“I am not an artist.” Is a phrase uttered so intensely, so frequently, by people who are only limited by one thing, the knowledge of how to use what they already have. This logic can apply across a variety of applications, “I don’t know how to shoot video”, “I can’t make graphics for social media”, “I can’t make 3D graphics or VFX, I don’t know how to edit”. However, one of the few incredible things about living in 2022 is that not only is everything you need to market/create your art or business already out there, the vast majority of it is free, or something you already have.
One huge barrier for the majority of people is the cost of software when it comes to making art/design, whether that be for one’s portfolio or for a social media post. While it’s true that things like the Adobe Creative Suite (which includes classics such as photoshop and premiere), is extremely expensive, there are now free alternatives that rival, or oftentimes actually surpass their original. For example, if you’re interested in photo editing, a fantastic Photoshop alternative is “Photopea” which is both fully featured, and completely online. As for social media graphics, a simplified option is something like Adobe Spark or Canva, both of which allow users to quickly draft up relatively good looking materials, but also run the risk of looking repetitive or samey, given that every user has the same templates (when possible, truly learning the skills of design in something like photopea will pay off in dividends comparatively).
Are you looking to edit video for a promo, Tiktok, or shortfilm? Well, if you’re on a computer, there are a large variety of options that are completely free (and generally not limited in scope by things like watermarked video or time limits), one of the best being DaVinci Resolve, which includes industry standard color grading tools. Another example is Hitfilm, which even includes free music for use in your work. As for mobile creators, there’s YouCut, which is very fully featured. As is the case for all of these options, there’s fantastic “basics of” tutorials on YouTube, or even documentation included in the apps themselves, but after that, one of the best ways to learn is to take some time to experiment, and look up the solution when you get stuck.
As far as 3D graphics and video game development, there is Blender 3D (mostly focused on graphics and animation) and Unity (primarily a game development focused platform), both of which are free, with Blender being completely open source.
When it comes to filmmaking, or creating promotional videos, one of the best resources is a smartphone. While it is always beneficial to get a DSLR if you’re able to swing it, filmmakers such as Steven Soderbergh have been directing high profile work on smartphone cameras for years. One of the main things to keep in mind with this, however, outside of simple promotional videos, is to focus on stable motion, or keeping the camera stationary as much as possible. Even a stack of books, taping your phone to a music stand or broom (thus turning it into a monopod), or if your budget allows, a cheap $10-15 phone-clip tripod. Outside of that, by going to channels like Film Riot, Indiemogul, and InCamera (particularly researching their older work), you’ll have all the filmmaking knowledge necessary to get compelling imagery.
One thing to keep in mind with all of this however, the most important element, is story. What is the story you’re trying to tell? Whether that be a fictional narrative, or a brand story, a promotional graphic, a short video for social media, a logo, a 3D scene, or a film shot on your smartphone, if you can keep the story compelling, people will always listen.
