Graphic Design Tips

This post is going to help most novice graphic designers out, in the field of making signatures, however these tips and tricks can be used in many other graphic design projects as well. 

As of right now I'm really interested in making signatures for people. Now a signature is basically an image used for online forums that usually contains one's name and a theme of his/her choice. The dimensions of a signature can vary from 350x200 pixels to 500x200 ( sometimes even bigger). Now I am most comfortable working with signatures which are 500x200, however the size varies depending on the person and the render being used.

There are a few important aspects to any signature, which are :-

• A render/stock - It is the image that is the center point in your signature and the thing that people will be drawn to first when looking at it. It can be anything, ranging from a plant, to an actor, to a video game character. Almost anything can be used as a render or stock, but try to find images that are high quality and have a certain element of movement/action in them as it makes the signature more appealing to look at. A stock is any image that you would like to use for your graphic design purposes. A render on the other hand is an image that has been edited in such a way that the background is completely removed.
• The background - This is the second most important part of a signature as without it, all you'll have is a render on a blank canvas, which is not very appealing to look at to be honest. So choose your backgrounds carefully, you want one that looks nice but at the same time you want to ensure that it does not take too much attention away from the render. It is not always necessary to use a ready made background, you can even make one using a variety of brushes, or the smudge tool on different settings. A tip to make the background less conspicuous is to just blur it a little; this can be achieved by going to the filter option, clicking on blur and selecting Gaussian blur, then choose the settings that suit the composition the best.
• The text - A significant part of a signature, as it usually identifies who the signature belongs to. However some people may choose not to have any text on their signature as they feel that it looks better that way. Placing text in a signature is often tricky and can take as much time as composing the whole signature itself, as the text needs to be visible but not obtrusive so that it is not the first thing a person sees while looking at the signature, but rather an accompaniment to the render.(treat it like a hotdog, if there is so much ketchup in it that it is dripping red and looks soggy, you're probably not going to want to eat it, likewise if your text stands out too much, or ruins the flow of the signature, you would want to change it)
• Borders - Not always necessary, however they can provide a good effect to many signatures, however many signatures look much better without one. So this aspect is totally dependent on the work and after a while, you tend to figure out which works need a border and which ones do not. My personal preference is to create a thin black bar and then apply a faint Gaussian blur to it so that it does not stand out too much.

How to make a signature:-

1. You need a decent graphics editing software and before you ask, no Paint will not do the job. Since I mostly use Photoshop, I am writing it on that basis. If you possess another graphic editing software, you will have to figure out how to do the steps in that software.
2. Open up a blank canvas, of whatever dimensions you would like (as I have stated before, I use 500x200 px so if you would like to try that out go ahead, otherwise pick what you want.)
3. Find a high quality render/stock, if you have a stock but only want a certain character, use the pen tool and try to render it. (I shall make a post in the future on how to render art.) 
4. Place your render/stock in the canvas and ensure that the focal point (the point where the viewer will focus) is clear and has some movement in it.
5. Now create a background that is based on some of the colours of the render, or take a ready made background that matches with your render.
6. Now try and create some flow between the background and the render by using brushes, the smudge tools and/or even C4D (Cinema 4 D) effects which are created by people using 3D design softwares. Try to direct the flow towards the render and past it. It tends to draw the focus of the viewer towards the render.
7. Try to ensure that the background and the render are blended a bit, this can be achieved through the dodge and burn tools, or the smudge tools. (don't be afraid to experiment with different settings, you never know what you might come up with)
8. After making your basic graphic, create a new layer and apply the image there,then open the adjustments panel and fiddle around with the various adjustments available till you get an output you like. Don't use too many however, as it often tends to get muddled up and then not look that good. Experiment with different opacity settings and blending modes.
9. Make a new layer and apply the image again after you finish using the adjustments. Now you've almost finished your first signature. Only a few steps remain. One of which is adding a light source. Now take a white soft round brush with 0 hardness and 100px round. And just apply it once in an area that you think should be a light source. This step can be omitted if you find that there is a natural light source for the render, or if you think that one is unnecessary
10. Add a border to the image, if you feel that it is neccessary.
11. Finally, the last step before completing your signature; adding the text. Now often the simplest fonts often work the best, however no matter what font you use, it's all about the positioning and the relation it has with the rest of the image. Managing to figure out the correct manner of applying the text can only be done through practice and patience.
12. Now your signature is complete, save it as a JPEG at maximum quality, upload it using any image uploading site such as tinypic, photobucket, etc. and then apply it on to the forum you would like to use it on.

An example of a well made signature:-

Tips to remember :-

1. Never make your focal point lose its focus otherwise the signature is pointless.
2. Ensure that there is a proper sense of blending in the image
3. Ensure that there is a sense of flow towards the render
4. Place and design your text carefully
5. Use high quality renders as much as possible.
6. Try to use lighting sources.

Resources:-

For most renders, brushes, backgrounds and C4Ds check out planet renders and deviant art. If they do not have what you are looking for use google images, but only as a last resort.

The biggest source of knowledge you can get about making signatures is from tutorials on the net. That is how I learned to make signatures and I advise you to do the same. The main purpose of this post is only to give you a brief outline on signature making and how you can do it, but if you want to get better there are many tutorials you can follow. I will try and post tutorials as in when I can, but till then; the internet is your friend and use him for all he's got.

Also, if you want examples of the types of signatures that I have made then here's the link to my photobucket album, so if you want the .psd file of a signature, or just want to figure out how I did some techniques then just let me know.

s1085.photobucket.com/albums/j433/defilerworld/