First sig attempt... looking for some constructive advice! :)

[Lady Zagora]

<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n414/Lady_Zagora/?action=view¤t=sig.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n414/Lady_Zagora/sig.jpg" border="0" alt="Sig" /></a> </p><p>This is my first attempt... so be nice! But please feel free to offer constructive criticism! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Background is actually an unedited shot from EF in the valley with all the sheep/minotaurs.</p>

[Sapphirius]

<p>Not bad for a first attempt, hun. It seems a little dark, even by my standards. /coughs</p><p>Some suggestions to help ya out.</p><ul><li>In your options is something to save the screenshots as a jpeg. I would recommoned either turning jpeg quality all the way up or unchecking the box. I unchecked the box and take all my screenshots as tga's. Then there's no question about picture quality.</li><li>Taking good upclose screenshots will produce a better final image than one at a distance. It will also allow you more ability to play with the image and prepare it.</li><li>Spend some time actually manipulating the image. Use your dodge and burn tools. Brighten things up. Actually clean the image some and remove the background so you can try it in different settings.</li><li>You have a white line along the top of your image. Is that a border or accidental? Most images look good with a border of some sort to contain the eye as it travels over picture. It doesn't have to be a flashy or ocntrasting border, but something between the image and the black expanse of our forums helps.</li><li>The color choice of your font is nice. It blends well but has enough contrast to be readable, but your choice of font and font size is confusing as to which part we're supposed to actually read. Try making your character's name a bit bigger than it is currently. This is to identify your character, so that's what you want people to read first. The rest is details.</li><li>Don't be afraid to use layers. I use lots of them in my sigs. The one below in my sig is about 14  layers in all.</li></ul><p>Good luck, and have fun playing around with it!</p>

[Seagoat]

<p>I agree with everything so far.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Here are my own thoughts:</p><p>* Don't try to compose your sig in-game.  <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  You can combine a good screenshot of your character with a good screenshot of your background scenery of choice using a decent graphics program a LOT more easily than you can take a sig-quality "all-in-one" shot in-game.</p><p>* High-quality, close-up, well-lit screenshots of your character are the easiest to work with.  If you start with a really great character shot, you can do anything you want to with it -- darken it, brighten it, saturate it, grunge it up...anything! -- and your end result will probably also be great.</p><p>* Remember that it's much better to shrink a large image than to try to enlarge a small one.  Enlarging screenshots results in a significant loss in quality and fine details, and you can't really fix that without using some of the more advanced repainting techniques.</p><p>* Explore the world of fonts!  <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  There are lots of free/free for personal use fonts out there, so it's easy to find one that suits your character's personality and the mood of your sig.  One of my favorite sites is <a href="http://dafont.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DaFont</a>.</p><p>You've got a decent start here, but definitely don't be afraid to play around.  Layers are your best friend, and practice makes perfect.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[phatd42]

<p>?Yep yep!  I agree with everything above and think its a good place to start! </p><p> find your select tool and utilize it ( with cut)</p><p>Layers layers layers!</p><p>Save save save! Youll want to save alot.. I usually save each time I do some significant change in the signature, and just stick a number after that saved sig.. youll want to save in a format that allows layers.  ( psp, PSD and not sure what [Removed for Content]'s format is) </p><p> Ill see if I can find some old WIPs I have laying around if they might be any help. </p><p>Heres one Ive done.. mind you this is years old.. but its good enough to show how I would work on things..</p><p>first <a rel="nofollow" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/lulerianiel/Lessien/SSpsp9.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...sien/SSpsp9.jpg</a></p><p>crop out the figure and any bits you dont want in the final image</p><p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v386/lulerianiel/Lessien/?action=view&current=lyniza4example.jpg" target="_blank">http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v...iza4example.jpg</a></p><p>this ss was  one I took to show before and after work on the character.. hair and dodge/burn and smudge etc</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/lulerianiel/Lessien/lyniza10.jpg" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...en/lyniza10.jpg</a></p><p>added background and cropped</p><p><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/lulerianiel/lyniza13.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></p><p>added text and finishing touches</p>

[Lady Zagora]

<p>Awesome thanks so much for the feedback. I'm gonna be working some on it and see what changes I can make <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> </p><p>Did want to say tho- the picture is actually a screenshot of my toon cut out of another one and pasted onto that one, I tried smudge/blur on the edges to make it a smoother transition but even I can see there's a bit more to be done. And thanks for the font info! I'll have to take a look and see if i can find a quirky one to fit me! Thanks ever so much guys for all the help!</p>

[Lady Zagora]

<p><a href="http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n414/Lady_Zagora/?action=view&current=sig2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n414/Lady_Zagora/sig2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a> </p><p>Ok I redid this one (had to use same small pic of the toon, having some issues with my screenshots atm =-/ can't seem to get some to open to save my life) But I blurred a bit of the harsh lines, smudged a bit more, and brightened the background. Also I downloaded a few new fonts and redid the text on it. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[phatd42]

<p>if you do a little bit of drop shadow, in a darker color ( doesnt even have to befull opacity) itll add a bit of contrast between the text and the background, but not so much that itll make it stand out too bold.y ( just to make it a lil easier to read <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ) </p><p>You could also add a little bit of stroke and itll do the same for you <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[shirpa]

<span style="color: #666699;">Something I've found out about smudging edges is to use a small brush, like 3 px, and a very low strength, like 10 or 11%. It'll smooth out those yucky pixely edges without making the picture look blurry <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Your first sig looks WAAAAY better than my first one did! Keep up the good work!</span>