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I've had this Tutorial on NSider for almost 2 months now, so I figured why not post it here (last time I did that it went official :l:)
Before I start:
-Do NOT quote this post under any condition. It stretches the screen.
-Please post your result if you use this tutorial here.
-Please ask questions about anything that confuses you in this tutorial. This tutorial is advanced so I expect it.
Thanks!
Now onto the tut:
In this tutorial you'll be making signatures like this:
Example Signature credits: Tyler53741 + LUIGI074 (on NSider Forums)
Get your favourite character render out.
I used Enguarde from Donkey Kong Country (below):
The actual image was larger, I just zoomed out to show the full render.
Select the magic wand tool, choose feather edges in the tool window below and set it at 10. Click on the background around the render, now go to Select->invert. Now leave it as is for the time being.
Make a new image 420 wide by 90 high (or whatever other dimensions you wish).
Make a new transparent layer and paste in your render. An ideal placement for the render is in the middle of your signature. If your render is too large scale it down by going to Layer->Scale layer, switch the option to percent and choose a smaller number. Hide the render for now by clicking on the eye icon in the layers window (Ctrl + L if window not visible).
Select your background layer, and alternate between black and white brushes. Make sure in the end that there are some white spots visible, and on the left that there is a dark spot (used for text later).
I used abstract and soft brushes for the middle, and some grunge brushes for the right side. Again wherever there is white is where your image will glow later on so spend some time setting it up. It really doesn't matter what brushes you use as long as there are white and dark spots.
Next still on your background layer go to Tools->Color Tools->Color Balance. Select a colour that looks similar to your renders colour. I used a Light blue background colour for mine. The exact numbers are below.
It should look something like this now:
Now select your background layer and duplicate it twice. On both layers go to Filters->Blurs->Gaussian blur, and blur at a 9. Set the first duplicated layer to the layer mode Lighten only, and the one above it to Grain merge.
If done correctly it should look like the below image. All spiffy, shiny and whatnot.
Now unhide your render layer, and make sure that it is above all 3 background layers.
Now this part can get a tad tricky...
Duplicate your render layer, copy your render then paste it 2-3 times. Make sure that the copies are close to the area where render original was (in the other layer).
Go to Filters->Distorts->Ripple.
Put in settings similar to this:
Now, still on the same layer go to Layers->Colors->Desaturate. When done your image should look like this:
Set this layer to dodge, make a new transparent layer and select an abtract brush (I used Tim's Abstract). Use one white brush, then put one black one overtop, set it to overlay and duplicate it. Make sure these layers are on top of the render.
It should look something like this:
Quite a mess. :P
Now for the fun part...trimming the edges.
Select the Lasso tool, and under feathering set this at around 25-30. Circle around all areas on this layer in which the lines detract from the image, and cut.
If any areas are too dark, cut out pieces from those 2 brushed layers, but make sure you cut on both layers in the same place.
For example we want the lighting effect on the body, but not neccesarily in the main signature or in the eyes.
After the "clean-up" your sig should look something like this:
Optional step: If you want to make the render match the background better, then make a new transparent layer above your main render, but below the 2 brushed layers. Draw an outline over the render's path using the sparks brush. Now go to Layer->Colors->Desaturate.
Now give the now grey spark brush a small Gaussian blur of 2-3. Now go to Tools->Color Tools->Color Balance. Match the colours up as you see fit. Now set your layer down as Color. Using the lasso again cut out any patches that you want the regular colour to remain.
With color change:
Without:
Now for the text and border:
For the main text select grey as the colour, and place it in the top left corner in a black patch that remains in your signature. I spaced out the text with a space between each letter, this is optional. Make the font bellerose with a font size of 15. Go to Tools->Color Tools->Color balance and adjust the colour to be similar to the render/background.
For the smaller text I used Geneva font, size 11, also grey. Using the colour balance under tools->Color Tools, colour it similar to the background, but it should be a little different than your other text. Now just move it below your other text.
Now for the border:
Make a new transparent layer, go to select->all. Edit->Stroke Selection, make sure that your colour is black and put in 2 under line width.
Your finished result should look like this:
