DEAR KIM 、

  iys been long overdue, but here it is ⸻ the graphic help book tradition of 'WHAT APPS / SITES TO USE' and 'WHERE TO GET RESOURCES' ... hopefully this could be helpful to some, and at the very least insightful for others. (⁠o⁠´⁠･⁠_⁠･⁠)⁠っ

  ⓘ important !! read first ⸻

    i 、I'm a mobile editor, everything here is accessible through mobile, and that may or may not be the case for pc editors
    ii 、I will only list down the apps / sites I use a LOT, there's probably some alternative for these, but me personally, these work out just fine
    iii 、instead of my usual GIFs, I'm going to link to youtube vids for each app / site given、it'll show some stuff that you can do with it or just recommendations in general

 01、IBISPAINT
 - editing app

 ibispaint is actually a drawing app, but it works as a really good editing program. it may take some time to learn but it is very worthwhile once you get the hang of it. there are features that are behind a paywall, but nonetheless it doesn't takeaway from quality because you can still make great things with it.

 I recommend it, I use it for basically everything. Highly recommend it if you like making manips and blended styles. It has some free resources too, and new cool features and improvements get updated often. Personally, I don't really have negatives to say, it's served me well and I know it will continue doing so throughout the passage of time.

 ⸻ note : make sure to familiarize yourself of the many FILTER options. they will be very helpful to you in the long run trust me.

 02、CANVA
 - editing app / site

 canva is what I mainly use to make 'clean' and 'uniform' graphics. those edits that have this corporate(?) vibe to it. Im not sure on how to better explain it agshjdjd. the interface is easy to use, It's best for when you need something very simple and consistent. another advantage this has compared to ibispaint is it's in-app gif maker, a life saver fr.

 i highly recommend it for very simple edits, minimal typography style, ui/ux designs and simple gifs. keep in mind that you can't do any heavy manipulations or blends here, the most blend you could do is add an image and lower the opacity ... and that doesn't really do much. but overall, it's still a very good app/site to have access to.

 ⸻ hack : if your having trouble choosing a colors, grab yourself a color palette from google and find the option 'apply colors to page'. this will ease your life.

 03、POLARR
 - editing + resource app

 polarr adds filters to images. how useful is that? Very. I use this a lot lately , especially when I have unsure designs,, see if a different coloring is all that it needed.

 you can also import other custom filters too. If you're indecisive with the filter you made, just browse the catalog, there's thousands of filters to choose from, the community is great.

 ⸻ note : don't be afraid to tweak the filters, some filters can't tweaked, but usually those type of filters don't really need tweaking so it's not much of a problem.

 04、PHOTOPEA
 - editing site

 photopea is to put simply, free photoshop. this site falls under either really good or unusable. being a mobile version of ps is why it's really good, but knowing that ps is a pc editing software, if you don't own a really good device photopea is terribly unusable. Based off of personal experience that is. But it's definitely worth the try though.

 I use it mostly to add psds. the real charm is making gifs on it, it's still very laggy on my end but as long as I can add psds on my gifs the little waiting doesn't hurt.

 ⸻ psds are editable and stackable, use that knowledge however you will.

 05、EZGIF
 - editing site

 ezgif is a gif toolset. need a vid into a gif? go to this site. need to make images into gifs? go to this site. gif too big? you know where I'm going with this.

 ⸻ based off of experience, may not be the same for everyone,, the gif compressor ruins the resolution --- instead it's much better to just resize the gif or lower the fps.

 06、CAPCUT
 - editing app

 capcut is a video editing app, and that's what makes it a very viable gif maker. It might be complex to use, but just like everything else, you'll get the hang of it, it's definitely the best gif maker out there, even if it's the free version.

 ⸻ the thing is, the gif maker feature of the free capcut version, has very low resolutions so it ends up blurry. so the secret is to save your edit as mp4 at 4k, and convert it to gif via ezgif --- found out about this through wendy, everyone say thank you to our queen ╰⁠(⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠´⁠꒳⁠'⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠)⁠╯
 

 07、PINTEREST
 - resource app / site

 pinterest is a great place for inspo and ideas, and most definitely a great catalogue of graphic editing resources. some users even share their png packs, love  them so much.

 you can keep certain images without the hassle of having to download them right now, and just keep them on a board and go back to it when you finally need them, which is why I put this first before google images lol.

 ⸻ note : if you find something you like, keep it. don't let it go, PIN IT. you will thank me later.

 08、GOOGLE IMAGES
 - resource site

 google images ... I don't think I need a vid or to even introduce this one... it's an image searcher, it shows a much more broader selection of images and it redirects you to other resource sites for credits and such.

 ⸻ a tip for my anime editors, if you can't find a good image, search for ' *character name* 4k wallpaper ', this trick works sometimes lol

 09、 YOUTUBE
 - resources app / site

 youtube, a video hosting site. apart from watching tutorials, you can actually get resources from the app. certain graphic editors can link you to where they find the resources they use / are using.

 ⸻ search for ' gfx pack ' you'll find a lot of lovely editors sharing their packs, have fun.

  that's about all of them. but before I end the chapter I just want to say that, you don't have to use these exclusively when you edit. a part of the graphic editing journey is the fun that comes with discovery. you might find these recommendations not working for you, and yes that will happen. so it's important to branch out try out other stuff that might fit your needs better. so I highly advise you to continue discovering and learning new things, don't just limit yourself with what's recommended.

 AD. ( it's been years and I'm still here ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ )