Post by erados on Dec 2, 2006 13:55:57 GMT -5
It's very simple.
First off, there's a site here that teaches you how to make a blinkie like the ones you usually see (flashing letters, etc).
I don't do them this way, because I don't really like those kind of blinkies. I prefer to make more colorful, phasing blinkies. You might like this way, and I won't re-type it all because linking to it is simpler.
Here's my way:
Download the Gimp, which is up there with Photoshop in image editing.
Go to MS Paint, and make a simple image with a word on it or something and a background, like this:
I just colored in all the letters and then made the background black - real easy.
Then I fired up the Gimp, which usually takes a while to load.
Screenshot
Once the gimp is Loaded, it should look like this.
Then open the pic you made with paint, mine was "anothertrps.bmp." Screenshot
When the pic is opened, right click on it, go down to "Filter," then "blur," and then click "blur."
Screenshot
Once you've blurred, it should look a bit more faded.
At this point, feel free to muck about with it and find out the cool things you can do. For example, re-sharpening it (screenshot, screenshot) to the max makes it look really jagged.
When you're finished playing with it, save the image however you want.
Screenshot
Then, what I do to create my effect, is I go to "Filter," then "Edge-Detect," then "Neon."
Screenshot
This is where the boring bit comes.
When you're at Neon, set it to "3". It gives you a nice preview.
screenshot
Then save your modified image.
Here's a guide to saving them correctly:
Your first image (the normal, colored text over a background) should be just a normal name, like... normal.bmp.
Your second image you can save over the normal.bmp, if you're happy with your change. At this point, you've blurred it and changed whatever else you wanted.
Third image I always name 1normal.bmp.
Fourth would be 2normal.bmp, and so on, so forth.
Back to the image editing.
Open up your ORIGINAL - the 'normal.bmp' or whatever you saved it as. This is the one you blurred and played around with, NOT the one you just saved after the neon.
Go back to filters, edge-detect, neon, and this time set it to something a bit higher than 3. I usually go by 3's, so the first one is 3, then 6, then 9, then 12, etc. It's safe to go by pretty much any intervals but the smaller the intervals, the longer this will take you. For your first blinkie, I'd suggest doing 3 to 5, but for this guide I'll just go by 3.
When you have it set to 6 (the second time you click "neon" basically) for neon, save again, this time "2normal.bmp," then get the original back and set it to 9, save as "3normal.bmp," get the original back and set to 12, save as "4normal.bmp," and when you get to about 10normal.bmp, it's time for the putting-together.
Now go to "Open Image," and look at your list.
In my screenshot, I only have five, but you should have some more than that if you want a really nice looking blinkie.
Open the first one. (1normal.bmp or whatever you named it)
Then go to file, and hit "Open as layer," and then get the second image.
Screenshot
Open as layer again, then the third pic, and repeat this until you've got all your 5 or 10 or whatever amount of images you have opened as layers.
Screenshot
Now if you've got your five/ten/fifty million images opened as layers, you should have an image that says, as title, "__ layers"
If that number of layers matches how many images you made neonized, then you're on the right track.
Now do the same thing, but backwards, skipping the first and last image.
The complete order of images should be like this: 1>2>3>4>5>4>3>2
Mine is now 8 layers, and the image on top is image number 2.
Screenshot
Save image as "anothertrps.gif"
Screenshot
Now it says "Your image should be exported because..."
Like this screenshot.
Click on "Save as animation," and then on "Export."
Now it asks for some settings for your animation.
Screenshot
Add whatever comment you want.
For the frame speed thing...
It's per millisecond.
So 100 would be it switches from image once ever 100 milliseconds (10 times per second). With blinkies, I usually do mine at 30 or 40 milliseconds, because they just pulse the same text and it's not like there's information that has to register on your brain, but if you're doing an actual animation or an advertisement with text (like "Visit TRPS [blink] We've got 30 active members! [blink] So join us today!") then you might want to consider putting it up in the thousands, like 3 frames per second (3000 milliseconds).
Save it and then go to wherever you saved it and preview it. Should be a pulsing image that jumps out at you pretty quickly.
You can do this with all the Gimp's sliding controls, like "photocopy,"
"blur," and pretty much everything that lets you slide the strenght of the change to the original image like the Neon did. Think of it like a slide-show on a paper, where you draw a stick-figure who dances when you flip through the pages of a notebook fast. I can make one in a few minutes, but the Gimp is a VERY complicated program so I suggest you just sit through and figure some stuff out when you're bored.
NOTE: The Gimp is a safe program, it's not virus/spyware/adware, and it won't ask you to pay, it won't bother you at all, EVER. I'd rather have the Gimp than Photoshop on my computer.
First off, there's a site here that teaches you how to make a blinkie like the ones you usually see (flashing letters, etc).
I don't do them this way, because I don't really like those kind of blinkies. I prefer to make more colorful, phasing blinkies. You might like this way, and I won't re-type it all because linking to it is simpler.
Here's my way:
Download the Gimp, which is up there with Photoshop in image editing.
Go to MS Paint, and make a simple image with a word on it or something and a background, like this:
I just colored in all the letters and then made the background black - real easy.
Then I fired up the Gimp, which usually takes a while to load.
Screenshot
Once the gimp is Loaded, it should look like this.
Then open the pic you made with paint, mine was "anothertrps.bmp." Screenshot
When the pic is opened, right click on it, go down to "Filter," then "blur," and then click "blur."
Screenshot
Once you've blurred, it should look a bit more faded.
At this point, feel free to muck about with it and find out the cool things you can do. For example, re-sharpening it (screenshot, screenshot) to the max makes it look really jagged.
When you're finished playing with it, save the image however you want.
Screenshot
Then, what I do to create my effect, is I go to "Filter," then "Edge-Detect," then "Neon."
Screenshot
This is where the boring bit comes.
When you're at Neon, set it to "3". It gives you a nice preview.
screenshot
Then save your modified image.
Here's a guide to saving them correctly:
Your first image (the normal, colored text over a background) should be just a normal name, like... normal.bmp.
Your second image you can save over the normal.bmp, if you're happy with your change. At this point, you've blurred it and changed whatever else you wanted.
Third image I always name 1normal.bmp.
Fourth would be 2normal.bmp, and so on, so forth.
Back to the image editing.
Open up your ORIGINAL - the 'normal.bmp' or whatever you saved it as. This is the one you blurred and played around with, NOT the one you just saved after the neon.
Go back to filters, edge-detect, neon, and this time set it to something a bit higher than 3. I usually go by 3's, so the first one is 3, then 6, then 9, then 12, etc. It's safe to go by pretty much any intervals but the smaller the intervals, the longer this will take you. For your first blinkie, I'd suggest doing 3 to 5, but for this guide I'll just go by 3.
When you have it set to 6 (the second time you click "neon" basically) for neon, save again, this time "2normal.bmp," then get the original back and set it to 9, save as "3normal.bmp," get the original back and set to 12, save as "4normal.bmp," and when you get to about 10normal.bmp, it's time for the putting-together.
Now go to "Open Image," and look at your list.
In my screenshot, I only have five, but you should have some more than that if you want a really nice looking blinkie.
Open the first one. (1normal.bmp or whatever you named it)
Then go to file, and hit "Open as layer," and then get the second image.
Screenshot
Open as layer again, then the third pic, and repeat this until you've got all your 5 or 10 or whatever amount of images you have opened as layers.
Screenshot
Now if you've got your five/ten/fifty million images opened as layers, you should have an image that says, as title, "__ layers"
If that number of layers matches how many images you made neonized, then you're on the right track.
Now do the same thing, but backwards, skipping the first and last image.
The complete order of images should be like this: 1>2>3>4>5>4>3>2
Mine is now 8 layers, and the image on top is image number 2.
Screenshot
Save image as "anothertrps.gif"
Screenshot
Now it says "Your image should be exported because..."
Like this screenshot.
Click on "Save as animation," and then on "Export."
Now it asks for some settings for your animation.
Screenshot
Add whatever comment you want.
For the frame speed thing...
It's per millisecond.
So 100 would be it switches from image once ever 100 milliseconds (10 times per second). With blinkies, I usually do mine at 30 or 40 milliseconds, because they just pulse the same text and it's not like there's information that has to register on your brain, but if you're doing an actual animation or an advertisement with text (like "Visit TRPS [blink] We've got 30 active members! [blink] So join us today!") then you might want to consider putting it up in the thousands, like 3 frames per second (3000 milliseconds).
Save it and then go to wherever you saved it and preview it. Should be a pulsing image that jumps out at you pretty quickly.
You can do this with all the Gimp's sliding controls, like "photocopy,"
"blur," and pretty much everything that lets you slide the strenght of the change to the original image like the Neon did. Think of it like a slide-show on a paper, where you draw a stick-figure who dances when you flip through the pages of a notebook fast. I can make one in a few minutes, but the Gimp is a VERY complicated program so I suggest you just sit through and figure some stuff out when you're bored.
NOTE: The Gimp is a safe program, it's not virus/spyware/adware, and it won't ask you to pay, it won't bother you at all, EVER. I'd rather have the Gimp than Photoshop on my computer.
I'll have my uncle help me later. This is pretty confusing.
