When I started NA.KI.ME in 2006, I wanted an easier way to display screenshots in one seamless image like many of the blogs hosted on AnimeBlogger and on WordPress.com. I was Photoshop illiterate at the time and barely knew how to use The GIMP, adding the fact that I didn’t have the patience to come up with a template to create a screenshot collage.

If you’ve read my reviews and first impressions of series on the blog, you’ve wondered how I have tackled this problem. Reading a post on AnimeBlogger’s forums on a much easier way to do it also inspired me to write this.

I will also provide an .PSD file of my “thumbnail preview” template to get started on making your own screenshot collage! To create our collage, we will need the .PSD file. Note: This template was creating using The GIMP, but it should work on Photoshop.

Step #1: Working on the Template

This is what our collage template looks like. The white background is where we will put our screenshots. The black border at the bottom is where we put the name of the series in question for your review post. If you want to, you can also use your blog’s logo as a Watermark in this area to protect your image.

Step #2: Adding the Screenshots

Now let’s get the screenshots. The template I made fits four (4) 320×180 screenshots. (Note: the actual size of the final image should be 640×410). Using your media player (e.g.: VLC Player), there is an option to save screenshots to a folder of your choice. For best results, you will want to save the screenshots in the video’s original aspect ratio, preferably with a size of 704×396. When your screenshots are ready, it’s time to resize them for the template.

If you don’t have Photoshop or GIMP opened to resize them right away, using PhotoFiltre is a good for quick photo editing. Resizing the screenshots from 704×396 will bring the new size to our target 320×180 without doing anything extra.

Important: Depending on your work area (working with The GIMP), you’ll want the Scale Image option when working on an individual screenshot or Scale Layer if you choose to work in the collage template.

If your screenshot is bigger or smaller, you might have to do some additional cropping to get the right dimensions and to prevent your screenshot from stretching.

Step #3: Placing the Screenshots

This can be a bit tricky if you are not familiar with using Guides. In GIMP, you can place guides by moving your cursor at the edge of the work area’s window (the ruler area). Place the guides at the very tip of the template. Repeat this for every side, especially above the black border.

Once the guides are in place, we can align the screenshots. Now anchor the floating layer to the Screenshots layer. Now we can add the finishing touches.

Step #4: The Finishing Touches

We’re almost done! Now we need to add the title of the series you want to write about. Choose your font and adjust it to 20 pixels; a pixel or two less if the title is long. Your template should look like this:

Addendum: The template has a fourth layer named “Bottom Border: Stroke”. Place this at the very top of your layer window to give your collage a nice little border between the screenshots and the logo area.

Before saving a file as a .jpg, flatten the image by right clicking on any of the layers and select “Flatten Image”. We’re just about done here: next is saving the file in .jpg format. When you save the file, you can set the quality of the file; the default is 85, which is fine.

Congratulations! You now have your very own collage for that upcoming Anime review! Definitely saves a lot of trouble linking to 6 images at a time, ne? ^_^