rubber side up
05-02-2006, 08:26 AM
Ok.. a step by step guide to making your very own signature...
equipment needed:
pc (duh)
adobe photoshop cs 2 (or similar)
and a camera if you intend of using your own piccies in it..
ok, first you need to start with a blank canvas, i used a transparrent background 100px high and 500px wide..
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step1.gif
step 2: choose your main image, wether it be an action shot or whatever is up to you.. open it in a separate file, so you can work on that without resizing the main canvas...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step2.gif
crop the picture to the size you want using the lasso tool, or the crop tool if you just want a square... (NOTE: when using the lasso tool, draw around tha area you want, then click "select > inverse" to highlight the part of the image you dont want... then right click the eraser tool and select background eraser, then you can safely remove all the area you dont want without fear of messing up the area you want, and the background will be transparrent.....)
step 3: now its time to import the image onto the blank canvas, while in the image file, press "ctrl + A" on the keyboard, and then "ctrl + c" this will select all of the image and copy it.. then go to the canvas and press "ctrl + V" to paste, it.. the image should now appear on the canvas..
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step3.gif
step 4: now this bit is up to you, if you want you can add text, or mabye some effects, ive added a mucky colour background,and made up a shape to stick on it.. then i made another layer featuring a larger version of the main part of the image, but i used the sketch tool, to make it look drawn, so i can decide what one i want later... make sure you create a new layer for each part, so you can remove the layer if you decide you dont like it later on...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step4.gif
step 5: Once you are happy with the layout of the image then save the file as a .psd so you can come back and edit the layers if you feel the need to later on.. then click "file > save for web" and select "128 gif" from the menu (top circled) then save the file as the name you want and voila! one signature picture finished... (saving the file in gif format will ensure that any areas not covered with another colour will go to the forum background colour (WHITE on here) so it should look pretty good...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step5.gif
And the finished product:
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/final-product.gif
one signature... ready to be set into place...
equipment needed:
pc (duh)
adobe photoshop cs 2 (or similar)
and a camera if you intend of using your own piccies in it..
ok, first you need to start with a blank canvas, i used a transparrent background 100px high and 500px wide..
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step1.gif
step 2: choose your main image, wether it be an action shot or whatever is up to you.. open it in a separate file, so you can work on that without resizing the main canvas...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step2.gif
crop the picture to the size you want using the lasso tool, or the crop tool if you just want a square... (NOTE: when using the lasso tool, draw around tha area you want, then click "select > inverse" to highlight the part of the image you dont want... then right click the eraser tool and select background eraser, then you can safely remove all the area you dont want without fear of messing up the area you want, and the background will be transparrent.....)
step 3: now its time to import the image onto the blank canvas, while in the image file, press "ctrl + A" on the keyboard, and then "ctrl + c" this will select all of the image and copy it.. then go to the canvas and press "ctrl + V" to paste, it.. the image should now appear on the canvas..
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step3.gif
step 4: now this bit is up to you, if you want you can add text, or mabye some effects, ive added a mucky colour background,and made up a shape to stick on it.. then i made another layer featuring a larger version of the main part of the image, but i used the sketch tool, to make it look drawn, so i can decide what one i want later... make sure you create a new layer for each part, so you can remove the layer if you decide you dont like it later on...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step4.gif
step 5: Once you are happy with the layout of the image then save the file as a .psd so you can come back and edit the layers if you feel the need to later on.. then click "file > save for web" and select "128 gif" from the menu (top circled) then save the file as the name you want and voila! one signature picture finished... (saving the file in gif format will ensure that any areas not covered with another colour will go to the forum background colour (WHITE on here) so it should look pretty good...
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/step5.gif
And the finished product:
http://www.over-the-bars.co.uk/martin/howto/make%20a%20sig/final-product.gif
one signature... ready to be set into place...