Before we open SFM, you must first change your launch settings.

Go to your library, right click on SFM (if you cant see it you need to enable software in the filters), and go to properties. Launch options is what we are interested in.
There are 2 different launch options to use.

For general work, use the following option:
-sfm_shadowmapres 8192, -sfm_resolution 1080 -h 1080 -w 1920

For high resolution exporting with bloom, use the following option:
-sfm_shadowmapres 8192, -sfm_resolution 2160 -w 3840 -h 2160


Got that? Ok good. Now, we start making your first poster in SFM.
First, open SFM. The words: "No map loaded!" should be in bright red on the primary viewport.
This is good, we need to load a map first.

1. Right click on the primary viewport and select "Load map".
   
2. Type in your desired map (there are some other test and showcase maps like black void, devtest and item test)
   
3. Once you have found your desired map, load it into SFM (this will take some time)

Now you should see the map you chose, with the camera set to that map's default point. Next, perform the following steps to improve SFM's performance as well as boosting the quality of the render:

1. Right click on the Primary Viewport and select Render Settings
   
2. Disable Ambient Occulsion and Motion Blur (This will make things run much faster). Dont worry, we will be turning these back on later.
   
3. Go to the #Samples box (It should say Use Camera Settings) and change it to 1024 (override)*

Cameras are what enable you to make a picture of what you want to see. The biggest difference between photography and SFM poster making is that you can choose the position of EVERYTHING in the shot.

1. When you first load in the map, look to the bottom right corner of the primary viewport window. You should see a box saying <No camera>. This is good. It means you didn't scew up.
   
2. Click on the little arrow next to it and go to Change Scene Camera -> New Camera
   
3. Instead of <No Camera>, the box should say Camera 1
   
4. Camera 1 is the main camera. Whatever camera 1 sees is whatever is in the picture
   
5. Go to the timeline window and click on the Motion Editor (press F3 or click on the orange bandaid). In the Motion Editor, you are able to move models and cameras around.
   
6. To move Camera 1, left click on the primary viewport and use WASD, Z, X to move the camera (Z moves the camera up, X moves the camera down)
   
7. To zoom in the camera, use the scroll wheel (Scroll up zooms out, scroll down zooms in)
   
8. Once you have found a good scene to setup your picture, click on the word Camera 1 in the lower right hand box previously mentioned
   
9. This will switch it to the Work Camera (this camera is what you use to move around the scene, getting up close with models to edit fine details without changing Camera 1)

Models are the general term of what goes into the scene you are making.

1. RIght click on the Animation Set Editor, and go to Create Animation Set for New Model
   
2. A window should pop up telling you to select a .mdl file. That is good.
   
3. Go to the bar that says Mod Filter and click on it, select the game you want to make a poster of
   
4. If you are making TF2 posters, select TF Movies for all character models (This gives them higher resolution textures and enables facial posing)
   
5. Select the model you choose to use and click open
   
6. You can repeat this to get more models
   
7. Keep in mind that model names are not what they are called ingame (e.g. The coffee mug for the soldier taunt is called wupass_mug1. No joke.)
   
8. To change the team of the character, right click on its name in the Animation Set Editor and go to Set Skin (1 is Red team, 2 is Blu team)

1. To move the model, click on its name in the Animation Set Editor
   
2. Now, click on the Move tool at the bottom left of the Primary Viewport. This will display 3 arrows and 3 circles
   
3. The blue arrow moves the model up and down, the red and green arrows both move it horizontally, and each circle can move it a combination of 2 different ways (It's too complicated to explain, go explore!)

Ah. Posing. The part of SFM that takes the most time.

1. If you want a pose that is already in the game, go to the Animation Set Editor and right click on the character model
   
2. Go to Import -> Sequence
   
3. You will see a bar with the word ref in it. Click on that
   
4. Now you will see a hectic buffet of file names, scroll down the list and explore the possibilities! (You could scroll up too)
   
5. If your desired pose is an animated pose (such as walking or reloading), go to the sliders called move_x and move_y
   
6. Drag the sliders around until you are satisfied
   
7. Click Open
   
8. If you want to do a custom pose because that scrub list doesn't have what you are looking for, then press and hold control
   
9. This will display a ton of white lines in the character model
   
10. These are its bones. Click on the limb you want to move (It will be highlighted in blue if you hover over it)
    
11. Now go to the bottom left corner of the primary viewport and click on the button with the two arrows going in a circle
    
12. You should now see a sphere with a whole ton of different colored lines
    
13. 1Go explore what these lines do when you click and drag them!

1. Right click on the character model in the Animation Set Editor
   
2. Select add Team Fortress items
   
3. Now search for the cosmetics/weapons/hats you wish to add. (If you did a custom pose, weapons will be broken if you try to add them like this. You have to add it as a model and position it manually)
   
4. Keep in mind that these items go by their ingame name (with some variation)
   
5. If the cosmetic you are adding is overlaping with a default cosmetic, right click on the character model and go to set body groups
   
6. Select whatever helemt/hat/headset/sneaker/grenade/clothes are getting in the way and remove it

1. Right click on the COSMETIC you want to paint
   
2. Select Add Override Materials
   
3. Right click on the same cosmetic, go to Show in Element Viewer -> Model
   
4. Scroll down and click on the + sign next to the word Materials
   
5. Press the little + button again for the skin you chose
   
6. You will now see 2 colored bars, you only need to worry about the bottom one
   
7. Click on the bottom bar, and choose the color you want your hat to be
   
8. Once you are done, click on the Animation Set Editor window to go back
   
9. If your hat spawns in with black paint, that means it is unpaintable in SFM (I will talk about how to solve this problem in a bit)

1. Right click in the Animation Set Editor and choose Create Animation Set for New Particle System
   
2. Click browse
   
3. Go to C:\Program FIles (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\SourceFilmaker\game\tf\particles
   
4. For unusual effects, select Unsual_effects.pcf (duh)
   
5. For others, scan through the names. Most are pretty self explanatory
   
6. Click open
   
7. Go to Particle System Definition to choose the particle system you want
   
8. For unusual effects, type the first letter of the name of the effect (I know there isn't a search bar)
   
9. Repeatedly press that letter until you reach the one you want and select it
   
10. Click ok
    
11. Now go to the Timeline window at the bottom and reload the scene by scrolling to the left, then right
    
12. You should see the particle effect now next to Camera 1(some of them are really short such as explosions and muzzle flashes)
    
13. To move the particle, just simply move it like you move a model (click on the move tool at the bottom left corner of the primary viewport)

1. Click on the model name in the Animation Set Editor
   
2. Go to the Emotion tab on the left and select the emotion you want (You can mix them to get more advanced emotions like an evil grin. Once again, feel free to explore!)

To save your beautiful poster, go to the top left and select File > Export > Movie.
A window should pop up with many customization options.
Make sure that you have these settings:

• Export: Image sequence
  
• Format: PNG
  
• Resolution: 2160p
  (you will need to have the for render launch option set. See setup section of this guide)
  
• Duration: Custom [n, n+1] Frames
  where "n" is the desired frame that you want to render

Don't forget to set your desired export path!

The workshop. The most useful place in the world.

SFM is an extremely neglected program, more so than TF2 is (yea I know). Most of the cosmetics and items that are currently in TF2 are unavailable in SFM. This is where the workshop comes in handy.

The workshop can provide all sorts of things that aren't in SFM. Cosmetics, unusual effects, props, etc. You can also find other great things like material fixes for broken cosmetics, scripts, poses, sequences, and so much more.

Alternatively, you can also manually update SFM to be able to access these missing materials.
See this video for a guide on how to do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbfQ5_6kyuM

Remeber, SFM is a very difficuly tool to use. We all have to start somewhere. Do NOT expect to be able to make amazing and beautiful posters on your first try. It takes a LOT of practice and a LOT of time to become familiar with SFM and start producing more high quality products. I have made many posters, and most of them are terrible. If you truly want to get good, have patience. Trust me, it's worth the wait. Your time will come...

For some more in depth and detailed information on things like lighting and scene composition, feel free to refer to my other guides here.