ur sai really slow. what u do: go on a new layer, use the rectangular selection tool and make a small rectangle; place the color(s); blend to make ur gradient; then use the transform tool and resize for large gradient 

take breaks! if u feel pain in ur wrist, stop working!! stretch it regularly and get up and move around!!!! also sometimes, ur hand just doesn’t want to work that day. u can either take a break for the day or do loose sketches/ warm ups to mitigate ur uncooperative hand. try to finish ur pieces, even if they look bad. 

if u’ve been staring at the canvas, working on the art for hours, then it might be time to take a break and check back on the piece later. looking at art with a fresh eye can help u see things that u didn’t catch earlier.

my holy grail brush that i use for sketching and painting/rendering is thisi use other brushes that help so let me know if u want them and the steps i use them in! 

[nicolefiona]

Making The Most Of My Time

As of recently, there is something that I have been having to get a lot stricter with myself for. And even though this new strict habit starts with me, it’s a discipline and habit I am putting in to place because of others.  As I begin to get more busy these days, I have really had to dial in and figure out what I am here for, what I am doing, and where I want to go. And truthfully, that is helping me dictate whom I give my time too.  Now I know that we have to be careful whom we give out those precious bits of our lives to, I mean life is short, may as well not waste it doing things that won’t get us to where we want to go. Or with people whom we don’t really see a future with. But truthfully, there were a few moments over these past few weeks where my presence was being requested, and I was practically killing myself to try and make it work.  And then I had a wake up call, and was like… Why am I working so hard to make a situation work when, this situation isn’t really serving me ? As blunt as it may sound, especially when it comes to business – I’ve had to learn that if someone is requesting my time without wanting to pay for it, there has to be something else for me to gain with it. My time Is just too precious.  And on that note, I thought I would take the time to share some of the apps and sites that I use that help me maximize my time within my business :  1. Canva – for years and years I used PicMonkey, and steered clear from Canva, and I honestly did myself such a disservice. Especially if you are looking to create thumbnails or infographics, this site is amazing! They have premade templates that are totally customizable that can have you create something that looks so good and professional, but takes like little graphic design skills.  2. Dropbox – I often like to create little videos when I visit an establishment/ venue, or even when I want to send a friend or family member some of the footage I’ve captured at our most recent gathering. That being said, Im sure we have all experienced that dreaded message that says ‘ this file is too big to be sent ‘. This is where drop box comes in handy. You just upload the file to dropbox, send the link to the desired individual, and voila, they can download the files and have them too!  3. Evernote – I have only used this briefly, but as my life continues to expand I am finding it more and more useful. Especially when there are more than one player in the mix when you are trying to keep notes. You can store all your to do lists, articles, and notes in Evernote, and best part is, it syncs amongst all accounts in real time.  4. Google Calendar – I will never forget the moment I first realized how awesome google calendar could be. Quite a few years back I was supposed to go to Santa Barbara for a weekend, and then I lost my passport just before my flight. But when I booked my flight with my friend Kristen, an alert came up on my phone with the dates of the time that we were going to be in California, and I was blown away that Kristen had the capability to plan this into my device. Fast forward a few years later – I use it when Paul and I have plans to go somewhere, and I don’t want him to forget. And my photographer even uses it when we schedule shoots ! I love the reminders it sends as well !  5. Skillshare – If you are like me, you are someone who is constantly trying to expand on your skills. But if you are again, anything like me, you can easily get overwhelmed with how much information is out there these days. When I first really started trying to make things come along with my blog, photos, and videos, I was trying to teach myself everything via YouTube. And although, I know it can still totally be done… I craved the structure and direction of an actual class…But I didn’t exactly want to enrol in a course or go back to school for this.  In the spring, I stumbled across Skillshare, and OMG, what a life saver. If you have noticed that my content has gotten better from the spring until now… literally we can thank that fact to Skillshare. There are tons of different classes, tons of different teachers, and literally every subject you can think of is on there. The classes vary in length, and if you can find a creator with a discount code the first two months are like 0.99 cents each.  I think I will end this blog post here, as … you know, I am talking about the topic of time, and clearly this post is getting quite long. But if you are reading this, I would like to know what are some of your favourite time saving apps/services out there. I’m always up for getting to learn and use new ones !

[felixdgreen]

How to Create Youtube Videos Quickly

Are you wanting to go all in with video on YouTube but find that it takes too much time?

Maybe you know that video is the future of the internet, but you get stressed out whenever you think about creating a lot of video content.

Listen to This Episode

In this episode, I share practical ways to speed up the process so that you can create YouTube videos quickly.

Video is the Future

Mark Zukerberg on the future of video

I know what you’re thinking. Video is the present. And yes, while video does account for a lot of what we consume today, I believe that this will be more true in the future.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Mark Zuckerberg said “We’re entering this new golden age of video . . . I wouldn’t be surprised if you fast-forward five years and most of the content that people see on Facebook and are sharing on a day-to-day basis is video.”

But it’s not just Facebook. All of the major social media platforms are investing heavily in Video.

Why YouTube

I recently decided to go all in on YouTube. In fact, I ended up setting a pretty aggressive goal of getting to 100K subscribers in a year.

Challenging myself to get to 100K subscribers on YouTube

This was not an easy decision, especially since I’ve been pretty vocal on how important a platform Facebook is.

But there are three factors that played into my decision to go all in on YouTube.

YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world.

YouTube Search Engine – Second Most Popular

People go to YouTube to learn how to do things. They go there and search for things related to just about every industry.

If you can establish your channel as an authority channel on their platform, you set yourself up to be exposed to a new audience each and every day.

Your videos have a LONG shelf life on YouTube.

I started a Biology YouTube channel back in 2010. While I haven’t uploaded ANYTHING to that channel in years and even sold the channel recently, it continues to get TONS of views solely based on those videos that I created a long time ago.

Interactive Biology YouTube Channel

This is a beautiful thing. When I post a video that does well on Facebook, it will get most of its views within a very short period of time and then disappear into oblivion. Since people never visit oblivion, they never see the video again.

I don’t trust Facebook.

Yes, I said it. I don’t trust Facebook (I hope Zuckerberg isn’t reading this).

They have a sneaky habit of giving you a lot of exposure when they are launching something new and then tweaking their algorithm to screw you over as soon as things get popular.

While I think that Facebook is a great platform that will continue to be important for bloggers and business owners, I would rather build my platform on a service that has consistently proven itself to be about the creators.

How to Create YouTube Videos Quickly

Creating videos can be a very time-consuming process. Trust me, I know. And I also know that if I’m going to be successful with creating a video every weekday, I will have to have a process that makes it easy.

I’ve been refining that process and that’s what I’ll share with you right now. Here are the steps.

Do a brain dump of video topics

Brain dump video topics

One of the things a lot of creators struggle with is coming up with topics to cover in their videos. However, I’ve found that if you just take 30 minutes to an hour to just throw out a bunch of possible topics, you often end up with enough content ideas for months.

So in this first step, I want you to do just that. Brain dump as many topics as you can think of for 30 minutes to an hour. Here are some questions to think about to help you come up with those ideas:

What is your target audience searching for?

What is your target audience struggling with?

What sequence makes the most sense?

What topics are trending in my industry?

By thinking through those questions, you'll quickly be able to come up with topic ideas.

All of the following steps I recommend doing in batches of 3 – 5 (or how many ever you think you will record in one sitting)

Do your keyword research to optimize your titles, descriptions and tags.

Optimize your titles, descriptions and tags using keyword research

Once you have those list of topic ideas, it’s a good idea to do some keyword research to solidify the topics and come up with titles and descriptions.

Remember ��� YouTube is a search engine. And if you optimize your titles, and tags for what people are actually searching for, you’ll be more likely to show up in the search results.

You can use the Google Keyword Planner and/or YouTube search to see what people are actually searching for.

Pro tip: Use TubeBuddy to help optimize your videos and increase your rankings.

Create your thumbnails in advance

This is something that you can do yourself or you can get someone else to do it. I have a number of thumbnail templates where I can easily change images and the text to create an awesome thumbnail in a minute or two.

I use photoshop, but there are also great free tools like Canva and Adobe Spark that work very well for YouTube thumbnails.

Create an outline for each video

It’s always good to know exactly what you plan on covering in each video. This will help you too keep the videos concise while still delivering value.

If you’re creating screencasts, then you can choose to create slides instead of (or in addition to) an outline.

Record 3 – 5 Videos in one sitting

Record 3 – 5 Videos in one sitting

Recording your videos in batches will help you be more efficient. Here are some tips for faster recording.

Have a dedicated space for recording videos. This makes it super easy to just walk in, turn everything on and then hit record.

If your video is simply a talking head (like mine), record in one take if possible. If you make a mistake, no problem. Just redo that section while continuing the recording.

Use claps and silence to indicate where you made mistakes. These audio cues can be seen in the waveform of your video editor.

Give yourself verbal cues for editing. For example, if you mess up on a section of your video and decided to change what you were saying, you can say something like “don’t use this section”. Then when you’re editing, you will know to delete that part.

Batch record your b-roll if you plan on using b-roll. There are some b-roll shots that you will be using in multiple videos over time. Save yourself some time by grabbing as much of that footage as possible in one day. Then you can always use those over and over without having to create them from scratch each time.

Transfer video files to your computer

Transfer video files to your computer

When you’re making a lot of video, it’s easy for files to get disorganized (or even lost). What you do when you transfer files to your computer can make your life much easier, or more difficult.

Here’s what I recommend:

Create a new folder for each video and have a naming structure that will make it easier for you to find stuff. For example, I name my files with the date and a keyword or two. If I were doing a video for this podcast episode, I would call the folder 20170916_Videos Quickly. By doing so, I can easily see that that the video was created on September 16th, 2017 and it had to do with creating videos quickly. Alternatively, you can just use a number and keywords (i.e. 1_Videos Quickly).

Transfer all video files to the relevant folders. I create a folder called “Video” inside the folder for the project and place all raw video files in there. I then delete all the mistake files and rename them appropriately (i.e. Videos Quickly 1)

Edit your videos

Edit your videos

Editing can be a pain in the behind. Fortunately, I’ve found that there are things I can do to speed up this process:

Create a master template. I use Adobe premiere for all of my editing needs. So I decided to create a template that includes all recurring video clips (intros, outros, animations, etc), royalty-free audio clips, images, title templates and presets (video and audio).

Open the template and use “Save as” to save it as a new project in my new project folder.

Start editing at the end of the video and work your way to the beginning. Here’s why. When you are doing multiple takes, the last take is usually the best one. If you use the last take, then you can easily delete all of the takes that came before without having to listen to the entire take.

Schedule your videos

Schedule your videos

I love the fact that you can schedule your videos in advance on YouTube. Once you finish editing your 3 – 5 videos, you can upload them all, add all the titles, descriptions, tags and thumbnails, and then schedule them to be released on the appropriate dates.

That’s it. If you follow the steps outlined above, you will become a video making machine.

So – how often will you publish videos?

Let me know in the comments area below.

Resources Mentioned

Challenge: Get to 100K YouTube Subscribers in a Year – a video challenging myself to set the goal to 100K subscribers in a year

Google Keyword Planner – keyword research tool

TubeBuddy – help optimize your videos and increase your rankings.

Imag editing tools:

Canva

Adobe Spark

  The post How to Create Youtube Videos Quickly appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from IM News And Tips http://www.becomeablogger.com/25419/create-youtube-videos-quickly/