Topic awaiting preservation: My Very First Sig

How's this?

Okay, maybe this will work.

Third time's the charm.


[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-07-2002).]

1) Too big.
2) Colors don't work with forum.
3) Doesn't represent you in any way.

*WAAAAYYYY* too big. more like a splash page than a sig...

I would just like to say...

WHOA! That is one big sig there, partner.

If you use either of those as a sig I will hunt you down.

<font style="font-size: 18pt;">TOO BIG!!!!</font>

the second one reminds me of

[This message has been edited by GRUMBLE (edited 12-03-2002).]

[This message has been edited by GRUMBLE (edited 12-03-2002).]

man, why don't you look on the other siggies a bit? have you seen any sig which is that big in this forum?????
i don't think so

-THE SPACE-

I'll show mine if you show yours! http://home.swipnet.se/erik_olsson/wierd.jpg

*grren knuuts*

Whoa...

I'd have to agree with the above posts.

1 Too largemongous.
2 Not representative or identifiable as yours.
3 Colors... 'nuff said.

What do you want to visually say? Say it... in a reasonable size, with proper color. Nice try.

Regards

How can I make the background transparent? It was made with Paintshop Pro 7. Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-04-2002).]

still too big ram...look at hte size of my sig, something around that size is perfect.

if that isnt vector art you will have to redo it before resizing, or else your going to be getin them jaggies.

anyway, you have to save->options->wizard or something similar. then it's pretty intuitive, pick a color, bam.

oh, don't forget not to dither

I made a smaller one. Transparency is still a problem, though.



Here's the second. I like this one better. What's your opinion?

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-04-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-04-2002).]

Rameses...

I use PSP7 for all my stuff... it's a good program that can produce some visual coolness if handled correctly.

Couple of things to consider:
1. Layers. If you're not using them... learn.
2. Color. Make the image fit the color comp of the Asylum.
3. Composition. Good image comp is necessary in visually conveying your message.
4. Size. Image size is a must... most artists pride themselves on creating the highest degree of visually pleasing art in the smallest file size possible.

Let me try to help you with the transparency thingy...

First Open a new image. Set the resolution to around 300 pixels/inch. Background... Transparent. 16.4 million colors. Also... consider the size of the image canvas carefully. Many here are smaller to allow quicker load time and save bandwidth. Physical size of the canvas and the colors greatly effect the overall file size. Check out other sigs here and shoot for an average size... mine's 150x50.

Second In PSP7... go to View/Toolbars. In the toolbars tab you will want to be sure that you have at least got your "Layer Pallette" and "Tool Options" checked. You can choose any others you want but these are vital to have handy while working on an image.

Third Open the Layer pallette and you should see one layer titled "Layer 1". Place curser over this and right click... select "Rename" and call it BKG. This helps you to remember which layer is which. Save it... Right click on the same layer again and choose "New Raster Layer". Name it "R44 G4 B4" and OK it. This is the color you're going to fill your image with and having identified the RGB colors will help you later. I generally name my layers to reflect specific info.. Font used or Color code, etc. It helps later.

Fourth Make sure that the RGB layer you just made is the one that is selected in your Layers Pallette. Now... select your Flood Fill tool (the paint bucket). In your Colors Pallette... find the "Foreground Color" and click on it. This will pop up a dialog for your color selection. Under the Color wheel you'll see three boxes with numbers... Red, Green, Blue. This is the RGB factor of the color you choose... takes the guesswork out of colors. Change the numbers to correspond as follows: Red=44, Green=4 and Blue=4. This is the "average" color for the Asylum background and will assist you in making this layer transparent later. With this color... fill the layer.

Final Create new layers for each effect you desire to create... naming them appropriately as you go. A new layer per effect will allow you to delete and undesirable changes without compromising your whole graphic. Remember this: "CTRL Z" is your best friend. When you're finished with your image you will export it as a .GIF file. HOWEVER Before the export Save as a PSP file. PSP files allow you to maintain the image layers for future changes... just like PS.

Saved as PSP file? OK... now go to File/Export/GIF Optimizer. From here a dialog will come up. Select the "Transparency" Tab and go down to where it says "Areas that match this color" and make sure this is selected. See the color sample window to the side of this option? Click on it and a color dialog like you used earlier will pop up. Make the same RGB selection the same as the Asylum background color... R=44, G=4, B=4. OK this... be sure that the tolerance level is at about 10. You'll see a sample in the upper right... it will probably have some pixelation around your image but that's OK because they'll blend into the general color of the Asylum and will not be noticed if done well. OK this and name it appropriately.

**Vioala!**

You've just created a transparent sig using PSP7.

I teach PSP7 (and some other junk too) all of the time to everyone from the earliest of elementary school kids to adults wanting to learn web graphics & design. I choose to use PSP7 because it's the "poor man's Photoshop" and is accessible to anyone wanting to learn.

If you need more PSP specific help just ask... I'll do what I can.

Regards



[This message has been edited by qadash (edited 12-04-2002).]

Okay, I think I've worked it out. Thanks for all the advice.



[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-07-2002).]

And on the other background...



[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-07-2002).]

Um, definitely an improvement over those first images up there, but still way big.

I made it a bit smaller. The picture became grainy when I converted it to a .gif file. How can I clear it up without ruining picture quality?

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-07-2002).]

Well, make sure that it's in RGB mode when you shrink it. If you try to shrink it in indexed color mode you're going to end up with crap. As for it becoming grainy, you can increase the number of colors in palette (unless you're already at 256 colors). This will increase file size, though, so you have to be careful.

Rameses...

What pixel per inch setting are you using on your image?
I think PSP7 sets it for 75 PPI as default. You may want to bump that up to at least 300 and give it a go.

Also, make sure you're "antialiased" feature is on when using text.

Overall... it's looking better bud.

Regards

Bumping up the dpi won't do anything, since I don't think most monitors display 300 dpi.

Another thing you might want to check is dithering... if you have dithering on, that can add to the grainy look if you have fewer colors to work with.

[Edit: Clarification on the dpi issue--the graininess has nothing to do with the actually resolution of the image; an image can have a really high resolution and still be grainy. Like I said above, it has to do with how many colors you have in your image and (most likely) dithering]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 12-08-2002).]

as for DPI, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ON SCREEN RESOLUTION...


This is basically for images used in print, where you need higher dots per inch on paper for the image quality to be as good as on screen at a given document size.

what increasing the dpi will only do in photoshop is increase the pixel size of the image.

what you could do is something like some peopel do, start the image at say four or five times the intended size, allowing for more detail, then shrink it down to your target resolution.

DPI is an often misunderstood concept, but trust me increasing the dpi WILL NOT increase the quality of an ONSCREEN IMAGE

hope this clears this little subject up hope it helps

tom

That's what I do. I make the image, and then resize it. It has 256 colours.



Here's a new one of mine.

Yeah, dpi has nothing whatsoever to do with how your image comes out on screen. A 400x50 pixel image is still 400 by 50 pixels no matter what the resolution. As for the graininess, check your gif options when saving, especially dithering and the palette used.

transparacy doesn't work on this one
btw, whatz the first image there? a stone?

-THE SPACE-

I'm interested in iknowing what is with that image you posted Grumble!

Shine and shine.

I stand corrected...

Generally, I make my sigs using 300 ppi, 300x100, 24 bit color and then shrink down to 150x50 and 256 colors.
I've always been under the impression that pixels effected the quality of the image as much as color... my bad.

Good info.

Regards

I tried to make the background look like vines. How are they?

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-10-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Rameses Niblik the Third (edited 12-11-2002).]

I thought the above sigs may be too big, so I shrank it down and dispensed of the border.

And on the other background.

It's a good start. Recogniseable, has transparency, and is somewhat simplistic. I like it.

(sure, one could bitch about the texture and all, but... it works.)