Author: Sarah Sabry

Foodie, China expert in the making and future CEO of Google. (For real.)

Categories
digital art Les tuto tech Marketing Outils 2.0 Tips

Photoshop 101 – How to create your own GIF

Do you say jif or gif ? This ever-lasting debate has been dividing the Internets since the dawn of time. Whatever is your take on this subject, with the increased popularity of the reaction GIFs across social plateforms, it can come handy to know how to make your own personalized GIFs.

I will teach you today how to create GIFs both from scratch and from a video. Don’t forget that even if this may seem basic, sky is the limit so open Photoshop, grab some creativity and let the fun begins !

Create a GIF from scratch

  1. Open Photoshop and create a new project: File > New (⌘+N or Ctrl + N) The ideal size is around 150×200 px.
  2. Create a layer for each frame: Layer > New > Layer (⇧+⌘+N or ⇧+Ctrl+N)
  3. Import or create the content you want to animate (text, pictures, symbols and so on)
  4. Show the video timeline tool: Window > Timeline. This is the tool we are gonna use to animate your gif
  5. Click the dropdown menu in the video timeline tool and select Create Fram Animation.
  6. Click the top right button in the video timeline tool and select Make Frames From Layers. This will import all your layers as frame for you GIF.
  7. Choose how many times you want your gif to repeat. I would advise to choose “Forever” in order to have an endless animation.
  8. Adjust the timing of each frame to your liking.
  9. When everything seems perfect, go to File > Export > Save for Web (⎇+⇧+⌘+S or Alt+⇧+Ctrl+S). Choose the option GIF 128 Dithered and save !

Create a GIF from a video

  1. Get a video clip (from Youtube, a movie, your last family holiday)
  2. Open Photoshop and import the video: File > Import > Video Frames to Layers. You can either choose to import the whole video or only a part of it.
  3. To save it, go to File > Export > Save for Web (⎇+⇧+⌘+S or Alt+⇧+Ctrl+S). Choose the option GIF 128 Dithered and save !

Tip : you can also add some layers over the video. For this, refers to the method above.

Bonus : Integrate them in WeChat

To add your precious creation to your WeChat stickers gallery, send them to yourself or someone, then you will be able to click on it and add them as stickers, like you are probably already doing when your friends send you some !

And Voilà !

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain Cryptocurrency ICO

Are ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) legal ?

ICOs, or Initial Coin Offerings, are one of the big trends in cryptocurrency these days. Like many digital disruptive innovation, the legal framework can be sometimes a little blurry. So how to know where it is legal ? Can I advertise my ICO ? Learn these and more in this infographic !

Infographic on laws and regulations worldwide
Infographic on laws and regulations worldwide
Categories
Mobile Tips Tourisme Travelling

Travel tips in South East Asia – Grab a ‘Grab’ !

South East Asia is beautiful. The countries are rich in culture and breathtaking landscapes. However, they’re also filled with tourist scams, and when you’re not speaking the language it can transform an amazing trip to a living nightmare. Taxi scams are frequent and hard to avoid, trust me, I’ve been there. Luckily for you my fellow travelers, I’ve discovered the best way to avoid getting ripped off during my last trip in Vietnam. So worry no more and install Grab!

It is basically the Uber of South East Asia, and even if Uber does operate in most countries, it is way more advantageous.

You don’t have to enter your credit card

The app offers you the possibility of course, but you can also choose to pay in cash, which is a great way to avoid any bank-fees.

 

It offers local options, such as ‘GrabBike’

Traveling alone? Taking a taxi can drill a hole in your budget really fast. Luckily, you can ask for a motorbike driver who will come pick you up and drop you wherever you want.
Big group? No problem, ask for a minivan to go to the beach with all your hostel friends!

Moreover, each time you use the app, you will earn points which will unlock rewards in the form of vouchers in restaurants / hotels / long-distance bus / flights and so on.

 

  1. So what are you waiting for? Book a flight, pack your bags and grab a Grab!

 

This application is available for both Android and iOs.

Categories
Apps China WeChat

Social etiquette on WeChat : How to stop annoying everyone

Wechat

If in the West we have a bazillion apps to communicate, in China the one app to rule them all is WeChat. With approximately 1 billion monthly active users, it has many functionalities, but its core goal is communication. It is thus important to grasp all subtleties when it comes to sending messages.

Here is an overview of the dos and don’ts of what and where you can post.

 

1. The Private Messages

Like any other messaging service, on WeChat you can send private messages to anyone in your contact list.

What can I send here?

Basically everything. However, standard social rules apply: if your best friend may enjoy every detail about what happened to you last night, your boss may not.

Same goes for the PG18 stickers.

 

2. The Groups

There are 2 types of groups on Wechat:

  • Private groups: usually less than 100 people, you know more or less everyone. Topic is usually work / school / friends related.
  • Public groups: usually more than 100 people, they form a community around a common interest.

What can I send here?

Due to the number of participants, groups tend to generate a massive amount of notifications, so before posting something, ask yourself a few questions:

  • Is this group the best place to post this message?
  • Does everyone need to know/care about this information?
  • Wouldn’t it better to send a private message?
  • Does my post respect the rules* of the group?

(*) In most public group, the admins have set up some ground rules to ensure peace and avoid spamming.

 

3. The Moments

This is YOUR space!

Like your Facebook page, or Twitter account you can post anything you want on your WeChat moments (respecting WeChat User Terms and Agreements of course).

What can I send here?

A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

Your cat just gave birth? Post it here!

You’ve discovered the sickest playlist of all time? Post it here!

You’ve run 80kms in 3h and are super proud? Post it here!

You want to tell the world about something no one cares about, but you? Post it here!

Infography : Wechat 101 - Where and What to post