You may know @PureRef for gathering references but I use it as Photoshop alternative. Let me show you how. (Thread 🧵) #gamedev#workflow
Sometimes I want to combine 2-3 pictures into one and add simple notes to communicate something to colleagues (see image below). But starting Photoshop (or similar) takes forever and the workflow feels in general not quite fluent.
I started using @PureRef for that and it works great! 1. It starts within a split-second 2. I can easily drag&drop and paste images
3. I can even scale all images to the same size by using Images > Normalize > Height
4. I can even auto-align all images if I feel lazy
5. I can easily move, scale and crop images
6. Adding text (ctrl+n) is quick and colors can be customized
7. Arrows are not supported but you can easily copy an ASCII arrow and paste it as text
8. Finish by optimizing the canvas (ctrl+o) and save as png (ctrl+e). Of course you can also save this scene as *.pur for later editing.
There are many more shortcuts to find in the options (ctrl+u or RMB > Settings).
Let me know if you found this useful or even you've even faster workflows. For single screenshots + annotations I usually use @ShareX but for making collages I found pureRef a better choice.
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In most studios I've been, at some point coworkers asked me "Simon, how do you create so many videos/gifs/screenshots so quickly?" (bc I make a TON each day to show work results, visualize bugs or explain workflows) - Here are my 3 main tools for my 3 main usecases. 🧵#gamedev
General: I setup all the tools write their images/videos into my temp "thrash" folder e.g.
e:\private\capturing\
Videos I want to share with the team get named nicely (bug_chairExplodesWTF_01.mp4 or 2022-11-05_unicornPoop_04.mp4) and stored in a separate folder like \gamevfx\
1. @OBSProject - I've it autostart with windows, it runs ALL THE TIME in the background and I set Alt+F9 to start/stop a recording (as MP4). By default I capture the game in fullres but sometimes I switch to rec the whole desktop.