-Section Title
-Important Word
-Note
-Important Topic
Introduction
An introduction to graphics. The best image-editor out there is Adobe Photoshop. You can find a link to this product at Adobe's website.
Backgrounds
How did he make that cool background? It was most likely made with brushes. Brushes come in an induvidual set. There are two main methods for brushing; black strokes on a white background, and white strokes on a black background. Both methods yield different results, even if you're using the same brush set. Brushes can be downloaded at deviantART. Once downloaded, paste the .ABR file into C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Presets\Brushes [by default]. Then, in Photoshop, select your brush tool. The thumbnail looks like a paint brush. Click the thumbnail at the top of the screen, and click the arrow on the sidebar to select your brush set. The image below explains this.
Renders
A render is an image that is placed into your signature; traditionally a game character. First off, pick a render that matches the color of your background. You could always do a Hue/Saturation on the render to change its color, but it doesn't always look that good. You're best off just using a render that matches. Paste it into your signature, and resize it. It should look pretty good, but it stands out too much. This is when you blend it. Hold down Control and click on your render's layer thumbnail. Hold Control, Alt, and press D, and set the feather value between 5 and 10 (I usually use 7.5). Now right click the selection and hit Select Inverse. Press the delete button on your keyboard once or twice, and you have your blended render. Make sure your render isn't too big, but we don't want it too small, either. It should take up about half of your canvas size.
Text
Text is a very important part of a signature. I need to say it, so I'll put it in red. NEVER use the Halo font. NEVER. You want an explanation? It's called the Halo font for a reason. It only looks good on Halo's main screen, not in signatures. So don't even attempt to use it in a signature, because it will end up looking bad. 'But RaVN, I'm using a Halo render!! It fits in!!' I don't care. It may fit the render, but that doesn't mean it looks good. And it doesn't.
You also want your text to blend into your signature, just like your render. I can't really go into great detail on how to do this, but I'll tell you where to go. Right click your text layer's thumbnail, and select Blending Options. You'll see a window with all sorts of options, settings, gizmos, and gadgets. Mess around with these settings until you like what you see. Some names are easy to predict, such as Outer Glow and Drop Shadow; while others aren't as easy to predict, such as Satin and Contour. Play around until you understand what each style does. You should then have a much better understanding of what these styles look like when combined.
Scanlines and Grids Galore
These are pretty simple, and they add a very nice effect to any graphic.
Scanlines
Open up a new document. Make it 3 pixels in width by 3 pixels in height, with a transparent background. Zoom in to 1600%, and take out a 1 pixel brush. In black, put a dot in the top left corner, the bottom right corner, and the middle. You should have a diagonal line made up of three pixels. Now go to Edit > Define Pattern. Name this pattern "Scanlines \", and click OK. Now in your signature, create a new layer and go to Edit > Fill. Select the pattern that you just created, and click OK. You'll see that the scanlines have been added to your signature. Lower the opacity so they're not too bright. You shouldn't have them any brighter than 50%; I'd recommend around 20-30%.
-Make sure your scanlines layer is below your render layer. Scanlines over a render usually look bad, unless you're going for a very grungey style.
-I'd also suggest creating another scanline pattern with the opposite direction. Create your 3x3 pixel document and scroll in all the way. But now place black dots in the top right, bottom left, and middle. Name this pattern "Scanlines /", and click OK.
Grids
Open a new transparent document that is 3x3 pixels, again. This one is even easier than scanlines. Take a 1 pixel brush, and place a dot in the very center. Go to Edit > Define Pattern, and name this pattern "Grid." Good job, you've now got your grid pattern. Apply this pattern to a signature by using the same steps above. Either set the opacity of the layer to around 30%, or set the layer style to Soft Light.
Borders
You've got a number of different choices for borders, so I'll just tell you about a few basic ones. Always start a border by creating a new layer for it.
1.) Hold Control and press A. Go to Edit > Stroke. Give it a width of 1 pixel, and a black color. Press OK.
2.) Hold Control and press A. Go to Edit > Stroke. Give it a width of 2 pixels, and a black or white color. Press OK. Set this layer style to Overlay.
3.) Hold Control and press A. Go to Edit > Stroke. Give it a width of 3 pixels. Get out your rectangular marquee tool, and use it to cut the middle pixel of the border. The signature below will show you what this border looks like, and it will help you better understand what you have to do to make it.
Etiquette
Please don't come onto Halomods [or any website, for that matter] and go "OMG THIS IS MY FIRST SIGLOLOL PLZ RNC x/10 LMFAO!!"
We hate that. So don't do it.
Another rule: If you don't want people telling you things that need work, don't post it at all. If someone tells you they think the render is blended poorly, don't you dare flame them. Don't you dare say to them "Well I don't really care about what you think." Be mature. If you're going to post your signature, post it knowing that you're going to get good and bad comments. If you're going to be a jerk just because someone doesn't like the signature, then you can leave. You won't be missed.
That's pretty much all. I hope this writeup helped, and I wish everyone happy designing.
--RaVNzCRoFT
