IMAGESHACK may be experiencing some technical problems, which is why not all the images are shown, if thats the case I'll remove the tages and use links instead. Many people are pretty good at making the backgrounds for their signatures, etc, but often lose it when it comes to blending an image in with the background. If the render sticks out too much, it ruins the whole signature. In this tutorial I will be taking this image: http://www.gamecritics.com/feature/artgallery/ff7/art01.jpg And showing you how to clear the background, and blend it sufficiently to look good. Blending, is in fact incredibly easy, so stick with the guide, and you'll be one step closer to creating the art work you want. Step 1. Start off with your background. Here is mine. http://img142.exs.cx/img142/600/background0vb.jpg Step 2. You will now need an image that you want to add to the sig. I'm gonna be using that image of Cloud that Nic found, but you can obvisouly use anything. Drag or paste the render on to your background. Resize it to fit the sig. I don't want the lower half of Cloud, so I am only resizing it a little, and then placing it in position. If you make it small enough so the whole image fits, it loses some effect, unless that is what you want the sig to look like. http://img142.exs.cx/img142/1296/step27mq.jpg Step 3. Now to get rid of the background. For this image it is very easy to simply use the "Magic Wand" tool, click the white and delete. But this is not always the case, so, I will show you how to do it if the image had a background, on this image. Just imagine the white has stuff on it The easiest way is to take the "Eraser" tool, and choose a brush size relative to the image being erased. Then just rub away the background. This however leaves sharp edges, and parts can get rubbed away when they shouldn't have been, like so. http://img142.exs.cx/img142/8453/step34hb.jpg This looks, rubbish, to put it bluntly. To neaten it up, you can either change the opacity and flow of the eraser. This means that if you brush away from the image, the background will get rubbed out a lot more smoothly. You may have to go over it again to be more thorough, but it will look a lot more natural. This is the last image carried on,but with the eraser with a lower opacity. (See how it looks a lot better blended? I can't be assed to do it properly, but you will be able to see a huge difference if you take some time and zoom in.) http://img142.exs.cx/img142/2748/step45ze.jpg 4. Using a Layer Mask. Probably the best way to blend the image in is to use a layer mask. Basically, a layer mask, when added, creates a little white "layer thumbnail" next to the image on the layers pallete. You won't see any difference with the image, but the mask is there. Select the eraser and a brush. Hit D to reset your colours. WHITE takes away from the mask. BLACK adds to the mask. In other words, if you paint over the image where you want to erase in WHITE and then make a slight mistake, you can change the colour to BLACK, and go over where you went wrong to correct it. To add a Layer Mask, you click the button circled in the screen below. You can also go "Layer>>Add Layer Mask>>Reveal All" On the left, I have erased with WHITE, on the black I have added to the erased circle, shown by the part in the middle. It sounds confusing, but when you try it, its much easier. Like so. http://img142.exs.cx/img142/7493/look5ij.jpg Also note, that if you want an interesting blend effect, if you use grunge brushes etc to do the rubbing out, you will have that effect. Below is the finished version, with no background. Note that I have changed the opacity of the eraser, as well as changed brushes through out. Again, I haven't spent as much time as you wil doing this. The more care you take when erasing, and brushing parts of the image away, the better it will look. Take the rubber, and with a lowish opacity (40% ish) start around the middle, and brush outwards. Repeat, rub out the strong edges with low opacity. Take out parts so it looks mysterious, or shrouded in clouds, depending on what you want it to look like. http://img142.exs.cx/img142/3513/done5ab.jpg 5. For the image to truly blend it, you may want to change the blending mode of the image to "luminousity". This basically drains all the colour out and matches the background, extremely well, for you. add some text, a border etc, and you can call it finished. Take a look back at the different stages of the blending - from bright white and colourful, to dark and grungy. Which looks better?? Have fun with this one, and because black adds and white removes, it doesn't matter how many times you mess up, you can always change it later. Good luck, and post your results! ------------- OK imageshack ain't working too good, so here is the end result, attached. if you want any of the images here, let me know and I'll attach them or something.
