tutorial contents:
1 ‣ gshade & photoshop actions
2 ‣ template or cropping & colouring
3 ‣ notifs & pop-ups
okay hi! i have a really old editing tutorial from back in january that i've been linking people to, but it's pretty outdated by now. i also keep getting anons asking about the same things, which is fine, but i always have to go searching for the post explaining it, so having it all in one place will be a lot more convenient lol
i use a ☠ copy of photoshop cc 2017 to edit my screenshots, however the majority of everything i'm doing also works on photopea
photopea is an online version of photoshop that's 100% free and works very well! i can't recommend it enough, it's fantastic
first things first, you're going to need some screenshots to edit. for the sake of this tutorial i'll be working with this one of raffy:
in all honesty, gshade will do most of the work for you. of course it's not needed, but i definitely don't think i could live without it! in this screenshot i used sunset n' vinyl by nesurii
when opening the screenshot, the first thing i do is run it through 2 photoshop actions:
butter action by early-grape
smooth sharp (no topaz) by poolbrop
to add actions in photoshop go:
windows > actions > the 4 lines at the upper right corner of the newly opened window > load actions > your downloads folder > open up the .atn files!
if you're using photopea, as far as i'm aware you can't use photoshop actions, but i've found that 'filter > stylize > oil paint' and 'filter > sharpen > smart sharpen' have a very similar effect when using the right settings. try these:
i like these two actions because they smooth everything out nicely, but keep it sharp at the same time! i always run butter before i run smooth sharp, however butter may leave you with 2 layers. make sure to merge these layers before running smooth sharp to achieve the full effect.
here's a before and after (of the photoshop action):
from here you can move on to step 2
before anything else i want to share the template that i use to make editing a lot faster. you don't need to use it but it's definitely made things a lot easier for me! it's a .psd file and will work perfectly in photopea
download (simfileshare)
if you're using the template you can skip right on to the next section, as it's already cropped to the right size and has the colouring folder included. just drag your screenshot into it and resize to fit the height.
if you're not using it, crop your edited screenshot to:
1707 width x 1280 height
then adjust the colours to your liking. it always varies slightly depending on the picture but my regular process for each screenshot would be:
up the saturation by 8%
up the lightness by 3%
up the contrast by 12%
all of this can be done by looking in the 'images > adjustments' tab
you should end up with something similar to this!
if you want to add a moodlet or social interaction or anything similar, it's all the same process. what you'll need is a screenshot of it straight from the game. i just press the 'c' key to capture them! i'll be working with these two:
for the blue notification i'm going to select it using the box select tool. try to get it as exact as possible. one you have it selected
for photoshop users:
click on the 'select and mask...' option located at the top
adjust the global refinements at the side as follows:
smooth: 70
feather: 0.0px
contrast: 50%
shift edge: 0%
for photopea users:
go to select > modify > smooth
set it to 15
select 'ok' and press 'ctrl + c' to copy it, then 'ctrl + v' to paste it into your screenshot. adjust the size and position and you should end up with something like this:
next you want to add the transparent border around the notification. if you're using my editing template, right click on the reference notif in the layers tab and select 'copy layer style' (photopea > 'layer style > copy'). from there you can paste that layer style onto your own notif through the layers tab.
if you're not using the template, here's how to set it up on photoshop:
right click your notification layer and select 'blending options'
under styles, tick the checkboxes for stroke and drop shadow
input these settings:
on photopea, it should be more or less the same. repeat the exact same process with the social menu option, but instead of selecting it with the box select tool, use the magic select tool. in the end you should end out with this!
from here you're finished! thanks for reading! go to file and export as png
if you've got questions never hesitate to ask, just make sure to read the faq in my pinned. i might edit this post soon to include the gen intro traits and aspirations bit, but this is all for now. hope it helps, my editing process post has been in need of a revamp for a very long time. i haven't proof-read this so apologies for any mistakes!
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more rambling about a s5 au: lindsey comes back for a redemption arc to act as legal counsel for angel's team. this ostensibly gives gunn a reason to opt out of the lawyer operation, but he does it anyway because he doesn't trust lindsey not to fuck them over.
lindsey acts as a moral foil to gunn, who comes to believe his necessary contribution to the team (since he's no longer their only lawyer) is being the defender of the group's principles while working at w&h. they frequently butt heads while working on a case, but eventually develop a begrudging respect of each other's respective strengths.
this hostile-to-friendly-rivalry arc is tested when it comes out that w&h was responsible for some demon problem that's been plaguing gunn's home community. gunn has, unbeknownst to himself, been somehow contributing to it while working at w&h; lindsey knowingly contributed to it when he was last working there as a lawyer. lindsey is forced to confront who he was, while gunn is forced to confront who he’s becoming.
since he was involved in the project, lindsey uses his insider knowledge to help come up with a plan to fix the problem. they execute it, something goes wrong, and lindsey risks his life to ensure the plan goes off successfully. he expects congratulations and a pat on the back from gunn, but gunn isn't interested in absolving lindsey's sins (or his own), and their warming relationship freezes over.
at some point, gunn lets himself get taken by the senior partners in an effort to deal with his guilt over various lapses in judgment/perceived moral failures. during their rescue mission to the holding dimension, lindsey stays behind in gunn's place so he can escape, assuring gunn that he's the lawyer the team needs right now. their mutual arcs culminate in lindsey rejecting the idea that redemption is done for recognition, and gunn rejecting the idea that guilt/self-punishment is inherently redemptive.
eventually after being busted out by illyria, lindsey is there to empathize with gunn about losing parts of yourself (body, mind, and/or soul) to w&h, relationships to power when you've grown up without it, and what it means to live with the consequences of your actions. both of them reflect on the nature of redemption/forgiveness/intent as they grapple with how to own up to an appropriate share of the blame.
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Personally I think even if he was "just" there to kill a different innocent person it still proves he's an asshole because he would be completely fucking over the girl he supposedly has a crush on's academic chances.
oh for sure he sucks. but i was just pointing out that there is a difference between like… wanting to screw over a girl you like so she can’t graduate vs like actively wanting her dead. though i suppose if he knew that kipperlilly was stealing the revivify crystals that would end with adaine dead anyway with no one surviving the last stand before.
but again, he could have just thought kipperlilly was there to kill the proctor not knowing that she would steal the crystals and thinking the proctor wouldn’t super die, he would just die enough to hurt the bad kids academically.
the fact that we dont know for sure is what’s makes this so interesting and infuriating, plus the rage that kipperlilly seems infested with along with the existence of devils nectar makes the idea of reality and truth hard to grasp.
this is actually me being an accidental rat grinders defender cuz i can’t get them out of my head so sorry
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The alliance with Gortash feels really rushed - not that I need to tell any of you that but I was thinking about how it could've been.
Primarily, if he lived to the end and if he betrays you or not depending on whether you proved that he could trust you in quests prior.
For example, you can talk to Wulbren about blowing up the foundry before you even talk to Gortash so one step towards him trusting you properly could've been the player telling him where the Ironhands are hiding.
Idk, it just really makes no sense to me how you can make an alliance with Gortash but none of you really bring anything to the alliance other than the stones. They don't really provide an incentive for taking the alliance besides skipping the foundry/iron throne quests and Gortash's boss fight which I suppose, for some people, would be enough but only one of those is actually compulsory to progress with the main story.
And sure, he tells you about Orin but even if you're not told, the shapeshifting thing still happens and you can still catch her regardless.
To be honest, I kind of feel like if it's going to be a feature in your game, it should be as fleshed out as other things.
I realize that there's a time crunch and things get chopped and left out, that you can't have everything - I get that completely but that doesn't stop me from feeling that Act 3 feels kind of abrupt in a lot of ways, especially where Orin and Gortash are concerned.
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Evie likes to count her ribs. It’s soothing. She’ll run her fingers down her left side first, feeling carefully from top to bottom before moving on to her right. She’ll dig her fingers into each divot, hook them underneath her rib cage as she sucks in a breath. It’s her morning ritual. Before taking a shower but after her first weigh in of the day. And at night, in the quiet moonlight that sneaks its way through their room's tiny bathroom window, Evie measures herself. She hides the tape measure with her skincare, which she keeps neatly organized in a bin that Mal never touches. She begins with her arms, then her waist, then her hips, and always ends with her thighs. It’s something her mother taught her how to do. They used to do it together, her mom standing by her side as they measured themselves in tandem. They would stand in front of their bathroom mirror, which had a crack in it that split it into two. Sometimes, Evie would line herself up with the fissure, watch as it made her face go wonky. She was uneven and disassembled, just like her insides.
Doing the nightly ritual without her mother is lonely. Evie is almost tempted to invite Mal to join her. She thinks that Mal could keep her on track - the way her mother did - make sure that Evie stays slim and perfectly princess-esque. She thinks that Mal would be kind about it. Unlike her mother, swinging like a pendulum, simultaneously angry when Evie was fatter than her and then even more angry when Evie was thinner than her. But Evie knows that Mal would disapprove. Mal would narrow her eyes, grab her by her wrist and show Evie just how easily her thumb and pinkie wraps around it. Unbearably tiny. She’s done it before. Like back when they were on the Isle and Evie would refuse to eat her share of the rations. Mal does it here too. She'll hold Evie's wrist underneath the cafeteria table whenever Evie is merely moving her food around and not actually eating it. Mal is kind like that. And even if others might think of Mal's grip as too tight, Evie knows better. Mal's touch is the only thing preventing the rot.
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a descendants wip for my series. i've been working on this since february, which ik isn't actually that long ago but i've been stuck ever since, which is soooooo :(((((
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