Basic Lighting and Other Effects - Full Sig Tutorial

[madaslives911]

ok, here's my documentation of what i have done to come out with this sig:




here is the step-by-step tutorial.

1. Create new psd file 400 x 100 pixels in size
2. Set foreground color to red and background color to white;
Apply cloud render. Here is what i have:


3. Prepare your player render

Make a duplicate of this as you will need the original to play around with for the background.

4. Make a clean cut-out then drag it to your psd canvass.


5. Make 3 duplicate copies of the main render
Set the blending option for the 1st duplicate layer to screen;
Set the blending option for the 2nd duplicate layer setting to soft light.
Set this 3 layers to invisible mode.

6. Go back to your layer where you have the cloud render.
Add a new layer.
Go to your original player render then drag this to your canvass such that this will become your 2nd layer. Make 2 duplicates of this too.
Now click on the smudge icon and select brush #60 - set the diameter to 46. Go to the original layer 2 and smudge the left and right side.
More or less, the image would appear like this:


7. Go to the duplicate layer then set the blending option to soft light. Smudge again. Here is the outcome of my smudging:


8. Go to the next (2nd) duplicate layer. Make sure the blending option is normal then apply a radial blur effect.
Blur method = spin
Blur amount = 50

Here is what i have:


Note: I did some smudging on the right side.

9. For the next top layer, grab the AP main photo again into your canvass.
Go to filter then apply motion blur with the following settings:
angle = 0
distance = 58

here is what i have:

then set the blending option for this layer to normal or to soft light depending on your preferred effects.

10. Now go to layers where you have the 3 cut-out renders and make them visible. So at this point, we now have this initial sig image:

For normal setting:


For soft light setting:


Now we proceed to applying the basic special effects:

11. Make a duplicate of the last cut player render then set the blending option to overlay.
Pick brush #17, set diameter to 52.
Make sure your brush color = white
Apply the brush on the some parts of the uniform.

Then i applied another brush (brush #39) and brushed on the left side and right bottom part of the sig.
Here is what i have at this point:


12. I added another layer then applied brush #134 then applied a special effect on this:

(sorry i forgot to take note what specific effect i chose )

13. Pick the eraser and erase portions of the last rendered effect.
Move it to the position which you think would give a good effect.
my outcome:


14. The last couple of layers were for the text.
text font = Asrafel and arial
Just played around with the shadows and blending option.

15. Merge all the layers then apply your desired borders.

16. BTW, For the 1st sig version, i applied curves:
Settings: input = 41 and output = 84

End of Tutorial....

Hope some of you could easily follow this tutorial.
Pls post your sig outcome here if ever you tried this out.

[joelamosobadiah]

On step 12, you used filter>stylize>wind (or blast) I am pretty sure.

Nice loking tut man. I really like it.

[boehlerking01]

Very nice Madas! I will try this out and post the result!THANK YOU!

[madaslives911]

On step 12, you used filter>stylize>wind (or blast) I am pretty sure.

Nice loking tut man. I really like it.

am pretty sure that it's not wind nor blast.

thanks for liking the tut bud

Very nice Madas! I will try this out and post the result!THANK YOU!

ye welcome king.. am eager to see what you'll come up with following this tut.

[mrblitz]

Awesome tutorial. And a great sig, as usual.

[joelamosobadiah]

Hey Madas, I have a question.

Why don't you keep the player's proportions when you put them in a sig? Often I see that the players are "squished" in the sig. In a lot of your sigs it looks fine, but I was curious as to if you did this on purpose or why you do this.

[madaslives911]

not really on purpose... i use the box to resize the render coz i am still not that familiar with the specific Photoshop commands for resizing images.

well for this tut, i didn't notice that i got AP fatter here.

[joelamosobadiah]

not really on purpose... i use the box to resize the render coz i am still not that familiar with the specific Photoshop commands for resizing images.

well for this tut, i didn't notice that i got AP fatter here.

Well, since it is accidental, allow me to help.

Simply hold down shift while you drag that little box and the proportions are magically kept intact.

[madaslives911]

not really on purpose... i use the box to resize the render coz i am still not that familiar with the specific Photoshop commands for resizing images.

well for this tut, i didn't notice that i got AP fatter here.

Well, since it is accidental, allow me to help.

Simply hold down shift while you drag that little box and the proportions are magically kept intact.

wellllll, thanks a mucho for that!

i have used PaintShop Pro for many of the past sigs i have made and to reduce the size without affecting the proportion, i merely indicate the % of size reduction. But lately, since i can't get my PaintShop to run, i am forced to use only Photoshop in doing the sigs.

[boehlerking01]

I'm almost embarrased to say it but....Madas I ATTEMPTED to make a sig by following your tut and I find that I have no clue how to do some of the things you did.Have I told you that I'm totally a NOOB to most of this stuff??...

from the beginning...
1.You created a psdfile 400X100....I got that!
2.You set the foreground to red and the background color to white and applied a cloud render......You lost me already and we are only on #2...How do I set the forground to red and the background to white, and by apply a cloud render do you mean brush in a cloud with white on the red background? Is there some other render? I guess I thought my cutout pic was the render...I'm confused all over again....Anyway by making the background a solid red and using a white cloud brush I got a background that looks similar to yours so I went on.

3.I got my cutout pic of Matt and made a copy of it.

4.I dragged it to my psd canvass with the red and white background

5.Now you say make 3 duplicate copies of the main render.....Does that mean make 3 copies of my cutout of Matt or does that mean make 3 copies of matt on the background?AND...Does that mean I'm gonna have 4 total?3 copies and the first one?

You say make the first duplicate to screen and the second to soft light and set 3 layers invisable(I assume by clicking on the little eyeball)...I think I have that.

6.Now it says go back to the layer where you have the cloud render...I assumed you meant click on it and select it.I then added a layer.

Then you said go to your origional player render and drag it to the canvass to make it your second layer...co I went to my Matt pic and dragged it to my copy of the background layer.Then I copied it 2 times so I had 3 total.

I did say I was a noob right?

Here you REALLY lose me...You say click on the smudge icon and select brush #60 and set the diameter to 46.I see the smudge icon over with the blur tool and sharpen tool but I dont know what brush #60 is and I have no clue how to set the diameter of it...Would the brush # be the same as if I went to Brushes like I did yo get the cloud brush when I started?And I'm assuming #60 is a type? and the diameter is how big you will brush?....Anyway after sitting here like a deer looking into the headlights for an hour I finally got it to blur some..I have no real idea how but...

Then I skipped to 8.
8.go to the next duplicate(2nd)and make sure the blending option is normal and apply a radial blur effect=spin+50...I just picked a copy I had not used yet and did this...I got a blurry spin that looked somewhat like yours.But I didn't do any smudging because I didnt want to look for it as I was already frustrated..

Then you said set the blending options for this layer to normal or to soft light...I assumed you meant on another copy so thats what I did..I set mine to soft light.I'm not sure it changed anything but...oh well.

10.Next you said to go to the layers where I had the 3 cut out renders and make them visible...I had 4 so I just made 3 visable.

11.Then you said make a duplicate of the last cut player render( i just made the last one visable) and set the blending option to overlay. then you said pick brush #17,and set diameter to 52.Make sure the brush color is white and apply the brush on some parts of the uniform...I just took the cloud brush from before and made it smaller and hit my player with a couple clicks of white....Is that what you meant?I doubt it but again I had no clue

12. you added a layer then applied brush #134 and applied a special effect...You got those cute squiggley lines and then you used the eraser in #13 to erase some of the effect and make it more open.....I SKIPPED both of those lines becaude I was tired of feeling like Forrest Gump....

14.was for text and thats what I used it for..I played with my font more than anything else because I felt like I had SOME clue what I was doing there....Although I did learn that I can copy the color # down and it makes it ALOT easier to match it up for the first and last names...

15.Merge all the layers and apply the borders...Is that why I have such a hard time making my borders? Because I dont know how to merge the layers?I wonder....

16.It says that in the 1st sig version you applied curves: with settings :input=41 and output=84....That might be interesting if I had a clue what it did or how to do it....Have I told you that I am a really big NOOB at this stuff?

Anyway this was my result...



And here it is with cafe limits...If anybody likes it they can feel free to use it...The font kinda took a hit but It could be worse I guess.

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[IMG]http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/548/leinart1cafelimitsac8.jpg[/IMG]