Signature Creation, Discussion and Improvement thread

[Deathkillz]

kiNa ~ hmm yep the colours are kinda off...it looks like the blending mode is on screen also...i duno but something doesnt look quite right...the colours itself are find but i can help but feel that theres a much needed splash of paint somwhere else ~ besides that i dont have anything to add ~ but quick question...who is she and where from? :3

Klashikari:

great! again another stunning sig

but a few points which looks a bit off ~
1) i like the lighting but the flash on riku's chin is it really needed? i think it stands out a bit too much when contrasted with the BG pic which also contrasts to the colours of the lighting on the left side of the sig...so either making it blend more or remove it altogether is an option ~

2) the text in the middle of riku's face isnt good it blocks too much of the view imo...

3) everything is pushed towards the left side with gives it a feeling of uneveness >.< tho i do understand its hard to balance everything out to me it seems that the left side is a bit cluttered while the right side is left empty ~ i think the colours also add to that effect @_@

ahh well...i think i should put mine up as well for the slaughter

[saphyre]

Ok, I'll start off by saying... I've only started using Photoshop/Imageready a few month months back, and most of that time I spent making avatars.
Only in the past week or two that I was inspired by some of the talented sig makers in this forum to give it a try myself.
I've always had trouble choosing/making a background.
Having said that I recently saw the transparency tutorials/sigs made by BC.
I thought what the heck I'll give it a shot.
After reading over a few times and doing ALOT of trial and error, here are the results for bashing.

Spoiler for sigs:

First one is nothing special... Pretty simple really...

Used BC's idea of making pictures into photos on my second one :P

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Kira_Naruto

Yes.. perfect. I dont know about you, but I'll try to sharpen the eye a bit more so it stands out. But, that just a minor. Now if only I can understands those words @_@ ...

the problem is if i try to sharpen the eye, the whole blend mode will suffer. not only the tear would be a pain to notice, but it would be weird with the contrast

for the text (translation by KJ1980) :

• first line, vertical, right : 誰が犯人かって？ : who is the culprit you ask?

• second line : そもそも「何の」犯人かわかってる？: Do you even know what is the culprit in the first place? (the 「何の」 has a special meaning... like something you can't name. (thus the 「」 in the original text and why i put in the middle ^^" if i'm wrong, correct me XD)

• third line, horizontal, center : 誰が犯人なの？So who is the culprit?

• last line, black : 私をこれから殺す犯人は誰？！: Who is the culprit that's gonna kill me?!

i hope it will help you why i made this kind of mood ^^

Dont really wanted to post this, since its really involves no work beside the extracting job ( which I failed miserably -- Thats what you got when doing the extraction at 2 am in the morning) And I guess I better repair the face as well.. darken blending mode sux ( more like I did ).. But, I'm happy .. it do work as promotion signature. Iroha really needs more love, the series is top quality ^.^

pretty classy. your "kina" name is not too outstanding, compared to your other creations :P
my only complain would be the very thick edge you have made, but i guess it was done on purpose?
like several said in the RTS thread, the brightness of the face is a bit too high, so we can't really distinguish the facial expression, but meh

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

Klashikari:
great! again another stunning sig

but a few points which looks a bit off ~
1) i like the lighting but the flash on riku's chin is it really needed? i think it stands out a bit too much when contrasted with the BG pic which also contrasts to the colours of the lighting on the left side of the sig...so either making it blend more or remove it altogether is an option ~

lighting? you mean that kind of stream around the bottom?
if so, it is in fact rika's hair (not easy to guess, since the bottom is cropped)
because of the general blend mode, that part of the hair, which was already really bright on the original art is flaring ~~

if you are talking about the general brightness, i guess it is because of the "knife like shape" that i put around the eye, so it gives some contrast.

2) the text in the middle of riku's face isnt good it blocks too much of the view imo...

i tried to give the impression that word is somewhat locking her, like muting her, following the knife (refers the earlier quote for the meaning ^^")
i could change the opacity of the "main" word maybe ^^;

3) everything is pushed towards the left side with gives it a feeling of uneveness >.< tho i do understand its hard to balance everything out to me it seems that the left side is a bit cluttered while the right side is left empty ~ i think the colours also add to that effect @_@

i think it is because of the text + the blood stains and since the right has a plain white background XD
that point will be hard to correct however, but thanks for this mention

ahh well...i think i should put mine up as well for the slaughter

i like how you cropped the left girl but..., the backfire of this is suigintou seems to be ridiculously smaller, and thus, making the balance SLIGHTLY awkward, nothing wrong.

the lines (names and the top bottom) aren't really fitting the mood i think.
the true problem bugging me is the font. while your name is kinda fine, suigintou is somewhat... wierd (that font is giving me the feeling that the concerned character is very cheerful, outstanding, even slightly aggressive. i don't have much knowledge about rozen maiden, but on this pic, suigintou appears to be really bashful/peaceful)

i have however a special mention about your sig you dramatically changed how you treated your picture.
in general, it was a bit blurry on some BG. you have focalized the sig on a standalone picture, with a certain angle/ratio, which is a really nice improvement.

Originally Posted by saphyre

Ok, I'll start off by saying... I've only started using Photoshop/Imageready a few month months back, and most of that time I spent making avatars.
Only in the past week or two that I was inspired by some of the talented sig makers in this forum to give it a try myself.

cheers ! the beginning is always hard, but later, when you are used with it, you can be steamworking ^^

I've always had trouble choosing/making a background.

this is an humble advice, follow it if you think it is useful ^^"
if you cant make a background, even with trouble of choosing it, try to watch the anime scene involving the character you are using. while i agree it is kinda cheap, it is one of the best way to find the best appropriate BG for the said character.

Having said that I recently saw the transparency tutorials/sigs made by BC.
I thought what the heck I'll give it a shot.
After reading over a few times and doing ALOT of trial and error, here are the results for bashing.

Spoiler for sigs:

First one is nothing special... Pretty simple really...

Used BC's idea of making pictures into photos on my second one :P

pretty good results if you ask me.
i don't think you have any problem in cutting or doing transparent sigs.

now, using a full sized signature will be different but well... you can dot it, just analize your work and post them here. trust me, we won't eat you (well... maybe! )

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by saphyre

Ok, I'll start off by saying... I've only started using Photoshop/Imageready a few month months back, and most of that time I spent making avatars.
Only in the past week or two that I was inspired by some of the talented sig makers in this forum to give it a try myself.
I've always had trouble choosing/making a background.
Having said that I recently saw the transparency tutorials/sigs made by BC.
I thought what the heck I'll give it a shot.
After reading over a few times and doing ALOT of trial and error, here are the results for bashing.

Spoiler for sigs:

First one is nothing special... Pretty simple really...

Used BC's idea of making pictures into photos on my second one :P

you know...as good as it is...im really not a fan of png files as the stupid IE thing wont display the pictures correctly

to answer your question from the sig thread...if you use IE and look at your sigs you can see a white box around the pics where it is ment to be transparent ~ that is why i said fake transparency but then looking back at your sig in firefox makes them look fine just the headache png files cause

well the sigs are reall nice...a bit plain but look unique without a background...now if you can just make them larger

one small detail is that the photos on the 2nd sig has bad quality edges >.<

Originally Posted by Klashikari

the problem is if i try to sharpen the eye, the whole blend mode will suffer. not only the tear would be a pain to notice, but it would be weird with the contrast

hmm cant you use the select option and just select the eye for sharpening or would that alone affect the pic?

the lines (names and the top bottom) aren't really fitting the mood i think.
the true problem bugging me is the font. while your name is kinda fine, suigintou is somewhat... wierd (that font is giving me the feeling that the concerned character is very cheerful, outstanding, even slightly aggressive. i don't have much knowledge about rozen maiden, but on this pic, suigintou appears to be really bashful/peaceful)

i have however a special mention about your sig you dramatically changed how you treated your picture.
in general, it was a bit blurry on some BG. you have focalized the sig on a standalone picture, with a certain angle/ratio, which is a really nice improvement.

well i duno...after making the sig from zaris' tutorial i found that the top and bottom bars look quite good

but your right about the font...imo its too strong for gin...must change

[saphyre]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

I'm going to have to agree with Klashikari on this one. I don't really like the font and the font color. Doesn't seem to match the sigs color if you ask me. You can also probably move the 'Suigintou' down to the bottom left abit more, just so it fits in with the 'Deathkillz'. Overall though It's a pretty well made sig.

As for what you said about the photo edges, KiNa also said the same thing, but I currently have no idea on how to make it look better ><. I'm doing alot of trial and error but it isnt working lol.

[KiNA]

Both last 2 signature have been covered their critic.. saying it again would be like rubbing salt to wound =x

So have this instead of my current signature.. the Iroha sig is more like a promo to Iroha ^^. That and I'm just afraid of the slaughter

OK.. Rukia as main image, falls in love with her pose and face expression ... A little bit trial on more girlie style. Bg is still a brushing work (as always). Dont think I'll be using it tho >.< I'll prolly dropped by to Bleach sig thread and released it as freebie.. unless someone here book it ^^, oh btw.. dont mind my name there ^^v

Oh btw saphrye, dont worry about the lots of trial and error and still not working part lol .. We all must pass tru it .. heck, I think I'm still in that phase as well ^^

[Crystal_Method]

Need some help, totally stumped on what I should put on the background for this siggy. If you guys can, please post some nice bg's for me to try out with this, doesn't need to be fancy, I'm just looking for something that fits the theme for this character.

[saphyre]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Method

Need some help, totally stumped on what I should put on the background for this siggy. If you guys can, please post some nice bg's for me to try out with this, doesn't need to be fancy, I'm just looking for something that fits the theme for this character.

Hmm, where your character from? Can probably pick a scene from whereever that character is from lol

[Crystal_Method]

Obviously I would have but the pic that its from has other characters and things which kind looks ugly. Anyways I think I got a good bg, tell me what you think. Btw I'm probably gonna change the text, its a little to out of place to me.

[felix]

Cool..
The hand-grip of the sword looks a lil' uhh eaten off..
The bottom part of the character.. uhh.. shouldn't I be able to see thru it..
The charcter overal looks good.. it, maybe could use just a tady bit softening to make it feel more into the BG.. but it's nice.

Just one lil' complint it's not AS friendly.. why?!

[Crystal_Method]

Are you sure softening it will make it blend in more? I used the dodge tool a little bit on it but it didn't look very good. As for the sword, I don't know what to do with that, I must of screwed up when I was cutting the pic out. I'm a newbie in adobe photoshop so if there's a quick and easy way to fix please tell. I did make the bottom part a little more transparent though.

[slvr]

any improvements on my first ever sig
thnx to sander for the tut
comments and improvements are welcome

[Aoie_Emesai]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Method

Need some help, totally stumped on what I should put on the background for this siggy. If you guys can, please post some nice bg's for me to try out with this, doesn't need to be fancy, I'm just looking for something that fits the theme for this character.

Great image to go along with any background. I got one for you, and i rather enjoy it too.You'll have to crop and such but it should be ok.

[KiNA]

That would make a nice BG =3


@ slvr .. hmm, for a 1st sig, you've did an excellent job.. but then again, you following tutorial -.- .. If I have to comment then, you color choice for BG is kinda weird, where is the blue coming from? Also the text style really contrast the sig feel a bit too much IMO.. its kinda too strong, sort of >.< .. Also your smudging work need more refinement .. but very good job overall ^^b

=====

More girlish themed sig .. I couldn't help but to include the full pic of the mikuru on the right .. but lower opac (only the leg kinda visible) .. or Ojisan gonna gives me holiday ^^v .. Lame font for my name, but warping makes most of the fonts i have unreadable

[Ichy]

How could I make that better?

[Veg]

Original Image:

Spoiler:

http://img2.myimg.de/vlcsnap4130175b5.png

Signature:

Spoiler:

Needs any improvements?

[Aoie_Emesai]

3 versions, which do ya think is better? Personally i like the blonde version. Comments would be nice too ^_^.

Spoiler:

[Deathkillz]

holy ~ guys need backup >.<

Originally Posted by Ichy

How could I make that better?

thats pretty good
~ normally a static background wont go well with most things but this gives it a darker feel
well not much fault to point out but...the image on the right should be blended more into the BG imo and i duno...the proportions seem kinda off...maybe if you make it a little smaller ~
the text is nice but kinda small and together with the colour makes it hard to read ~ oh and change the font for the bottom line...it doesnt suit the sig >.<

Originally Posted by Veg

Original Image:

Spoiler:

http://img2.myimg.de/vlcsnap4130175b5.png

Signature:

Spoiler:

Needs any improvements?

wow you did a really good job changing the colours
only fault is that youve left the right side too empty ~ how bout moving your second line of text over there? and it would be better to make the text stand out more
also you need a border!

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

3 versions, which do ya think is better? Personally i like the blonde version. Comments would be nice too ^_^.

Spoiler:

cute ^_^ yea i think blonde is the best version too...it fits well with the theme ^_^
problem is that due to the small size of the sig its kinda hard feel for anything other than the girl which leaves it kinda bland and it eye catches everything ~ i think you should make your name bigger and move it to the right side of the sig so that it will have 2 point in which it eye catches ~ love the frame tho ^_^

[Aoie_Emesai]

I always add my name to the image before i shrink it to appropriate size for AS, but unfortunetely this time cause of the color of the image the size too, the name was distorted. I'll go back and change it again later.

[Zaris]

If I can add onto Deathkillz' comments on the three discussed signatures...

Ichy: Your signature is trying to portray a dark mood, right? If so, the first thing I would recommend that you should do is change the border color from red to black. Red glows. Too much red and everything just lights up for the eyes. When I can see everything, I don't get a hint of mystery or ominous as noir settings should elicit. There's nothing wrong with the text and character in the foreground. The problem is the static background. Again, there's too much red and some pixels blend with the font, causing difficulty to read as Deathkillz pointed out. I suggest reducing the opacity of the background layer, add a black layer behind it to make it darker, and changing the effects of the image to something like a motion blur at 0 degrees. Blur everything around the eye but leave the eye untouched. That's what I feel would improve the sig.

Veg: I pretty much agree with everything Deathkillz said here. A full border may not be necessary (can go for the widescreen border like I have in mine), but a border nonetheless would help. But instead of moving a line of text to the other side, just move the entire image and leave the text hanging around the middle of the remaining space. Have you heard of the rule of thirds? If you have, totally apply it. It'll help.

Aoie_Emesai: Blonde is best as it is the one color that helps push your subject foward from the background behind her compared to the other ones you got. Personally, text is the last thing I worry about when creating a sig and I only insert it after I've done any form of canvas resizing. Font sizes in the decimals never really worked for me. It's much clearer if font is left untouched.


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This sig is my "Thanks 2006" sig. I've only seen three anime titles that were released in 2006: Utawarerumono, Kanon, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (in that order). To say thanks for the year I got back into anime, I wanted to incorperate three female protagonists (one from each series) together into a single image like what you would find on an CD album cover.


My first attempt obviously gets the point across. However, common problems people sited were:
- Unusual lighting on the characters' faces (their shadows are pointing a different direction)
- Background sun gives off an unrealistic light source
- White glowing text indicating series names difficult to read

So I retouched it to give a better lighting effect and a time of day that would best evoke that kind of lighting on their faces and bodies. Unfortunately, placing the women where they are now leaves very little room for additional text short of my name. As a result, a lot of people are telling me how Eruruu (girl on the far right, suppose to be the most distant of the three girls) is looking wierd or not fitting with the scene.

Can someone/you guys or girls help me figure out what's wrong with Eruruu, if she has a problem? >_> Other than that, feel free to give me additional suggestions too. This took me half the day on Dec. 30th and two additional hours on the 31st for retouching.

EDIT: Yes, after browsing hundreds of pictures on my HDD, I can confirm that Haruhi's skin is darker than Nayuki's by a few shades. I have their skin tones to match as close as it could get (even adjusted for perspective and height accuracy. If Yuuichi was the same height as Kyon, then Haruhi is freaking short!). But Eruruu, surprisingly, has the most pale skin of them all! I'm not kidding! Go browse the pictures.