Okay i've had it for a while, and everyone seems to do some amazing signatures, but I have no idea how anyone is doing it, may some of you SENNERS link me to some filters, some websites with good renders and maybe just teach me how to achieve some cool effects? It would be much appreciated, thank you ^-^

www.tech-gfx.net

Shocko, you mostly just read a couple of tutorials to get started and then play around by yourself. I found a very effective strategy to make tech-like pipes/bars, for example, largely by playing around. Not that it looks great on a signature - this is all I was able to make out of it - but the key is playing around with it.


For those interested, I completely forgot how to make the cool matrixy sides of that siggy. It came as a side-effect of the tech bars technique once, but never reappeared. I must've done something special that time. And, also, this is an old siggy, so I wouldn't wear it now. The clouds are too bland.

It isnt that special. I think I remember seeing it on tutorials.com

... Really? I actually created that technique, as far as I know. How did the tutorial do it?

Hey, I forgot I even made this thread, I saw some really cool thing just looking through google and they made a reallllly nice effect on photoshop for an eclipse.

http://abduzeedo.com/really-cool-eclipse-effect-photoshop

But that has a LOT of like layer effects, filter effects, brush effects, is it always like this, or are there easier ways?

How do I make things glossy like...
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/kukuhumi/tutorial/buttons/web2_0_shinyButton.jpg
http://www.photoshop.0tutor.com/archive/19/finish.jpg
or
http://ooglewindowblinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/shiny-orb-website-button27.jpg

How do I do those crazy effects that everyone uses for like lights, the shattered glass effect...
I think SilentEcho used to have a signature where he used some kind of tiles... how do you do that? Is it a filter? Or do I have to do it customly?
Just any help with stuff like that would be great...

I too must learn the art of photoshawpin.

They all have tutorials for them. Just read and follow the instructions. It's better to know what leads to what by following tutorials before you mess around. It generally puts you on a higher level faster. I should mess around without reading any tutorials because that'll help my creativity is like saying 'even though I suck at drawing, messing around stupidly will get me good without even learning the basics of how to draw'. May as well start asking for some good tutorials.

Where do you guys get all your fonts from?

DaFont

I had a class called Communications Technology, my teacher was excellent and he taught us all about photoshop, cameras, video editing, etc. He also got the school to buy a bunch of effects/filters/fonts/addons/all that other sweet stuff for photoshop... It takes a while to learn, but it isn't as hard as it is made out to be.

That class was so cool... the equipment/software/computers/etc totaled over $100,000 at least... and at the end of the year when we had all of our work done and had 2 days left, a guy brought in a copy of halo, I cracked it, and we spread it across the class. LAN HALO MEGAFEST, on sweet highend PCs. That was the shit.

Anyway. I rambled on far too long. My suggestion is to take a class on it, as I have learned myself. I tried to learn from the internet and that PS magazine, but it just couldn't keep my attention. The class made it really easy, and now I can do some pretty sweet graphical effects.

I took a class called media arts, however our teacher was no good and all he did was show us the file location, told us our assignment and just watched us try to figure out how the hell it worked >.>!

I learned photoshop by just trying different things.
Also by creating original signatures with tutorial techniques.

Go to this site, great renders and forums:
www.planetrenders.net

Says that man we all hammered on for his 'original' sc2 rine sig

The first button you see there, shocko, is pretty easy to make. Make two concentric circles on two different layers. Color both the same color. Create a gradient with that color on one end and a whiter version of it. Select the innermost circle, set the gradient to circular, and from center to middle (the whitish part has to be first in gradient). Create a new layer, create a circular selection on the top (that fits the reflection-part of middle) of the inner circle, delete the parts of the selection outside the circle, and fill with white. Set the layer to soft/overlay or increase transparency. Something along the same lines for the outer ones. The second one uses brushes for the roudish reflection, and the third one's even easier than the first.

Tutorials are very helpful in teaching you how different filters and features can be used effectively. Read around ten different ones that touch on different parts of Photoshop and you should have the skills to start making your own things.

lol, that was before I took the class.
good memory, btw