Post: Full Intermediate/Advanced Signature Tutorial (Kid Cudi)
02-03-2011, 11:30 PM #1
Lt_Larry
Space Ninja
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Hey and welcome to my tutorial. First of all I want to apologise for the quality of the previews in this tut - since I first posted it Photobucket have decided they dont want their images to be HQ any more. So you'll have to imagine that the previews ar HQ Smile
Anyway, in this tutorial we will be learning how to make this:


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP ONE. Make a new image, I used 480 x 140. Take texture #1 and place it a few times around the sig for a nice background, like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP TWO. Next we will insert the render to make things easier, so we know where to insert text, etc. I used this render:


You must login or register to view this content.


But if you find another that you think would work just as well it is fine too. I placed one copy of it on the right and one smaller, flipped copy next to it on the left. To flip it go to Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontal.

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP THREE. This part takes quite a bit of time. Duplicate your render (Either, you have to do it to both eventually). Go to Layer> Layer styles> Stroke. Make it 1 pixel big and choose Gradient, then choose the rainbow gradient. Click ok and set the fill of the layer to 0. Make a new layer underneath this layer and then merge the two together by pressing CTRL+E. This means you can erase parts of this layer without screwing it up. Duplicate this new rainbow line layer a few times. I put them all behind the render of it can get a bit messy. Keep one as it is and maybe just leave it as a rim around the main render. With the others, erase parts and move them around the render more. Place a couple of smaller parts on top of the render. This is what I got after playing around for a bit:

You must login or register to view this content.


STEP FOUR. This step will require a bit of improvisation as not every sig can look the same. Using the marquee tool, create some rectangular shapes on new layers (BELOW THE RENDER). Fill them with a desired colour. I chose yellow/orange. Rotate them and place them around the render to desired effect. These will be used to hold the text later so try and make sure you use different colours (But not too different) and move them fairly close to the render. But always make sure they stretch off the edge of the signature, and don’t stop somewhere in midair. Your sig should look something like this depending on your taste:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP FIVE. Before adding text, your background could use a bit more spicing up. Using some of the textures given (Courtesy of ‘Awesome faceowngirl’Winky Winky, place shapes around your render to give it some more depth. MAKE SURE YOU DELETE MOST OF THE TEXTURE AND ONLY USE SMALL PARTS OF IT. Otherwise it just looks messy. I used the blue and yellow part of one of the textures, and scribble-style part of another one for mine, but it’s up to you.

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP SIX. Now we will make the text. I used the font ‘Interstate’. You might want to go into your ‘characters’ menu and move the font close together.... but its up to you. I used a yellow colour for my text. Next, right click the text layer and click rasterize. Make a new layer above this layer, and make a small rectangular shape the size of your text. Fill it with a colour slightly darker than your text colour. Move it so that it cover the bottom half of your text. Hold alt and click between the layers to create a layer mask. Adjust it so that it is halfway and then click CTRL+E. Depending on your render now, you will probably need to turn it slightly – and then place it below the render layers to get a hidden effect. Then go to Layer>Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss. Adjust the settings to look like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

So now you have your main text. You are then free to make duplicates of it, or smaller text with different words, etc. I duplicated it and fitted it next to my smaller render and added some SCOTT MESCUDI text (without the bevel). These should be the same colours. Notice how I aligned them to fit with the shapes I made earlier. At this stage you might want to go back to your shapes and move them close to the text to get the same effect. Here’s what I have currently:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP SEVEN. This step will require knowledge of how to use the pen tool. But I will tell you anyway. Practice on a new canvas. Click the pen tool icon located next to the text icon. Make a new layer on the canvas and click a spot. The click and hold a new spot, to create a curve of your choice. Click a new point again. Keep doing this a couple of times until you have a nice simple swirly line. Mine looks like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Click back onto your brush icon. Then click on your brushes window. If you don’t have it go to Window and then click brushes. Have your screen look like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Now you’re ready to create a smooth line. Click your pen tool again. Make sure you’re on a clear layer. Right click the line and click Stroke Layer. Click Ok. If everything’s good... then you should have a cool looking swirl like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Now go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke and get out your rainbow gradient again. Adjust the scale and size so it looks good. Click Ok when you’re done. You should be left with a funky looking shape which you can use in your sig. But I created several different swirls with different colours as well. This can take quite a while but will look very good with a controlled amount of coloured lines in your signature. You just need to play around with them a bit. My signature, after quite a few lines, looked like this:


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP EIGHT. Create a new layer and go to Image>Apply Image then go to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen/Sharpen Edges depending on which one looks better to you. Be careful not to sharpen it too much. Consider lowering the opacity a bit. If you have Photoshop CS4, now go to Layer>Layer Adjustment> Vibrance and increase the vibrance to bring out the colour a bit more. Leave the saturation. Then go to Layer Adjustments again, and click Exposure. Change the Exposure to about 0.05, the offset to 0.02, and the gamma to 0.8. If you don’t have this option, its best to change a few settings in the Curves menu instead.


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP NINE. Now you can add a few finishing touches to your signature. I added a dotty grungy texture in small areas. I also added a few white light points, either on overlay or normal, just to add to the colour and depth. TO finish off, add a border. I made an odd shaped border, using the polygonal lasso tool and then filling in the shape white. I then got a paper/grunge texture and made a layer mask with it. Apply image on a new layer and burn/dodge/sharpen/blur any areas which are necessary. And YOU’RE DONE! Final outcome:

You must login or register to view this content.

Hope you enjoyed my tut! Please post outcomes!


Texture used in Part 1:

You must login or register to view this content.

Possible textures for Part 5:

You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.

Textures used in Part 9:

You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The following 5 users say thank you to Lt_Larry for this useful post:

emersons35, M.Mac, Securing_Bravo, starrix, ThisIsBio
04-04-2011, 06:10 PM #11
Lt_Larry
Space Ninja
Cheers mate ! Smile
04-05-2011, 02:40 PM #12
Originally posted by xMark
Nice Copy and Paste.
NOT your's.

You must login or register to view this content.


Check the post-date, Harry posted it a day before. And that user 'Somy' could be Harry, but on another forum. Get your facts straight before you call someone an ripper.

The following user thanked defwegwreh for this useful post:

Lt_Larry
04-05-2011, 09:13 PM #13
Lt_Larry
Space Ninja
Wow. Wow. What an epic rip... I bet that faggot doesnt have the freakin PSD.

No I am not Somy. Im about to send this guy an email asking him why hes ripped my tut...

The only place this tut should be is on the SportGFX forum under the username .fX' which is me. Nowhere else.
04-06-2011, 09:29 PM #14
Lt_Larry
Space Ninja
Wow there are way too many rippers on the internet.

Just thought I'd point out that these 2 are both rips of my tut (there are probably more):

You must login or register to view this content.
You must login or register to view this content.


This is the original tutorial that I wrote:

You must login or register to view this content.

Copyrighted by me and all these other people are just retard wannabees who cant even write their own tutorial because they probably couldnt make a simple sig to save their sorry lives...

The following user thanked Lt_Larry for this useful post:

defwegwreh
04-06-2011, 09:34 PM #15
Dexter.
The Vigilante
Originally posted by Larry View Post
Hey and welcome to my tutorial. First of all I want to apologise for the quality of the previews in this tut - since I first posted it Photobucket have decided they dont want their images to be HQ any more. So you'll have to imagine that the previews ar HQ Smile
Anyway, in this tutorial we will be learning how to make this:


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP ONE. Make a new image, I used 480 x 140. Take texture #1 and place it a few times around the sig for a nice background, like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP TWO. Next we will insert the render to make things easier, so we know where to insert text, etc. I used this render:


You must login or register to view this content.


But if you find another that you think would work just as well it is fine too. I placed one copy of it on the right and one smaller, flipped copy next to it on the left. To flip it go to Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontal.

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP THREE. This part takes quite a bit of time. Duplicate your render (Either, you have to do it to both eventually). Go to Layer> Layer styles> Stroke. Make it 1 pixel big and choose Gradient, then choose the rainbow gradient. Click ok and set the fill of the layer to 0. Make a new layer underneath this layer and then merge the two together by pressing CTRL+E. This means you can erase parts of this layer without screwing it up. Duplicate this new rainbow line layer a few times. I put them all behind the render of it can get a bit messy. Keep one as it is and maybe just leave it as a rim around the main render. With the others, erase parts and move them around the render more. Place a couple of smaller parts on top of the render. This is what I got after playing around for a bit:

You must login or register to view this content.


STEP FOUR. This step will require a bit of improvisation as not every sig can look the same. Using the marquee tool, create some rectangular shapes on new layers (BELOW THE RENDER). Fill them with a desired colour. I chose yellow/orange. Rotate them and place them around the render to desired effect. These will be used to hold the text later so try and make sure you use different colours (But not too different) and move them fairly close to the render. But always make sure they stretch off the edge of the signature, and don’t stop somewhere in midair. Your sig should look something like this depending on your taste:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP FIVE. Before adding text, your background could use a bit more spicing up. Using some of the textures given (Courtesy of ‘Downgirl’), place shapes around your render to give it some more depth. MAKE SURE YOU DELETE MOST OF THE TEXTURE AND ONLY USE SMALL PARTS OF IT. Otherwise it just looks messy. I used the blue and yellow part of one of the textures, and scribble-style part of another one for mine, but it’s up to you.

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP SIX. Now we will make the text. I used the font ‘Interstate’. You might want to go into your ‘characters’ menu and move the font close together.... but its up to you. I used a yellow colour for my text. Next, right click the text layer and click rasterize. Make a new layer above this layer, and make a small rectangular shape the size of your text. Fill it with a colour slightly darker than your text colour. Move it so that it cover the bottom half of your text. Hold alt and click between the layers to create a layer mask. Adjust it so that it is halfway and then click CTRL+E. Depending on your render now, you will probably need to turn it slightly – and then place it below the render layers to get a hidden effect. Then go to Layer>Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss. Adjust the settings to look like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

So now you have your main text. You are then free to make duplicates of it, or smaller text with different words, etc. I duplicated it and fitted it next to my smaller render and added some SCOTT MESCUDI text (without the bevel). These should be the same colours. Notice how I aligned them to fit with the shapes I made earlier. At this stage you might want to go back to your shapes and move them close to the text to get the same effect. Here’s what I have currently:

You must login or register to view this content.

STEP SEVEN. This step will require knowledge of how to use the pen tool. But I will tell you anyway. Practice on a new canvas. Click the pen tool icon located next to the text icon. Make a new layer on the canvas and click a spot. The click and hold a new spot, to create a curve of your choice. Click a new point again. Keep doing this a couple of times until you have a nice simple swirly line. Mine looks like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Click back onto your brush icon. Then click on your brushes window. If you don’t have it go to Window and then click brushes. Have your screen look like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Now you’re ready to create a smooth line. Click your pen tool again. Make sure you’re on a clear layer. Right click the line and click Stroke Layer. Click Ok. If everything’s good... then you should have a cool looking swirl like this:

You must login or register to view this content.

Now go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke and get out your rainbow gradient again. Adjust the scale and size so it looks good. Click Ok when you’re done. You should be left with a funky looking shape which you can use in your sig. But I created several different swirls with different colours as well. This can take quite a while but will look very good with a controlled amount of coloured lines in your signature. You just need to play around with them a bit. My signature, after quite a few lines, looked like this:


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP EIGHT. Create a new layer and go to Image>Apply Image then go to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen/Sharpen Edges depending on which one looks better to you. Be careful not to sharpen it too much. Consider lowering the opacity a bit. If you have Photoshop CS4, now go to Layer>Layer Adjustment> Vibrance and increase the vibrance to bring out the colour a bit more. Leave the saturation. Then go to Layer Adjustments again, and click Exposure. Change the Exposure to about 0.05, the offset to 0.02, and the gamma to 0.8. If you don’t have this option, its best to change a few settings in the Curves menu instead.


You must login or register to view this content.

STEP NINE. Now you can add a few finishing touches to your signature. I added a dotty grungy texture in small areas. I also added a few white light points, either on overlay or normal, just to add to the colour and depth. TO finish off, add a border. I made an odd shaped border, using the polygonal lasso tool and then filling in the shape white. I then got a paper/grunge texture and made a layer mask with it. Apply image on a new layer and burn/dodge/sharpen/blur any areas which are necessary. And YOU’RE DONE! Final outcome:

You must login or register to view this content.

Hope you enjoyed my tut! Please post outcomes!


Texture used in Part 1:

You must login or register to view this content.

Possible textures for Part 5:

You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.

Textures used in Part 9:

You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.You must login or register to view this content.


Nice highly detailed thread mate. Thanks for sharing. Smile

The following user thanked Dexter. for this useful post:

Lt_Larry
04-09-2011, 12:42 PM #16
thanks man

Copyright © 2026, NextGenUpdate.
All Rights Reserved.

Gray NextGenUpdate Logo