I often see caps that are simply resized, and I wanted to show the steps that can be used to make screencaps look even hotter. Just like the “ugly girl” in chick flicks, sometimes a few superficial changes can bump the hotness up several notches. I use Photoshop for this tutorial, but keep in mind the general steps can be replicated in many image-editing programs.
1. Cap an Image
I am a Kappa
I start with a full-screen image, take a screencap, and then paste it into my image-editing program. Although many video players have a native screencap function, I prefer to use Print Screen to avoid double JPEG compression. It’s not really a big deal, though, and if you take a lot of caps, it’s probably easier to use the native screencap function and then browse the screencap folder later. If you are using a newer version of Photoshop, take note of the Adjustment layers which I will be using later on.
2. Sharpen the Image
I prefer The Sharper Image
I find that using a Sharpening tool on the image before resizing can really improve the quality of the image. Here I go into the Filters menu and use the Smart Sharpen tool, but most general Sharpening tools will do a fine job. I don’t go overboard, but because I Sharpen before I resize the image, I don’t have to worry about the lines getting too jaggy/pixelated.
3. Resize and Check the Curves
Note the weak shadows and bright highlights
At this point I resize the image to a width of 600 pixels, because that’s the size that our theme is optimized for. Resizing the image in a real image editing program (i.e. not Paint) usually yields far superior results. I then click on the Curves Adjustment Layer button that was shown in the first step to add a layer for (surprise!) adjusting the curves. Some may find this step intimidating, but the effect is similar to increasing the contrast through a Levels tool or simply fiddling with the Brightness and Contrast tool. Using the Curves tool, however, gives you much finer control.
4. Adjust the Highlights and Shadows
S for Sea Slugs
For most scenes, you will probably only need to bump up the highlights slightly and lower the shadows slightly, to give the new curve a slight S-curve. Overdoing it can give the picture an over-saturated look. You basically just click on that central diagonal line in the curves tool to set a point to edit, and then move the point up and down, or left and right, to adjust the contrast. Try experimenting with the Curves tool a little and you will see it is not that scary. I prefer to use an adjustment layer instead of directly editing the curves, just because it’s easier to go back and make changes later. Here I darkened the shadows and mostly held the highlights steady.
The Results
Wow that's awesome, let's date
So here is a comparison shot. A lot of anime scenes tend to look a little washed out, especially with lower-budget slice-of-life or comedy shows. This treatment can make the caps look better and make it easier to tell what’s going on in the scene. If you use Photoshop, you can turn these steps into a macro. I went into the Actions menu and recorded all these steps right up until the curves adjustment, so that I can do all of the previous steps with a simple tap of CTRL + F12 (you can bind it to a different key combination if you like).
Obviously this adds another step in putting together a post, but for me it’s worth it. Let me know if you find this useful, or if you have suggestions on how to improve the workflow.
This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1971 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Yet you still leave the ugly black bars in
I agree though, making the images a bit nicer in Photoshop is a must for a lot of screenshots. Really makes a big difference.
BTW do you have a writing tablet, or is that a font you used for the purple words? Or are you a god at using the mouse to draw words? (PS if it’s you drawing it, you have girly writing)
I have a tablet. I hadn’t been using it because the previous drivers for Vista sucked, but I just reinstalled the Windows 7 drivers and my old Intuos 2 lives again!
I have been told many times that I have very girly handwriting. Also, the black bars are artistic!
I love how simple but useful this post is.
I mean…so short. But it doesn’t need to be any longer.
Rare for bloggers!
(Thanks for the tips, even though I don’t take screencaps, myself. Fufufu.)
Not all of us are so lucky to blog about already perfect pieces of art
It’s not luck; I chose it. ;D
I very much enjoyed this post! Thanks for the great tips. (Also, at the risk of sounding creepy, you have really nice handwriting.
)
I know! At first, I thought he forced his wife to write it, but then I realized that he was one of the few males in the world that actually had decent, legible writing. o.O
I know! What’s more, it’s pretty too. o.o He’s a handwriting-trap!
This would be creepy, but I’ve heard it so many times throughout my life that I’m used to it by now. I actually think my handwriting is kinda messy…
I bet you forged a lot permission slip signatures in your younger days.
What can I say, sometimes parents don’t understand that there is no A-prus-prus.
*Shivers* This hits way too close to home for me.
Nice, I’ll definitely be using this for future posts. I think the sharpen tool has the most noticeable effects. Adjusting the curves affected it slightly, though not much.
And to echo Epi: those big black bars on the top and the bottom are still there. THE CROP TOOL IS RIGHT THERE. Then again, that’s what makes bloggers unique: big, black bars in screencaps. =D
I take it easy on the curves most of the time, and most scenes in ample light don’t benefit as much from a curves adjustment. However, it can really make a difference in really bright or really dark scenes, where otherwise it would be difficult to tell what’s going on.
you can photochop a lot of stuff to look better, but usually the best thing to do to make caps pop is to make sure your source doesn’t suck. some people run enough post processing filters to basically skip over the photoshop phase of things. ymmv etc.
otherwise this is yea. you should probably also write about how to set up a macro :p
personally i don’t mess with caps, just because to me caps are not meant to “look hot.” they are just samples of the actual thing.
That’s just something homely caps say to make themselves feel better!
I remember watching some anime and going over to RC (IIRC) to read about it afterwards, and I was like “lol the caps are so off-color” because they were post-processed and it was for a show that had a more muted color palette. I mean, yeah, maybe they pop, but they betray their source integrity. Sometimes that’s fine I suppose, but YMMV.
Hm I do my screen caps differently. I save all my screencaps in .png format, so they’re lossless, and they’re taken straight from the media player.
The curves are a nice touch though. Since I don’t use that many images in my posts, I should probably add in more contrast to make them stand out (if the image needs it/is compatible with it of course!)
Yeah in that case, it isn’t a big deal to use the media player capping function. I usually do the contrast on a case by case basis, which is why my macro stops at that step, but almost all caps benefit from a little sharpening.
I get the feeling that Kabitzin’s post was “inspired” by my Working!! 10 screencaps. OTL
Before:
After:
Agree with omo that the besto solution is to use a better source but I’m stuck with low-res AVIs because my underpowered netbook can’t handle the higher resolution AVI and MKV playback.
Yeah, my netbook can’t handle anything beyond low-res AVI either. This wasn’t aimed at any one person; I’ve been thinking of doing this post for a while, and I just picked a series without too much distracting stuff going on in the background. With low-res AVI, you probably get the most bang for the buck with the sharpening, and then just mild changes to the highlights and shadows so that the image isn’t over-saturated.
With a histogram, you can see where the image is… lacking.
Sorry for the paranoia (occupational hazard ahaha~♥) and thanks for the tips.
Just a note for GIMP users, Step 2, Filters – Enhance – Unsharpen mask and Step 3-4, Tools – Color Tools – Curves.
Um, just wondering…what do you guys define as low-res? It’s kinda hard for me to tell, and I’m not very technical, so…XD
Cool post nice detailed infos! I did wonder how you made your screens so sharp ;P anyone use Paint tool sai? do they have this same feature? I do have Gimpshop!
Very useful guide. The leveling is especially important for creating a more vibrant image. For beginners working with Photoshop or for those without much time, I think there is also a very useful function that auto-levels. It does the job pretty well also. Still, experimenting with leveling is a good idea.
Anyways, thanks for the guide.
The action/macro is definitely a must if you plan to have tons of screenshots, but I would also like to mention it’s downside. Well, not much of a downside, and this is more of an excuse to post more before/after pics, but either way, if you are blogging multiple series, especially if one is colorful and the other is darker, it would be a good idea to have a separate curve setting for each show.
Here we have a Mugi pic that was featured in J159′s recent K-ON!! 10 post (this is the unedited version)
When I blogged Hidamari Sketch, I used a very high contrast setting since most of the pics were grayed-out and I wanted to go for a more punchier feel. The problem with this Hidamari setting is that it is not compatible with K-ON Season 2 because K-ON is already high on contrast. Below you will see the result of applying the Hidamari curve to a K-ON pic:
Looks pretty saturated, right? The point is that not all shows will benefit from an action/macro that you’ve set for previous series. A show like DRRR!! with it’s dark tones should have it’s own macro setting than, say, Maid-Sama and Working!! Once you play around with the settings, you’ll realize which show needs more of what, and you too can be a Screenshot Master!
Anyways, this is the new and improved High Definition K-ON!! Season 2 contrast setting that I currently use for my episodics:
It is not as dull as the first pic nor as intense as the second. It is the Sea Slug Standard!
I agree, and that’s why I have my action macro go up to creating a curve adjustment layer and stop. All I have to do is adjust the curve and save. This is easier than creating a macro for every situation, although I guess you could make three similar macros with low, medium, and high contrast increases.
whoa… this action thing is more advanced than I thought! It can literally record ANYTHING! Will test it out with the next K-ON post!
(btw, I do have a low, medium, and high contrast macro setting, but your method seems much easier and flexible)