DGT Editing tips

Ok. This is one of the biggest problems that I usually encounter with editing. Let me just explain a bit on editing, editing is mostly split into 2 kinds of work.

1. cleaning which is the basic resize the image, level the page then erasing the text on the dialogue bubbles.

2. typesetting wherein you write in the english text.

Always remember that the shape of your dialogues matters! I've seen numerous editing decrease in quality just because the text weren't place in so nicely.

Let me give you an example.

For my example we'll be using this dialogues.
Right bubble: Y-You’re still here?
Top left bubble: Because I haven’t returned you the favour for yesterday~
Centre left bubble: Favour?
Bottom left bubble: I said it, didn’t I? I would thank you!

Wrong image (left) Right image (right)


As you can see there's a big difference in how it looks. These are some of it:
1. The shape of the text looks terrible.
2. A lot of the words are cut.



In most cases this happens because the editor uses the type tool and creates a text box. On occasion this is an easier way of editing but you have to make sure that the text will have to fit. This is also considered as the easier way of editing because adobe photoshop automatically refits the text to fill in the text box that you created.



But as you can see... if the textbox is small enough, it automatically chops the word and carries over the word to the next line.

My technique is a bit (just a bit) harder but can be hella fast if your used to it.
1. Copy a whole bunch of text. (Usually I copy around 1 whole page worth of text. )
For our example you copy the whole paragraph of text.
Hotkey for copy: CONTROL + C

Right bubble: Y-You’re still here?
Top left bubble: Because I haven’t returned you the favour for yesterday~
Center left Bubble: Favour?
Bottom Left Bubble: I said it, didn't I? I would thank you!

2. Create a normal text line (take note this is a line and not a box)


3. Paste all the text on the text line.
Hotkey for paste: CONTROL + V


Since the text line isn't restricted, there is a big change that it will overlap the page. That's perfectly ok.

4. You then manually press "enter" to chop the lines to new text lines.
Be sure to align your text center so that the words are centered.



As you can see. the words: Y-You’re still here?
is split to the following

Y-You’re
still here?

Once your satisfied with what you see, highlight the remaining text and cut them.
Hotkey for cut: CONTROL + X

*The highlighted text on this example are the ones that has the black outline.

5. Then you basically repeat the process
a. Create a text line


b. Split the text to fit the bubble.

Dialogue
Top left bubble: Because I haven’t returned you the favour for yesterday~

For unusually long text what you do is basically split the sentence first into 2 lines.



The dialogue is split to the following:

Because I haven’t returned
you the favour for yesterday~

but since it still doesn't fit you can split it into smaller lines.


"Because I haven’t returned" is split further into

Because
I haven’t
returned

you the favour for yesterday~ is split further into

you the
favour for
yesterday?


*Splitting dialogues will be a bit hard at first but once you get used to it, estimating the space available etc. This would be really easy to do. It also saves time because you don't need to keep switching to your translation document per line. Instead, since you copied 1 page worth of translation, you just do this once every page.

c. Highlight the remaining text that you'll need on the next text bubble.


I'll just place in the other pictures for reference, so that you can see how I completed this whole image.

*paste text, highlight next lines


*paste text, split lines


*split dialogues


*split lines some more (blah blah. You know the drill ^^)



And your done!

I'm not exactly telling you to use this technique but I highly encourage you to use it. Because it eliminates the problem of : chopped words, uncentered text, shape of dialogues.

But in case you still want to use the text box technique just remember the following:
1. DO NOT (and I can't stress this enough) chop the words when they can fit in the dialogues. It's better to place them on the next text line rather than having chopped words all over the places.
2. Make sure that the shape of the dialogues look nice, usually they have some sort of circular shape. In short, make it look good.
3. Centralize the text, make sure that the text is at the center of the dialogue bubbles.

Wrong spacing of dialogues

Correct spacing of dialogues