In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a sig
like this in GIMP.



NOTE! this tutorial is only for those EXPERIENCED
with GIMP. If this tut seems too complex for you,
then it probably is.

start with a basic black BG.



Add your render on a new layer.



duplicate the render layer, and use the vine
brush to smudge the top render layer.



duplicate the smudged layer, and run
the Pick Filter on it at max levels (100,100)



run the gaussian blur filter on this at about 20.
then duplicate the layer, and repeat the pick
filter.
you've now made yourself a decent
background.



hide the other smudged layer, and merge the blur
and pick layers into one. then duplicate that layer
Put your render layer in between the duplicated
pick/blur layers. then erase with a soft brush on
the top layer to reveal some of the render.



make a new layer at the bottom of your layer stack,
beneath the black. Cover it completely with the
spark brush.



run the Displace Filter on this layer using itself
as the displacement source. leave the default
settings.



duplicate the render layer, and run the Displace
filter on it with the spark layer as the displace
map.



place the displaced render layer underneath the
undisplaced render layer.



now it's time for some abstract renders. i used my
own Chaoscope renders, but you can use
solid-looking C4Ds. get one with good flow and
paste it on a new layer on top of your render.



take the free select tool and use it to cut away
most of the abstract covering the render.



run the displace filter on what's left, using the
spark layer as the displacement map.



set that layer on Addition.



now, duplicate the Pick/Blur BG layer, place it
at the top of the stack, and erase just enough
to let the abstract light the render.



to balance this, we will add some lighting to
the right side. make a new layer at the top, pick
a light complementary color, and do a small
radial gradient set to FG to Transparent.



add another abstract on the right side. cut and
displace, and set it on Grain Merge.



now duplicate the BG Pick/Blur layer, and raise
the duplicate to the top, just underneath the
lighting layer. run the blur filter on it yet again.
take a small raggedy brush and erase in streaks
across the sig.



drop the opacity to about 40.



now, add another abstract on a new layer above
the render. place it on the left, and
set it on Overlay.



add a scratchy abstract to the right side, and set
it to Dodge. erase where it doesn't look good.



Finishing touches! add text behind the render
layer. make it go with the flow. add a colored
stripe at the bottom, and erase half with a
messy brush. make a curved path, and stroke it
with a small square brush, with the brush spacing
set at 150. then add a 1 pixel border.

The Result:

i incorporated some techniques that i learned here. so much respeck to Trap for the spark ripple technique and Drago for the scatter smudging. ya'll rock! :w:

This is to much curly, great job as always. Your techniques (sp?) are awesome. Cant wait to try it!

Thanks a ton!

nice tut bro.i got stuck on the displace part.XD

anyone else want to try it?

MUST TRY, looks awesome, very detailed. will post my result

looks very nice i will try but i need some chaosscope renders,can some1 post a link to some or just post some?

yay another Curly tut! :l:
i must try this soon. it seems i underestimated the sparks+displace filter combination :w:

Great tut, I really like those techniques, and will probably incorporate them in my.

Not really liking the outcome that much... but really like the tut!

Looks cool, I'll try this when I get some free time :l:

same here ill try when i have time

My outcome:

Great tutorial Curly. :w:

Thinks for the idea of using those squares. I used circles instead in my current.

i am so trying this.

I don't really like the outcome, sorry curly

That's 100% sex.



Trap and Drago are the same person. :m:

Where did you get the brushes from? Such as the "vine" brush.

(TY and great tut.)

Ah, nevermind I see it is allready there.

Great tutorial! I will definately have to try this out. I will work on it as soon as possible. You truly are the GIMP MASTER!!!!!!!

Gah. . .when I try the Displace filter on the render layer, I can't choose the Sparky layer for the Displace Map.
Can anyone help me there?
Edit: This is what I get? ? ? ? http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/TehBadgerBoy/GAHHH.jpg
BTW Great tut

Badger Boy, make sure you right click on the render layer and do 'layer to image size'. It'll work, then.

i don't like the outcome

Oh, thanks a lot Trap, it worked

Well, this is what i got.

THIS IS DEFINATELY AN AMAZING TUTORIAL FOR GIMP! But.....i didn't like how mine came out so i edited some stuff on it though my sig is in very bad quality, could somebody please help me make it freakin' better?THis is probably my favorite tutorial of yours because it looks the most like a photoshop looking sig.
Please comment on the sig i made from doing this tutorial curly!

The bad quality is due to the animation (GIF). Whenever you aren't making an animation I suggest saving you iimage as *image name*.png