Photoshop Lessons and Sig MAKING Help

[Shadowdeathrose]

i want to make my own sigs rite but i dont no how can some tell me how or at least tell me how to get somthing to help me make em plzzz

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

I need extra help wit that too :(

[Flying Mullet]

http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=70656

[crono_logical]

http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=70656

[Leeza]

I'm going to reopen this thread because it's not about getting a sig made for them, they want information on how to go about making their own. I hope it will make for a good learning thread for anyone who would like to share any of their knowledge with others.

[Shadowdeathrose]

oh thnx leeza!! tyvm

[crono_logical]

Oh right :p

In that case, I point to the gimp (http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/) for an image editor of sorts, where you can get started :p You're not going to get far making a decent sig using MS Paint :p

[Shadowdeathrose]

so how i down load it then cl_out plz?

[Karl]

http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2192-10021962.html (http://)
use photobucket to host it

[crono_logical]

You might notice the word "gimp" in my previous post is a link for you to download it :p

[Old Manus]

lol i use paint 4 al mye sigs n they r fyne imho

[rubah]

The basics of sig making is:

take an image.

prettify it

add text

save

upload.

when you have these steps down, you can start to play with multiple images and layer modes.

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

But my question is how to fade and feather and all of those things cuz i have no idea

[Lushs]

But my question is how to fade and feather and all of those things cuz i have no idea

you have to have a program like photoshop (that's what i use...) it's pretty expensive if you were to buy it. but most people just download it on the internet (i have never done that, so i don't know how)

but once you have photoshop you can crop the images, add layers and play with them a bit... there are some tutorials (http://www.pixel2life.com/forums/index.php?showforum=22) on how to make them...

but if you use paint, your results wont turn out good at all... so i suggest you find a good program! :)

edit: how do you download gimp?

[Cybele]

The basics of blending. ^^ I wrote this a long time ago though, just edited it a bit. Let me know if you have any questions.


Open photoshop, then open a new canvas (if you go for a sig, try about 400x150 pixels)
Open your image, go to the selection tool (the square thing in the upper left hand corner)
Then you should see a box that says feather toward the top and 0 px inside the feathering box. Put in an amount (I usually use about 30) and select the part of the image you want. The dotted square should turn into a circle like shape. Then go to edit, cut, and paste it onto your empty canvas. The edges should be faded. You can do that with multiple images and place them on the same canvas and they'll look blended together.
Use the move tool (the arrow with the 4 mini arrows attached to it next to the selection tool) to move particular images around to your liking. Select different layers to edit particular images on the canvas.

[bipper]

To download the gimp for windoze

1: goto http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
2: you need to download and install GTK +2 for windows
3: Download the GIMP and install it.

Have fun. Remember though, the gimp is VERY different than photoshop. It is not a full out replacement, but it sure as hell can do most anything if you get involved and find specialized plug ins for it. The base gimp is great, in iteself.

Bipper

[Lushs]

To download the gimp for windoze

1: goto http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
2: you need to download and install GTK +2 for windows
3: Download the GIMP and install it.

Have fun. Remember though, the gimp is VERY different than photoshop. It is not a full out replacement, but it sure as hell can do most anything if you get involved and find specialized plug ins for it. The base gimp is great, in iteself.

Bipper

alright when i clicked to install gtk + 2 it brought me here: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-win/gtk%2B-2.6.9-setup.zip?download
what mirrior do i select??

[crono_logical]

Any mirror you like, they've all got the same stuff, being mirrors :p Of course, mirrors physically closer to you (e.g. same country) should be faster to download from, so try them first :p

[Lady Selphie]

Hi, I want to give some lessons of photoshop to the people who want to learn it or who are love it- if you don`t mind. So I want to give one lesson every week- step by step. what do you think? please I want to hear your point of view, so don`t shy.

[Leeza]

There is already a thread that is sort of for this sort of thing so I will merge the two and you can post your Photoshop lessons.

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

The basics of blending. ^^ I wrote this a long time ago though, just edited it a bit. Let me know if you have any questions.


Open photoshop, then open a new canvas (if you go for a sig, try about 400x150 pixels)
Open your image, go to the selection tool (the square thing in the upper left hand corner)
Then you should see a box that says feather toward the top and 0 px inside the feathering box. Put in an amount (I usually use about 30) and select the part of the image you want. The dotted square should turn into a circle like shape. Then go to edit, cut, and paste it onto your empty canvas. The edges should be faded. You can do that with multiple images and place them on the same canvas and they'll look blended together.
Use the move tool (the arrow with the 4 mini arrows attached to it next to the selection tool) to move particular images around to your liking. Select different layers to edit particular images on the canvas.

Thanks a bunch starry relm that really helped my sigs are way better now

[Lady Selphie]

There is already a thread that is sort of for this sort of thing so I will merge the two and you can post your Photoshop lessons.

Thanks. Would you mind showing it to me, please?

[rubah]

They're already merged. Continue on.

[Lushs]

is gimp free?

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Yup

[Lady Selphie]

Ok, here`s the first lesson as I said. Before we`ll start, I want to say that I`ll teach you what I have learnt, and I will put a new lesson in any day of week. Ok, here we go.

Step 1:Choose any image you like and let`s chooseSquall`s image (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1775/8squalls6cw.gif).

Step 2:Squall`s image size is 350 pixels x 263 pixels. Create a new file with File> New, or Control+N. Then put these sizes as this diagram (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4049/untitled179pq.jpg).

Step 3:We need putting these sizes because we want the image size like the image size of Squall`s image.
Note: you may choose any image which their sizes are 500 x 200, or 400 x 300, etc.

Step 4:Go to Squall`s image and press the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), or press M which you`ll find it on the keyboard, as the diagram shows (http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/2529/untitled185da.jpg)

Step5:Then, use select all by right click on Squall`s imgae and it will show you this (http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/185/untitled194hn.jpg)

Step 6:After that, use Control+C which means copy. Go to the empty image size picture and press Control+V which means paste.

Step 7:And now, the empty image size picture becomes a copy of Squall`s image, so close the original one, and let`s start with the copy one.
Note: I did those steps because the original image is locked, so I can`t do anything on this image, unless you can copy it. If you have imgae which is not locked, there`s no need to do those steps.

Step 8:In the copy one, you will see that the name of the picture is called layer, as in this diagram (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9927/untitled212lg.jpg)

Step 9: Create a new layer by Layer> New> Layer, or Shift+ Control+ N, or by this icon as you see it in this picture (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4061/untitled96bh.jpg)

Step 10:After creating a new layer, they will become two layers. The first one is Squall`s image which is layer 1, and the second is empty layer which is layer 2. Go to layer 1 and use select all as I have explained.Then, copy the image and go to layer 2 and paste the image in layer 2

Step 11:Select layer one (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7681/untitled35ol.jpg), and go to Filter>Blur>Guassain blur.

10-Selcet layer 2 (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2814/untitled56me.jpg), and transform the picture from normal to soft light (http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7821/untitled64pd.jpg).

Finally the image will be like that (http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/2716/untitled78uv.jpg)

There are some samples which are about our lesson:

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/1290/untitled111be.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9771/untitled141tw.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/171/untitled165jl.jpg

Ok, that`s all today, and I haop you will understand me.

[Miriel]

Note: I did those steps because the original image is locked, so I can`t do anything on this image, unless you can copy it. If you have imgae which is not locked, there`s no need to do those steps.


Actually, if you double click a locked image and select "Ok" to the new layer, it'll automatically become unlocked. Also, even if an image is locked, there's nothing keeping you from right clicking and duplicating the image so that you don't need to do all that copy and paste work.

What works best for me is just to right click the original image, select "duplicate layer" and set this second duplicated layer to soft light, mess around with the opacity and then merge the image together.

[Lady Selphie]

Note: I did those steps because the original image is locked, so I can`t do anything on this image, unless you can copy it. If you have imgae which is not locked, there`s no need to do those steps.


Actually, if you double click a locked image and select "Ok" to the new layer, it'll automatically become unlocked. Also, even if an image is locked, there's nothing keeping you from right clicking and duplicating the image so that you don't need to do all that copy and paste work.

What works best for me is just to right click the original image, select "duplicate layer" and set this second duplicated layer to soft light, mess around with the opacity and then merge the image together.

Oh really? :eek: thanks for your information

[Miriel]

No problem. :)

[xX.Silver.Wings.Xx]

Whenever I tried to made a sig it just looked tacky. But I've only got paint and photo editor so thats probably why...!

[Rye]

I would recommend practice with GIMP then moving on to PSP7 or Photoshop because those are more advanced photo editors. :)

[Lady Selphie]

Ok guys, here`s the first lesson:
http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=71818

[rubah]

Lady Selphie, the point of having this thread stickied is so that you post them *here*, as well as anyone else who wants to.

[Lady Selphie]

It`s very interesing and quick lesson. Let`s start:
1-Use Gardient Tool to create background (http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/182/11ji.jpg)or Press G.
Note: you can use also print tool too.
2-Create background as you like and I did this (http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/715/21gn.jpg).
3-Choose any image you like, I chose Cloud`s image (http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/5816/36ew.jpg).
4-Move Cloud`s image into background image.
5-Go to Luminosity (http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/1654/45wu.jpg).
Finally,the image will be like this (http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/6533/56jh.jpg)

Here are the samples of our lesson:
http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/392/62sh.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/3002/77lh.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/2927/84ww.jpg

[Lawr]

How would I be able to make an image on a banner that crosses the border
of a background, but doesn't show any white?

Kind of like this (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/boris_no_no/borisnono_zangief-sig.gif) image. Or you can just look here(at the sig) (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=58579) to see it without the whiteness.

[Cybele]

How would I be able to make an image on a banner that crosses the border
of a background, but doesn't show any white?

Kind of like this (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/boris_no_no/borisnono_zangief-sig.gif) image. Or you can just look here(at the sig) (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=58579) to see it without the whiteness.

Save it as a .gif with transparency. ^^ Make sure that you have all of the white erased so that it's like a checkerboard (in photoshop). You can do this by using the magic eraser (literally, magic eraser, it'll be in the set with your regular eraser). You can do it in any program, I just don't know all of the tools for it in others.

[Lawr]

Alright thanks!

Now, how do I make flashing text?

[MEF]

Well, I feel like the only one who can use Photoshop WELL, I mean no offence, but gimp is, well, gimpy for REAL graphics. The easyiest way to learn how to use a program, is to figure it out for your self! That's how I learned how 2 use Photoshop! Just keep practising and u'll figure out alot of stuff! (By the by, does anyone want a sig made for them, I will be able to make one in about an hour or so, so you will get it the next day!)

[Lawr]

Hey, MEF you should join the Graphics Competition! You're very well!?
I hate using well. Very much, but anyway, you should join, anyone
whos got talent like that should have a chance at winning some of the categories.

[rubah]

Well, I feel like the only one who can use Photoshop WELL, I mean no offence, but gimp is, well, gimpy for REAL graphics. The easyiest way to learn how to use a program, is to figure it out for your self! That's how I learned how 2 use Photoshop! Just keep practising and u'll figure out alot of stuff! (By the by, does anyone want a sig made for them, I will be able to make one in about an hour or so, so you will get it the next day!)
The medium in which you make your art is hardly the most important aspect.

If you gave me a box of crayons and an average kindergarten student a set of oil paints, I could pwn just about anything they tried to create.

If you take a talented pixel artist working with their ancient mouse and an oekaki program, they could pwn something a n00b pulled off with a wacom tablet and Photoshop CE.

It depends on how long you're willing to put in editing and how well you know how to use what you have to use.

PSP7 may have awful brushes compared to PS7, but if you want to put in the effort with the eraser and retouch tool, you can get just as good effects if you know what you're doing.

That being said, GIMP saves PSDs in a lot smaller files than PS7 does. A *lot* smaller.

[Spiffing Cheese]

I thought I'd add this. :greenie:

Okay.

Load up Photoshop* - this is how I do it anyway. Load the image you want the flashing text to be on. Copy the image, then load Image Ready and open a new canvas. Paste the image. Go back to Photoshop and type in what you want to flash in and out. Then, click on the box icon and right click on your image. Change the opacity of the text to be lower, say, 20%. 10% can work too, but as the sig restrictions are too tight, I'd go with 20. Once you've done that, copy the image and return to Image Ready. Select 'layer' at the top of the screen, and click 'new layer'. Paste your image with the text with mild opacity. You need to repeat this process - go back to Photoshop and change the opacity to 40% (if you chose 10% to begin with, try 20% ), then copy it! Create your new layer on Image Ready and paste the image with the increased opacity. Continue this until you have reached 100% opacity.

Right - the next step is to do the animation part. There should be a window showing Animation/Image Map/Slice. If you can't see that window, you need to go to 'Window' at the top of the screen, and then make sure 'Animation' is checked. You should see a little box with a number '1'. To the right of the screen, there's a box with the layers you have, with little eyes in boxes to the left. Uncheck all of the ones except Layer 1. Then, going back to the Animation box, there is an icon that looks like a folder over piece of paper. Click it! It makes an identical copy of your frame. For that, you need to make it so Layer 2 is visible. Contine this until all of your layers are visible. If you want to reverse it so that the text fades out instead of in, make it so that the first frame has the highest Layer visible, the second has the next, etc.

You then need to change the amount of time each layer frame is shown on the Animation box. You should be done now! To save your image, save it like 'Save Optimized As...'.

*You can do the editing in Image Ready, but I prefer Photoshop.

[Lawr]

Thank you!

[MEF]

Graphic compitions eh... when are they held, and where can I get info on them?

[Empu-Dragon]

mef is photoshop free or does it cost money and also where can i dowload it
a new family guy is on in 30 minutes

[MEF]

Costs ALOT of money... ALOT! You can download the demo at http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp#product=39.

[MEF]

If you gave me a box of crayons and an average kindergarten student a set of oil paints, I could pwn just about anything they tried to create.

You're proud of this?

Plus, PS7 is wayyyyy out of date! I'm using CS 8.0/CS2 9.0

[Cybele]

You're proud of this?

Plus, PS7 is wayyyyy out of date! I'm using CS 8.0/CS2 9.0

You are completely missing the point.

I'll bet that if someone were extremely good in gimp, you wouldn't be able to even tell that it was made in gimp. I've seen people who use the program that well, and I and many others thought that it was photoshop work until they said that they used the gimp when asked. Same goes for PSP. Really, just because someone has photoshop does not mean that their graphics are automatically better than anyone elses.

[blackline77]

can someone pleaz give me some help on how to use GIMP i just downloaded it and i have no idea whatsoever how to use it,, how do u get an image u want in there??
thanx alot.

[KH1992]

could you use something like Microsoft Pictureit! for sigs?

[Miriel]

could you use something like Microsoft Pictureit! for sigs?

You could, but that program doesn't exactly have a lot of features you can use to make a really creative signature. The most you could do with that program is a little color correction, editing out red-eye in photos, etc. It's not exactly a program for creating digital images as it is for organizing family photos and such.

[KH1992]

seems to work fine for me... you can soften the edges of the picyures and things like that... i don't know...

[Skytiger92]

If you want to make good signatures like my current or the ones in my newest photobucket album (http://photobucket.com/albums/a26/skytiger92/New%20Sigs/) then you need four great websites.

First:
Gamerenders (http://www.gamerenders.net/forum/index.php?)-
This site will provide you with amazing pictures for your signatures. This site also has a section where tutorials of any kind can be found. (Mainly photoshop tutorials) This tutorials will teach you how to use photoshop, how to make a basic signature, and how to make an amazing signature.
Second:
ChaosGFX (http://www.chaosgfx.com/ipb/index.php?act=idx)-
This site is mainly tutorials. It is another great place to find out how to make quality signatures and basic ones for beginners.
Third:
Pixel2Life (http://pixel2life.com)-
All tutorials. Some great ones and some average ones. Tutorials come from all over the internet from every type of board and will teach you a variety of skills.
Fourth:
Greycobra (http://www.greycobra.com/forums/)-
This site also has tutorials, but not as many tutorials as the others. Mainly it has a signature showoff area where people who are skilled in photoshop will comment on your work and help you to better it. It is a great site for critique.

Hope this helps all of you out there. With practise these sites will be able to help you better your photoshop skills. Also, experiment and try to come up with your own personal style. Good luck!

[Lady Selphie]

Well, here I am, and I`m sorry for being late:
This lesson is short, but it`s very interesting. Let`s do it:
oh..by the way, there`s no any picture in this lesson because I have problem in uploading, so I`m sorry:( :
1- open a new page.(Control+N)
2- paint the page into green.
3- write whatever you like in white color.
4- go to the third small box on the right, and then go the layers- dissolve.
5- Finally, go to Filter-blur-gaussian blur.

[Pheesh]

how can i reduce the actuall file size of sigs i make. I am getting better at making sigs but i find that they exceed the sig restrictions of eoff by many KB's. Any tips you guys can give?

Stay Essential
EE

[Lady Selphie]

Well, if you have image which 600x800, for instance, use right click and go to select all; and you see the pic is selected. Then, right click again and go to free transform. Finally, you control on the image by making it small or enlarge it. Good Luck ^_^

[Pheesh]

I meant the file size, not the image size. How can i reduce the KB's?

Stay Essential
EE

[ZeZipster]

I meant the file size, not the image size. How can i reduce the KB's?

Stay Essential
EE

http://www.no-designs.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=258

That's only if you're using Photoshop though.

[Vice-President Rufus]

Ok, here`s the first lesson as I said. Before we`ll start, I want to say that I`ll teach you what I have learnt, and I will put a new lesson in any day of week. Ok, here we go.

Step 1:Choose any image you like and let`s chooseSquall`s image (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1775/8squalls6cw.gif).

Step 2:Squall`s image size is 350 pixels x 263 pixels. Create a new file with File> New, or Control+N. Then put these sizes as this diagram (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4049/untitled179pq.jpg).

Step 3:We need putting these sizes because we want the image size like the image size of Squall`s image.
Note: you may choose any image which their sizes are 500 x 200, or 400 x 300, etc.

Step 4:Go to Squall`s image and press the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), or press M which you`ll find it on the keyboard, as the diagram shows (http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/2529/untitled185da.jpg)

Step5:Then, use select all by right click on Squall`s imgae and it will show you this (http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/185/untitled194hn.jpg)

Step 6:After that, use Control+C which means copy. Go to the empty image size picture and press Control+V which means paste.

Step 7:And now, the empty image size picture becomes a copy of Squall`s image, so close the original one, and let`s start with the copy one.
Note: I did those steps because the original image is locked, so I can`t do anything on this image, unless you can copy it. If you have imgae which is not locked, there`s no need to do those steps.

Step 8:In the copy one, you will see that the name of the picture is called layer, as in this diagram (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9927/untitled212lg.jpg)

Step 9: Create a new layer by Layer> New> Layer, or Shift+ Control+ N, or by this icon as you see it in this picture (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4061/untitled96bh.jpg)

Step 10:After creating a new layer, they will become two layers. The first one is Squall`s image which is layer 1, and the second is empty layer which is layer 2. Go to layer 1 and use select all as I have explained.Then, copy the image and go to layer 2 and paste the image in layer 2

Step 11:Select layer one (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7681/untitled35ol.jpg), and go to Filter>Blur>Guassain blur.

10-Selcet layer 2 (http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2814/untitled56me.jpg), and transform the picture from normal to soft light (http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7821/untitled64pd.jpg).

Finally the image will be like that (http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/2716/untitled78uv.jpg)

There are some samples which are about our lesson:

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/1290/untitled111be.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9771/untitled141tw.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/171/untitled165jl.jpg

Ok, that`s all today, and I haop you will understand me.


I can't get step 8. I can't get it to say layer 1 all it says is background, can u explain it. Sorry

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

Well really all you do is go to Layer and go to New and click Layer...I think.
Hope that helps

[Pheesh]

http://www.no-designs.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=258

That's only if you're using Photoshop though.

Thanks so much.

Stay Essential
EE

[Vice-President Rufus]

thanks

[Rengori]

How would I do an effect similar to the one Red Wizard does in this 8-Bit Theater (http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=051231) strip where he's charging his blast?

[Pheesh]

where do you guys get cool fonts. I've only got lame ones.

Stay Essential
EE

[Mittopotahis]

In Photoshop (I am using the trial version of CS2), is there an option which allows you to auto-animate something? As in, just say I want some text to scroll from right to left. Is there an option which will do that automatically for me?

[Cybele]

How would I do an effect similar to the one Red Wizard does in this 8-Bit Theater strip where he's charging his blast?

You mean the stars? Brushes. If you have photoshop, it comes with a single star brush that you can put on there a bunch of times and get that effect. The stars over the mage are probably on a new layer with the opacity dropped.


where do you guys get cool fonts. I've only got lame ones.

Stay Essential
EE

I get mine from Dafont (www.dafont.com/en) Just download them, unzip, then install them into your font folder which you can access through the control panel.


In Photoshop (I am using the trial version of CS2), is there an option which allows you to auto-animate something? As in, just say I want some text to scroll from right to left. Is there an option which will do that automatically for me?

Nope. You have to do it manually in Imageready, which should have come with photoshop. Jasc animation shop has a bunch of auto stuff though and I know you can have animation shop do that automatically.

[Nick Schovitz]

Oh man, first I ned to know where I can download it.

[Ashley Schovitz]

Is Gimp free?

[Cybele]

Is Gimp free?

Yes.

[Ashley Schovitz]

Okay I've downloaded it now and I'm al confused, I thought it would be simple but even when i click on help it says that the help is not available and check your inmstallation, what now?

[Rengori]

How do I get to the star brush?

[Leeza]

Okay I've downloaded it now and I'm al confused, I thought it would be simple but even when i click on help it says that the help is not available and check your inmstallation, what now?
If you require help with Gimp, please the the Gimp Help (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?t=71210) thread.

[~SapphireStar~]

I really want to be creative more with my signatures and Im loving Casteal's current creation:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7065/isobelweapon0dj.jpg
And these from some old forums I was from:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/ff8talk/Katriona.gif
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/ff8talk/Rinoasig1.gif
It would be helpful cause I so want to experiment more, but I havent got a clue on how to start with these designs :(

[moogle maniac]

ive made a sig and i try in upload onto photobucket but it says the file type has an invalid format how do i change that

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

ive made a sig and i try in upload onto photobucket but it says the file type has an invalid format how do i change that
If you are using something like Photoshop you have been saving them as Photoshop files right?

Keep on doing that if you want to come back and edit it later, but also save a copy as JPG/GIF/PNG

Preferably GIF if you are using it here seeing as it tends to give you the smaller file size. PNG tend always to be way too big and JPG you have to play with the quality level.

Now to do this, after you saved it as a project (The photoshop .psd for example), so back to File>Save As... This time under file type, open the drop menu and select ".gif", ".jpg" or ".png" Then when you do it will automatically add "copy" to the file name. Then hit save. For ".gif" you just click okay to everything, unless you want to play around with some settings. With ".jpg" you can lower and raise the quality and on the bottom it will tell you the file size. With ".png" you will have two options, leave it on its default. ^_^ Hopefully that helped...

[~SapphireStar~]

Can someone please help with my problem? Its 2 posts up.

[Cybele]

Can someone please help with my problem? Its 2 posts up.

It's mostly just a matter of experimentation. Mine's more about creative cropping. You just resize an image down to however big you want and pick sections to copy and move over to different places. Then there's a light texture thrown in there and a pin light layer to balance all of the colors out. As for the second two, rotation is the key. Crop the images how you want and put them on a large enough canvas that they'll fit completely, then rotate them around by going to edit, transform, rotate. Looks like a lot of bevel and emboss was used as well with some brushes. Also, the second looks like they either erased parts and saved it as a transparent .gif or they used a template of some kind. I don't ever use templates, so I can't really tell you how. I just never much liked them.

[~SapphireStar~]

Thanks for that Casteal, hopefully I can come up with some good creations :D
Ive just had a quick go and this was the end result. I made a copyright brush, but I made it too small here.
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6563/potter9as.gif

[KH-Cloudy]

how do you remove the white background?like you copy the image into the main thing and then yeah..

[Aqua Heart]

just found a newly made site, called www.insanedesigns.cjb.net. i know one of the owners n he is very gd at what he does and is willing to help anyone. they need to get a higher members list, so if u got a sec please visit.

[KH-Cloudy]

Where is a good place to get Grunge(SP?) tool?thanks in advance for Photoshop 7 or higher

EDIT:Hoe come i can't use .APR files?I can only use .TPL but i dont have any . TPL i think
EDIT2:Ignore the first edit.....ow do you resize the images?and take out the other things that are not needed(I.e. white background)

[Elite Lord Sigma]

What I can't figure out is how to take a screenshot of something that I want for my signature in a video. Can someone tell me?

[Roto13]

I use VirtualDub. And you're using the sig I made for you for no reason at all! :D

[Owen Macwere]

Hi everyone, I am making a tutorial about shrpening images without redusing their quality, I'll post it once I finish it. hope no one have something against that LOL.

[Owen Macwere]

here, I am learning photoshop so i decided to post what I learned here, I'll post more once I arrange and write them, enjoy:D :

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/azoz_2006/attempt109.jpg

Owen’s high quality sharpened
Renders tutorial

Hi everyone, have you ever used the regular sharpening tool and got a spiky low quality looking render? Now I just found this way to sharpen them without reducing their quality, take a look at the above sig., and hope you find this useful.
Assuming that you already have a prepared sig and only needs sharpening its render, ‘cause the background is stealing the renders glory. So just do these few steps:

1.Select your render layer.
2.Press CTRL+A to select the whole frame
3.Go to Edit >copy merged
4.press CTRL + V (to paste the layer)
5.And then to Layer> arrange> bring to front (these might not be necessary if the copy of the layer has automatically been brought to the front when you pasted it)
6.Now go to Filter > other > high pass, and select the amount you like. (PS:try to choose between 4-10)
7.Go layer> layer style> blending options and set the mode to (overlay).
8.Grip the eraser tool and set its opacity to 100% if it wasn’t already.
9. Rube only the background, and leave the render as it is.

PS: if the sharpening is less than what you want, simply in step 6 just increase the amount of the high pass.

Now, wasn’t that easy? This way you would be able to sharpen your render without reducing the quality. For any questions just Pm me or post your question here I will answer you in as much as I can.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
Owen Macwere

[Miriel]

Owen, I merged your thread with an existing thread for Photoshop lessons and tutorials.

[Owen Macwere]

Owen, I merged your thread with an existing thread for Photoshop lessons and tutorials.

ok, no problem. but does that mean that I can't make my OWN lessons thread? just wondering is all.

[Leeza]

One thread for Photoshop is enough.

[Sylvie]

Does anyone know how to make a signature so that when I make a sig, and a picture is sticking out, that the background of this site shows up as the background instead of a color I choose?

[Madonna]

You need to make the background transparent and save the image as a .gif or .png.

[This is basically it.] (http://www.mediacollege.com/graphics/photoshop/transparent/gif.html)

[Sylvie]

Thanks... I wish you could save it as JPG.

[Madonna]

No, you don't, else you wouldn't have a transparency, so it's a .gif or .png. Those are wonderful formats, especially when you're only doing signature work. .jpg should only really be used for large images, like wallpapers, photos, drawings, and the like where a little loss and bleeding isn't so bad. It's a very lossy format which with large filesizes.

Besides, it's good to branch out and familiarize yourself with different formats so you can learn how to best save your work and reap the maximum benefit. Cheers.

[Fire_Emblem776]

How do you take out the color in a picture? I have the picture done, but i want it to be in black and white.

[Owen Macwere]

How do you take out the color in a picture? I have the picture done, but i want it to be in black and white.

simple enough. do this;
Image> mode> grayscale
that is if your whole image is one layer.

[Fire_Emblem776]

Got it, thanks

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

I just took it upon my self to make a tutorial on how to make curved edges :) Heres how. Oh and this is for Photoshop! Probably translatable but im not sure how, sorry :

So, you see this button?

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/moldy1471/button.jpg

You click on it and select the one that is a 'Rectangular Marquee'

So next you open a new canvas. I always open mine to 333x155 :)

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/moldy1471/canvas.jpg

Next you select the part you want as edged like this:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/moldy1471/2canvas.jpg

If you want it transparent, you just delete the backround and your done! :D This is the end result :)

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/moldy1471/endresult.jpg

Hope its useful for someone :) Heres one of my results:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b271/moldy1471/slightly-sarcastic-3.png

Ill probably make a tutorial later how to make that sig :) Later!:D

[~SapphireStar~]

Great job ff7+ff10 gurl 100! I know I'll be this techinque in the future :D

[Clone 01]

http://www.no-designs.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=258

That's only if you're using Photoshop though.

where do i go in here?

[Rye]

I have a whole blinkie lesson from an old thread. I'll paste it there. :)

---

I decided to make a tutorial because several people PMed me asking me to make blinkies for them, so I wanted to show everyone how. :D I've took screenies so you can see examples. I'll probably fix the size of the screenies later, for now, they're good enough.

Required:

-Animation Shop for animating (Sorry, but I dunno how Image Ready for Photoshop works all that much. However, if you know how to animate with it, and just have trouble DRAWING the blinkie, then no problem. From Step 7 on is Animation Shop required.) You can get Animation Shop from like, download.com, or at jasc.com at a 30 day trial. If you bought PSP7 from a store, you'd have gotten Animation Shop with it.

-Patience

Step 1) Start out in Animation Shop, Photoshop, or Paint Shop Pro. Create a new image that's 10 height by 100 length. The length could be increased, but that'd be a really long blinkie, so 100 is ideal.

Step 2) Turn on the ruler option, if you have it. It makes things very neat and orderly. PSP7 and up will have this. Photoshop probably will too. Animation Shop does not, that's why I like to work with PSP7 and Animation Shop. View --> Ruler for the Ruler.

Step 3) Fill in the box with a colour. Then at every 10th pixel, starting at zero, erase one pixel at the very top and bottom of the blinkie. Like in the screenie. I recommend you zoom in a lot for this.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/screenietut12.gif

Step 4) You're definitely going to have to refer to the following screenie for this. Pick a shade a bit darker than the colour you've chosen for the blinkie, then, colour over in the following places on the screenie in the dark colour.


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/SCREENIETUT22.gif


Step 5) Pick a slightly lighter colour than the colour you chose for the blinkie (not the darker shade, the other shade) and colour in the following places:


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/SCREENIETUT3.gif

Step 6) Almost done drawing! Just gotta do the text. Now, I just draw the text using a one pixel brush tool. The letters take a bit of practice to make them look right. Keep in mind that they're pixels and upclose they make look odd, but look fine at normal size.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/screenietut4.gif


Now, you can stop here and save it as a .gif with transparency, if you're fine with that, but if you wanna animate, copy your blinkie aaaand...

Step 7) Paste it into Animation Shop. We're going to make a very simple blinkie so, it'll required few frames. Go to Edit --> Paste --> After current frames, so you get 3 of the same frames. Now, pick the colour you want one of your letters to be (I picked white) and using Flood Fill (the paint bucket shaped tool) click the first letter. It'll be white now. If you have pixels that are unconnected, like my R for Rye has, then, click the uncoloured pixel.

Step 8) For the next frames, colour the next letter after, and so on until you have something like this:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/screenietut5.gif

Step 9) You're basically done, but you may notice the speed of the flashing letters is too fast. If you want to fix this: Edit --> Select All. Then Animation --> Frame Properties. You'll see a number there. The number means frames per second. If you want to speed it up, put a smaller number. If you want to slow it down, put a higher number. Play around until it's nice. I recommend 15-20.

You're done. Now just view animation and save it! :) You should get something like this:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/ryeryeblinkie.gif


Some other blinkies I've done:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/Ryechu/ryechublinkie.gif
http://mysite.freeserve.com/baotw/baotw_blinkie.gif

Try different things and effects with the blinkies. :D


Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and learned something. Post some of the blinkies you've made, also~

---

That's a kind of old tutorial, but I don't feel like updating it at the moment. Enjoy~

[Owen Macwere]

Full sig tutorial
I thought about making this tutorial as I started to get better at making these sigs, now this sig is so simple yet so good looking. I used to say WOW when I wasn’t that good with Photoshop ^^ but now, piece of cake ^_~. And here is the way:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/azoz_2006/tutorial.gif

1. Make two new files: a. 500x200 pxl, set it transparent.
b. 450x150 pxl, set it to white.
2. with the second make the background, how? In mine I used some starry brush and brushed the white background with black and then dragged my desired picture. then filter>blur> Gaussian blur set it to 7, Now go layer>layer style>Blending options> set it to overlay.
3. Duplicate the new layer by pressing Ctrl+J. for about three or four times and spread the duplicated layers around the canvas. Now you have the background.
4. We start with the transparency. Select the whole canvas of the background by pressing Ctrl+A. now go, Edit>copy merged. Go to the other file the one 500x200 and go Edit>paste. Drag the layer wherever you like.
5. now bring your picture and put it anywhere so that it looks good with the sig, I put it a side and thus erased part of the background so it would look better. Now bring your rectangular marquee tool and on the background layer draw a thin rectangular horizontally so that it would be wider than the layer. Go Edit> clear. And it is deleted. Now rotate the selected marquee by pressing right click on it> transfer selection and rotate it vertically take it to the side and Edit> clear again. Now done deselect the marquee.
6.about the text, just type different sizes in different places and choose your font.
7. go Layer> merge visible to make the whole layers one.(HINT: this makes the stroked edges smoother).
8. Edit>stroke> set it black and 2 pixels.
9.now done all we have to do is save it. File>save as> gif and type your name and that’s all.
It is long I know, but I couldn’t think of another way to make it shorter, hope it helped ^^.

Owen Macwere

[Pheesh]

my starry brush actually looks like a 5 pronged star and turns out nothing like that :s

Stay Essential
EE

[Owen Macwere]

well i don't really remember from where i got this brush, but I can send it to you via the e-mail i think.
have you done Gaussian filter?
EDIT: and well it is not necessary for your background to look exactly like mine, you can have your special one ^_~.

[Owen Macwere]

first, sorry for double posting.
Second, this is a tutorial for low quality pics :)
ok, I just discovered this way to make low quality pics be of high quality, and I thought to share it with ya.

1. I have this picture which is very low quality as you see:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/azoz_2006/dagger.jpg

2. press ctrl+A to select the whol canvas.
3. go: edit>copy. then Edit> paste.
4. now go to: filter>blur> caussion blur> set it 2.8 or may be alittle higher or a little lower depends on how much your pic is of low quality. you should have something like this now:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/azoz_2006/daggercopy.jpg

5.now go to: layer>layer style>blending mode> and set it to overlay. you must get this now:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/azoz_2006/daggercopy2.jpg

done. hope you enjoyed :)

Owen Macwere

[Pheesh]

This is a guide to get you a transparent font that looks good and is still readable.

1. Just get a font you like, and place it where you want on the sig. I suggest having the rest of the sig made before doing the font because I found that you can't move it after you've started. Make sure you get the size exactly how you want and put it were you want it to be on the finished product. I'd also suggest making the font colour something really visible.

2. Put a stroke around it, mine was 2px and I found it works best with that particular font but muck around until it looks good.

3. Get the magic eraser and set it to your font colour, then erase it, leaving the stroke over your background

4. It's now just a matter of erasing the background until the stroke surrounds nothing but transparency. This will be annoying if your background is black or gray. You may have to test the sig on a colourful website a few times to make sure all font is transparent (I just previewed the sig on eoff and it sufficed).

Here is a finished product incorperating the technique. But it doesn't look that good on the eoff skin i'm using.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/zacksig.gif

Enjoy.

Stay Essential
EE

[Owen Macwere]

Can someone please tell me, where I can find good C4d brushs and renders? really apreciated, thanks. :)

[Clone 01]

does anyone know where i can find a grunge or abstract brush?

[Owen Macwere]

does anyone know where i can find a grunge or abstract brush?

You can find some good ones in Deviantart, just click browser and type your (photoshop brushs) you'll get a huge list and so you can choose from there, I have some of them but as my PS is version 7 I find a hard time finding brushs for it.
but if yours is CS then you'll find many Grange and abstract ones that work with your version.

[Clone 01]

thanks,i have 7.0 as well.

[KH-Cloudy]

i need good fonts, but i dunno which ones are good looking fonts, like a full metal alchemist font

[Owen Macwere]

i need good fonts, but i dunno which ones are good looking fonts, like a full metal alchemist font

The place I use for fonts is www.dafont.com (http://www.dafont.com) it is a very good place for all kind of fonts. and about how to choose fonts, try to choose these that seem thick and bold they work better and be more visible with any graphic work you do.

[~SapphireStar~]

Like Owen mentioned previously, does anyone know a great site for C4 renders please?

[VoodooChild]

I've been looking for these for ages too :cry: Can't find any!

[Owen Macwere]

I found some good ones when I sreach in Yahoo images. Found some good stuff as well, but C4D renders are very hard. I started to hate them. :cry:

[Sephiroths Clone]

If people are looking for good place to get c4ds just PM me and ill to you guys where. (if thats allowed)

and c4ds are really easy once u get the hang of them Owen ;)

[~SapphireStar~]

Yeah ask SC for the site. Its amazing!

Also could someone explain to me how to stretch an image in Photoshop please? Lots of good looking tutorilas mention stretching the image and I havent got a clue as to how!

Please help :(

[Owen Macwere]

Oh, ~SS~ that was done by going to Edit> free transfer and then resize with the pointer. A simple way. :)

[~SapphireStar~]

Yippee! Thanks Owen :D
*rushes off to make siggies!*

[Owen Macwere]

Welcome, but I think you got to remove that link. SC been trying hard not to get it saparated. :D

[NaroK]

I think this is the place to ask. I have plenty of C4ds but most of them have black backgrounds :mad: WHY!? lol anyway what do you guys do with them? I use magic wand and get rid of the black that way but that ruins the c4d in most cases.

[Sephiroths Clone]

Set the layer to screen or lighten which usually gets rid of the black background

[~SapphireStar~]

Okay, this piece isnt mine, its from Deviant Art. I was wondering if someone could tell me how to make it? Ive linked it because it does have a few swearing words on the signatures on it.

SO BE WARNED: SWEARING!


RE link (http://ic3.deviantart.com/fs5/i/2004/324/2/0/Reservoir_Dogs_ID_by_Virtual_Fighter.jpg)

[Sephiroths Clone]

Broken Link...

[~SapphireStar~]

Grr, hope this one works.

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/12454916/?qo=29&q=reservoir+dogs&qh=boost%3Apopular+age_sigma%3A24h+age_scale%3A5

[Sephiroths Clone]

whoa, theres a lot going on in those. I see some splatters, maybe some c4ds. Not sure.

[Fate Fatale]

How To Make a Sig (Step by step)

Step 1: Prep

If you want to have a spiffy sig, you need to prep the images you will be using. Assuming you are using photoshop, you can render (get rid of the background, giving the illusion that the image was drawn there) the image using the lasso tool. Go 'round the parts of the image you want used, and try using the magnetic lasso as it's helpful if you don't have a steady hand. Copy the selected image and paste it on a new file that the image fits on. Save this, as they are nice to have on hand for future projects. Next, go to new and make an image the size that you want the sig. Now you are ready to begin.

Step 2: Roughin' it

Now you want to set up the image in the general fashion you want the finished product to look like. The new image should be transparent and ready to start a background on. Choose the Gradient tool to make a neat faded background look. HINT: Select the colors yourself, or choose a color from the renders you are using with the eyedropper tool. Next you need to use the move tool to drag your renders onto you newly made background. If it doesn't look right, you can always change the colors for the background. Move the Images around to see what loos best and try to edit the gradient to make it emphasize the images used. Now, you should be ready to move on to Step 3.

Step 3: Prettifying

This is where the brushes and texts come into use. There are many preloaded brushes that will work nicely with whatever you are making, however you can fine tune them if you wish. A good rule of thumb when using burshes with color, is to create new layers to put them on, so that if you mess it up, you can restart without having to delete all of your work. When You've finished that, move to text. You can use the thext tool on any layer and it will make a text layer. To use it, click and drag the cursor to create a text box, then start typing. If you are typing over images, it is difficult to get the color right, so if you need to, you can use a different color for each character.

Step 4: Are you done?

This step is for if you want a border or editing. Bording looks nice on some sigs, but not on others.

Step 5: Saving

This is one thing that can be a pain. Getting the right filesize for EOFF. You don't want to sacrifice quality for image size, so try to use .jpg on the max setting (usually 10). If you are going to print it out, you should save it as a .png as it is usually the best image quality.

Step 6: Congratulations

If you are like me, you'll want to show of your spiffy sig by putting it online or showing on the screen to friends or family.

I, by showing my step-mum on of my images, got her to pay me for creating ads for her business. Very spiffy money. I'm cheap, so I only charge $5 but I could charage more. If you enjoy this sorts of thing, you can do it professionally as a Graphic Designer. but now I'm just Rambling, so I'll go away for now.

Question here! Just wondering how people make the rainbow or colored filter effects on their images. I've been trying to figure it out, but I'm not really good at exploring Photoshop.


Admins or Mods: sorry if I'm supposed to out this into my other post. It's two different days, and I figured it'd be okay. Feel free to merge it though.

Yes, this should have been an edit instead of a new post. ~ Leeza

*merges*

[Diango12]

Diango's guide to making a sig

This tutorial is designed to help even the newest of new out there be able to make a signature background from start to finish in Adobe Photoshop CS.

What you need:
400x150 Document in Adobe Photoshop
Default colors (Black and White. Hit the D key)
Abstract brushes, grunge brushes, whatever kind of brushes you would like to use. You can download brushes at places such as Deviant Art (http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/psbrushes/?view=1&order=5&limit=24)

Installing Brushes:
Once you download some brushes to your desktop, all you have to do is unzip any zip files you have and select all the brush files together and right click -> cut. (downloading brushes does not consist of saving the picture of them on deviantart. You actually have to click a download button). Now open windows explorer and follow the following path C:\program files\adobe\photoshop cs\presets\brushes and paste the files into this folder. Now your brushes are installed (note: you cannot install brushes while photoshop is opened. They will not show up if you try to load them).

Loading Brushes in Photoshop:
To load a brush in photoshop once you have it installed, you must open up the program. Then click on the brush tool.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/Brush-Tool.gif
Now in the upper left hand corner please click the brush selection menu.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/Brush-Selection-Menu.gif
Now click on the little arrow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/little-arrow.gif
Now go to the “load brushes” option. Click this and select a set of brushes. They will be located in the brush selection menu.

Congratulations. You have loaded a set of brushes.
__________________________________________________________

The Project:

Make sure you have a new 400 wide x 150 high pixel document ready for work (It should have a transparent background). Set your colors to black and white by hitting the D key on your keyboard.

To start, fill your current layer with black using the fill tool.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/fill-tool.gif
Next, create a new layer by clicking on the new layer button.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/new-layer-button.gif
Now select a brush (using the brush tool), any grunge or abstract brush will do for the purpose of this tutorial. Now click on the flow option. This adjusts the speed at which the color comes out of the brush. Set your flow to around 50% for the first part.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/flow-option.gif
Reverse the colors by hitting the X key now. Now you are using the color white, instead of black. Now take your brush and click on the sig background (make sure you are brushing on layer 2). Only make 2-3 clicks in different spots. Your sig should look something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/first-brushed-layer.gif
Of course you are probably using a different brush than I am, so it will look different.

Continuing:

Now create a new layer by clicking the layer button again. Select a different brush the same way we did before. This time reduce the flow of the brush to around 30-45%. Now make sure you are drawing on layer three and click a few more times over this layer. Feel free to click on top of your previous brush strokes. Do whatever looks good to you (remember you can undo anything in photoshop by hitting the keys ctrl+alt+z).

Ok. Now that that is done, you should have something that looks like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/second-brushed-layer.gif
Now make another layer. Do the exact same brushing procedure as we have been using on the past layers. Select a new brush and reduce the flow by 5% this time however. Click a few more times here and there and you should have an interesting looking design something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/third-brushed-layer.gif
Good, you are done with the brushing part!

Now what we have to do next is click on Layer 4. Now click on Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Brightness/Contrast.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/brightnesscontrast-adjustme.gif
Click ok, then adjust the levels so they read Brightness:20 Contrast: 40 (or whatever settings look the best and hit ok. Now your image will look something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/brightness-contrast-layer.gif
In the next step, we click on layer 4 again. Now go back and click Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> this time click on Color Balance.

Click ok. Now mess around with the sliders until your sig bg becomes an interesting color that you would like.

Finishing:

Now that you have a nice colored sig BG it is done. It should look something like this now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/final-colored.gif
(optional): You can add more colors to your BG by adding more of the Color Balance layers (One over each of your brushed layers. This will result in each of your brushed layers being a different color.) In order to do this, all you have to do is repeat the color balance layer step, but place one over each of your individual brushed layers. If you do it correctly, you could create something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/ADsubs/colored-optional.gif
You will notice that there are three different colors on the signature. You can add more if you wish as well.

You can do what you would like with it now, add a picture, add some more effects or whatever you can think of.

[Sephiroths Clone]

Here are some of my tutorials.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7728/penstocktutorialbb8.jpg

And another

http://www.guildinn.com/images/sstocktutorialdb8copyki4.jpg

[Owen Macwere]

Nice tuts, SC, but can you a bit clear the thing of pen tool, i am not getting it right?.
thanks

[Sephiroths Clone]

what exactly are you having problems with?

[Owen Macwere]

Well, when I use the pen tool set to path, it only select lines, doesn't drawing anything, how can I fill in the colour and how can I make the lines as smooth as yours?.

[Sephiroths Clone]

ok if ur using paths, right click, then go to stroke. Make sure youre stroking with a brush not pencil. Click stimulate pressure to make it look like its fading. Also itll stroke with whatever color youre foreground is and what ever brush youre using.

[Owen Macwere]

Thanks, I'll try it when I can.

[Clone 01]

whats c4d?

[Owen Macwere]

C4Ds are renders that are used to give effects to the graphic work.

[Clone 01]

oh right so if say i had a render of a glowing star and put it in a candle light to give it a diferent effect it wud be that kind of thing?also what does C4D stand for?

[Owen Macwere]

C4D Stands for Cinema 4D, if I am not wrong.
Yeah, kinda like that, but you'll also have to use filters and such to get the effect you need. I mean, you don't just drop it on a pic and get the effect you want.

[Clone 01]

yeah i get ya,ok thanks Owen!

[Roto13]

Bah. For some reason, when I try to use text, the text comes out really tiny regardless of the font size. What's the problem?

[atlanteay]

the image resolution. In Resize Image, change the part about Resolution to 72 in/px

i don't have photoshop opened so i can't give a very detailed explanation.

[Roto13]

Ah, that fixed it. It was set to 2.1 or something. :P Thanks.

[atlanteay]

after spending 15 minutes searching for good LJ icon tutorials, i've finally decided to actually ask for help rather than plain searching =P

i would like to know how the icons went from:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/atlanteay/ffxii_screen_0879.jpg
to
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/atlanteay/thumb_final_fantasy_xii_avatars_011.png

from:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/atlanteay/final_fantasy_versus_xiii_screens_0.jpg
to
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/atlanteay/final_fantasy_versus_xiii_avatars_0.png

the first set isn't the same exact images but the colors are basically the same. I'd like to know how these people managed to get that bright and soft color. It's so vivid compared to the original but i can't seem to get that effect.

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

Well, I've had issues finding icon tutorials, but LJ has a bunch, since I spend my days there most of the time, I would know xD. If you have searched there, whoops. :p You could go to icon_extra's maybe, if you haven't already:

http://community.livejournal.com/icon_extras/

There's a bunch of coloring tutorials there. =D

[atlanteay]

woot!! i found out how! thanks liz! :D

it's through selective coloring. I always ignored it because it was ironically ineffective :mog:

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

Glad I could help. :jess:

[atlanteay]

I have a lot of questions don't i? This one is about getting renders to look smudgy and almost like cartoonish feel.

Notice in this sig, the character with blue hair looks kind of blurry and has this odd brushing on her that makes her look like she was painted. How can i achieve that effect?

http://i11.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:/2j65qoh.png

[samboo1]

I just downloaded some textures from one of the links here, and im not sure how to upload textures onto the program??

Also, sephiroths clone, i want to get effects like those on your tutorial, but i dont even know how to change to filter brush stroke spatter... i cant find it in my settings anywhere, is it made for a specific program?

[atlanteay]

Also, sephiroths clone, i want to get effects like those on your tutorial, but i dont even know how to change to filter brush stroke spatter... i cant find it in my settings anywhere, is it made for a specific program?

it's made for photoshop. Paintshop Pro *might* have those settings under effects but i'm not 100% sure.

[samboo1]

Also, sephiroths clone, i want to get effects like those on your tutorial, but i dont even know how to change to filter brush stroke spatter... i cant find it in my settings anywhere, is it made for a specific program?

it's made for photoshop. Paintshop Pro *might* have those settings under effects but i'm not 100% sure.

Thanks, but nah i still dont see it, anyway i carried on the tutorial past that before and there's a lot of things that i dont understand so ive left it lol.

[atlanteay]

^ you can just gather a list of things you don't understand and list them here. Lots of us can help you.

[samboo1]

Thank you, but it would be a pretty big list, i dont understand anything about photoshop, although i really want to learn some new techniques, the things i know now are nothing, because i kinda make up my own way of doing things when i make signatures etc...

I think ill have to start learning what things mean, or finding my own way of doing it, before i can understand it lol.

[atlanteay]

i always found this (http://pootato.org/photoshop/) site to be extremely helpful. It might help you with photoshop.

[samboo1]

Thats a great site, that will help me a lot! Thanks so much. :)

[Owen Macwere]

I have a lot of questions don't i? This one is about getting renders to look smudgy and almost like cartoonish feel.

Notice in this sig, the character with blue hair looks kind of blurry and has this odd brushing on her that makes her look like she was painted. How can i achieve that effect?

http://i11.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:/2j65qoh.png

make a mew layer and apply image then use the filters in the Artist (something similar) list, try them out then set the layer to lighten and erase a little here and there till you get what you want. I think 'cut out' or something over it work that effect.

[atlanteay]

^ ...i feel stupid now. Thanks Owen, i'll test it out right now.

EDIT: nope owen, it's not cut out but i'm sure it's something from the Artistic category, just not sure which one.

[samboo1]

I just got Adobe Photoshop, as it seems to be the main program used for these types of things, but i thought Corel was confusing, this is something else...

I dont even know how to copy and image because i cant select anything, it keeps saying my layer is locked :confused:

[Discord]

I just got Adobe Photoshop, as it seems to be the main program used for these types of things, but i thought Corel was confusing, this is something else...

I dont even know how to copy and image because i cant select anything, it keeps saying my layer is locked :confused:

Umm... in the lower right corner you have your layers. If you can't draw, just add a new layer. If you want to select everything you've produced, just try doing MERGE LEVELS. It should be in the bottom of the Layers dropdown-menu, if I remember right. If you're confused, just keep merging the layers. You'll get a grip of it eventually.:)

[samboo1]

Thanks lol, although i just switched back to PSP, it's so much easier!!

[Discord]

Thanks lol, although i just switched back to PSP, it's so much easier!!

Sure, no probs. The thing about photoshop is that you have to do a lot manually, while other programs have a good number of presets. If you ever need help with Photoshop though, just send me a PM.:)

[Shoeberto]

Moved to Graphic Design to prevent sticky clutter in Help.

[moonflow]

A nice resource thread here.
Lots of renders/artbooks/stocks/tuts.
Updated regularly too.
||★|| GFX resources thread ||★|| (http://animearcadia.net/showthread.php?53-%E2%98%85-GFX-resources-thread-%E2%98%85)

[Pheesh]

It seems a shame for this thread to be stickied and not still be used for anything, so I decided to make a tutorial and see if it starts a bit of a trend. Unfortunately my print screen button no longer works so I'm reduced to using the snipping tool, which means no screen shots of open menus, but I'll try to be as descriptive as I can. I'm using Adobe Photoshop CS5, and I've never used anything else so I don't know how applicable this is to other programs, but as long as you have blending tools, some effects (mainly blur and lighting related), and access to some C4D images then you should be alright.

--

In this tutorial I figured I'd just focus on how to make a nice looking sig using predominately C4D's, because it's something that is sooo easy and very few people do when they start out (I didn't even know they existed for the longest time). A C4D (stands for Cinema 4D) in relation to sig making is usually a rendered image or texture that you can use to, for want of a better word, beautify your sig. They're great for filling up empty space on your sig, they are easy to use (although sometimes not as easy to find), and you don't have to do any installing like brushes.

So, as with any sig start by preparing your stock, I just finished Final Fantasy XIII so as celebration let's use lightning cause she's a BAMF. Prepare it any way you want; lasso, grab a pre-cut stock etc. Personally, I was born an eraser and I'll die an eraser.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light1.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light1.png)

Drag it into a new file with dimensions of your choosing (my default size is 380x140). Give it a rough resize and then set it to invisible so that we can work on the background.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light2.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light2.png)http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light3.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light3.png)

Okay, so now we have an empty canvas and we're pretty much free to do whatever the hell we want. To add some order to the proceedings and to calm myself down I've decided to fill in the empty layer with a nice, smart black.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light6.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light6.png)

Now open up a C4D image of your choosing, I've decided that my colour scheme is going to be black and yellow, because of the two little strips of yellow on Light's shoulder, and it shouldn't clash with anything else. So I've picked a C4D in that colour range. If you can find a C4D with a transparent background then they are godsends, because otherwise you may find yourself a bit limited with blending options. Here's the one I've decided to start with. ((As a side note, if anyone has trouble finding a C4D or wants to follow this tutorial to a tee and wants the images I used then just send me a PM and I'll send them to you))
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light5.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light5.png)

So we'll drag that into our working file, give it a quick resize (check it against your stock if you're wondering about where it will look best), and then take a look. Also, as a general rule of thumb after I've done my initial resize I like to copy a layer (unless it's a basic background or something) at least 3 times.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light7.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light7.png)http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light9.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light9.png)

Awesome... well, not really, it actually looks a bit tit, but we'll fix that. Let's try a blending option and see if we can make it a little less harsh and get it to sit with the background a bit better. I've decided to go with 'Linear Dodge (Add)', and that was purely by trying them all and picking which one I liked the most. I've also dropped the opacity down to 68%
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light8.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light8.png)

That's better, it's a little less harsh on the eyes, but it's still really plain, definitely going to need some sprucing up. Let's grab one of those copies that we made of the C4D and take it off of invisible. Make sure it's placed above the blended C4D on the layer tab and then let's go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. It's a matter of then toying around with the settings that you like, but these are the ones that I ended up going with.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light11.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light11.png)

Now that I've applied the blur I'm going to use another blending option to get it sitting nicely with the original C4D that's directly underneath it. This time I've gone with 'Linear Light'. Let's observe the damage.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light12.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light12.png)


Looks quite nice. However, I went with a radial blur because it was a spherical C4D, it doesn't mean that you have to use those exact settings; be sure to toy around with different blurs or even some distortion filters like glass and ripple.

A quick check shows us that although the background is coming along, it still looks very plain and doesn't sync well with the stock. So it's time to add a new C4D. Here's the one I've picked.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light10.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light10.png)

Looks kinda like something you'd find in the crystarium, I think this is going to look pretty wicked. Go ahead and drag it into the working file and then do the usual resize/move until it looks nice and then be sure to copy it a few times. I've placed it underneath the C4D that we were previously working on, and this is the result.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light13.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light13.png)

Looking good, but I want Lighting to be more immersed in the background, so I'm going to take one of the copies I made of the new C4D and place it above my lightning stock on the layer order, then I set the blending mode on the C4D to overlay and use the eraser tool to get rid of anything that I don't like, such as the parts covering Light's face or torso. This is what I came up with.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light14.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light14.png)

I'm pretty happy with that now. I'd say that the bulk of the sig is done and now comes the finishing touches. In this case let's start with making our stock really 'pop' a bit more. This is simple and effective; take one of the copies you made of your stock (it should still be your topmost layer, if not, drag it up there), and then simply set the blending option to overlay. As you can see it's basically and instant bad ass button, the darks get darker and the image stands out from background just enough (I also took the opacity down to 90% and used the eraser on parts of her sword because I wanted the C4D to show up through the blade).
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light18.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light18.png)

Next up I wanted to add a very light gradient over the top of the background, so I created a new layer and filled it in, this is what it looked like isolated.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/light4.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=light4.png)

Then I set the blending mode to 'Lighten' and dropped the opacity to 50%. It made the left side stand out a little bit more, and also made the C4D more visible.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light19.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light19.png)

However, for my mind it's too visible now so I'm going to use the eraser with a very low flow to soften up the two most prominent C4D's that I added.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light15.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light15.png)

This makes the sig look less cluttered, and it's going to give us room for text if we want it. Now I want to add a photo filter (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Photo Filter>) to grunge it up a bit, so here's the settings I ended up using (And I placed the filter above all of the C4D's and the gradient, but below the stock).
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light16.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light16.png)

I guess I'll add a border as well to finish up, I had planned on using a lens flair but I don't think it needs it. I'm going to be lazy and just create a new layer, use the rectangular marquee tool to select it all and then Edit>Stroke to create a border. I used the yellow colour from her shoulder and then even set the stroke to overlay, because I'm crazy like that. Here's the final layer list
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/Light20.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/?action=view&current=Light20.png)

And now we can take a look at the final result.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/eternal_essence/lightningsig.png

So there you have it. Hopefully this tutorial helps some people to learn some new techniques, or experiment with C4D's if they haven't before, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[*Devore*]

Awesome sig and a very good tutorial, I recently aquired photoshop so this will be very helpful. But where do you get C4D images from?

[Pheesh]

I've had them for so long that I honestly forgot. I think I may have even grabbed some packs from the Anime Arcadia link above my post.

I just did a google search for 'C4D Render packs' and found a few resource sites though (http://tweeaks.com/resources/amazing-c4d-render-packs-for-photoshop/), so I'd suggest just doing a search in google or deviantart :)

[sTePhz09]

Shoeberto is right! Move to graphic design, much much more interesting stuff to do.

[KarenStevens]

I've been reading this forum and i get nice tips how to make great signature... I will post my work here too after i'm finish and tell what to improve... Can't wait to finish this... :) oh i forgot what is that CD4? I don't get it at all..

[Pheesh]

If you're asking about those specific C4D's I used they don't really have names and I couldn't honestly tell you where I got them, sorry. If you're asking what a C4D is in general; like I said, it's a rendered shape that you can use in signature making, usually by blending it into a background as I did in the tutorial. If you need more specific info a Google search on 'C4D' should explain it better than I ever could. Good luck with you sig attempt!

[KarenStevens]

If you're asking about those specific C4D's I used they don't really have names and I couldn't honestly tell you where I got them, sorry. If you're asking what a C4D is in general; like I said, it's a rendered shape that you can use in signature making, usually by blending it into a background as I did in the tutorial. If you need more specific info a Google search on 'C4D' should explain it better than I ever could. Good luck with you sig attempt!
Oh ok... Thanks Happy Noodle Boy... :)