I've been working with new techniques of making signatures lately and found that this one turned out cool too. I have applied different effects than my last tutorial, and the results are somehow better in a way and worse in other. The group of techniques applied are also less so it takes less time to make a signature. As you'll see, the highlights work out well in these ones, but in my opinion, you'll only get a 'decent' result if you apply a gradient, so don't expect too much coloring. So ye let's get making this! 1. Obviously you'll need to open your Photoshop program and create a new file so we can start working on it. Give it a good size for a signature, like 355x105. 2. You'll also need a render before we can start editing. Search in Render-World.com or Deviantart.com for a render that you like. In this tutorial, I'll be using this one: 3. Select your signature file. Then select the Gradient tool (right-click on the paint bucket tool and select it) and change the gradient to the Violet, Orange one. Use the gradient tool in your signature from the left part of it to the right. Now press CTRL + U and completely desaturate the layer where you applied the gradient tool (should be called Background). 4. Time to drag your render in! Open your render and drag it in until it covers the background completely. Then, merge all the render layers by selecting them and right-clicking on any and selecting Merge Layers. After doing this, select the merged layer and go to Filter -> Blur -> Motion blur and apply a blur using these settings: Angle - 45º Distance - 50 Finally, go to Filter -> Sharpen -> Sharpen. Press CTRL + F to sharpen once again and change the layer blending mode to Overlay. 5. Now duplicate the blurred layer and set the blending mode to Screen. Press CTRL + U and desaturate it completely. 6. You'll need to drag the initial render to the signature once again. Once again, duplicate it at least once and spread it over the signature, but so it doesn't cover the whole background this time! Merge the duplicated layers and set the blending mode to Screen and reduce the opacity to 40%-65%. 7. It's time to drag the 'main' render into the signature. Pick up your initial render and drag it once again to the signature. Place it on the middle. Create a new layer and place it below the 'main' render, then, pick up your 200px Soft Round Brush and brush white just behind the 'main' render, so it creates some kind of an highlight effect. Now create another layer and put in on top of all the others ones. Change your brushing color to black and brush black in the lower right and left corners of the layer. Then, change to color to white again and brush the lower part of the signature white, like I did below: 8. It's time to create a new layer on top of all the others. After doing that, go to Edit -> Apply Image. Make sure Multiply is as blend mode before clicking OK. Now go to Filter -> Stylize -> Extrude and leave the default settings. Click OK. You'll now need to erase the filter effect that's in front of the main render. After doing that, change the layer blend mode to Lighten. Create another layer on top and go to Apply Image on Edit and click OK. Now go to Filter -> Sharpen -> Sharpen. Finally, create a new layer on top again and click once again Edit -> Apply Image and OK. This time, just click CTRL + U and desaturate the image completely. 9. Adjustment layers time ^^ As you already know, these are placed always on top of all the other ones. Let's start by adding a Gradient Map. Click the New Adjustment Layer button and select Gradient Map. Select the Violet, Orange gradient and click OK. Change this layer blending mode to Screen. Add another Gradient Map, but this time choose the Black, White one. Set the blending mode to Multiply and put the opacity to 75%. Now it's time to add a Gradient. Click the button to add an adjustment layer and click Gradient. Now it's up to you to play with the gradient type and the style of this gradient. In this signature, I changed the gradient to Chrome and made its style Reflected, so it makes a sweet border/contrast effect. After editing the gradient like you want, change the layer blend mode to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 80%-90%. Here's my outcome: Now it's your last step! Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and play with the contrast/brightness until you get something of your desire. Voilá! It's over. Here are some examples of signatures I made with these techniques. These already have text and border. Sorry for using similar color schemes and only Final Fantasy, but it's just, Final Fantasy pwns sigs 8) Credits: DeviantArt people for providing me with some of knowledge applied and Render-World.com for being such a great render site!
You probably get this all the time... ...Nice guide! I will have to refer to this when making another sig. Thnx again! +rep.
Another great tut from you But, I have one question- the picture for step 8 shows it with these little transparent boxes in the BG, and all of your examples have these. I haven't actually tried the tutorial yet, so forgive me if I'm wrong, but did you explain how to get those? I can't see any way that those would show up by reading, but I suppose everything is different when you actually try it.
Ooops I'm sorry, thanks for noticing that amy, I skipped some words while explaining it ^^' +rep given and tutorial corrected.
Thanks for the rep I tried it out, and I loved the result. I can't post it here because PS crashed on me before I saved, but it was still lovely. Very nice tut!
Maybe you should link to the actual tutorial that you based this off of, because you didn't change all that much.
Hmm yea I thought of doing that but it actually isn't relevant, as there aren't much people who post graphic tutorials on the site and it's not hard finding my other one. I know both tutorials may seem a little similar at a first glance, but there are different techniques shown in them. I'll follow your advice though and will post the link to my other tut: http://www.neofriends.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10429
Hmmm, could you give me the link to it? 'Cause I didn't check any tut on DA or anywhere in the world to make this tut :roll:
It would take entirely too much time to go through pages of tuts, so whatever you say, goncalo. But I followed a DA tut a few weeks back and the result is way too similar to your sigs for this tut to be completely original, or to have just come from "working with new techniques." But if you say you didn't check any DA tuts, it must be true. mhmm.
Admist your bickering, can I just ask, did you use a strange glass render or magic to create that effect in your siggy, Ang
Oh, it was definitely magic. Haha, actually, I used a brush set. You're probably the millionth person to ask. Maybe I'll make a tutorial...
I do check DA a lot too, and the tuts I've saw so far are not similar to the ones I made, specially 'cause they use brushes a lot of times and I don't. I must say (and credits point to it) that the knowledge I have about photoshop doesn't depend entirely on me, but it wasn't ripped off another tutorial too. I often do tend to check the signatures section, and when I find one with an interesting design, I comment or PM the creator saying stuff such like: " Hey that is so cool, could you tell me how you achieved that effect? ". I was in a signature 'frenzy' when I made both my tutorials too. When I'm trying to make new stuff, I just look at others's ppl work and try to imagine how they got there, keep trying techniques that I think that would cause that effect, and that's how I get the steps to make my tutorials. I did credit the DA ppl too. I just didn't give any specific credits as it wouldn't be necessary, and there would be a couple of ppl yet to thank. So anyone willing to get the knowledge I got will search trough DA and search where they specificelly want. Anyways, said this I just want to make clear that I'm not the copycat person. I like looking at my work and saying " Wow, did I actually do this by myself? " and wouldn't in any way be proud of a work not made by me, nor with my effort.