Transparent Sig Guide (for Photoshop)

[omenra]

So I've been getting a lot of PM's and requests to publish a transparent sig guide...and here it is! :]

It is a little long, but I tried to include as many sig-making PS techniques that I could.

I broke it down into 14 steps: (if you need to find one quickly, press CTRL+F and type in the step number)
Step 1: Creating a transparent document
Step 2: Opening an image
Step 3: Preparing an image (deleting backgrounds +such)
Step 4: Transferring an image
Step 5: Resizing
Step 6: Adding a background element
Step 7: Adding a custom gradient
Step 8: Adding brush effects
Step 9: More background fun
Step 10: Making the image "pop" (adding outline + shadow)
Step 11: Finishing the background (adding outline)
Step 12: "Enhancing" your image
Step 13: Text!
Step 14: Saving!






**This is only for Photoshop CS, I can't guarantee all of these techniques will work with PS Elements or any other image editing software, but hopefully they will give you some ideas :)**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Step 1: Creating a transparent document
So first you need to create a new document. You don't want the signature to be too big, or it will stretch the forum walls out. I usually use 600X400, it seems to be a pretty good size. Make sure the background is set to "Transparent' right from the beginning.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/1newdoc.jpg

Your new document should look like this:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/2transback.jpg
**NOTE: The checkered background means that the area is transparent. Photoshop obviously cannot make the background clear or see through, so they substitute checkers for transparency**


Step 2: Opening an image
Usually when making a sig, the artist has a picture in mind that they want to use. First, open the desired picture by going to File -> Open. If the picture is not saved on your computer, you can simply find it online, copy it, then make a new document (Photoshop will automatically adjust the size to the size of the copied picture) and paste it in. Now you should have two documents open.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/3openpic.jpg


Step 3: Preparing an image
So...you have an image. But this is a sig guide for transparent sigs, and this pic has a background. The first step to deleting the background is to select the magic wand tool. **NOTE: The magic wand tool only works well for SOLID colors. If the background is more complex, you should look for tutorials on how to use the pen tool or the lasso tool**
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/4magicwandtool.jpg

By clicking the white area around the image, a little marquee of dancing ant-dots will appear on the selected area. But since the image has more than one white spot, you have to click the "Add to selection" option at the top of the screen to add those other white areas to the current selection.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/5selection.jpg

If the selection is not clean enough, or there isn't a very distinct line between the background and the main image, playing with the tolerance can further adjust the selection. Tolerance basically sets how picky the magic wand tool is when selecting colors. Play around with it to find the best tolerance for your image.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/6tolerence.jpg

In order to delete the background from the image, you need to get rid of the locked background layer. Locked background layers are completely useless, they exist only to annoy innocent Photoshop artists. First right click on the layer and press "Duplicate."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/7duplayer.jpg

Now right click on the old locked background layer and press "Delete."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/8dellayer.jpg

Since the only layer left is unlocked, you can now press the "Delete" button on your keyboard (not the backspace, but the one underneath Insert) to delete the contents of your selection, in this case the background. After you delete the selection, right click the image and press "Deselect" to get rid of the marquee.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/9deldes.jpg

[omenra]

Step 4: Transferring the image
Alright, so the image is ready to be moved onto the new document you made earlier. Click on the "Move" tool.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/10movetool.jpg

Now click the image and drag it over onto the new document. It should look like this:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/11clickdrag.jpg


Step 5: Resizing!
You can minimize the original image document, you won't need it anymore. But the image we moved over to the new document is a little big. So to resize it, click Edit -> Transform -> Scale.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/12scalestart.jpg

Drag the corners inward while pressing the SHIFT key to resize the image (holding the SHIFT key keeps the image proportional). Make sure when you are done resizing to press the "check" button (circled below) to confirm your changes, or you won't be able to click anything else.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/13endscale.jpg


Step 6: Adding a background element
Most transparent signatures still have a background, although it's usually just a plain shape or design. A popular choice is the "rounded rectangle," which is made by using the "rounded rectangle" shape tool :P If you can't find it on your toolbar, just click and hold the button next to the pen tool and it should be in a drop down list.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/14roundrectangle.jpg

Make sure the "shape" button underneath the "Image" menu on the top toolbar is pressed, so that it actually makes a shape instead of a selection. Then click and drag to make your own size shape.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/15dragrec.jpg

Drag the "Shape 1" layer underneath the "Background copy" layer so that the shape appears underneath your image.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/16draglayer.jpg


Step 7: Adding a custom gradient
Make a new layer above the "Shape 1" layer by pressing the button at the bottom of the layers palette. This is going to be our "gradient" layer, where we add a bit of color to our shape :)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/17newlayer.jpg

Now click on the "Gradient" tool in your toolbar.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/18gradienttool.jpg

Blech. This gradient is completely wrong for this image. So we're going to make our own. This is a really simple way to create backgrounds for any image, regardless of the color. Just click on the middle of the gradient in the top bar to bring up the gradient editor.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/19gradienttooledit1.jpg

[omenra]

The gradient editor looks like this:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/20gradienteditstart.jpg

Each little tab along the bottom is called a "color stop." Double-click the first stop, and choose a color for your image. For mine, I chose a pinkish color by selecting it in the color-picker and pressing OK.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/21gradienteditcolor1.jpg

I think your gradient should be a little more complicated than just two colors. The main colors in the image are pink and green, so I think it needs another color stop for green. Just click anywhere in the middle of the gradient to add a new color stop.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/22gradienteditstop.jpg

Select a color for this new stop by double-clicking it (I picked a greenish one) and pressing OK.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/23gradienteditstop2.jpg

You can keep adding as many stops and colors as you want, but I'm not adding any more for this signature. Once you're happy with your gradient, press the "New" button to save it to your list of gradients, then press OK to exit.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/24gradienteditend.jpg

Now you can click and drag the gradient tool on your image to create your gradient. To switch the type of gradient, select it from the buttons on the top toolbar (see the more horizontal oval pictured below). I used "Reflected" for mine, but all can be equally as nice.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/25draggradient.jpg

Unfortunately once you make your gradient, it will cover the entire document. Not to worry. To make the gradient only appear in the shape, you need to create a "clipping mask." Right click the gradient layer (Layer 2), and select "Create Clipping Mask."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/26clippingmask.jpg

It should now look like this (note that Layer 2 on the layers palette now has an arrow before it pointing down to the Shape 1 layer. This means it has a clipping mask.)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/27finishclippingmask.jpg

[omenra]

Step 8: Adding brush effects
The background is a little plain, so you can spice it up with some cool brushes. There are plenty of awesome brushes that you can download online, I won't mention the sites here but just search for them. However, if you're too lazy to download brushes, or you just can't find any good ones, the Photoshop brushes are pretty nice themselves.

First you need to make a new layer, especially dedicated to your brushwork. Click the new layer button at the bottom (from earlier in the tutorial), make sure it is above "Layer 2" (the gradient layer), and make another clipping mask (right click "Layer 3, and click "Create Clipping Mask"). This will make the brushwork appear only in the shape.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/28newcliplayer.jpg

Next click the "Brush tool"
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/29brushtool.jpg

Now click the arrow besides the picture of the brush on the top toolbar, then click the arrow pointing to the right in the menu that pops down, then select "Faux Finish Brushes." (see picture below if my explanation confuses you :) )
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/30fauxbrushes.jpg

Select your brush from the menu, and adjust the size using the scale under "Master Diameter"
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/31choosebrush.jpg

Set the foreground color to whatever color you want your brush to be, and experiment using different brushes and colors to make your background more interesting :)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/32setforeground.jpg

I rushed a bit with mine, but this is the general idea of what you get when you're done with brushes:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/32finishedbrush.jpg

Step 9: More background fun :)
This is another technique that looks really nice, but is very simple. First you want to duplicate the image of the anime. Click the move tool, then, while pressing and holding the ALT key, drag the image over. It should create an exact duplicate of the layer.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/33altmove.jpg

Just to change it up, we're going to make this duplicate layer nice and big. Click Edit -> Transform -> Scale, and enlarge the duplicate layer. (Remember to hold SHIFT!)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/34makebig.jpg

Now lower the opacity of the duplicated layer, so that it isn't taking too much attention away from the main image.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/35loweropacity.jpg

To make the duplicated layer only appear in the "Shape layer," make yet another clipping mask :) Just right click on the "Background copy 2" and click "Create Clipping Mask."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/36newcliping.jpg

Once it's clipped, move the big image around with the move tool to get it in the perfect spot.

[omenra]

Step 10: Making the image "pop"
Now that the background is basically done, turn your attention back to the main image. Most images are usually outlined or defined in a signature, so let's work on that. Right click the "Background copy" layer, and press "Blending Options."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/37blendingopts.jpg

Click the box named "Stroke," and make sure the box is checked. This will outline the image with a solid line. Play around for a bit and find the settings that work best for you.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/38stroke.jpg

Now click the box named "Drop Shadow," and make sure the box is checked. This just adds a shadow underneath your image. Again, play around with the settings for a bit.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/39shadow.jpg


Step 11: Finishing the background
Since the main image is "distinguished" now, let's just finish up the background. To edit the background as a whole, you have to merge all the layers down to create a single layer. However, since the bottom layer is a "Shape," you need to "rasterize" the shape before you can continue. Right click on the Shape layer and click "Rasterize Layer."
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/40rasterize.jpg

Next, either right click each clipped layer and select "Merge down," or click on the layer and press "CTRL+E" to merge it down. The end result should look like this:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/41mergedown.jpg

Now you want to outline the background layer. Another way to add a "Stroke," instead of going into blending options, is to just click Edit -> Stroke.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/42editstroke.jpg

It comes up with a small editor, just choose the color of the stroke and set the width and location. Don't worry about the blending for now.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/43strokedet.jpg

[omenra]

Step 12: "Enhancing" your image
So now you're basically done. Except there are a few things you can do to make your image look even more professional, or even just cleaner.

Click on the "Burn tool." It looks like a hand, if you can't find it just look below the gradient tool and press and hold the button underneath to find it in the drop down menu.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/44burntool.jpg

The burn tool works like a brush that darkens any area you brush over. Increasing the "exposure" on the top toolbar creates a darker and more intense burn. I usually use a very low exposure for touching up an image. Just brush over any shadowy areas, especially on the hair, to intensify them a little more.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/45useburn.jpg

Now select the "Dodge tool". It is in the same menu as the burn tool.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/46dodgetool.jpg

The dodge tool is the exact opposite of the burn tool, but it is used the same way. It intensifies highlights, and makes any area you use much lighter. Again, use this on a low exposure or it will be too bright. Just touch up any light areas, especially hair, to make them really stand out.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/47usedodge.jpg


Step 13: TEXT!
Every good signature has to have text, right?
Click the "Horizontal type tool".
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/48typetool.jpg

Click on the image where you want the type to be, then type your text, choose your font and color, and you're done. Text is extremely simple on Photoshop, although sometimes if you want more control over where the words are placed on the image, it is easier to make separate text layers for each word. **REMEMBER TO CLICK THE CHECK WHEN YOU ARE DONE!**
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/49finishtext.jpg

The text is a little plain, so let's give it something special. Right click on the text layer and go to "Blending Options," and click "Outer Glow," making sure the box is checked. I chose a pinkish glow, but you can choose whatever you want. Set the blend mode on "Normal" for now. Play around with the settings, and when you're ready press OK.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/50textglow.jpg

[omenra]

Step 14: SAVING!
Your signature is almost complete! However here comes the moment of truth. You have to save your sig in a specific format in order for it to remain transparent.

Go to File -> Save for Web
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/51saveforweb.jpg

It comes up with a bunch of different squares, just ignore them. In the drop down menu on the right, select PNG 24. Click save, and you're done :)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/52saveforwebfinal.jpg
And yes, I made the saving part seem a lot harder than it actually is.



FINAL IMAGE:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/omenra_photo/Transparent%20Sig%20Guide/final.png

[babyliz]

thank you very much omenra
nice tut