Signature Backgrounds?

[Daine]

I have no special training with graphics programs but I like to play around with them, and so I love making sigs for myself.  Lately though I feel like my sigs aren't very good (as you can see by the one below!)  I'm thinking a large part of this has to do with my choice of backgrounds.  I usually go with some sort of lightning theme as I'm a fury but I think I may need something lighter to make my character fit in better.  So my question is this:  how do you usually come up with background ideas or pictures?  And what kind of background do you think would match my fury, with green clothing and bright red hair?  I've seen plenty of tutorials on other parts of sigs, but background choice is something that seems to be little-discussed.  Any help or comments are welcome, thank you very much!

[Seagoat]

<p>Welcome!</p><p>It's pretty rare for me to use a background on a sig that I didn't make myself, and I try to do something a little different for each request, so hopefully some of these tips will help you out.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>I work with lots of layers, varying the blend modes and opacity.  If you're using a program that supports layers, you can't be afraid to use them...they are your best friend and you'll wonder how you ever got along without them.</p><p>I start by picking a color that complements what will be the sig's main foreground image (or if the requester specified a preferred color, I'll sometimes do things the other way around and colorize the character's armor to match the background).  I create a new layer, drag it below every other layer, and flood-fill it with this color.</p><p>The next layer up is usually a gradient flood-fill of some sort, with the blend mode adjusted to let the background color shine through.  I tend to go for a dark/light/dark or dark/light/dark/light pattern, which highlights the central area of the sig while adding interest to the edges.  Try varying the angle for different results.</p><p>The next layer is usually an image or a brush, again with the blend mode adjusted.  Sometimes I'll just use a plain round brush with two or more colors and then apply a filter/plugin to add interest.  I try to keep this layer fairly subtle to keep it from drawing too much attention away from the sig's main image and text, but the imagery or patterns you choose to use here should complement or enhance the theme or mood of the sig.  You can add as many layers of this type as you want, but be careful: it IS possible to overdo it.  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>You're more than welcome to browse my <a href="http://eq2.lunaclick.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">sig website</a> and pick my brain about anything you see there.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Daine]

TYVM  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />I actually started making a few sigs for myself after seeing your website and all the tutorials, and I'm a layer hog too hehe.  I would love to find some bluish armor for my fury to wear in appearance or colorize hers, but I've never tried it and I'm afraid I'd mess it up the first 2391 tries.  I suppose you only get better through mistakes though so maybe I'll try it next time!Great info to help me out, thanks again and thanks for the help on your site too  <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Kethaera]

<cite>Daine@Everfrost wrote:</cite><blockquote> I'm afraid I'd mess it up the first 2391 tries.  I suppose you only get better through mistakes though so maybe I'll try it next time!</blockquote>Exactly! Remember the "Undo" button is your friend, so don't be afraid to experiment with stuff. I've come up with some of my best techniques by just messing around with stuff. The way I usually colorize armor is, on a new layer, use an airbrush at a lowered opacity (depends on the color), so the details of the armor below show through. Another technique is to select only the armor, and use the colorize feature of your program, but I prefer the greater control of the airbrush.While, like Seagoat, I nearly always make my own backgrounds, another technique I sometimes use is to take a screenshot or royalty-free photo (from some place like <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stock Xchange</a>) and run it through various filters; desaturizing, colorizing, etc. Just make sure it's not so busy that it takes away from your character or text.

[Sapphirius]

It's definitely something that improves as you work at it. My sigs usually wind up being close to 30 layers by the time I'm done. My background choices reflect the personality of the character I'm doing it for, which is why I ask for favorite colors, quirks, etc.

[Daine]

Thanks a lot for the help everybody!  Gonna take some pretty new screenies and start working  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />