Okay, so I get asked alot for help OR to make people sigs.
I'm going to make this thread for people who want help with there sigs by putting a few links and tips down for those who want to create sigs!
Colour tips:
For colors, some people say to stick with colours that compliment their render or background, this is true, but people will usually ask "what colours compliment eachother"?
to answer this you look at the almighty colour wheel!
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This wheel shows colours that compliment and go with eachother.
to find the colours that compliment eachother look at the color on the opposite side of the circle or 2 spaces to the left OR right of the colour you've chosen!
Flow and depth:
Always choose an image that looks like it has movement, or very noticeable focal point(s) (focal point = parts that stand out on a picture) as these will be crucial when you make a signature.
Never cover these focal points, and always emphasize them!
If you have a picture that doesnt drag your attention to a certain part that you want it too, use sharpen on it! (not too much) and blur around it, even small amounts of blur and sharpen can make a
huge impact!
Choosing Styles
There are many styles of signature out there, and alot of people don't know which to choose! I say, choose the one you feel most comfortable with, and one you think you could do with pretty much everything!
if you feel comfortable with it, you'll be guaranteed better results!
placing Images/renders
Don't place your renders or stock focal point, directly to the left,right or dead in the centre
have it just offplaced to the left or right.
This is to ensure you have room to work on the flow of a signature (if the body language of the render is facing left, put the image slightly to the right!) this will give you room to enhance on your images flow direction =)
Effects
Never over do it on the effects, (unless this is the whole focus of your image)
And if you do have effects, put them near the focus of the picture but not too far away, and make sure it's easy for the eyes to follow, this makes it more appealing to people, and easier for your eyes to take them in.
Text
9/10 very basic looking text is the best, I stick to the defaults given 9 times out of 10
these texts can literally go with any type of Signature!
Most people will say "My colours of my text don't match my signature" again go back to the color wheel! this will solve your problem in an instant!
Text shouldn't overpower an image too much either, I know it's important for some people
that their name shows up so everyone see's it, but believe me, if you have tiny text, and a VERY good image, people will take the time to take your name in, and most of the time will remember your name over somone with massive letters, and a semi-decent image.
Know the program you use!
Now you will probably ask what i mean by this, it's simple.
Alot of people will jump straight into a program without exporing it, or understanding it!
you
need to take time out to explore it's functions and understand the basics of whatever program you use, be it GIMP, photoshop, illustrator whatever... you need to know what the tools are, their names, and what they do.
My advice is look for basic tutorials, ones that explain exactly, what each function is and how it operates.
Finishing touch ups
this is usally text and a border, sometimes even colour adjustments.
but these are always good, even if its just a 1pixel border, anything is better than nothing.
This gives the image that final touch of depth, and shows it as a complete image!
alot of sig making begginers neglect borders, but they are very good things to do, they make an image look more complete!
Now i'm not a pro, infact, I only started making sigs how I do now about 2 months ago.
But I thought i'd share my experiences and tips with you guys to learn from, and make your own pwnage sigs =)
Hope this helps you guys! =)
For resources and tutorials check this link:
http://forums.aeriagames.com/viewtopic.php?t=839653