I have decided to give signature making a go. I watched a couple tutorials and made one today that I think is not bad. My plan is to take the advice given to me each day, and apply it to a new signature until I feel like I could actually make ones worth selling.
So here is today's attempt:

I am aware the size is too big to be an actual sig, but I just didn't condense it because I don't plan on actually selling it at this point.
Please feel free to criticize, I know it's not that good but it's a rookie attempt.

*other notes:
Using Gimp 2.8 atm (too cheap to pay for ps)
If this is an illegal topic, sorry close it.

Get CS2, it's free from Adobe's website.

Read tutorials, I've made a great collection of them here: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=67913837&f=246
Start at the top!

As for this one: Background is boring and ugly.
The glow effect on the car is ugly
Text doesn't fit in (I'd stay away from text for the time being).

Thank you. Also, try and point out some good things; things I should continue to do the way I am.

There is'nt any.
Cept keep going.

Tonights attempt:

your attempts at blending are appreciated, but not effective in this case. the effects aren't horrible, but they need to be consolidated so that your signature has some sort of composition or flow. i like to think of composition in terms of negative space vs positive space.

for example, if we take a look at your tag in black and white:



you'll notice there's nothing that sticks out in terms of value; it looks flat, except for the pure black in your render contrasting with the "glow" that's surrounding it. while framing your focal with contrast is generally a good thing, the overall composition of your tag is lackluster.

something to note about composition is that it's acceptable to frame your focal in what are called compositional shapes, you can find videos and examples of this on google.

stay away from premade brushes or random soft brushing; instead, try to focus on the natural lighting present in your render or stock, and build from there.

some good tips and tricks to follow and swear by for now (google them):

- rule of thirds
- rule of odds
- compositional shapes
- complementary colors
- negative vs positive space

As for the blending method, simple smudge and blur will only get you so far, you should really experiment with brushing, clone brushing, and other methods. I like that you knew enough not to blend the head fully to allow it to pop from the background. Maybe if you left more of the shoulders unblended it would be a little more effective of a pop. and the harsh sharp shapes of the background kind of take away from the nice sharp lighting on the render.

Thank you guys, will be making a new attempt tonight to try and incorporate your advice.

Start basic, simple imo.
Read beginner tutorials.