tutorial contents:
1 ‣ gshade & photoshop actions
2 ‣ template or cropping & colouring
3 ‣ notifs & pop-ups
okay hi! i have a really old editing tutorial from back in january that i've been linking people to, but it's pretty outdated by now. i also keep getting anons asking about the same things, which is fine, but i always have to go searching for the post explaining it, so having it all in one place will be a lot more convenient lol
i use a ☠ copy of photoshop cc 2017 to edit my screenshots, however the majority of everything i'm doing also works on photopea
photopea is an online version of photoshop that's 100% free and works very well! i can't recommend it enough, it's fantastic
first things first, you're going to need some screenshots to edit. for the sake of this tutorial i'll be working with this one of raffy:
in all honesty, gshade will do most of the work for you. of course it's not needed, but i definitely don't think i could live without it! in this screenshot i used sunset n' vinyl by nesurii
when opening the screenshot, the first thing i do is run it through 2 photoshop actions:
butter action by early-grape
smooth sharp (no topaz) by poolbrop
to add actions in photoshop go:
windows > actions > the 4 lines at the upper right corner of the newly opened window > load actions > your downloads folder > open up the .atn files!
if you're using photopea, as far as i'm aware you can't use photoshop actions, but i've found that 'filter > stylize > oil paint' and 'filter > sharpen > smart sharpen' have a very similar effect when using the right settings. try these:
i like these two actions because they smooth everything out nicely, but keep it sharp at the same time! i always run butter before i run smooth sharp, however butter may leave you with 2 layers. make sure to merge these layers before running smooth sharp to achieve the full effect.
here's a before and after (of the photoshop action):
from here you can move on to step 2
before anything else i want to share the template that i use to make editing a lot faster. you don't need to use it but it's definitely made things a lot easier for me! it's a .psd file and will work perfectly in photopea
download (simfileshare)
if you're using the template you can skip right on to the next section, as it's already cropped to the right size and has the colouring folder included. just drag your screenshot into it and resize to fit the height.
if you're not using it, crop your edited screenshot to:
1707 width x 1280 height
then adjust the colours to your liking. it always varies slightly depending on the picture but my regular process for each screenshot would be:
up the saturation by 8%
up the lightness by 3%
up the contrast by 12%
all of this can be done by looking in the 'images > adjustments' tab
you should end up with something similar to this!
if you want to add a moodlet or social interaction or anything similar, it's all the same process. what you'll need is a screenshot of it straight from the game. i just press the 'c' key to capture them! i'll be working with these two:
for the blue notification i'm going to select it using the box select tool. try to get it as exact as possible. one you have it selected
for photoshop users:
click on the 'select and mask...' option located at the top
adjust the global refinements at the side as follows:
smooth: 70
feather: 0.0px
contrast: 50%
shift edge: 0%
for photopea users:
go to select > modify > smooth
set it to 15
select 'ok' and press 'ctrl + c' to copy it, then 'ctrl + v' to paste it into your screenshot. adjust the size and position and you should end up with something like this:
next you want to add the transparent border around the notification. if you're using my editing template, right click on the reference notif in the layers tab and select 'copy layer style' (photopea > 'layer style > copy'). from there you can paste that layer style onto your own notif through the layers tab.
if you're not using the template, here's how to set it up on photoshop:
right click your notification layer and select 'blending options'
under styles, tick the checkboxes for stroke and drop shadow
input these settings:
on photopea, it should be more or less the same. repeat the exact same process with the social menu option, but instead of selecting it with the box select tool, use the magic select tool. in the end you should end out with this!
from here you're finished! thanks for reading! go to file and export as png
if you've got questions never hesitate to ask, just make sure to read the faq in my pinned. i might edit this post soon to include the gen intro traits and aspirations bit, but this is all for now. hope it helps, my editing process post has been in need of a revamp for a very long time. i haven't proof-read this so apologies for any mistakes!
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Forgive me, forgive me. I ask, I beg, I pray, but it never comes.
You know I find it incredibly bewildering to see just how much kalki reflects myself in him like YEAH Duh of course he does, he’s my little guy it’s like his full time job. But at the same time he is a fully functional facet of my being and he is at the mercy of my whimsies, and whatever he discovers in his arduous journey of self realisation is ultimately a reflection of what I discover in the real world. It’s also incredibly funny because ffxiv lore for dark knights is really baked into the idea of (re)discovering yourself amongst the bloodshed and continuing to live and love and thrive despite the world working against us. who would have thought such a raw message could come from an mmorpg side quest about edgy emo boys of all places
also adamantite armour of fending i would lay down my LIFE for u
variant + phone bg version + ID below the cut
tch as if you guys are actually going to use artwork of my little guy as your phone background. i know. how dumb. let a girl dream. i should make an alternate version but it's of Fray and Myste
[START ID: A picture with a red background focusing on the character's bust that is placed to the left of the image's centre. He is coloured with a dark blue overlay, contrasting with the red background. He has brown skin, long black hair that falls over his shoulders, and is wearing blue and gold armour and earrings. He is looking at the viewer, right eye dark brown and the left an glowing unnatural red, with an expression that looks determined and angry and yet bitter and forlorn. In the foreground and on the right side of the piece, a miniature version of the character stands coloured in a light blue overlay and wearing the same blue and gold armour, looking as if he is glowing. He is facing towards the left of the piece, or perhaps at the character bust, his expression unreadable. Above the miniature character's head is the symbol representing the FFXIV dark knight, coloured in gold. END ID.]
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You don't need sleep. Don't let the government lie to you. Listen to me. I'm your local eldritch horror, would I ever lie to you?
actually. i know that i need sleep because i've seen the evidence of what happens to me otherwise XD, but if we're talking about just people needing sleep in general...i'm still going to say that you do 😂.
i also missed the part where the government was the one telling me that i need to sleep...pretty sure that was my circadian clock.
i don't know what an eldritch horror is, so i can't really answer the question of whether or not you would lie to me.
listen. guys. i understand this wasn't meant to be super serious (or was it?) but as someone who has done a fair amount of research on sleep i can't stop now. your body has a natural cycle that follows the light/dark patterns of the day. when it gets dark, your brain releases melatonin to help you fall asleep, and when it gets light, the levels of melatonin subside. that's why you really shouldn't sleep with your phones because blue light (what phones produce) disrupts melatonin production but that's an argument for another day.
and you do really need sleep to stay healthy. i know i've experienced this personally, but without sleep, memory and alertness is generally negatively impacted, you tend to get stressed more, and you usually have less control over your emotions (again, in general). not to mention that sleep promotes healing and strengthens your immune system.
okay that's enough (formal) sleep talk for the day—and you guys should definitely be going to bed, or already be in bed if it's past 11 pm.
have a sleeping winn 😴
cause it would be uncharacteristic for me to not jj-ify this
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