Photoshop! [Rant]

Photoshop has caused a large debate recently on builds that have photoshopped images. Some people are completely against it, and the ones who do use Photoshop are retaliating. Now, I’m going to be honest with you guys. I am completely against it. I’m tired of seeing builds that have overly photoshopped images on the popular reel. I’ll be discussing the negative things about photoshopped images and what you, as a graphic designer or whatever you are, can do to still use Photoshop and make your builds look good. I’m normally an open minded person, but I will only be talking about my opinion on it, and not an outsiders view. One more thing, I’m not writing this because I’m jealous of them or anything like that. I’ll admit, I’m pretty good at using Photoshop myself, but I don’t brag about it by using it to overcomplicate my builds.

I’ve seen a few builds out there that are overly photoshopped with an external image and colors thrown everywhere. The external images and other things (occasionally text) hide the build. The builds are literally thrown into an external image found on Google and then get filters and text added. I know exactly how these people do it, but I wouldn’t do it myself. Most of the time, it makes the images look too busy, or maybe even ugly. For example, one day I saw a build on the reel. I normally look at the image first, then the title. When I looked at the picture I thought it was a blog. But then when I saw that it was a project, I still didn’t believe it. I literally could not see a build in that photo. (No, I’m not blind or anything, my eyesight is perfectly fine) The build was blending in with the external image that was used for the background. So, then I clicked on it and actually saw the build in the other pictures that were posted. This just goes to show that Photoshop shouldn’t be overly used, because trust me, that image was pretty ugly. So, why do people do that to their builds anyways? Sure, it might get you more views, but who cares?

That brings me to my next topic I’d like to address. All this Photoshop is taking the simplicity out of Minecraft! Isn’t Minecraft supposed to be that crappy block game with terrible graphics? Not fancy photoshopped images… Who else remembers the good old days when people just posted their projects without using any program to edit the image? Those days were great. I could actually tell what the build was. Not some… Blob of colors, external images and fancy text. I made an example especially for you guys (instead of using that time to study and do homework) because I love you. Well, not really, I made this cause images always help validate a point.

I built a little cottage quickly just for an example. I used Photoshop on images 2 and 3. Image 1 is just the original.

I’ll start with image 3. Now, to be completely honest with you, this photo was so fun to make. It took more than an hour to make, because I was messing around with brushes, filters, contrast, colors and such. I would never do this for a build. EVER. I mainly tried doing what the other photoshoppers do, over Photoshop it. Compare it to image 1, looks terrible doesn’t it? It’s over saturated, the colors are off and it’s too warm. Plus, the text covers it, hiding the build. Well, it was already hidden in the filters and adjustments… But you get the point. Over photoshopped = ugly.

Now take a look at image 2. This is what I’d do for a build. In fact, I’ve done it before. Check out my Venetia build, or my Lunar Solaria build. I’ve just added text and a little bit of brush. The text doesn’t overlap the build and the colors are similar to the colors in the picture. I did use the same text for images 2 and 3, but the text was fine. It just shouldn’t overlap your build. I prefer image 2 over image 3 because it’s simple and you can still tell that it was made in Minecraft.

“But Jg, we already know it’s made in Minecraft if it’s posted on PMC!” Well, you are completely right. Of course it’s made in MC if it’s on PMC. But what if you saw image 3 on a different site, maybe just Google images? It would take me a while to figure out that it was made in Minecraft. But if I saw image 2, I’d automatically know because:

-There is no external image used.

-The colors, contrast, etc. aren’t over done.

-The build isn’t hidden behind text.

-It doesn’t look ugly. (Hah, jk. But image 3 does look ugly)

Minecraft is supposed to be simple and obvious. You don’t have to take a minute to figure out that something was made in Minecraft, you should know automatically. Photoshop, Y U TAKE ALL OF THE SIMPLICITY AWAY?!

Most people can’t even afford Photoshop anyways. And not everyone who owns it can use it because they either aren’t skilled enough or just don’t have time for it. I’ve had Photoshop for a while an only learned how to use it last year. I had to teach myself without any books or internet tutorials. I sat down and just messed around with the different tools and such. It took about three months for me to fully understand everything in that program. Planet Minecraft is full of little kids, and image how long it’d take them do learn Photoshop? Even if they could afford it, they wouldn’t be able to use it. It’s just… not even possible! Stop telling people to buy Photoshop and stop complaining… Because the people complaining can’t even buy/use it! Don’t even suggest GIMP, it’s terrible. And it might still be a little too complicated for kids.

Now, I mainly think people use Photoshop on their build images just to show off their Photoshop skills. Seriously, no one really cares how great you are at photoshopping images. We want to see your building skills! Not Photoshop skills. Now, believe me. Some people aren’t bad at Photoshop. I actually believe that they are better than me! And that’s ok. I’m not jealous or anything because I don’t care to have amazing Photoshop skills. I like being able to know how to use it, just not use it well. But some people just go over the top and practically brag about their skills. Ok, we get it. You can add external images and mess around with filters and brushes. But no need to show us it on your builds. Show off your Minecraft skills! We want to see your amazing buildings, not some photo edited with a program. Some people say they use Photoshop to emphasize their build and get more views; they say that companies use Photoshop and programs similar to it to promote their company. Yeah, that’s right. They do. But why not use your building skills instead of Photoshop to promote your build?

So, how should you use Photoshop for your build? Well, I’m going to share a few tips with you. First of all, do nottouch anything in the ‘Adjustments’ tab found under ‘Image’. If you mess with any of that it will give your build and un-Minecraft feel. I also suggest not adding any filters of any sort. Even adding blur makes your photo look bad. Maybe you could get away with adding a lens flare… But I still suggest not adding anything in the filters tab. Now, what you do want to add is text. Now, go crazy with the text. Change the font; make it any size you want (as long as it’s big enough to read). And if you want it to look fancy, go into blending options and add a drop shadow or something. Make it look pretty. Just consider the positioning of the text. You want it in a corner or not overlapping your build. For the brush, pick something related to your build with similar colors. In my example I used the leaf brush with greens and browns to represent willow trees. I also changed the opacity so it’s subtle and not over the top. I’d also position the brush in a corner, away from the build. Mainly because you want your build to be the dominant image. If you follow these tips you could make nice images of your build that aren’t over photoshopped, but still look nice.

So, yeh. Photoshop can be good for most things, but not particularly on builds. Mainly because it hides the build and make the image look ugly. Plus some people can’t afford it or even use it. Some people just use Photoshop to emphasize their build, but they go way over the top most of the time. You can still use Photoshop on your images and still make it look good if you don’t overdo it. Just follow my tips. And if you don’t have Photoshop download GIMP. It’s free, but not as great. So everyone, just remember this: Photoshop is amazing, but only used sensibly and not overdone. 

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