#so i try to blend the two together and Voila~ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anya-chalotra · 4 years

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I've recently been asked by several lovely and curious souls to break down this Witcher set, so I thought I’d go ahead and put together a proper tutorial for everyone. All you need is Photoshop and basic giffing knowledge, preferably using the timeline. This isn't necessarily simple, but I would say it's one of the simpler things I've done—somewhere between easy and medium difficulty, maybe.

I. MAKE YOUR BASE GIF

To start, we’re going to be making our base/background gif, which is 540x540. You can color it any way you’d like, but I picked black and white for that particular set because I didn’t want the final product to be too ‘busy’. I wanted to keep the attention on a pop of color at the center instead, which ended up being the second gif and the text.

As a quick sidenote:

Since the gif is so big, I would recommend using at least 1080p footage. I’d recommend always using 1080p footage regardless, but I wouldn’t call it 100% necessary unless you’re making larger (540px, as opposed to 268px or 177px) gifs.

Keeping in mind that the second gif and text will be going in the center of the gif, you’ll want to align the subject/s accordingly. For example, I kept Geralt and Jaskier and Yennefer mostly to the left or right.

Here is the base gif I'll be using:

And here is a tutorial on how I make my black and white gifs if you’d like to get the same grain effect.

II. MAKE YOUR [SHAPE] GIF

Next is the gif for the shape. Sizing is up to you and ultimately depends on the shape you choose. For me, I know I want an isosceles triangle, so the height of my gif is going to be slightly bigger than the width. My dimensions in the original set were 118x150, so I’ll be making my gif 122x154. You want to oversize here since we’ll be trimming the edges off later on.

After sharpening and coloring, this is what my gif looks like:

III. GROUP YOUR LAYERS

Sounds simple, right? And it is, but it’s as pivotal as it is easy. Maybe it’s dramatic of me to say that I live and breathe by this step, but I kind of do live and breathe by this step. It’s the same technique from this tutorial, and it’s a pivotal step in my blending process also.

Having said that, let’s put all your layers in a group. Do this for both gifs!

CTRL + A or Select > All

Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection

IV. CUT OUT YOUR SHAPE

You can go about this a couple of different ways, but regardless, it’s as simple as editing your layer mask. No, really. It’s why I love grouping layers and slapping a layer mask on. It makes life so much easier in the long run.

➥ PHOTOSHOP’S CUSTOM SHAPE TOOL

The Custom Shape tool on Photoshop has all the basic shapes you need. Triangles, circles (even though you could just use the round selection tool), stars, and even all the playing suits.

Go ahead and pick a shape to add to your canvas if you haven’t already. Don’t worry too much about the dimensions; you can manually input a specific width and height at the top. Rotate it if you need to (I’ll be rotating my triangle 180° so that it’s upside down) or leave it as is, but when you have it sized the way you’d like, center it and then merge it with a new layer. This way, we can right click on the layer thumbnail and select ‘Select Pixels’.

Next, click on the group layer mask. Invert your selection [SHIFT + CTRL + I or Select > Inverse] and then invert that part of the mask [CTRL + I or Image > Adjustments > Inverse]. Your gif should now be shaped accordingly.

➥ B&W TEXTURES AND VECTORS/PNGs

Alternatively, if you don’t want to limit yourself to basic shapes, you can use a texture or png of anything at all. An instrument, a specific symbol, something abstract, maybe even a flower—it can be literally anything, so long as it’s pure black and pure white. (If you aren’t familiar with how layer masks work, white is what shows and black is what’s hidden. Anything in between and what you get is partially or not all the way transparent, which will look wonky when the smaller gif goes on top of the base gif.)

For example, here’s an icon template by @argetnallison:

Select your image (CTRL + A or Select > All) and copy it.

Go back to your gif. Press ALT and click on the group layer mask at the same time. This will pull up your layer mask.

Paste your image onto the layer mask.

Et voila, as the French and magicians and... other various individuals including myself say.

➥ PAINT BRUSHES

If you’re like me and have a bunch of custom brush sets downloaded, brushes are another way to get fun shapes. If you don’t have any downloaded but are interested in trying it out for yourself, DeviantArt and Brusheezy are the best (or at least my favorite) places to look for them.

It’s the same steps as above, but painting instead of pasting.

V. FINISHING TOUCHES

Now that you’re probably sick of me going on and on about shapes this and shapes that—we get it, Ava, there are shapes, get on with it—it’s time to drag the gif shape onto the base.

To center, because I am admittedly border-obsessive when it comes to things being perfectly 100% centered, I set guides [View > New Guide] in the middle. It’s your width and height divided by two, so I have a vertical guide at 270 and a horizontal guide at 270.

For a “3D” (I don’t know what else to call it, other than “well, I just thought it looked neat”) effect, I added a gradient with the same exact layer mask as my gif shape and positioned it underneath and slightly below the gif.

All that’s left is to add text (I wrote a mini tutorial on gradient text here if you’re interested) and we’re finally done!

You can also do this with more than one shape, like here:

Or make the shape full-scale, like here:

Happy editing!

#completeresources #allresources #yeahps #itsphotoshop #resources #tutorials #ps asks #mine*#as always feel free to reach out if any of this is confusing #i'm sleep deprived so i feel like the chances of that are pretty likely

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jaskierswolf · 3 years

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Hmmm Geraskier Legally Blonde AU. Music major Jaskier follows his long-time muse Chiridean to law school (what, like it’s hard?) but finds him smitten with all-star student Yennefer. Cue Jaskier needing the broody TA, Geralt’s help in not flunking out. Jaskier ends up rocking the high-profile case of Callonetta, even after evil law professor Stregobor attempts to toss him out. (I also needed an excuse to put Jaskier in a playboy bunny outfit. For reasons.)

I am so so sorry this took so long. I almost made it into a longer piece and honestly I may still use the scenes in this to expand into a longer fic on AO3 if I have time but for now... voila! _____________

Jaskier was tearing his hair out. There was no way he would be able to get the grades he needed to get into law school. He was a musician for fuck’s sake. There were so many words and they were all so boring. The paragraphs blended together and blurred making it nearly impossible to focus. He groaned and thumped his head on the table. He could do this. He wanted to do this. He had just hit a wall. He’d been concentrating so hard for weeks, which was, quite frankly, impressive for him. That sort of focus was usually reserved for his composing.

“Come on, Jask. You can do this!”

He couldn’t do this.

“How’s it going, buttercup?” Triss asked as she popped her head around the door.

Jaskier pouted and gazed wistfully out the window at the parties in the street below. “I should be out there, Triss. I could have been up on the stage or snogging some gorgeous person behind the curtain!”

Triss smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Snogging?”

Jaskier winked. “Or fucking,” he added with a shrug. “Anything is better than this shit!” He said gesturing widely to the the stack of books on his desk.

“You could just give up?”

Jaskier gaped at her and huffed. “My muse!” He whined.

“Suit yourself,” Triss shrugged. “Ready to go again?”

Jaskier groaned but nodded as Triss passed him another test whilst setting an alarm on her phone.

“Go!”

He sighed but began to scribble furiously. He could do this!

__________

He’d fucking done it. Jaskier Pankratz was at Law School. His parents had never been so proud. They’d restored his inheritance to their estate and he finally had access to his bank accounts again. No more living on tips and barista wages for him. He grinned. He’d always known that Chireadan would be the best muse! He strutted down the halls dressed in his favourite black skinny jeans and a shocking pink crop top, his guitar slung over his shoulder and an ice coffee in hand.

It was time for the next part of his plan. It was time to get his muse back!

He smiled and waved cheerfully at his fellow law students as he danced through the corridors, sipping his ice salted caramel latte through a straw. Most of them looked at him as if he was from another planet. Their clothes were black, black and black. Did no one in law school know what colour was? Yes he was wearing black jeans, but his top was brightly coloured and more than a little bit sexy. He’d paired the outfit with some designer sunglasses, a gift to himself to celebrate his reunion with his credit card, and a pair high heeled ankle boots that laced up at the front. His fashion sense was just wasted on these clever folk.

He sighed dramatically and glanced up at the doors. He was absolutely not lost. It was just… nothing was very clearly marked. Perhaps that’s why you needed all the extra tests to get into law school, even getting to class was a fucking exam.

“Are you alright?” A deep gruff voice asked. “You look lost.”

Jaskier spun around and peered over the top of his sunglasses. His jaw dropped. The man in front of him was fucking gorgeous. He had the most beautiful silver hair that was pulled into a bun, revealing a sneaky undercut on either side of his head. He was wearing a black turtle neck that was a tad too tight and stretched over hidden muscles, and on his face were a pair of thick black rimmed glasses. It shouldn’t have been so sexy but holy mother of fuck. Even the ratty old tweed jacket looked good on him.

“Lost in your eyes maybe,” Jaskier winked and bit his lips.

“Hmm.”

And then he turned and walked away. Jaskier pouted. The man must be straight. There wasn’t even a blush on his face, either that or Jaskier was losing him game.

Nah. It wasn’t that. He looked fucking hot and he knew it.

Jaskier hurried after him and placed a hand on his arm. “Wait! No. I’m sorry. I am lost, like actually lost and not just in your eyes, although can I just say,” he gestured to the man’s body. “Wow. What colour are your eyes? Yellow, no golden… doesn’t matter. They are gorgeous.”

The man raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m Jaskier by the way. Jaskier Pankratz.” He held his hand out to shake but the man ignored it so he ran his fingers through his hair instead.

“What class?”

“Oh umm, excellent question,” Jaskier stuck out his tongue and he dug through his pockets for his schedule. It was already coffee stained and torn in the corner but who gives a shit. “Professor Stregobor?”

The man let out a weary sigh and pressed his fingers to his forehead. “Fuck.”

Jaskier tilted his head and put his free hand on his hip as he sipped his coffee. “Why ‘fuck’?”

“You’re not going to last two minutes. Follow me.”

Jaskier’s eyes widened. What was that supposed to mean? “Oh hang on!”

“Follow me.”

Jaskier’s jaw snapped shut. He hadn’t even made it to class yet and he was starting to regret everything.

_______________

“Come on…” Jaskier drawled as he rest his chin on his hands. The table was sticky and covered in beer but he ignored it. He had a job to do. He jutted out his bottom lip and widened his eyes at Chireadan.

Chireadan like everyone else in this damned party was dressed casually in a rather lovely blue jumper and chinos. Jaskier, who had been invited to the party by one Yennefer Vengerberg, was wearing a black corset, fishnet tights and a ridiculous pair of bunny ears. He should have known better than to trust Yennefer. She was fucking gorgeous and a phenomenal lawyer but she had taken a dislike to him. It was shame. He was pretty certain that under different circumstances they could have been friends. She was just ambitious and did not hesitate to trample on others to get what she wanted. He respected that.

It just had a few unpleasant side effects. Like turning up to a non-costume party dressed as a playboy bunny. At least he looked cute.

“No, no. Out of the question!” Chireadan said in his adorable little accent. It was what had drawn Jaskier to him in the first place. “I’m just not interested anymore.”

Jaskier let out a soft whine and batted his eyelids. “But I need you, you’re my muse!”

“Well you’ll have to find a new one. I’m done being fodder for your terrible songs.”

And like that the spell was broken. Jaskier gasped and sat back in his chair. “I. You. What?!” He shrieked.

“It was just one love song after another, and none of them even made sense? Do you even know how to rhyme? And we’re not even in love.” Chireadan huffed. “I want a girlfriend and I can’t do that with you trailing after me acting like a lovesick puppy. No. Julian. We are done.”

“Oh no. We are not done because you say so. We are done because you are a terrible muse with fucking awful taste in music. I cannot believe I wasted years on you!” Jaskier snapped. “I was just trying to repay you for saving my life but you. you.. ungrateful swine!”

“You’re acting like a child.”

“I’m a musician! I’m allowed to be dramatic!” He yelled and stood up, kicking the chair out from underneath him. “Yennefer Vengerberg will never love you. You’re wasting your time.”

“I know,” Chireadan sighed wistfully. “but I love her.”

Jaskier scoffed and fled the house. His pride was wounded. Not only had Stregobor called him a talentless fool who would never succeed in court, his muse, his precious muse had insulted his songs. He was fucking done with it all. He should never have come here.

His eyes stung and his throat ached as he bit back a sob. “Fuck!”

He shivered just as a heavy coat dropped around his shoulders. He touched the fabric in the dark; tweed. He smiled into his lap; Geralt. He felt Geralt sit next to him silently and he rest his head on Geralt’s shoulder.

“I spoke to Yen,” Geralt said in a low whisper. “I’d like to say she’s sorry for the costume joke.”

Jaskier chuckled. “Of course she’s not.”

“No.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Geralt grunted.

Jaskier sighed dramatically as he looked up at the stars. “What am I doing here, Geralt? I’m a musician, not a lawyer, and apparently I can’t even do that right.”

“What? Who said that?”

“Chireadan,” he whined.

“He knows fuck all,” Geralt growled.

Jaskier sat up and stared at Geralt in disbelief. “Does this mean you like my music, Geralt?” Geralt scowled and refused to meet his gaze. “Oh come on, I’m having a shit night. Humour me?”

“I like your music.”

“What do you like about it, three words or less?”

“Jaskier,” Geralt groaned.

“Please!”

“It’s catchy.” A pause. “And I like your voice.”

Jaskier swallowed as he tried to remind himself how to breathe. He was certain it was the booze and Geralt actually being nice to him for a change but he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to kiss him. He cupped Geralt’s face, turning it gently so he was looking at Jaskier. “Thank you, my dear.”

“Hmm.”

Geralt’s eyes flickered down to Jaskier’s lips. There was no mistaking that and even in the dark Jaskier was pretty sure he could see a blush on Geralt’s cheeks. He was fairly certain that if Geralt didn’t kiss him now, he might die. He licked his lips and tilted his head at his friend. “Geralt?” He asked quietly.

Geralt hummed, the ever present scowl on his forehead deepening. “Yeah?”

“Kiss me?”

And he did. Then he did it again, and again, until Jaskier had forgotten all the sadness in his heart because all that mattered were Geralt’s lips against his. __________ Tag list: @alwenarin @slythnerd @davidtennan-t @flippinfricks @innocentcinnamonpun @marvagon @elliestormfound @geraskier-trashh @panerato @moonysourenza @artistsfuneral @victorieschild @hailhailsatan @wherethewordsare @havenoffandoms @bitchy-witchy-post-mortem @electricrituals @geralt-of-riviass @00qtee @kittynannygaming @stinastar @scribblesonmapleleaves @thecomfortofoldstorries @fontegagrilledcheese @anythinggoesfandoms @veritasrose @trickstermoose67

#the witcher #legally blonde #modern au #geraskier #wolfie's witcher writing #Anonymous

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knifehecker · 4 years

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hello here is my tutorial on how i paint hair . under a readmore because im too lazy to figure out how to format this in a way thats nice to look at

a lot of the way i paint hair is rooted in my specific workflow/style so hopefully this will be at least a little useful for others! find out how the hell i get from THIS

to THIS

woaaahhh wow. i’m doing kris because auburn hair is really fun to color and also i love them. just a note but with this specific method neatness isn’t terribly important and some messiness can actually make things more interesting further in so just slap those flats underneath your “lines” and let’s fucking gooooooooo

i do p much all my shading and lighting in overlay because 9/10 it looks cleaner than multiply/luminosity. first step is to block in those shadows babey. this is where you have your first opportunity to express form and really sell your hair existing in a “3D” space. (i’ll be showing everything at full opacity initially so you can see where exactly i’m putting what i’m talking about, but assume i am lowering opacity to taste)

sometimes i like to make a second pass of shadows with either cyan or true blue, depending on the intensity of shadows i’m going for. in this case true blue came out too dark so i used cyan. as a note, right here i’m less looking to define values in the hair, and am more just tinting the shadows to a contrasting color (in this case, blue!)

and now for light! at this stage, it’s important to keep in mind that you’re not trying to put in a lot of detail; that’ll come in a few more steps. just slap your light hue in a way that will still be readable to you as you continue working. don’t forget that light will bounce and define edges where you might not necessarily expect! (i’m looking at you, far left corner)

my coloring process can usually be seperated into at least two overlay folders; the first is for initial color tweaking but is Most Importantly for introducing some sexy new values to your work . the second overlay folder is usually where i delve more into bringing out interesting colors. i really want to draw more attention to the blue shadows, so i’ll put some more cyan down on a few focus points

yknow that cool hair shine thing that cool artists put on their cool art of their cool characters? here’s how i do that. just slam down a circle of highlight color (here i use magenta, because it’ll still bring up the value and warmth while not drowning out or muddying the orange highlights in the other overlay folder).

and then you’re gonna use your eraser to feather out the edges and get that nice wave affect. i do this by just clicking down with my tablet pen without moving it

and now it’s time to move on to the actual painting. are you ready? take my hand. you’re merging the layers now. we’re doing this together. i believe in you

now that we’re here, i’ve picked the colors in their hair so you can see we’ve got a REALLY nice palette to work with. i don’t really do this because i’m a terrible creacher and i’ve gotten used to working messy like this, but pulling a palette can be a quick way to make sure you’re staying clean and concise with your painting

the most important thing that i keep in mind when painting hair is to work from dark to light - so the bottom of the palette up. what this means is that i’ll make sure to render the shadows first, so that when i paint the lighter values over them, it’ll look a LOT more natural and nice looking, and it’s usually easier than working light to dark (with hair at least).

there’s no easy way to get around the next step. it’s time to draw your circle.

here you can see i’ve rendered a lot of the shadows/lighting and created more shapes in my hair, defining more of the edges between lights and darks where i can

adding some hard lines/edges can really help indicate flow! once i’m satisfied with where i’m at here, i’ll move on to some last color tweaks!

it’s the last bit of overlay i promise!! just a little more cyan to bring out those blues again, and i added another bit of shine over some areas. i’ve found doing the eraser feather thing for both lighting and shadows at this point can help add a touch of ingradience to everything and help pull it together, especially when i’m doing something that has no/minimal blending like this

add a few more details and voila!! Woah, That’s Hair!

#draw tag #long post #longpost #''little tutorial'' i cursed myself #ANYWAY [THROWS THIS AT YALL]

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gaemkyuu · 3 years

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Of Kings & Queens (Part One)

Warnings: none! A/N: Here’s the first part! This is mostly context to the story, with a sneak peak of Prince Charlie! I’ll upload a little more tomorrow! AU!Prince Charlie Gillespie x Fictional Character Disclaimer: This is a FICITONAL writing piece! In no way do I claim characters in this piece act this way in real life.

Masterlist *now taking requests ;)

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6

Four Kingdoms stood strong. North, East, South and West. Four Royal Families would unite the land. The Blood of Gillespie would rule the cold North, bountiful with forestry and game. The Blood of Shada would rule the Eastern coast and land, mastering the stormy seas and its’ treasures. The Blood of Joyners would rule the hot Southern lands, gathering the resources for petrol that kept the Kingdoms running. The Blood of Lee would rule the golden coast of the Western lands, providing crops and livestock to feed the people. In each Kingdom, a Ruler to bring prosperity and peace to all its’ people.

Dawn was breaking and people were already moving busily about the Western Kingdom. As more people woke, the excitement in the air increased, for today was a special day. Festivities would start early in the day and go late into the night as the Western Kingdom celebrated the coming of age the Princess. Not only was it the Princess’ birthday, it also signified that the Princess was now officially on the Royal Market, searching for a partner to become King of the Western Kingdom. Tonight’s celebration at the castle would bring people from all over the nation, including the royal families from the Eastern, Southern, and Northern kingdoms. Farmers harvested and packed their crops and livestock, Bakers made fresh delights by the dozens, Florists put out their best and brightest flowers and the Merchants polished their wares. This special occasion would bring people from all over the Four Kingdoms to their stores in celebration and vacation. All the work that was being put into the celebration brought the citizens together and united them on this special day.

Well... At least the citizens were excited...

The Princess was awoken by her best friend and handmaiden, much to her displeasure. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head as the curtains in her room were parted, trying to ignore the hustle and bustle going around her. She knew what day it was, and this made her want to stay in bed for much longer. She even debated not getting up at all. As her handmaiden made herself busy and gave directions to other servants that had entered her room, the princess pulled a pillow over her head, trying to make it clear that she had no intention of getting up. With a heavy sigh, her confidant gave the other servants orders and ushered them out before shutting the door softly behind them.

“Liv. I love you and you know how I feel about today, but I would really appreciate it if you would cooperate so we don’t have the queen on our butts this early” the princess groaned and her best friend pulled the covers off her body. She flinched at the bright sunlight streaming into her room.

“I’m not getting up today Sav. It’s not happening” Savannah shook her head and rolled her eyes at her friend. She knew that Olivia could be quite the drama queen, but today she needed her to cooperate so that she wouldn’t fall behind schedule. Savannah glanced at the clock, already knowing that the extra 15 minutes she allotted was now gone.

“Liv, unless you want to bathe in a cold bath, you will get up or so help me I will dump ice water on you myself!” Olivia groaned and finally sat up looking at her best friend with disdain. “Listen, I know you don’t want to do Today. I get it. But you don’t need another reason to get on the nerves of the King and Queen today” Savannah’s voice sounded slightly distressed and Olivia felt a little guilty at her dramatization this morning.

Olivia and Savannah were best friends ever since she could remember. Savannah was the only friend she had growing up in the palace and was the only friend her parents let her have that wasn’t Royalty. Sure, there were the Duchesses and Countesses of the smaller lands in the Western Kingdom, but Olivia always found them snooty or rude. Savannah’s family had been helping the royal family for generations and they were integral parts of the inner workings of the palace. Naturally, when Savannah’s parents were busy at work Savannah would wander the halls until she found Olivia. The two were like sisters and the King and Queen appreciated the hard work her family put in to serving the Royal family.

And while the Royal family paid them handsomely while providing them lodging, Olivia couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at times when the difference in their status showed. Olivia rarely wore the same dress twice, while Savannah had a very modest and small wardrobe. Olivia had a private instructor, while Savannah went to the school with other children. But Savannah never really cared and that’s what Olivia loved about her. She was a true and honest friend who Olivia felt safe confiding in.

“Sorry Sav. I didn’t mean to make this any harder on you than it already has been” Olivia offered her friend a smile, patting the spot beside her on the bed. “Think you can spend a few minutes off your feet? Debrief me on the day if you will?” Savannah greatly accepted the spot, giving her a knowing look and a big sigh.

“Well Princess-” Olivia glared at Savannah at the title. “You need to get into the baths and get clean so I can do your hair and make up before the lady the Queen hired arrives. There is no way I’m letting you face the neighbouring nations’ heirs with makeup and hair that I don’t approve of.�� Olivia laughed at Savannah’s possessiveness.

“Do we know if the royal families are coming or just their heirs?” Olivia gave a stretch, preparing herself to start the day.

“To my knowledge, just the heirs... But I hear that Prince Charles is quite handsome!” Olivia rolled her eyes as Savannah winked at her. “What? I can’t help it! You hear the chitter chatter in the palace halls. They arrived yesterday and some of the other servants have already been gushing about him. He’s apparently really charming and great husband material” Savannah saw the look of defeat briefly cross her friend’s eyes, before covering it up with an annoyed sigh. “But enough of that. Let’s get you cleaned and dressed and ready to greet our guests.”

***

“Alright Liv, take a deep breath and hold it, I’m pulling up the zipper!” Olivia did as she was told, while Savannah pulled up the zipper to her dress. She was already dreading the fact that she would have to wear the elaborate garb for several hours. Although the light blue gown was absolutely stunning and represented her fashion sense too, she didn’t expect it to come in several pieces. After putting on two layers of skirt, she had a separate top that needed to be zipped up and a cape draped over her shoulders. She could already feel the weight of the material weighing her down a bit and she sighed at the fact that they hadn’t put on her jewelry yet. Savannah and her helpers busied themselves about putting on a bracelet here and a necklace there. Another girl was putting on her earrings while the other made small hems to her dress. Olivia felt like the dolls that her and Savannah played with as little girls.

“Voila! I’ve outdone myself!” Savannah exclaimed, admiring her bestfriend’s transformation, stepping away from her so that she could see herself in the mirror. As much as Olivia didn’t want to like this moment, she couldn’t stop the smile that graced her face. Her best friend had listened to her every request about her dress. Her mother insisted that her first dress be floor length, modest and a Queen Ann neckline. She requested that the dress be midnight blue with the lace accents to be gold. Her mother criticized her colour choice, saying that dark colours were for the evening, not the morning. Olivia argued that if she had no say in the dress at all, she would go naked, a response in which her mother glared angrily at her. However, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that Savannah had taken her mother’s requests and her requests and blended them together. She had a high waisted, A-line skirt that held the princess look her mother wanted, but it wasn’t so big that Olivia felt like a pastry. The Queen Ann neckline was a dark blue mesh with gold lace accents that extended into long sleeves for her arms. Her bodice held very little decoration as the bottom of her dress held all the royal ornate details. The velvet floor length cape was held together by a golden broach.

As per tradition, Olivia wore her family jewels. The gold diamond festoon necklace sat proudly upon her collar and the gold and sapphire earrings were prominent but not over done. A small dainty gold bracelet sat on her wrist and her family ring decorated her right hand. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a loosened braided low bun with the occasional curl framing her face.

“You’ve done a fine job Savannah” the girls jumped at the voice of the Queen. Quickly turning around, Savannah curtsied to her majesty and Olivia followed with a smaller curtsy. “Savannah, could you please grab the tiara out of the case?”

“Yes, your majesty” Savannah hurried over to the velvet case on the vanity and presented it to the Queen. The small but simple gold tiara sparkled in the light of the room. As the Queen gently picked the tiara up, Olivia bowed, lowering her head, a gesture she was all too familiar with. Her mother placed her tiara upon her head and held her face in her hands. She kissed her daughter on the head, careful not to get any lipstick on her.

“The gods have been great to bless me with a daughter as beautiful as you.” Olivia smiled at her mom, not expecting the sudden emotional tenderness she displayed. “Happy Birthday my dearest. Promise me you’ll try to behave yourself today?” Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“I’ll try” her mother chuckled softly.

“Just like your father... All I ask is that you give today a chance to be great. You might be surprised at the unexpected events that may present themselves to you” Olivia could never see herself being as polished as her mother. She knew her mother had her best interest at heart, but Olivia couldn’t help but feel like her mother was forcing her to fit into traditional roles of the Kingdom. “If you’ll excuse me, I must be on my way to the throne room. I shall see you shortly Olivia. Savannah, please ensure that the Princess does not stall. I would hate to have her tardy for her grand entrance.”

“Yes your highness!” Savannah curtsied as her mother and the remaining servants exited, leaving the two of them in the room. “Ready to go my lady?”

“Savannah, you know you can drop the formalities around me.” Olivia stepped off the round fitting platform, Savannah catching her arm as Olivia stumbled for a moment, not used to wearing heels. “It makes me feel weird!”

“I know, but we are going to be around tons of people today and most of them would probably have my head if I called you by name in front of them. I’ll be at your side the entire time, but when others are around, you have to remember I’m your attendant” Olivia sighed in slight disappointment, but she knew her friend was right.

“How is it that you’re not the Princess and I am? You’d be way better at this than I am” Savannah giggled at her remarks and dusted her dress off before they opened the door. They knew that her royal guards were right behind it and that as soon as they exited the room, their dynamic had to change.

“Please, I can’t hide my feelings as easily as you. When I think someone is an idiot, it’s clear all over my face and I don’t even notice it!” they shared a laugh as they opened the door and officially started the day.

But they didn’t expect to see a brown haired man zoom by them in hysterical laughter as a taller blonde man chased after him.

“Charlie! Get back here with my crown!” and the two disappeared around the corner. Olivia blinked in shocked, trying to process whether the scene in front of her happened or not. As her and Savannah shared a look and shrugged their shoulders, they realized that today was going to indeed be very eventful.

tag list: @ifilwtmfc

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie imagines #owen joyner #jeremy shada

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zillennial97 · 3 years

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College/University AU | Larry Fanfic Recs (part two)

Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can't Lose by dolce_piccante | 112k | Mature

American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).

Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.

A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

The Sidelines by RedRidingStiles | 47k | Explicit

"Alright, I know you guys are the best of friends but I'd like you to do this for the rest of the team,” Cowell says, making the rest of the team snicker. "So I want both of you to compliment each other." "I hate your trainers. I mean that in the nicest way possible. They're very...yellow," Louis says, arms crossed as he offers a fake close-lipped grin. "It's really nice of you to blow anyone you find slightly attractive," Harry replies, a sickening sweet smile on his lips. "Thank you, children, let me remind you this is a college hockey team. Try again," Coach says, completely unamused.

Or Harry and Louis play hockey for Penn state and can't stand one another, since they can't keep their hatred off the ice their coach and team do what they can to keep their hard earned spot in the playoffs and their two star players from killing each other

runnin' like you did by orphan_account | 20k | Explicit

“Should we tell him?”

When Lauren is met with everyone either nodding their heads or shrugging, she takes a deep breath. “I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious by now.” She stalls, sounding ominous and Louis doesn’t like it one bit.

“What is obvious by now?” Louis asks. He’s starting getting anxious. “I swear to God, spit it out. Stop being so damn cryptic.”

“I—We think it’s pretty obvious that you’re in love with Harry,” she states simply and shrugs as if she isn’t telling him he’s in love with the second—Nick being the first—most annoying person on the planet.

or, a college au where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles

Can I bother you for a sex? by perfectdagger (sincerelyste) | 16k | Explicit

Reason #40 – Called/texted the wrong person, but he was into it anyway

“So, this isn’t really an invite for a sex, I see,” Louis spoke, not missing the chance. There was a teasing smile on his lips as he turned around to face Harry again after he had just closed the door.

Harry let out a laugh as he closed his eyes and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Oh for fuck's sake, Louis,” he looked back at Louis, “this will haunt me forever now, won’t it?”

Louis shrugged. “Not my fault some people manage to mistext and sext others at the same time.”

When Harry mistexts Louis, Louis realises that he wouldn't mind Harry bothering him with anything, especially not with sex.

dopamine by Only_angel_28 | 7k | Not Rated

Louis honestly doesn’t know how he gets himself into these types of situations.

Well, actually, that’s a lie. He’s doing this because he needs the money, and because he’s curious. And, okay, maybe because he might be a little bit lonely too. He has always had what his mother affectionately calls an “adventurous spirit.” Couple that with being a (tragically single) broke grad student and voila! here he is scrawling his signature on a release form provided by the university’s sociology department. Essentially, he is agreeing to snog a stranger on camera for the sake of science.

Shouldn’t be a problem, right? All he has to do is lock lips with a (hopefully) fit bloke, collect his money, and be on his way. Easy peasy. Little does he know, fate has other plans for him in the form of one adorably quirky art student who goes by the name of Harry Styles.

#larry stylinson #larry fic #larry fanfiction #larry fanfic rec #larry fanfiction recommendations #college au #university au #uni au #larry stylinson fanfiction #one direction #one direction fanfiction

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rinmio21 · 4 years

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Dirty Chai

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Johnny x reader

[May 18th]

Cardamom and Cinnamon.

That’s what Johnny’s been waking up to almost every morning since the day he asked you to move in with him two Decembers ago. He rolls over on to his back and stays wrapped up under the covers, letting his thoughts trail back to that cold winter day.

The usual café felt unusually humid and hot that day, even though the forecast predicted highs would be in the negatives. He regretted his decision of getting a hot coffee, feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his sweater covered back. “So…uh, what- what do you think?”

He remembers how your response and the soft smile that followed was like a cool breeze of air, and a gentle reminder that spring was still miles away.

Looking back now, it wasn’t even that warm in the café, he was just nervous beyond belief.

Months passed, seasons came and went, and now your second spring together was beginning to make its slow transition to summer. He follows the stream of sunlight with his sleepy eyes and chuckles a bit when he realizes that the baby pink flowers from the cherry blossom tree outside of the bedroom window was replaced by a layer of fresh green foliage.

Finally crawling out of bed, Johnny drags his body towards the kitchen, and the spicy scent gets stronger and stronger as he walks down the hallway.

“Y/n, I thought you had the day off today.” Johnny’s hoarse morning voice has you looking up from the small saucepan on the stove.

“I do! But I had to water the plants today so…”

“You couldn’t have done that… later?” Instead of giving him a response, you simply shrug and run over to the counter. Grabbing a can of loose leaf tea from the cabinet, you make a quick pitstop by the entryway to plant a kiss on your boyfriend’s lips before returning to the stove.

At this point, Johnny can only chuckle in defeat.

You were a peculiar nut. Johnny knew this when you two first started dating, but he didn’t know just how extraordinary you were until you started living together.

・

Exactly a week after the awkward café date, you knocked on Johnny’s door with a large backpack and some houseplants, two pots of Aloe Vera tucked neatly under each of your arms.

“Babe, where’s… all your other stuff?” Johnny, being the gentleman he is, slipped your backpack off of your shoulders and did a double take when he realized how light it was.

“I still have two suitcases in my room, so I was gonna run back and grab them later today.”

“Two!? You only have two suitcases worth of stuff?”

“A lot of my things are still at my parent’s house. I…never really considered that apartment a home anyways, just a temporary accommodation until I find a home home.” You roamed around Johnny’s living room, in search for the perfect spot to put your houseplants.

“Here, pass me one. I know just the place.” Johnny lead you down the hallway, being extra careful to not walk too fast so you wouldn’t have to jog to keep up.

・

“…nny. Johnny? Babe?” Your voice snaps him out of his flashback, and he blinks a couple of times to get his vision to focus on you. He sees that your left hand is reaching out to touch his face, and he gently intertwines his fingers with yours, feeling the warmth of your small hands radiate up his arm to his heart. “Johnny, can you start the coffee?”

・

Coffee.

This was the other thing Johnny couldn’t believe. When you walked in to the kitchen during his apartment tour and crinkled your nose at the roasted bean scent, he felt his favorite mug start to slip out of his fingers.

“Do-do you not like coffee?” He managed to stutter those words out while clutching on to the ledge of the counter to keep his balance.

“I don’t know, I’m just not used to the smell of it, it feels like I’m in a café though. It’s nice.”

Thinking back, he had never seen you drink coffee. It was always something else, whether it be hot chocolate or tea lattes.

“Well, what do you drink in the mornings then?” You lifted your pointer finger and ran back to the bedroom, fishing out a few spice containers out of your backpack.

“Ginger, cinnamon, cloves…is this, chai?” He rested his chin on your head as you threw the spices in to a little simmer pot.

“Masala chai to be exact. I feel like it tastes better when I blend it myself.”

So every morning, Johnny would either grab his French press or start the espresso machine, and you would run to the stove to brew your tea.

And somewhere along the way, your drinks began to mix. He didn’t know which one of you came up with the genius idea, but one day you both woke up, and voila.

Dirty Chai.

・

“We should try almond milk next time.” Johnny giggles at your statement, watching little ripples form in his mug.

“Shall we try making our own almond milk then?” You nod at his words excitedly, and he makes a mental note to grab some almonds from the store after work.

A calming silence settles as you and Johnny enjoy your morning caffeine fix, and Johnny absentmindedly shifts his eyes up from his drink. He looks around and realizes that his apartment isn’t really his anymore. Your sticker covered laptop lays on the coffee table, your white sneakers aligned neatly at the door, and your plants add splashes of color here and there.

But for some reason, it felt more like home. And he really hoped you felt that way too. He really hoped you had finally found your home home, here, with him.

“What? Why are you smiling like that?” Johnny can’t help but wonder what you’re thinking about when you’re looking at him with the softest smile he’s ever seen.

“We’re kind of like dirty chai, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean?” Placing his half empty mug on the counter, he wraps his hands around your cheeks and gently lifts your face so your line of vision meets his.

“You and me, we’re like complete opposites a lot of the time, but instead of forcing things on to each other, we compromise. Instead of you making me drink coffee, or me making you drink chai, we drink dirty chai.

…I like that.

I really, really like that.”

#johnny #johnny seo #nct #nct127 #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 scenarios #johnny fluff #johnny imagines #johnny scenarios

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ezrabridgerr · 3 years

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CREATOR TAG MEME

tagged by @iridescentides and @iveheardtherumours thank you so much dia and ren! ❤️

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

i have been making gifs since about mid-october this year and i have posted about 30 gifsets so far so i have a much easier task than most of you super talented people haha.

most of my edits are for julie and the phantoms, so i'm going to cheat a little and choose my top 5 for jatp and top 3 from the rest of my stuff!

julie and the phantoms:

1. favourite scenes -> them being dorks - this one is special to me because it's one of the few styles i got right from the very first try, and transition effects are currently my fave thing to experiment with :) it basically just grew out of me wanting to do several scenes but them being too long for just single gifs. so, voila!

2. favourite song -> bright - this one came from me playing around with selective colours and hue/saturation just for fun instead of using a brush. i impressed myself with how well the colours turned out haha.

3. the band + a million dreams - i'm very proud of the gold text effect on this one, and i wanted to make a blue gifset for a long time too so i feel it all came together really well :') also, the song is one of my faves from the greatest showman and it fits them completely ❤️

4. willex + remember me - emo willex alert! honestly, i was just being very emo about these two not really saying goodbye to each other, and this song popped into my head. hence, i had to make an edit with little torn paper and fade effects to make it extra emo :') enjoy.

5. favourite ship -> alex × willie - this was my first time matching colours to blend gifs on a single canvas, and i enjoyed the process so much that i spent quite a long time on it. i actually love the end product too, i think i captured the vibe i was going for :)

others:

1. the umbrella academy + turning points - my second attempt at both transition effects and frame by frame colouring, and i was especially happy to find i was improving at both :') also, choosing the quotes was really fun, and it made me appreciate my favourite dysfunctional siblings and their character growth all over again.

2. schitt's creek + colours of the sky - this was my very first edit of this sort and i wanted to do something new because almost all topics seemed to have been done already. i read about the sky's colours and looked up some meanings and made up a few of my own that fit the characters, and in the end this spread to so many fandoms and creators, which i'm really proud of ❤️

3. the marvelous mrs. maisel soundtrack - i wanted to make a soundtrack edit almost as soon as i learnt giffing lmao, and the tmmm soundtrack had so many 1950s bops! this was also my first try at vibrant colouring, and it took me some time to make it look good but i think i did in the end!

i’m tagging @molinasjules @funny-face @merceralexs @miriammaisel @danieljradcliffe @rhodee <3

#this is such a cute game shoutout to sarah for starting it <3 #i can imagine how hard it would be for you guys with sooooo many gorgeous edits tho ahahaha #tag game

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coasttocoastreads · 4 years

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Welcome back to Week 2 of Coast to Coast Reads! Who’s still alive? Katya and I are dying while social distancing, but at least we had a few laughs discussing this book:

Crescent City (House of Blood and Earth) // Sarah J Maas

★★ / ★★★★★

Summary in one two gif(s):

Real Summary:

Crescent City, a place where vanir (supernatural beings such as angels, fae, shifters, etc.) and humans freely mingle and go about their days. Bryce Quilan is a 20-something fae/human who’s still reeling from the murder of her friends 2 years ago. But after she’s commissioned to help search for an ancient artifact, Bryce, along with her new angel partner Hunt, unearth previously buried secrets about the murder that threaten to expose a worldwide conspiracy.

Pros:

Great side characters. I would die for each and every one of them.

Lots of different mythological creatures! Not just another Fae Book™️

Cons:

It’s literally ToG 2-7 combined. If you read Throne of Glass, you’ve already been spoiled for this book. 💀💀💀

It’s wayyyy too long

Drags a lot in the beginning

Plot .5/5 (the .5 is for you, Lehaba)

What can I say. SJM literally plagiarized herself by taking the plotline of the tog books and translating it to this new setting. The writing itself was subpar, and most of the time it felt like the author herself had no idea where the plot was going, instead letting it drag on until a plot twist that makes no sense is revealed. (You’ll know which one I’m talking about when you get there.) I’ll compare CC with ToG with spoilers under the cut.

Pacing 2/5

The beginning is full of info-dumping as SJM tries to set up this world which is metaphorically like ours, but everyone’s hot and does fantasy cocaine all the time. It narrates boring day-to-day schedules that could have been condensed into a paragraph and at times I was tempted to skip ahead. The plot does pick up near the last 25% though, so I’ll give it that.

Worldbuilding 2.5/5

It was confusing. To be fair, after all the info was dumped at the beginning, I didn’t bother going back to try to figure things out when they popped up again after. But like still??? I think I only started understanding the hierarchy of the government with the Asterrii(?). Also what are the Triarii I am still lost. SJM attempts to blend a more modern society with one of fantasy creatures, and for the most part it succeeds, but it often just feels...strange. I think the one thing I’m most hung up about is why swords and guns still coexist. Like ??????? it’s one or the other plssssss abandon the “aesthetic” Also while they literally have cell phones and keurig machines there aren’t common things like cars? Why.

Characters: (This is unconventional, bear with me)

Main Characters: -infinity/5 they could go die for all I care

Bryce and Hunt were both super unlikeable, 10/10 would let fall from a cliff. They are literally just rewrites of Aelin and Rowan? Bryce is like ahahaha yeah people think I’m Just a dumb vapid Female™️ who parties too much and gets trashed but SIKE I’m actually the chosen one and I’ve been hiding it this whole time because I didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings uwu. And did I mention I’m actually a trained Warrior who can keep up with The Boys? It’s Aelin y’all. There are numerous times where a character says that she’s not stupid and I’m like...are you sure... This girl makes the poorest decisions, yet ofc, there aren’t any long term consequences... (Also 99% of her problems come from ghosting people literally just respond with “k” sis)

Hunt is... idek what to say about Hunt. He’s just Rowan but in angel form. His inner monologue cycles between I must pay off my debt so I can gain Freedom 😔, why is Bryce so hot 🥴, and Shahar 😭. Once again, literally Rowan who also was bound to some evil villain, had the hots for their CENTURIES YOUNGER pupil/protectee, and had an old lover die tragically which led to them believing they can never find love again UNTIL BryLin comes along. Snooze.

Side Characters: Infinity/5

Ruhn Danaan was the most valid character and that’s the hill I’ll die on. He literally just wanted to protect his sister cuz she’s stupid af but she keeps pushing him away bc he’s an “alphahole” (haha how subversive :/) I want a whole book about him and Hypaxia, preferably fanfiction so I don’t have to read “soft feminine breathing” ever again.

Literally all the supporting cast- Lehaba, Therion, Ithan, Jesiba, Flynn, Connor, etc, etc. had more compelling characters and side stories than Bryce/Hunt. I was 100% more invested in them and I can’t wait to read/write more about them.

(Pls let me marry Jesiba Roga or Therion 🥺)

But while the people on the “good” side were spectacular, the villains all felt one-dimensional and the product of over-recycled and overused tropes mashed together. Sandriel and Pollux are literally just Maeve and Cairn (is that his name)

I’d recommend for:

People who loved Throne of Glass and are lamenting the absence of new content. Please read about Rowaelin 2.0

People stuck at home during this global crisis and have too much time on their hands. (If you need that free epub, hmu)

People who are willing to skip all scenes that feature just Bryce and/or Hunt

People who hate themselves

Would I travel here?

Sorry, what? Already shredded my passport, not getting a replacement, sorry.

Overall thoughts:

I wish I could somehow take those hours of my life back but alas.

See y’all in two weeks with a hopefully better book selection,

Tiff

Spoilers under cut

Okay time to VENT

OKAY so CC=ToG, let’s break down how

Danika’s death is the Nehemia Incident, setting the mc up for a journey of self discovery/reclaiming their power. They both show up as ghosts later to encourage mc in a time of great self-struggle.

Syrinx if Fleetfoot. bc all female mc’s need a pet to reveal her Feminine and Soft side

Sandriel and Pollux are Maeve and Cairn. Evil female character with vast power and her torturer? COOKIE CUTTER FORMULA. The scene where Bryce offers herself up for Hunt in the lobby also kinda mirrors that scene in..HoF? QoS? Don’t remember, but pretty sure that happened. Also that scene was so fucking dumb, I really thought Bryce had a Smart Plan, but I was bamboozled once again.

A gem from my notes: “Bryce is Aelin but with cocaine”

I think the whole demon portal thing is a ripoff of ACOWAR (or is it KoA I can’t even remember), sacrificing yourself to close the rift, etc, etc.

Anyways, Bryce = Aelin, a party-girl front with a sob backstory that’s her superpower origin story who always has a Plan.

Hunt = Rowan, broody warrior busy repaying debts getting orders they don’t want while pining over a lost love. They reluctantly let the female mc in and voila they’re in LOVE

The whole “plot twist” that revealed Hunt’s true plan along was so fucking dumb...

It wasn’t a plot twist, it was just plain bad writing

There was no set up at all, nothing alluding to Hunt secretly masterminding an attempted coup with the help of Magic Meth

The whole time I was like “...this is part of their plan right. There’s no way he legit planned this...”

Character’s POVs should reveal what they’re thinking, even if you’re just hinting at something to reveal later...this was just lazy

Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the sudden reveal that Fury and Juniper had been in a relationship the whole time? Despite like above, there was no prior allusion to that?

It felt like half-assed representation at best and completely irrelevant to the story with it coming up again in a throwaway line near the end

Also? I’m fairly certain there was a scene in the beginning where they were all out clubbing and Juniper hooked up with some rando while Fury was also at the club with them? Was this before they got together or did SJM insert this so last minute that no one caught it?

Wtf is sunball. Can someone just help me out here.

Some people have been saying Hunt is Asian coded? Where???!!!!! All I’m seeing is the same stuff she pulled in ACOTAR where all the Illyrians were tan so people could claim they were poc for woke points but not get in trouble for art depicting them as white ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SJM pls stay away from “like calls to like” you don’t deserve it

#crescent city #house of blood and earth #sarah j maas #tiffs reviews #2 stars #fantasy #bookblr #booklr #bookstagram #book review #yalit #reading #books

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newthingstotry · 4 years

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Hii~

How are you holding up in this pandemic situation? It's been month that we couldn't do activities like normal. I missed going out to mall, eating out, and interact with people. I've been feeling pretty messed up recently. So yeah, i decided to do something new every other day so i would feel excited again in my routine life as a mom of two

Newthingstotry #1

Does anyone like peanut butter? I really love it! It is savory, sweet, and can be eaten many ways. You can spread it on a bread, on a fruit, or even eat on its own. Perfect as a snack. There are some brands that i like, for example, Skippy. But recently i am trying to eat less processed food an avoid added sugar. Also, Skippy is quite pricey in where i live. So i searched on how to make peanut butter, and i was surprised because it was soo easy! You just need peanut, salt, some cooking oil, and sweetener (honey or sugar works) . So here we go!

I bought skinless peanut and bake it in the oven, or you can roast it in a pan.

It is a little burnt 😂😂. I baked it in 20 minutes, turns out 15 minutes will do.

Next, blend it with food processor or dry mill blender until it turns into paste. Add some salt, cooking oil, honey. Blend it together. And, voila! Homemade peanut butter is done!

It's good! Altough mine is a little bitter because i use burnt peanut 😂. I prefer thick texture but you can make texture creamier by adding more oil.

Verdict:

My son really looveess it. He ate almost half a 250ml jar by himself. I absolutely will make some again!

See you in the next #newthingstotry!

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shefightslikeagirl · 5 years

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TBT - Emilie Autumn’s MAD TEA PARTY, published in Orkus Magazine [No.1 | 2008].

For full transcribed recipes, read more, or visit our (new!) Asylum Bakery page.

–

Highly Doubtful Teacake with Very Suspicious Creme

What makes this teacake so very “doubtful” is the addition of fresh lavender, the historical meaning for which is “distrust”. So be careful whom you share it with…

Teacake Ingredients: 1 cup milk 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped lavender flowers 2 cups all-purpose flower 1 ½ tsp. baking power ¼ tsp. salt 6 tbsp, butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs

Grease and flour a loaf pan, and no, I won’t tell you what size because it won’t matter anyway. You’re going to use whatever pan you have, and I’m not holding that against you, I do the same. Half of my recipes were created entirely out of being on the road touring, and really needing to make tarts, but having not the proper equipment. Baking is an adventure, so do treat it as such.

In any case! After greasing and flouring, kindly preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, adding the chopped lavender and bring almost to a boil, then remove from heat and let steep until cool.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, thrash the butter about until its light and creamy and gradually add sugar, then eggs, one at a time, thrashing even more until the whole mess is light and fluffy and much prettier than you ever imagined raw eggs ought to be. Add flour mixture and lavender milk alternating between each addition, and mix until batter is just blended, no longer.

Spoon the flowery goodness into your mystery loaf pan and bake four 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Leave your cake to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. When completely cooled, dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with sprigs of fresh or candied lavender. If you don’t know how to candy lavender, then read ahead on the section on candying rose petals and you’ll get the idea. Serve with a dollop of Very Suspicious Creme.

- ♡ -

Creme Ingredients: 8 oz. cream cheese 1 Tbs. heavy cream ½ tsp. fresh chopped lavender flowers 3 tbs. confectioners’ sugar 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Blend the cream cheese with the heavy cream until smooth and fluffy. Add in the lavender, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla, beating until silky and very suspicious looking. Serve with Teacakes of all sort, but especially highly doubtful ones.

- ♡ -

TEA TIPS: When serving tea to your guests, be sure to present a variety of sugars. Piping tiny frosting flowers onto heart-shaped sugar lumps and displaying rock candy sugar in various colors will set your table sparkling! Save some for the rats…

♡ - ❤ - ♡

Cyanide Tea Scones with Clotted Cream

Ah, sweet cyanide…what can we say about cyanide? You surely know it’s historical impact as a popular ingredient of both murder and suicide. But did you know that cyanide is derived from almonds? Being my personal flavour, you’ll see a somewhat excessive if not altogether inappropriate use of it in the following recipes. And as for the clotted cream, well, that sounds bad enough. Doesn’t it?

Scone Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour 4 tsp. baking powder ½ cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 8 Tbsp. very cold, unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes 1 cup milk 6 black teabags of the best quality you can find, I prefer Twinings 2 eggs, beaten ½ tsp. pure almond extract ½ cup sliced almonds 1 Tbsp. cream ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup finely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a chilled glass bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using your fingers if you know what you’re doing or a pastry blender if you don’t, cut in the bits of butter until the crumbly mess is the size of smallish bees. Set the bowl into you refrigerator or out in the snow while you carry on. In a small saucepan, bring milk almost to a boil. Add tea bags, cover, and brew 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and cool. Beat in the eggs, almond extract, and sliced almonds. Gradually add tea mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined, no more.

Turn dough out onto a floured baking sheet and pat into a circle. Slice the dough into 16 triangular wedges. Alternately you can use heart shaped baking pans like the one I used here. Either way, brush dough with cream and sprinkle generously with sugar and chopped almonds. Bake 20 minutes or until golden, always best to sit right by the oven the first few times you try out a new recipe just to verify that everything’s going along as it should. Your oven is a unique creature you really should get to know, because no two are alike. Once done, cool scones on a wire rack. Serve with The Asylum’s Own Clotted Cream. Makes 16 scones.

- ♡ -

Clotted Cream Ingredients: ½ cup cold heavy cream 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar ½ cup sour cream ¼ tsp. almond extract

In a chilled bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form, and don’t think you can’t do this by hand, because you can. As the cream begins to stiffen up, sift in the confectioner’s sugar. Gently fold in the sour cream, and almond extract, and voila! Clots galore! Chill until use. This fluffy topping for scones and crumpets is also called “Devonshire Cream,“ but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…clots clots clots clotty clots…

♡ - ❤ - ♡

Marzipan Leeches & Plague Rats

Yes, more almonds…but that is hardly important when it is merely a delicious modeling tool for some truly gourmet bonbons. Marzipan rats will charm your guests, marzipan leeches will horrify them. Just let them wait until you’ve given them all names…

Ingredients: 1 package (8 oz.) Marzipan (baker’s almond paste, available everywhere) ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar 2 Tbsp. Amaretto liquer 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder 1 thin-tipped paintbrush

To begin with, open your Marzipan and cover it with a damp cloth as it likes to dry out and then what have you got? Next, add a bit of the cocoa powder to a few drops of the liquer and mix it with the paintbrush, experimenting with ratios to achieve a palette of lovely browns that you can use to accent your rats and leeches. Sprinkle some sugar onto your hands and work surface and you’re ready to begin a life-changing adventure!

Leeches: Leeches can be sculptured in myriad ways, but I will explain my method as a mere example.

Roll a small ball of dough until it becomes a rope, then roll the rope between your hands until it is thinner at one end.

Curl the rope to make your leech, posing him in whatever manner you find suitable, keeping in mind his station and lineage.

Roll two tiny balls of dough for the eyes, and attach them to the top of your leech’s head, then make an indentation within each eye with a very small object.

After waiting at least 30 minutes to let the leeches dry, use your cocoa-liquer mixture to paint stripes and details onto your leech, and place him in a bonbon paper to be displayed proudly in your best leech jar.

Plague Rats:

Roll the rat’s body from a small ball of dough into an oval with one end pointed for the nose.

Roll two little dough bits into ear shapes and press them into the sides of your rat’s head in an appropriate spot.

Roll a thin snake of dough and attach to the rat’s body, curling it over his back for the tail.

Using the wooden end of your paintbrush, make the indentations for the eyes.

After waiting at least 30 minutes to let the rat dry, use your cocoa-liquer mixture to paint shadows and details onto your rat, and place him in a bonbon paper to be displayed proudly on your tea table.

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Cucumber Hatred Tea Sandwiches

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then this is the dish they were talking about. The Historical meaning of basil is ‘Hatred’ and these delicate finger sandwiches are loaded with it…who’s cool as a cucumber now?

Ingredients: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 3 Tbsp. cream ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. black pepper 3 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped 6 slices wheat bread 6 slices white bread 1 English (seedless) cucumber 1 Bushel of fresh basil leaves (approx. 24)

Beat together the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Add salt, pepper and chives, blending well. Spread 1 slice of wheat bread and one slice of white bread with cream cheese mixture. Arrange a layer of cucumber slices on the wheat bread and top with basil leaves. Place white bread slice on top and smash sandwich down ever so gently with a rolling pin. Trim crusts, and cut into triangles. Repeat with remaining bread to make 24 hate-filled sandwiches.

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Rose Petal Poison Sandwiches

Poison? Well, not if you go into your garden and pick yourself some fresh, chemical free petals. Otherwise, you’ll get sick and the sarcasm will be lost…

Ingredients: 6 oz. sweet butter packed in fresh rose petals overnight, softened ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 cup fresh, clean rose petals (from your garden, pesticide-free) ½ sliced almonds 12 slices white bread

To assemble one sandwich, spread two slices of bread with rose scented butter. Sift sugar over buttered sides of bread. Arrange a layer of rose petals, followed by a layer of almonds. Top with the other slice of sugared, buttered bread, and press down with rolling pin. Trim crusts and cut into triangles, hearts, rounds to suit your fancy. Sift sugar over sandwiches and top each with a candied rose petal (petals dipped in beaten egg white and rolled in granulated sugar, then dried until crisp). Repeat with remaining ingredients to equal 24 sandwiches.

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Royally Mad Tea

A standard British Royal Tea is served witha glass of champagne and one o’ sherry. Call me crazy, but for my Royally mad Tea, I prefer champagne and absinthe.

I do hope your Tea Party was to die for.

From the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, - EA

#emilie autumn #photos #tbt #mad tea party #orkus #recipes #asylum bakery

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marcarella-pizza · 5 years

Text

Colouring/ Shading/ Lighting for Digital art

HI! Hello~ I’m here and I have a teeny tiny tutorial for you today (courtesy of dear Melito who actually wants my help??? I’m??? Blessed??? I realise that there’s a lot of you who have no clue who the fuck this person I’m referring to is, oh well, not my problem — ur missing out on hella great cake.)

So I have a timelapse of everything (below, duh, in case you can’t scroll) and I’m also gonna make comments on it cus ya know, these vids are only a minute long and thirty fucking megabytes like Jesus Christ.

So without further ado-do!

Should I have added music? Probably??? Ehhh the deathly silence can comfort you. (Wow what a mood.)

The Run Down:

Is rundown one word or two??

When colouring, I break it up into three main steps: base, line and “Hiding All My Fuck Ups”

(First) Base

I’ve never made it to first base... or any base

When colouring, use a non translucent brush to colour in everything. As in, so it’s completely solid??? Where’s my English today?

For every different colour, put it on another layer! I tend to do the skin colour first. You can go over lines that will be covered with another colour... did that make sense?

That’s it, I just felt the need to have three steps at least.

Line

As in... line art.

What I do is I lock my layer — that means when I try to add colour, colour will only be applied to the area that’s been drawn on.

I usually colour pick the colour I used for the base, and the line looks very pale when done (I do this with a non translucent brush too)

I then adjust the layer with lineart so the colour looks darker and more saturated. For my program (Medibang) I go Filter > Hue > Max out the saturation and lower the brightness > save. Sometimes I may do it again if it’s not dark enough.

If you can’t edit the colour then there’s another way! Duplicate your lineart > select the layer on top > change blending/ layer type to “Multiply” (it multiples the colour... duh)

If THAT doesn’t work I have one last suggestion before I sadly admit idk — duplicate line art > select top layer > colour the entire think a dark colour or black > lower the opacity

Line art done! (This time I wanted six steps — 6 is my fav number)

“Hiding All My Fuck Ups”

I rely on this too much okay?

I can actually further split this into two; shading and “I’m Kidding Myself” — let’s begin!

Shading

To shade, I work from bottom layer up!

What you’re gonna do, is select your bottom colour, (or any really but ORDER HELPS) and lock the layer.

Why? That way it’s easier to colour without going over the lines! (Your building on the foundation you set essentially)

With a semi translucent brush (FYI, translucent brushes are thinks like “blur” or “smudge” that purely affect what’s there and do not add anything) I use the watercolour brush set at 15-20% opacity.

I’ll eyedrop the base colour that I’m shading, and with the colour wheel, tru and find a darker version of that. NOTE: when looking for a darker colour, I don’t go to the black, I try and find a more saturated colour OR a darker HUE — black is a curse, I don’t ever use pure black or pure white — give your work the colour it deserves UwU

With the watercolour brush, I literally run the darker colour over all lines that indicate a shade (imagine a light somewhere and what that light touches is what you mainly focus on)

For clothes, I follow the creases I’ve drawn

For hair, I tru to imagine the hair in three main shapes and run the colour over the perimeters of those

Then it’s time to blend! I usually just eye drop the base colour again for this, and trace (lightly, our tablets have pressure sensitivity — same going for steps 1-8) the line that divides the light from the dark, adding a middle ground since the watercolour brush is only semi transparent.

For adding blush to skin: create new layer above skin layer > set to multiply, again, if you can’t do this then you follow same steps as before with line art) > using an Airbrush like brush (soft, no sharp edges, kind blurred), colour the skin areas that need blush.

Skin areas that need blush; areas with LOTS of blood vessels (head... the OTHER head...) areas with thinner skin (elbows, knuckles, knees)

If your skin layer was on the bottom, your blush will only appear on top of the skin and not the other layers!

Just be careful about the areas outside the drawing — you may need to do some tiny erasing

Finally, merge all the colours together. Sometimes different layer types don’t like to merge together without screwing up your other layers, to avoid simply merge them one at a time from bottom up.

As in, second last one and last one merged together, then the one above that merged with the last one — merge everything with the last one... AM I MAKING SENSE?!

I’ll usually merge the lineart with the colour too — I just didn’t here for some reason

“I’m Kidding Myself”

Here we add stuff that hides flaws and merges the character with a background if you have one!

I use three types of layers for this, if your program doesn’t use these then see if they have similar functioning ones (I’m always experimenting so this isn’t set in stone) if your program has nothing then... this will be a little harder, you’re gonna have to do this by hand somehow.

I use these kinds of blending layers; Multiply, Overlay and Add

First I prevent getting the colour on anything BUT the character; magic wand tool > select the empty space > hold ctrl/shift and keep tapping to add or remove areas > invert if you need in order for the art piece to be selected

You can see this when my background when blue, I’m basically highlighting my art of Yuri

Colour this entire space on a new layer. The colour I use doesn’t change here on out (except in the video I do cus I lose the colour but that’s aside the point). When choosing a colour, consider the colour of light — I use human colours??? Colours you find on a person essentially.

As a general rule of thumb; for every new thing, new layer, it gets a little harder here. I also use a semi translucent (watercolour) brush again for everything!

Now we have a silhouette of Yuri — I set this to multiply, it’s essentially like a highlighter marker pen but darker?? This is so that I may adjust the entire colour to fit the lighting colour

New layer (NL), I set to Overlay. Overlay is like multiply except bright! Remember what I did when shading? Yep, rinse and repeat! Afterwards, adjust the layer’s opacity setting so that it fits better with the image.

I’ll also make the brush really tiny and go over hey areas to highlight such as the edge of the nose, chin and jaw — I’ll also add shine to the eyes.

NL, set to Add. I only ever use this layer if I want to achieve “blinding lights” sort of looks. So when the lighting is immense, I have a white background, or the background is incredibly bright.

I use add layer scarcely, to blemish any lines and make it look more refined. I’ll also adjust opacity if need be.

NL, I’ll use the airbrush set too REALLY BIG (1000 usually) and if I have a background, will try and add light to it by making this layer multiply too. I’ll add darkness in the side or corner of the background etc.

NL do the same thing with Add except also make a point for where the light is coming from.

NL, I’ll use a mix of Add and Overlay to add sparkles, fragments, light spots etc depending on image type of need be

Using a Fluffy pastel brush (it’s textured) I also use pure white. This is the only time I ever do.

I’ll add reflection to eyes, jaw and nose. For hair, I’ll pick out a few strands of hair where it’s darker and throw in some loose lines. Clothes are rarely outlined and only where light touch. I use this limitedly.

Ctrl + D ;) to deselect the lasso tool — I don’t usually merge the layers after this because it’s usually too messy and I’m done anyway so I save it, however you CAN put them all in a FOLDER if need be. (I have a few in my vid, the entire thing is in a folder tbh)

Voila! That’s it!

I hope this has been of some help or use! And that this makes SOME sense... I’m absolute shit at explaining everything...

This was incredibly fun to do tho and I spent two hours typing this all! Wow!

Okay thanks for reading! (Hope this helped Melitooooooo, don’t forget the wedding cake ~ v/ important part of marriage you know)

#art #digital art #yoi #yuri plisetsky #art tutorial #tutorial #colouring tutorial #how to colour #colour and shading #how to draw

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giffied · 5 years

Text

.gif tutorial - editing video directly in PSCC

Here's a tutorial for my method of making .gifs by dropping a .mp4 video clip directly into photoshop.

This technique doesn't require previous screen capping or importing. All you need is an .mp4 video clip and photoshop. Here's the .gif I'll be making:

Now with a Video version of this tutorial!

While you can drop whole movies into PS, I find it easier to work with shorter clips. VLC player is capable of recording smaller clips of larger videos, so try recording the scene(s) you want into clips a few minutes long. Videos just have to be a compatible codec, of which .mp4 is one. Since that's the only filetype I've used, I'm not sure of the others. I know .mkv and .webm won't work. Try a conversion program to turn an incompatible filetype into mp4.

As with any .gif you're making, you'll need your Timeline window open. You can find it under Window >> Timeline. Here's a quick rundown of the relevant parts:

Once you've dragged your video clip into photoshop (see above gif), a blue box will appear in your timeline, along with an arrow pointing to a redline called the playhead. You navigate through a video's frames by clicking the arrow portion of the playhead and holding as you drag it back and forth across the blue box representing your video.

This process is called scrubbing (don't ask me why).

The first thing you'll want to do is turn the video in your timeline into a Smart Object. You can either click on it in the timeline or in the layers palette to select it. Once it's highlighted, use the standard method to turn it to a smart object (Layer >> Smart Objects >> Convert to Smart Object). I like to do a Save As... (File >> Save As...) at this point to create a new .psd file. DON'T SAVE OVER YOUR ORIGINAL VIDEO FILE. Make sure to do Save As....

It's important to note that the .psd you save won't contain the video itself. Instead, a symlink is created, which is basically an embedded link to the original video file. What this means is that if the video you dropped into photoshop is ever moved or deleted, it'll break your .psd file. Make sure not to muck about with the video file as long as you want to be able to work on your .psd

Because resizing/cropping/transforming can make some odd transparency issues on the borders of gifs, I like to place a Solid Color layer of pure black (#000000) at the bottom of the layer palette. So, in the Layers palette, select Create new fill or adjustment layer and select Solid Color at the top of the pop up menu:

Choose solid black either by entering 000000 in the # field or by using the color picker to pick black from the bottom.

Drag this new fill layer to the bottom of your layers.

Now the Color Fill object has to be moved in the Timeline so that it stretches across the entire area taken up by the video clip. Your playhead should be at the beginning of the timeline:

If it's not, click on the arrow and drag it there. Make sure your Color Fill layer is selected in the Layers Palette. Then, click on the Timeline's menu and choose Move & Trim >> Move Start to Playhead:

Your Color Fill object should now be at the start of your timeline. Hover over the object's right edge until the mouse turns into a double arrow icon:

Holding down the mouse, drag the Color Fill object to the end of the work area (the whole of the video object's length). It should snap to the end when you reach it automatically.

Next, scrub to a still image that represents your gif for you to look at as you work on cropping/coloring.

Next you'll want to resize your smart object to gif size. For this .gif, it'll be 540 x 200, so I've set the crop tool's settings to W x H x Resolution: 540px and 200px.

I liked to keep Delete Cropped Pixels unselected so I can move the image around after the cropping. Go ahead and adjust the crop to where you're happy and press enter to crop the image.

You can now start applying filters, masks, color adjustments, text as you normally would. For me, I like to begin by sharpening my resized image. I find Smart Sharpen works best for videos/gifs, because it applies as a filter to the smart object, meaning you can access and adjust the controls at anytime. To use Smart Sharpen, go to Filter >> Sharpen >> Smart Sharpen... In the control panel, apply the following settings:

Amount: 500 Radius: 0.2 Reduce Noise: 0 Remove: Lens Blur Don't worry about the extreme sharpening that takes place from the high amount, because we'll adjust that in the next step. For now, just click Okay.

In the Layers Palette, you'll see the Smart Sharpen filter has been applied to the Smart Object. Right click on the new filter listing and click on Edit Smart Filter Blending Options...

In the new control panel that pops up, turn down the opacity to something that suits your taste. Something between 15% to 30% usually works fairly well. For this video, I've chosen 25%.

Now to move on to color adjustments and my favorite filter, the Camera Raw filter (Filter >> Camera Raw Filter... or Shift + Ctrl + A). In the Camera Raw control window, I start out by going through Adobe's preset profiles to see if I like the look of any of them. For this video, Artistic 8 deepened the blues and brought out a lovely bronze, so I've selected it and closed the profile section.

Still in the Camera Raw window, you can further adjust the color temperature and tint. Temperature: +10 Tint: +10

Change the image's constrast by adjusting the highlights, shadows, whites, blacks sliders directly: Highlights: +21 Shadows: -7 Blacks: -23

Finally, kick up the Vibrance. Vibrance: +6

I also went to the Calibration tab (looks like a film strip) and added more magenta to the Shadows' Tint. Tint: +95

I'm happy with these setting so I won't be using any more camera raw settings, but play around and see what you come up with!

Now, if you want to apply more color adjustments outside Camera Raw, you certainly can. I've chosen to apply a Selective Color Layer to the video to make the bronze pop a bit more. Go to your Adjustments window and apply a new Selective Color Layer.

With Reds selected in the Colors dropdown menu, I've applied the following settings: Cyan: -41 Magenta: +3 Yellow: +33 Black: 0

Switching to Neutrals in the Colors dropdown menu, I've made the following slight adjustments: Cyan: 0 Magenta: +9 Yellow: +8 Black: 0

Next I opened up the Adjustments palette again and applied a Color Lookup layer:

Previewing several layers from the 3DLUT File dropdown menu, I selected Fuji REALA 500D Kodak 2393 (by Adobe).cube color table for the kick in contrast. I found it much too strong an effect, however, so in the Layers pallette I turned down the Opacity to 23%.

The next steps are easiest to do with a single Smart Object for your video. Since I was done with my color adjustments, from the Layers Window I selected the original Smart Object, held down the Shift key and selected the Color Lookup Layer (which layed above the Selective Color adjustment layer). This selected all three layers. Next, I turned them into a new Smart Object (Layer >> Smart Objects >> Convert to Smart Object...). Now everything is contained in a single object both in the Timeline and the Layers window.

Now, if you've tried scrubbing through the video, you've probably discovered that the once smooth and quick back and forth you were able to achieve with your original video file is now choppy and slow. The reason for this is that photoshop has to recalculate every frame of the video and apply your color filters. This is a pain, and really slows down the gif making process. What you need to do is get back to the original video that doesn't have any adjustment layers or filters applied to it. To do that, return to your layers window and double click on your Smart Object's thumbnail. This will open up your original Smart Object and the two color Adjustment Layers you just applied in a new window. However, if you try scrubbing, you'll have the same choppy loading effect as before, because the color adjustments are still being calculate for each frame. What you have to do is go to your original Smart Object in the Layers Window and double click on it one more time. In the new window that pops up, you'll see your original video file, at it's original size. When you scrub through this timeline, you'll be able to do so at the smooth, quick pace you were before all your color adjustments. This and the tabbed window containing your single Smart Object resized video will be the two windows you click between, so go ahead and close the middle tab window with the color adjustment layers. You won't be needing that one open any longer.

As an aside note, make sure the FPS (framerate) listed in the small info section in your timeline is the same for each smart object window as it is on your original video.

If the framerates don't match, you won't be scrubbing through the same frames. Meaning that when you stop at a certain time on both timelines, they won't be stopping at the same place. This usually happens when you create a new window and drop your video file wrapped in a Smart Object into it, instead of just cropping your Smart Object. (Why do this? Sometimes it's easier to resize it via the transform controls with the image size already set, i've done this moving from full size to a 268px width before.) Anyhow, the good news is that the fix is very simple! Just make a note of the fps in your original video file (the one with the blue box, not the purple!) and in every mismatched Smart Object window, go to your Timeline's menu, select Set Timeline Frame Rate..., and enter in the original video's fps in the custom field (or select it from the dropdown menu if it's available). Voila! Problem fixed. But, like I said, this is only a problem if you drag and drop the Smart Object into a new window. If you want to avoid the hassel all together, just crop or do an Image Resize in your original window, as I've done in this tutorial.

Now for turning your Smart Object into a gif! In your Original Video window, scrub through the Timeline and find the point you want your gif to start at. For this gif, I've chosen to start my gif at timestamp 0:00:43:21.

Go ahead and double click on the timestamp highlighted in the image above (careful not to "slide" the time ahead or behind with the mouse) and in the Set Current Time control window that pops up, highlight and copy (Ctrl + C) the time.

Exit the window by pressing Cancel or Esc. Return to your Smart Object's window (with the color adjustments) and double click on the timestamp here and in the control window, highlight the time and paste (Ctrl + V) the time into it and click OK. Your playhead should then jump to the same frame (after a moment to load) you stopped at in your original video.

Now you want to mark this spot for yourself to easily return to. In the timeline, you'll see there are gray "brackets" that encompass the whole of your Smart Object/Video. These "brackets" are the work area.

These brackets can be moved and repositioned to shorten your work area. This is an excellent way to mark the area of your gif. There are two ways to move the brackets. First, you can grab the left bracket, hold down the mouse, and slide it over to the playhead (it'll snap to it once you're close enough). However, the easier way is to right-click on the blue arrow part of the playhead and choose Set Start of Work Area.

The left bracket will then automatically move to your playhead.

Repeat this process to find your ending point, but picking Set End of Work Area instead of Start. NOTE: If you look very closely at the red line beneath the playhead when you're zoomed in to your timeline, you'll notice a light grey box to it's right:

This is highlighting the current frame. You'll want to make sure the highlighted image is the frame AFTER your final frame!. The end of the work area and the playhead snap just to the left of the highlighted frame. The actual frame will be left out out of the work area/split. So if you want your gif to end on the image before, you need to highlight the next image. I know it sounds wonky, but once you've made a few gifs using this method, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Next step is to split the object so you can select Just the section you want to turn into the gif. Having already set your work area makes this easy. Right click on you playhead's blue arrow and select Go to Start of Work Area

And your playhead will jump to the start of your work area, and where you want your gif to start:

Once you have the playhead positioned where you want your gif to start, select the Split at Playhead button (the scissors) to split the object at the playhead (red line):

You'll notice your object has split into two objects:

Note: This is why you want all your color adjustments made before you start splitting your gif(s), because your color adjustment layers are still applied to both objects. You don't have to copy/paste any filters/adjustment layers.

Repeat the previous steps, except this time, for the End. (Go to End of Work Area) Note: Sometimes the playhead stops a frame before the End of your Work Area. I don't know why (bug?), so zoom in on your timeline and make sure that read line is bunched up to the End of Work Area "bracket" before you slice. When you're done, you should have the section you want to turn into a gif seperated out from the rest of the object:

Your prepwork is done! Now to make the actual gif!

It's always a good idea to make a Snapshot at this point! That way you'll have a prepped state ready to revert to if you mess up going forward. You can find the snapshot button in the History window (Window >> History):

If you ever mess up, just scroll up to the thumbnail at the top section of the list and click it.

Either from your Timeline or your Layer Palette, select the Object you just sliced out (the one you want to turn into a gif), then press and hold Ctrl and select the black color fill layer beneath it, so that both objects are selected.

With both objects selected, go to the Timeline's menu and select Convert Frames >> Flatten Frames into Clips:

Depending on your graphic card and how big your selection and image sizes are, this will take some time. The faster your card/narrower your selection/smaller your image, the faster it will render. Photoshop is taking every flame and placing it onto it's own layer. When it's finished, your Layer Palette will be filled with new layers... and you might notice it looks similar to how it looks when you're working in a frame timeline. This is no accident.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of your Layer Palette and make sure your black Colorfill layer is visible (click on the visibility area until the eye shows up).

Then, click on the first new layer and select it. Holding down Shift, scroll allll the way to the top, and select the topmost layer. All the new layers should now be highlighted in both your Layers Palette and your Timeline.

With all the new layers selected and the Colorfill layer visible, go back to the Timeline's menu and select Convert Frames >> Make Frames from Clips:

This shortens the layers into milisecond clips.

Now, with the layers still selected, go back to the Timeline menu one more time and select Convert Frames >> Convert to Frame Animation:

A new warning window will pop up saying "This will convert the timeline to a frame animation". Go ahead and click continue:

At this point, things should look very familiar.

You'll do all the usual steps for saving a gif at this point, EXCEPT you don't have to worry about duplicate/skipped frames. Photoshop hasn't skipped or doubled any frames that weren't recorded that way in the video. Your gif may still be too long to fall under 3mb, but how you trim it down is up to you. In my case, this gif is at the right length, so I go ahead and optimize all the frames by going to the Timeline's menu and selecting Select All Frames. Then from the Timeline Menu again selecting Optimize Animation...:

In the control window that pops up, I've left everything selected and just clicked on OK.

Next, with all the frames still selected, click on the pop up menu of one of the frames (the little down arrow in the lower right corner) and choose Other...:

In the pop up window I changed the Delay of 0.04 to 0.05

Now it's just a matter of saving the gif. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Alt + S or you can go File >> Export >> Save for Web (Legacy) to bring up the Save for Web dialogue box. From there, I make sure the memory comes under 3mb. I like to save with the Selective and Pattern profiles with as high a Colors setting as I can manage, which is the full 256 for this gif. From there, it's just a matter previewing the animation to make sure it looks alright and then saving.

And that's it! That's how I make all my gifs. You'll notice I can go to my history window, undo all the frame conversions or click on my snapshot, and still go to any point in the video to make another gif. Which is usually how I make my gif sets in one go.

I hope this long tutorial was helpful! Please reblog or give a like if it was. If you're interested in how I add text, or use keyframes to manipulate positions/sizes/"camera"/styles/etc, let me know you'd like tutorials on all that too! If there's enough interest I'll be sure to do more.

Happy giffing!

#gif tutorial #photoshop tutorial #photoshop #yeahps #allresources #gifs #gif #ps #tutorial

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morallygreyprompts · 5 years

Note

Please may you do a prompt thingy (idk what to call them) with the Hero (or villain) having a young sidekick and they take on a sort of parental role with them? Thanks, ilysm, you rock!

Ask 71

Hello! Prompt thingie is a perfectly valid term for it, I end up using it myself a lot and thank you so much!

“Step back a second and think this through,” Villain said.“I can’t,” Sidekick huffed. “I just don’t get it.”“It’s algebra, you’re not supposed to get it. You’ve already done the hard part. All that’s left is to nine times nine, then add up all the parts.”

Sidekick scrunched up their face as they tried to run through their nine times table. Villain waited patiently.“81,” Sidekick eventually said.“Adda boy/girl. Here. While we’re on the subject, let me show you a really snazzy trick.”

Sidekick frowned in confusion but handed Villain the pencil.“So, to write your nine times table out, you just write zero to nine vertically, one number per line. Yeah? Then, go back to the top and write nine down to zero. See, so you get Zero and nine, one and eight, two and seven, and so on and so forth. And voila. Nine times tables.”

For a second Sidekick just started at the column of numbers. “I’ve been doing Maths all this time and only just now have I realised that you can do that.”Villain laughed. “Magic. There’s a trick for the eights too if I remember it. Anyway, now you’ve got your nine times table, you can add all these up.”

Sidekick concentrated as they worked it out. “So X squared plus eighteen X add 81.”“That’s the one! See, told you you could do it if you just back up and think.” Villain rubbed the top of their hair affectionately.“Thank you, [Villain],” Sidekick smiled. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Villain stood up to leave the table. “Anything for you, Slack. So, now that we’ve finished with the torture on paper, perhaps you’d like to come and do a robbery with me. You can practise your money counting skills on the job.”

“Very funny, but are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sidekick kept their attention on their bag, putting their homework back inside.

It was Villain’s turn to frown. “What’s got you doubting? [Hero] again?”Sidekick looked up to them and nodded with a sense of embarrassment. “It’s just… they’re getting closer to catching us. Maybe we should take a break, let things cool down?”“We’ll be fine. You know I won’t let anything happen to you. Besides, [Hero] is too thick to be able to keep up.”“And [Vigilante]?”

Villain raised their hands in mock surrender. “Choice is yours. But I’m certainly not worried. It’s a quick job, they probably won’t even get to us in time- you don’t have to.”“No, no I’m coming. Just as long as you’ve got a backup plan.”Villain grinned. “Course I have. When do I not?”

Two minutes. Exactly two minutes and they had to go, leave any other lot behind. The police would be on their way by then and it would give them enough time to disappear without even being suspected. Villain kept it so that they had a spare minute to work with in emergencies. They thought of everything, and that was what kept Sidekick’s nerves under control.

They shoved the jewellery into a burlap sack with extraordinary speed. They practised moving things with their weekend job as a cashier. It had its uses. With so little time available, they had to work fast.

Sidekick bent down to pick up some more necklaces from the bottom shelf, but at they did they heard Villain shout their name. Too late. A hand grabbed them by the hair and yanked them up. Before they could react, the hand moved to instead have them in a headlock and a knife pressing into their cheek. Sidekick struggled to force themselves to fight back instinct. The blade was all they could focus on.

“Get that knife away from them [Vigilante], or so help me, I will shove it so far up your arse it cuts your tongue off,” Villain snarled.“Good evening to you too,” Vigilante answered coolly.“Let them go, now! Damn it, I’ll give myself just get that away from them.”Vigilante shrugged. “Or I could just take both of you?”

Sidekick’s mind was reeling. They were trying so hard to think. Once the two minutes ran out, the henchmen outside would come into check what was wrong. Did Villain know that? Of course, they knew that, but the knife was the only thing stopping them from acting.

Sidekick tried to adjust their head so they could breathe better, Vigilante yanked their arm up and almost sent them into a panic at how little air they were getting. But they could work with that. They let their legs go weak and acted like they’d fainted.

“Let them go!” Villain demanded. “It’s me you want. If you’ve hurt them, I swear-”Vigilante ignored them and looked unimpressed at Sidekick’s lack of courage. They moved the knife away from their face and let them drop to the floor. At once, Sidekick rolled away, before Vigilante could do anything about it, Villain launched a jewellery stand at them. It missed Vigilante, but it gave Sidekick the time to grab their bad and get away.

“Go!” Villain ordered. Vigilante ran at Villain with their knife drawn. Villain struggled to fight them off, another stand was useful in being able to disarm, but losing the weapon didn’t make Vigilante any less dangerous. They rolled around the floor, with Villain barely managing to keep Vigilante’s hands away from their face and neck. Any form of offence seemed impossible to them, but at least Sidekick wasn’t in any danger.

After a few brutal knocks to the head, Vigilante was able to pin Villain’s arms under their legs and hit them another half a dozen times, all with incredible speed and force. Then their hand clamped around their neck, Villain croaked for air, trying to free themselves despite their blurring thoughts. Their vision was getting dark and their head heavy.

“Give up, [Villain],” Vigilante warned.

All of a sudden, the pressure disappeared from their throat. Villain gasped for air but they wheezed when Vigilante’s entire body weight dropped onto them.“Hang on,” Sidekick said quickly, shoving Vigilante off them. Villain could see a bat on the floor beside them was able to put two and two together.

“Okay, up, up. Come on, that’s only bought us a few seconds ‘til they come around,” Sidekick heaved Villain to their feet before they could completely gather their thoughts. They grabbed Villain’s bag and guided them outside with one of the Henchmen’s help. “Move it! Breathe later. Go!”

“Thank you,” Villain coughed as the henchmen took the bag off Sidekick and threw it into the van. “You’re a lifesaver.”“Hold onto that gratitude. We’re not in the clear yet.” Villain could hear sirens blaring and realised they’d gone way over their time. They were bundled into the van and it took off, blending into the rest of the night’s traffic.

#hero and villain #writing prompts #asks #villain #sidekick #Vigilante #parental figure #fight #i just can't help it

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