i've got a lot of pms asking for advice. here's just some tips on how i hustle:

diddly do's:
-gradient map > spectrum > set on saturation > 20%ish opacity.
-gradient map > black & white > set on luminosity
-selective color > blacks > play around with it
-channel mixer > play around with it
-layer properties > color or gradient overlay
-if you want to recolor a c4d or some shit like that, CTRL + U
-rather than erase the stuff on the layer, use a vector mask. it's the little square with a circle in the middle that you BRUSH OVER WITH
-after you think you're done new layer > apply image > edit > flip horizontal > fix stuff
-i believe this is better than burning new layer > black soft brush > soft light > lower opacity

fucking don't:
-soft brush a blatant circle right on top of the focal
-use a gradient map to determine your colors. use it to enhance
-liquify your shit until it's all oversharpened, stretched, and ugly. use it to enhance, not dominate (or something like that)
-be a little bitch when asking for critique on your signature

you learn most of this shit from tutorials, it's just that you're reading it from me. so yeah..

heres a few things ill add
they're kinda obvious but maybe useful for beginners at least

diddly do's:
- think carefully about every effect you add, and dont be afraid to erase parts or remove it all together if it doesnt fit
- if you're not sure if an effect looks good in one place or another, move it between each place in one movement (with the move tool), and hit ctrl+z repeatedly to see it from one spot to the other (idk how to explain this better ><)
- if you're not sure an effect should be in the sig at all, delete the layer, and again hit ctrl+z repeatedly to undo and redo the deletion
- to resize / rotate c4d's easily, hit ctrl + t on the effect's layer to select it in "transform" mode, u can drag in a corner (while holding shift) to resize it, or drag one of the corners to rotate it
- for final touches, always do: new layer + image - apply image
- on applied image layers u can add effects to everything u've done, such as:
*filter - smart sharpen (settings 120-180% / .2 pixels)
*blur - gaussian blur (.5 - 1 usually)
*image - adjustments - photo filter / selective color / etc.
and erase parts you dont want the filter applied to of course

pretty please don't:
- add something or do something to your sig without a good reason why it improves it
- over sharpen your sig, it happens all the time, just use "smart sharpen" instead of "sharpen" and you should be good
- put together 2-3 layers and call it a finish sig / ask for advice on it
- take criticism personally, its not an attack on you as a person, its just regarding an early stage of your learning progress

gg idea for a topic here duck

Don't go into detail, they might not work for all tags. Bolded some of them.

For example,
Why should one always make an apply image layer for finishing touches?
I never use smart sharpen.
Some of my tags take less than 8 layers to make.

So yeah, don't go into detail.



Mine

diddly do's:
-Play with clipping masks. You can use it to color a certain part of a layer, add effects, cover something up, lots of things.

fucking don't:
-Use low quality resources or use resources that make the tag itself low quality.

This post was edited by hllmalex on Jul 30 2010 01:27am

i dont get it...
this is "Tips And Advice On How To Maek Gz Signatures", not vague rules to apply to every single sig
shouldnt we let the sig maker decide if/when to apply them?

apply image lets you use dodge/burn for lighting, and use filters like smart sharpen/blur ofc
u can get away with using sharpen if u lower layer opacity, i just find smart sharpen works better and made the suggestion... just because u dont do something doesnt mean i cant suggest it right?
and thats fine if u can make a good sig in 8 layers, but most newcomers just throw together a few random layers and call it a sig, obviously those are the ones that rule applies to

This post was edited by ease. on Jul 30 2010 01:36am

tl;dr

do
-try to plan out colors before hand, it is rarely best to just throw in colors later and at random
-listen to cnc for the most part, its usually pretty spot on
-if you think you are too good for tuts, then look at PSDs and pro tagwalls
-practice and play around, it will make you more familiar with PS (or gimp), and it will allow you to learn new things
-use inspiration, music and other graphics are great examples. if you are bored when making it, it will probably be boring to us
-look for resources! like textures, brushes, stocks.
-send me forum gold

dont
-talk shit about other peoples sigs when they give cnc you don't like, you will look awful
-ignore the flow in your sig, it can kill you
-expect to get good if you don't spend time practicing, if you make 3 sigs a year, you probably won't improve

e/format

This post was edited by TheReborn_Magi on Jul 30 2010 02:24am

tl;dr

hbump my fucking leg

Do:
Be good at making sigs

Don't
Be bad at making sigs


Thats my #1 tip

THANKS !

will keep that in mind.

Btw I love this tip of yours duck : -gradient map > spectrum > set on saturation > 20%ish opacity. THANKS ! ♥

Err ill add my 'wannabe' tips somewhen o,o

wink. if you're working with rl stocks, remember to lightly brush over their skin with a gray; they tend to get yellow when you use that trick.



you need to stop posting asap