Masks, creating sigs

I have noticed a big thing i’m not good at when i make sigs is masks. Chaos Theory AND Cid manage to blend in pictures and images int obackgrounds well, using masks, and often a feather thickness....even firewolf seems to utilize it a bit

How do you guys do it?

We’re just that damn awesome?

Seriously though, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Masks? Clipping masks? Those be the only ones I use most of the time.

Rise of Shinra

You manage to blend your images well, though..

clipping masks...i’ve only used those like twice....


but still, how d oyou get your characters t onot have roug hedges and colors against what’s behind them? feathering can’t do it all the way

Final Shine Attack. wrote: You manage to blend your images well, though..

clipping masks...i’ve only used those like twice....


but still, how d oyou get your characters t onot have roug hedges and colors against what’s behind them? feathering can’t do it all the way

I use a render and create the background from scratch around the render. I rarely have to render my own images, but when I do I use a soft eraser brush to get rid of the background. Doesn’t make it so rough around the edges.

Rise of Shinra

Cid wrote:

Final Shine Attack. wrote: You manage to blend your images well, though..

clipping masks...i’ve only used those like twice....


but still, how d oyou get your characters t onot have roug hedges and colors against what’s behind them? feathering can’t do it all the way

I use a render and create the background from scratch around the render. I rarely have to render my own images, but when I do I use a soft eraser brush to get rid of the background. Doesn’t make it so rough around the edges.

>_>

a render? you lost me there..


a render...then creating the background from scratch around it....i assme by creating the background, it’s via placing a large image .....i 've got to find out more about renders

Renders are pre cutout images which have had the background removed. You can obtain a great many renders from render sharing websites like Anime Renders.net or Planet renders v3.com.

These are different from stocks which are full complete images which look much like any normal photo/image would. These are used for backgrounds or sometimes for the basis of the signature itself which can then have the image altered via layers on top of this.

It isn’t always common practice to use a stock as a background, many times a background is created by the sig maker using brushes, the render itself and various layer styles in photoshop.

Now onto the topic of blending a render into the background.

There are a few ways of doing this. You could duplicate the render, smudge it or apply a gausian blur to it and layer it over or under the render (over for smudging, under for blur..generally) which softens the edge. You can also use a layer mask which creates a masking layer next to the layer which you apply it to. It works much like a reversable eraser in that it allows a nmon destructive way of fading or blending the render with the background by softening the edges to alow it to blend in with the background.You can also layer other elements over it too to blend it in, such as soft brushing.

Normally the difference between a good sig and a bad one can be boiled down to 3 things.

1-the stock or render
2- The color scheme
3- the design or 'flow' of the sig.

A good render will be clean and not have edge pixels of the default background color surrounding it. If need be, you can always clean it up by zooming in 400x and using a hard edged brush at around 2 pixels, erase the artifacts or remaining background. This cleans up the image and doesn’t leave the render in your sig witha strange white outline.

A good stock has interest and shouldn’t be used as the whole sig. use it as a canvas to build upon with other elements.

example of what not to do with a render and stock.



If the color scheme is off, the sig looks off. If you have a sig featuring a bright red render and have a orange background and don’t have anything else to blend the two elements together, its gonna look horrible. always look to incorperate some of the renders colors into the sig to make it look like a finished product, not just a cut and paste job. you want it to blend.

an exaple on bad coloring


The design is the final make or break of a sig. you want the sig to have some kind of flow or in laymans terms, something to cary the eye around the sig and create interest. this can be done with brushes, C4D’s, renders, fractals or just about anything.

in this sig, observe how the eye is drawn from the bottom left to the top right by the presentation of elements in the sig. This is flow. I only use this as its the easiest and most obvious expmple of liniar flow I could find


its worth noting that not all flow and design has to be liniar. It can be circular too


or even radiating outwards from the centre focal.


You always want to have a focla point from which the sig comes out from.

The first one, the focal is the mouse and the cloth behind it, in stitch, it was stitch and in the last one, it was the womans head.

Flow and focal points will make or break a sig.

an exaple of bad flow and design


hope this helps a little

Das Wolf wrote: Renders are pre cutout images which have had the background removed. You can obtain a great many renders from render sharing websites like Anime Renders.net or Planet renders v3.com.

These are different from stocks which are full complete images which look much like any normal photo/image would. These are used for backgrounds or sometimes for the basis of the signature itself which can then have the image altered via layers on top of this.

It isn’t always common practice to use a stock as a background, many times a background is created by the sig maker using brushes, the render itself and various layer styles in photoshop.

Now onto the topic of blending a render into the background.

There are a few ways of doing this. You could duplicate the render, smudge it or apply a gausian blur to it and layer it over or under the render (over for smudging, under for blur..generally) which softens the edge. You can also use a layer mask which creates a masking layer next to the layer which you apply it to. It works much like a reversable eraser in that it allows a nmon destructive way of fading or blending the render with the background by softening the edges to alow it to blend in with the background.You can also layer other elements over it too to blend it in, such as soft brushing.

Normally the difference between a good sig and a bad one can be boiled down to 3 things.

1-the stock or render
2- The color scheme
3- the design or 'flow' of the sig.

A good render will be clean and not have edge pixels of the default background color surrounding it. If need be, you can always clean it up by zooming in 400x and using a hard edged brush at around 2 pixels, erase the artifacts or remaining background. This cleans up the image and doesn’t leave the render in your sig witha strange white outline.

A good stock has interest and shouldn’t be used as the whole sig. use it as a canvas to build upon with other elements.

example of what not to do with a render and stock.



If the color scheme is off, the sig looks off. If you have a sig featuring a bright red render and have a orange background and don’t have anything else to blend the two elements together, its gonna look horrible. always look to incorperate some of the renders colors into the sig to make it look like a finished product, not just a cut and paste job. you want it to blend.

an exaple on bad coloring


The design is the final make or break of a sig. you want the sig to have some kind of flow or in laymans terms, something to cary the eye around the sig and create interest. this can be done with brushes, C4D’s, renders, fractals or just about anything.

in this sig, observe how the eye is drawn from the bottom left to the top right by the presentation of elements in the sig. This is flow. I only use this as its the easiest and most obvious expmple of liniar flow I could find


its worth noting that not all flow and design has to be liniar. It can be circular too


or even radiating outwards from the centre focal.


You always want to have a focla point from which the sig comes out from.

The first one, the focal is the mouse and the cloth behind it, in stitch, it was stitch and in the last one, it was the womans head.

Flow and focal points will make or break a sig.

an exaple of bad flow and design


hope this helps a little

Thanks, Wolf
=D

hopefully i can start to improve my sigs....i can do a lot, but...when i have two radicalyl different images...

i often try to ...do makeshift blending...when it’s not always possible...you showed your command of expertise by recognizing that one sasuke image that wasn’t even sig worthy(which, was one i went ahead and bldgeoned forwrd in making a sig, before i made a different one )

Hopefully, renders might eb a start to improving..

Final Shine Attack. wrote: i assme by creating the background, it’s via placing a large image .....

You’d be incorrect. My background for my signatures tend to start off as a single color OR I smudge out the render to create a background. When I say create from scratch I mean the only thing not custom in my signatures are the renders/stocks I use.

This was my starting background on the miku sig I have now.



I got it by smudging out the render.



The rest of the signature is smudging, some brushing, one or two C4Ds, lighting filters, and clipping masks.

Rise of Shinra

Tippership Commander wrote:

Das Wolf wrote: Renders are pre cutout images which have had the background removed. You can obtain a great many renders from render sharing websites like Anime Renders.net or Planet renders v3.com.

These are different from stocks which are full complete images which look much like any normal photo/image would. These are used for backgrounds or sometimes for the basis of the signature itself which can then have the image altered via layers on top of this.

It isn’t always common practice to use a stock as a background, many times a background is created by the sig maker using brushes, the render itself and various layer styles in photoshop.

Now onto the topic of blending a render into the background.

There are a few ways of doing this. You could duplicate the render, smudge it or apply a gausian blur to it and layer it over or under the render (over for smudging, under for blur..generally) which softens the edge. You can also use a layer mask which creates a masking layer next to the layer which you apply it to. It works much like a reversable eraser in that it allows a nmon destructive way of fading or blending the render with the background by softening the edges to alow it to blend in with the background.You can also layer other elements over it too to blend it in, such as soft brushing.

Normally the difference between a good sig and a bad one can be boiled down to 3 things.

1-the stock or render
2- The color scheme
3- the design or 'flow' of the sig.

A good render will be clean and not have edge pixels of the default background color surrounding it. If need be, you can always clean it up by zooming in 400x and using a hard edged brush at around 2 pixels, erase the artifacts or remaining background. This cleans up the image and doesn’t leave the render in your sig witha strange white outline.

A good stock has interest and shouldn’t be used as the whole sig. use it as a canvas to build upon with other elements.

example of what not to do with a render and stock.
[img]http://www.hydeconcepts.com/np/images/portfolio/random/brians_sig.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/skaz0r/Sigs/end.png?t=1241941398[/img]

If the color scheme is off, the sig looks off. If you have a sig featuring a bright red render and have a orange background and don’t have anything else to blend the two elements together, its gonna look horrible. always look to incorperate some of the renders colors into the sig to make it look like a finished product, not just a cut and paste job. you want it to blend.

an exaple on bad coloring
[img]http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt108/Thomas-W/Sigs/AlmaSig.png[/img]

The design is the final make or break of a sig. you want the sig to have some kind of flow or in laymans terms, something to cary the eye around the sig and create interest. this can be done with brushes, C4D’s, renders, fractals or just about anything.

in this sig, observe how the eye is drawn from the bottom left to the top right by the presentation of elements in the sig. This is flow. I only use this as its the easiest and most obvious expmple of liniar flow I could find
[img]http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r260/firewolf81/signatures/abstract1.png[/img]

its worth noting that not all flow and design has to be liniar. It can be circular too
[img]http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r260/firewolf81/signatures/stitch.png[/img]

or even radiating outwards from the centre focal.
[img]http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r260/firewolf81/signatures/magic.png[/img]

You always want to have a focla point from which the sig comes out from.

The first one, the focal is the mouse and the cloth behind it, in stitch, it was stitch and in the last one, it was the womans head.

Flow and focal points will make or break a sig.

an exaple of bad flow and design
[img]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/skaz0r/Sigs/sorrow.png[/img]

hope this helps a little

Thanks, Wolf
=D

hopefully i can start to improve my sigs....i can do a lot, but...when i have two radicalyl different images...

i often try to ...do makeshift blending...when it’s not always possible...you showed your command of expertise by recognizing that one sasuke image that wasn’t even sig worthy(which, was one i went ahead and bldgeoned forwrd in making a sig, before i made a different one )

Hopefully, renders might eb a start to improving..

As i work on my improved-series sigs , i remembered this and am now trying HARD to incorporate this into sigs.

But it seems so...start orientated

A few of these super sigs, some renders/effects just feel right , and come out really well

Yet, now for the 15th time, i’ve opened a image, tried to overlay a second image or started trying to use the brush to crate a background, and .....the outcome isnt...anything special.

On the other side, i’ve become best friends with the eraser ,opacity erasers on backgrounds, and the smudge tool.
Makes me think im forsaking the filter modes....

Color scheming...i try for a variety, but a few of my sigs are centered around a color, and it’s HARD to get other stocks i drag into the pictue, to match the color...and i’m trying a lot of tricks,,

anther final thing. My sigs are Now on average normal sized, btu is there some sort of ideal size? i took a look at one of CID’s and while i shrunk mine to LOOK lke forum sigs, his were even SMALLER....

:/

he True.Tango Charlie . . . wrote:

Tippership Commander wrote:

Das Wolf wrote: Renders are pre cutout images which have had the background removed. You can obtain a great many renders from render sharing websites like Anime Renders.net or Planet renders v3.com.

These are different from stocks which are full complete images which look much like any normal photo/image would. These are used for backgrounds or sometimes for the basis of the signature itself which can then have the image altered via layers on top of this.

It isn’t always common practice to use a stock as a background, many times a background is created by the sig maker using brushes, the render itself and various layer styles in photoshop.

Now onto the topic of blending a render into the background.

There are a few ways of doing this. You could duplicate the render, smudge it or apply a gausian blur to it and layer it over or under the render (over for smudging, under for blur..generally) which softens the edge. You can also use a layer mask which creates a masking layer next to the layer which you apply it to. It works much like a reversable eraser in that it allows a nmon destructive way of fading or blending the render with the background by softening the edges to alow it to blend in with the background.You can also layer other elements over it too to blend it in, such as soft brushing.

Normally the difference between a good sig and a bad one can be boiled down to 3 things.

1-the stock or render
2- The color scheme
3- the design or 'flow' of the sig.

A good render will be clean and not have edge pixels of the default background color surrounding it. If need be, you can always clean it up by zooming in 400x and using a hard edged brush at around 2 pixels, erase the artifacts or remaining background. This cleans up the image and doesn’t leave the render in your sig witha strange white outline.

A good stock has interest and shouldn’t be used as the whole sig. use it as a canvas to build upon with other elements.

example of what not to do with a render and stock.



If the color scheme is off, the sig looks off. If you have a sig featuring a bright red render and have a orange background and don’t have anything else to blend the two elements together, its gonna look horrible. always look to incorperate some of the renders colors into the sig to make it look like a finished product, not just a cut and paste job. you want it to blend.

an exaple on bad coloring


The design is the final make or break of a sig. you want the sig to have some kind of flow or in laymans terms, something to cary the eye around the sig and create interest. this can be done with brushes, C4D’s, renders, fractals or just about anything.

in this sig, observe how the eye is drawn from the bottom left to the top right by the presentation of elements in the sig. This is flow. I only use this as its the easiest and most obvious expmple of liniar flow I could find


its worth noting that not all flow and design has to be liniar. It can be circular too


or even radiating outwards from the centre focal.


You always want to have a focla point from which the sig comes out from.

The first one, the focal is the mouse and the cloth behind it, in stitch, it was stitch and in the last one, it was the womans head.

Flow and focal points will make or break a sig.

an exaple of bad flow and design


hope this helps a little

Thanks, Wolf
=D

hopefully i can start to improve my sigs....i can do a lot, but...when i have two radicalyl different images...

i often try to ...do makeshift blending...when it’s not always possible...you showed your command of expertise by recognizing that one sasuke image that wasn’t even sig worthy(which, was one i went ahead and bldgeoned forwrd in making a sig, before i made a different one )

Hopefully, renders might eb a start to improving..

As i work on my improved-series sigs , i remembered this and am now trying HARD to incorporate this into sigs.

But it seems so...start orientated

A few of these super sigs, some renders/effects just feel right , and come out really well

Yet, now for the 15th time, i’ve opened a image, tried to overlay a second image or started trying to use the brush to crate a background, and .....the outcome isnt...anything special.

On the other side, i’ve become best friends with the eraser ,opacity erasers on backgrounds, and the smudge tool.
Makes me think im forsaking the filter modes....

Color scheming...i try for a variety, but a few of my sigs are centered around a color, and it’s HARD to get other stocks i drag into the pictue, to match the color...and i’m trying a lot of tricks,,

anther final thing. My sigs are Now on average normal sized, btu is there some sort of ideal size? i took a look at one of CID’s and while i shrunk mine to LOOK lke forum sigs, his were even SMALLER....

:/

It is starter orientated.

You have to crawl before you can run.

I don’t so much as think what I’m doing as I just do it.

I know what to do to achieve what I want.

If you like, pick a sig from my user page and I can upload the psd for it so you can learn from it.