If you are interested in making a kicklight then at some point you will need to put together some kicks. In order to create a kick, which is a jpg, gif or png file, you will need access to an image editing program or software. The ideal and more commonly used program is Photoshop, but if you don’t own a copy or don’t have have access to the program then you will need to explore some other options. If you own a copy of Photoshop and have yet to learn the basics of the program then this might be the perfect reason to start.

There are many options for image editing and graphic creation programs. You can purchase a software program, download some free programs or even use online based image editing software. I have listed some of these options below so you can find what works best for you.

Image editing programs for purchase:

Photoshop

Fireworks

Pixelmator (Mac only)

Paint Shop Pro (Windows only)

Image editing programs for free download:

GIMP (Windows & Mac)

Paint.net (Windows only)

Krita

Online image editing programs:

Sumo Paint

Pixlr

There are quite a few other programs available but this should point you in the right direction. The answer to the question in the title of this post is a resounding Yes!  In order to make your own kicks with complete control over the file you will need some sort of image editing program. You can utilize the Do-It-Yourself feature (Watch for a video tutorial on this feature) on the kicklight site, but in order to have more control over the graphic and to be able to add gradients, cropped images, use brushes etc. you will need at least a basic image editing program.

If you have never cracked open Photoshop or other similar programs don’t be too worried about the learning curve. If you just want some images and text in your kicks then you will just need to learn some basics of Photoshop or whichever program you will be working with. These basics could include working with layers, image cropping and the text tool. If you are a newbie to image editing program then look out for a post with a list of some sites that have excellent tutorials.

Go ahead and decide which program works best for your budget and computer and then you can get to creating some awesome kicks and kicklights.

Leave a comment about which of the above programs you are using and how they worked out for you.

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A kick is a 468 pixel wide by 120 pixel high graphic. The graphic can be a gif, jpg or png file and can be no larger than 3 MB. As of now you can not upload animated gifs or flash files. However, in the future this option will probably be made available. Here are a few examples of kicks:

A kick can contain anything you want, including text, images and graphics. A kick is a palette for you to create an eye catching graphic or to include pertinent information. You just have to make sure and sync up the kicks with the video so that they are complementing each other. In other words a video about dancing should not have a kick directing the viewer to click to learn about your new weight loss program. Kicks are for visual or informational enhancement just so long as they keep in line with the video.

To make a kick simply open Photoshop or your favorite graphics program and start creating. I won’t go into detail about what kicks to create because that is up to you. In the future I will be posting about some ideas behind creating kicks.

One of the most important aspects of putting a kicklight together is to really think about what the kicks are going to add to the video. If there are existing videos on YouTube you feel would be enhanced by kicks then try it out. I believe that is the case for a large amount of online videos. Kicks can also be used in conjunction with a brand new video you are producing, which will probably become the most convincing reason for utilizing this technology. Just imagine some of the more popular YouTube videos with kicks that contain additional information and links attached.

If you’ve been thinking about learning the basics of Photoshop then the introduction of kicks could be the perfect catalyst for starting the process. You don’t actually have to be an expert with a graphics program. If you can manipulate text or add an image to a graphic file then you’ll have no problems creating kicks. Remember to that you can attach URLs to kicks so keep that in mind as you start working on a kicklight.

If you have created a kicklight please leave the link in the comments so we can all see your creation.

Thanks for reading.

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