| posted on: Jun 26, 2006 at 04:45:09 by curly haired boy |
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Curly's Vector Sig Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create vector sigs.
What are vector sigs? Vector sigs are sigs that have very
little "depth", and make use of bold, dynamic colors and
text. Many advertisments in print, online, and on TV use
vectors to grab your attention. You've probably seen so
many that you hardly notice them anymore. However,
to make a good vector sig, you've got to think a bit
differently about sigmaking.
Here are some examples of vector sigs:
Now, first we want to open a new project canvas. Pick
whatever size you want, but just remember that you
don't want to leave too much empty space in a vector
sig. Choose accordingly. Start off with a white BG, or
perhaps a close-to-white pastel. Whichever it is, make
sure that it's very light in color. Now, Paste your render
onto your canvas.
When picking a render for a vector sig, you need to
pick one with bold, solid colors. Preferably, you will have
a vectored render to use in your vector sig! =P
Making your own vectored renders to use is covered in
another one of my tutorials.
Another thing to consider when placing your render in
your sig is Dynamicism. Vector sigs are all about implied
motion and the tension of movement, so placement of
your render is very important. Obviously, you do NOT
paste your render straight up and down. That's too
boring for a vector sig. Try angling your render, either
to the left or to the right. You might even try pasting it
in upside down, coming down from the top!
The next step in making a vector sig is making an outline
around the render. In GIMP, this means opening your
Layers dialog. Select the new layer you pasted the
render on (you didn't paste the render directly on the
BG, i hope!), right-click on the layer, and choose Alpha to
Selection. This will creat a moving dotted line around
your render. Now, make a new layer. Select it and move
it below the render layer.
Now open your Paths dialog. (In the main GIMP window,
File > Dialogs >Paths) This is a tool that you will be using
quite often in this tutorial. You will learn to love the
Paths tool once you see what it can do. =)
In the Paths dialog window, you will see at the bottom
a button that looks like this: 
Click it.
This is your "Selection to Path" button, and it makes a
path along the selection you made, in this case a path
along the edge of your render. Now, get your color
selection tool (the eyedropper) and make sure that it
is set to "Set Foreground Color" in the tool options.
In the Layers window, select the render layer and
choose a bold color from the render that sharply
contrasts with the BG color.
Now select that transparent layer underneath the
render layer, and then go back to your Paths dialog/
window. There's another button down there: 
That is your "Stroke Path" button, and when you click it,
a window will pop up. Choose "Stroke line" at a width of
about 2-6 pixels. Then click "Stroke". A line with be drawn
on the transparent layer following the outline of the
render.
Now, you can continue in this technique as part of the
BG, or you can skip to part two where we learn how
to make pwnsome shapes behind your render.
If you continue to make more paths, and stroke them
with various colors from the render,
you can get a very nice effect:
If you chose to go on to the Pwnsome Shapes, then you
should have your sig looking somewhat like this:
Now we are going to Part TWO!
BUT, before we do, make sure you are familiar with the
Flame render Filter! It's found at Filters > Render > Nature >
Flame. Open it up and take a look around. You've got
Contrast and Brightness controls, and on the other tab,
you've got Zoom and Pan sliders. At the top of the
window is the all important EDIT button. Clicking it will
bring you to another window, where marvelous shapes
await your selection. Set the Variation to Random and
then click Randomize. It will bring up a new set of shapes.
Once you see one you like, click it, and click Okay.
Adjust your Pan and Zoom and any other factors you
want, then click Okay. It will take some time, but when
is finished, you'll have something really cool-looking:
Now that you have learned to use the Flame Filter, you
can use it to make some awesome shapes with the help
of the Paths tool. First, make a new transparent layer.
Then, go to the Flame Filter and get yourself a nice spiky
shape. Zoom it to about the size of your sig. Then click
Okay.
Once you have your Flame shape on your new layer,
right click on the layer in the Layers window and choose
"Alpha to Selection". Then make another new layer.
Once that is done, go to your Paths dialog/window and
click the "Make Path from Selection" button. Then, in the
main project window, go to Select > None. After that, go
to the Layers window to make sure that the layer
selected is the new transparent one with nothing on it.
Then select the Paths tool. It looks like this: 
After you've done that, go to the Paths dialog/window
and click to the far left of the current Path. (you should
have two paths, the one around the render, and the
flame one) Anyway, clicking there will make that path
visible. Go to the main project window and on your sig
you will see a thin gray line that looks like a scribble.
That is your Path. As you bring your pointer closer to the
path, it will change to a pointing finger. When the finger
is directly over a portion of the line, click ONCE. You will
see an immediate change in the path. It will develop
strange bubbly-looking circles all along its length. Ignore
them for now.
Now, go back to your Paths dialog and click the "Path to
Selection button , which looks like this: 
A selection will be made from the path.
Now, still in the Paths dialog/window, click the little eye
to the far left of the current path. Then grab your
Gradient tool.
Go to your Layers dialog/window and make sure the new
transparent layer is selected. Then go to your main sig
window and drag the gradient tool across the selection.
After that, go to Select > None.
You should have something like this!
Now, just repeat the steps again. I've highlighted them
so you can find them easily.
Keep doing this, each with a new Flame shape and a
different gradient color.
Eventually you'll get an awesome looking BG like this:
Now, you can Stroke some of those paths that you still
have from earlier. REMEMBER to make a new layer for
each stroke! Make your Foreground color black,
stroke the paths, and then move them away from their
original positions, about 5-15 pixels. Erase the parts that
look bad. You should get something like this:
Now it's time for the real test of your vector sig-making
skills -- text! You must think of a text design. Don't think
conventionally, like blending the text in. In a vector sig,
the text provides balance and visual flair to the render.
Be Bold!
-Tips to remember:
-Always use colors from the render that contrast with
the BG.
-Bolder is Better!
-Combine two fonts.
-Combine different text sizes.
-Add a counter-balancing element to the sig. In the sig
below, the counterbalance is the trio of vertical lines:
-Think like an ad company; try to make designs that are
iconic, and make your sig stand out.
-Make your text follow the lines of the sig:
-Don't be afraid to use the Double Cameo technique!
It's okay to have the render visible in two places at once;
in fact, it helps the balance and cohesion of your
vector sig:
That's it for this tutorial....
I hope to see your results as you learn more about
GIMP and sig-making in general.
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