I use The Gimp, which is a fantastic free program. I was a bit confused by the layout the first couple of times I tried it, but as I've gotten used to it I've discovered it's as useful to me as Photoshop was. (I switched from Windows to Ubuntu six months ago, and had to find programs to replace the Windows-only ones I'd been using.)
One of the things I really like about Gimp and Photoshop both is that they have a "sharpen" function. Sharpen, and also "unsharp mask" - both are extremely useful in making the pictures look just a little... well, a little sharper. (See my Teyla icon above - the center is sharp, while the edges are a bit more blurred - something I did by using layers, but I don't know if you're familiar with those, so... Eh, in conclusion, sharpening is good!)
I also use the "levels" - playing with the balance of light and dark in a picture can bring out a lot of detail in a screencap.
Uh. I'm just going to be horribly rude and steal your pretty Sheppard icon for a quick demonstration: the only thing I've done to it is add a little bit of sharpness, and I've fiddled slightly with the layers. The text might look a bit off, but obviously that won't happen if you add it later:
Obviously, I don't know if you want it to be lighter or sharper or whatever, but it's good to know that there's a program that can do this for you.
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
Yeah, seems like it's doing that now... I've been fine so far, but I keep seeing people on my f'list complaining that they're not getting their comments. (Maybe Gmail is just clever enough not to throw LJ notifications in the trash?)
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I use The Gimp, which is a fantastic free program. I was a bit confused by the layout the first couple of times I tried it, but as I've gotten used to it I've discovered it's as useful to me as Photoshop was. (I switched from Windows to Ubuntu six months ago, and had to find programs to replace the Windows-only ones I'd been using.)
One of the things I really like about Gimp and Photoshop both is that they have a "sharpen" function. Sharpen, and also "unsharp mask" - both are extremely useful in making the pictures look just a little... well, a little sharper. (See my Teyla icon above - the center is sharp, while the edges are a bit more blurred - something I did by using layers, but I don't know if you're familiar with those, so... Eh, in conclusion, sharpening is good!)
I also use the "levels" - playing with the balance of light and dark in a picture can bring out a lot of detail in a screencap.
Uh. I'm just going to be horribly rude and steal your pretty Sheppard icon for a quick demonstration: the only thing I've done to it is add a little bit of sharpness, and I've fiddled slightly with the layers. The text might look a bit off, but obviously that won't happen if you add it later:
Obviously, I don't know if you want it to be lighter or sharper or whatever, but it's good to know that there's a program that can do this for you.
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
Yeah, seems like it's doing that now... I've been fine so far, but I keep seeing people on my f'list complaining that they're not getting their comments. (Maybe Gmail is just clever enough not to throw LJ notifications in the trash?)