Create Your Own Signiature In The GIMP...

Before i start this tutorial i would first tell you what you will need...

1) 10 Minutes to experiment wiht gimp to get used to it

2) A Render... These can be obtained from:
http://www.clantemplates.com
http://www.planetrenders.net/renders/index.php
http://render-world.com

3) The GIMP... obtainable from:
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
make sure to download the GTK + Runtime environment, necessary for the GIMP to run...

4) a font that you would like to use... obtainable from:
http://www.dafont.com
Usualy placed in the Fonts Section in Control Panel

5) brushes that you would like to use... obtainable from:
http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/gimpbrushes/
usualy placed in: "C:\Program Files\GIMP-2.0\share\gimp\2.0\brushes"

<-----Overview----->
In this tutorial i will teach you how to create a personal signiature for use within forums, or wherever on the internet, as long as you provide credit where necessary... The GIMP is a freeware program that is designed/developed for people in order to substitute Photoshop... The GIMP is a complex program that is sometimes daunting to new users, however i have tried to make this tutorial as simple as possible...


<-----The Guide----->
First we start by opening a new document with a white background, as shown:

i use the dimentions 300*100 cause they are a nice size and do not require much bandwith to load... white cause it is a good colour to start with...

Next we select the paint brush tool and select black as a foreground colour...


Now this is the part where the brushes come in handy...

after installing your brushes and selecting the paint tool, select your new brush and apply to your canvas to a background that you see fit:
this is mine:

i have kept it basic but will elaborate on it at a later stage in the tutorial...

Next we click file open, locate your render and select open...

this will be the main highlight of your signiature...
once your render is opened, erase the logo of the renderer but make sure to aknowledge them in the finished product, for example adding some text down the bottom...
Next we go to the toolbar and under the Image bar, select scale image:

this will allow us to make the image a size that will fit nicely into our signiature...

In the new window, i prefer to adjust the hight, for this one i will be setting it to 110 pixels so that it is slightly bigger than the signiature itself...

make sure that once you have typed 110 into the height box that you press tab and do not edit the width, so that way the program can automaticaly keep the image in proportion...

Now we click edit copy:

the image will be placed in the clipboard so that it can be pasted into our signiature...

now we go back to the canvas of our signiature and select edit, paste:


this will place the image as a floating layer in our signiature, to fix this do not click anywhere but follow this:

this will turn the floating layer into a solid layer so that we can reposition it and edit other layers without touching this render...
now we move the layer around until we get it the way we wont, i am going to move the render to the right hand side so that i have room for my text on the left... now right now the render is looking a bit out of place, this will be fixed... bear with me...

Now we select the text tool and this is where our font comes in useful... once the text tool is selected, in the font picking box below select your font...

Now we type in our nick:


after typing in your nick, re-adjust the size of the text to whatever suits you, then select the dragging tool as i like to call or "Move Layers & Selections Tool" as is properly named...


Now we reselect the Background layer as it is appropriately called:

because now we add some more stuff and effects etc... depends on what you want to include...

Now in the menu go to [bold]Tools, Colour Tools, Colour Balance[/bold] we shall now add a little colour effect...

mess around with the bars and the three options till you find some colours you like that will also match your render image... i am selecting greenish colours as they match the Master Chief From Halo...

Now as you can see we should have three layers and your image should probably not look like mine cause it is an individual thing but this his how mine is turning out:


Now we select our paint tool and another cool brush again, i have apassion for these spikey brushes i found on deviant art, i think they are on the first page but i think they are realy cool...

After adding some more touches i have come up with something like this:


Now we single click our render layer (should be called pasted layer or something), and we blend it to the background by selecting one of the options in the selection box above, i have selected Darken Only so that it blends well with the rest, highlightin the render but not making it look out of place:


And Thats it, my amature guide for noob graphics/signiature makers...
here is the simple one i have come up with:


you can go the whole nine yards and add a border and everything but i am keeping it simple...

<-----Thanx----->
i would like to thank everyone at afterdawn and the renderers who make the sigs...

 

excellent guide phantom !!

although, personally, i think you should have kept this a secret and taken more credit and glory for a while..

well done anyway !!

 

Yay, I can finally make my own sig

 

Thanks Phantom69. I was actually going to pm you and ask how you made these yesterday and didnt get a chance. Then I log on today and boo-yaa there it is. Great guide.

 

thanx for the great review, i am planning some more guides in future...
ui hope that it works out for everyone

 

dude, yesterday i had 133 emails to reply to which are far more complex, but anyway i'll edit if you edit...

 

Dude, this is one heck of a guide, and the best thing is, you used a free app.
I'd say keep up the good work.

 

thanx its the same program i used to make my subzero sig...

anyone who wants to post a link to this in their sig is welcome
i would like to see what you guys come up with once you have done it... maybe create a new thread in safety valve to show off your new sigs, if thats allowed of course.

 

hi all

Seeing is believeing!

Excellant job from a valued member, You De Man...

keep up the great work buddy...

just love pictures they say it alot better, thats why i use them alot in helping peeps here...

 

thanx rotary