The GIMP Sig-Making Guide Thread

[The People's Peep]

Do you want to know how to make sigs but you don't have Photoshop? Did you download Gimp as a replacement for Photoshop? Are you now completely confused by Gimp and need some help making sigs with the application? If you answered yes to all of the above, this is the place for you. The following is a guide on making sigs using Gimp. (Disclaimer: I use a Mac and I am new to Gimp, but I have a pretty decent understanding of the program.)

Step 1. Background

Spoiler

First thing first, lets get some good brushes. For brushes, go here and make sure that your filter is set to "all time" and "most popular". I would suggest going through a few pages and downloading all of the grunge brushes and fractal brushes. Once you download your new brushes, you need to find the Gimp folder on your computer and put the new brushes in the brushes folder that exists in the gimp folder.
When you open up Gimp, make sure that the size is in regulation with the WZ rules (no side longer than 500 pixels and not over 800 pixels total). I will be using 480x300.

Depending on what color you want to make your background, you can choose what color you want to start off with. I usually start off with white or black, but you can start off with whatever color you want. I will be starting off with black. From here, just mess around with brushes, using a combination, different sizes, and different colors. Make sure to play around with the opacity of the brushes to make certain colors stick out more. Also play with the scale of the brush because some brushes will only make a solid line when you make stroke with it. In that case, make the brush big and just make one dot with the brush.

Next, go over to the layers on the right and right-click the background layer. Go to duplicate layer and now you should have two layers, Background and Background Copy. Now also on the layers menu, you should see a dropdown menu labeled "mode". Try all of the different modes and they should do different things to you background. The best ones are burn, dodge, multiply, and overlay.

When you finish choosing what mode you want, right click on the Background copy layer and choose "merge down". Now your background copy is gone and your Background is finalized. (Note: for further experimentation, play around with different filter, especially in the "artistic" option)

Step 2. Images

Spoiler

Decide upon an image or set of images you want to use, probably a wrestler. While I am not the best at what I do, i will still be using images of the man who is the best at what he does, Chris Jericho. When you look for images, go to PSD-dreams.de. This sites has a bunch of renders of wrestlers and other things as well. You need to register, but its free and completely worth it. Once you find your render, download it, copy it, then paste it. Then all you need to do is use the scale tool to scale it and the move tool to move it.

If you want to cut an image, first you must make a new window in gimp and paste the image in the new window. Make sure that the window is big enough to fit the picture. Now go to the path tool. This is what you use to cut. Zoom in as much as you want, then start to trace around the image.

When you finish, go to Select>From Path and you should have something like the image above. Then click copy. Now you can go back and paste it into your sig. Then, you can move it around, scale it, and change the opacity if you want.

Step 3. Text

Spoiler

When you finish adjusting your images, you will probably want to add text. To do this, you simply use the text tool. On the image, you make a square with the tool, then type in what you want the text to be. After that, you can change the font, color, and size on the toolbox on the left hand side. You can also adjust the size of the box accordingly.

To add a border to the text, follow the following steps: Click on the text so that it is the selected item. Then go to Layer>Transparency>Alpha to Selection. Now you should have a dotted line tracing the text. Next, go to Select>Grow and choose somewhere between 3-5 pixels (thats what I do. You can make it as big as you want). Next make go right to the Layer Menu on the right of the screen and make this a new transparent layer. Move the new layer behind the older text layer. Finally, go to Edit>Fill with FG/BG color, depending on what color you want the border to be.

Step 4. Border

Spoiler

All sigs need to have a border to really feel complete. To add a border, make sure you are working on the background layer. Then, go to Filters>Decor>Add Border. Make the X and Y size about 2 or 3, 4 at the max. Set your color and click OK. Now you sig should be done.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or leave a reply on this thread.

 

[GenMe]

I sometimes use gimp when I'm at work and bored, And I used to create a border in a difficult way, but now with your border tutorial, now I know how to create the border in a much easier way.

I will have to say that, that was the only problem that I was having with Gimp, and that was the border. Gimp is very easy to use and it's also fun to use. Hope to see more of your tutorial in the next few days.

Thanks man.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

Hey thanks for this, I tried GIMP once but was so damned lost and confused, I gave up and uninstalled it. However using this little guide and picking the brains of your sig makers, I may try it again. I've always wanted to try and make sure, but a lack of money for photoshop and a lack of self-confidence in my ability made me not want to even try.

 

[The People's Peep]

So I have a new technique to share. I learned it a few days ago from another tutorial and I figured I would let the other GIMP users know about it. I am going to be using this render of spiderman for this tut.

http://psd-dreams.de/render.php?image_id=10642

First, start off with a black background with a size of 400x200. Then paste your render into a new layer. Next, it is important to copy that render so that it goes to your clipboard and you can use it as a brush. Resize it to your liking and place it where ever you like it.

Now make a new layer and place it between the background layer and the render layer. Remember how I told you that we would use the render as a brush? Now is that time. If you go to the top of your brushes menu, your render should be there. Paint all over that new layer with your render. If you want you can also paste the render all over the layer, but just make sure that the renders cover the entire layer.

Next, go to Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur, and set the vertical and horizontal to 13 and method to IIR. Then, go to Filters -> Noise -> Pick, and pick a new seed, and raise the two bars all the way up. Now you should have a very cool look and you can even repeat that if you want.

After you have something like the picture above, go to Filters -> Blur -> Motion Blur, and just do a linear blur. You can set the settings however you want, depending on if you want the blur horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Personally, I like the diagonal look. After you have the blur in place, I like to go to Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen. This is what it gives me...

Part 2 next...

 

[The People's Peep]

If you want, you can make a new layer and do some brushstrokes on it. Then set that layer to overlay. By changing the color of those brushstrokes, you can add some more colors to the background.

Now your background should be set. If you want to add another image or a background picture, setting the layer with the image to overlay is a good effect. I used a picture a picture of a city skyline in the background. I set it to overlay and it looks like this...

I downloaded a spiderman font, added my border, and now my sig is done.

Hope you all like this tutorial and I hope it helped.

 

[the Monster]

Its not working I copied a image and then tried to paste it but it didnt work it didnt come up

 

[the Monster]

Thanks I have made one NOW its cool for a first one just basic though it hasnt got no background i will do one with a background in a sec
but it dont show up when i post em

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

I can think of better ways of spending a Friday night, but I am good girl. So, here is a tutorial on how to start a sig with two techniques.

Just a warning, I do love making tutorials, so this might be a wittle on the long side. Links are italicized and program hints are underlined!


By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to create something as pretty.. Or even nicer.

First step is to obviously open GIMP or download it if you don't have it (http://www.gimp.org/)

For first time users, here are some hints to keep it from being annoying to a degree:
- I would recommend these View settings
- When pasting a new image to the project, it is Shift+Ctrl+V or this
- Don't forget to maximize the window
- Finally, if does start to piss you off, save what you are doing and close the program. Stress is bad for you

Now, go to File > New.. or press Ctrl+N. This will open up a new window that asks for the dimensions of the project. For those who didn't catch it, rules state that 500 x 300 or 400 x 400 is the maximum sig size. Consult someone more powerful around here if you need more help on that. (lol) I personally like the size of 400 x 200, but each has their own.

Once the file is open, go ahead and delete the white layer by right clicking on it. Once you see something like this, you are ready to start. Again, everyone has their own way of starting a project.. That was mostly for more inexperienced people.



The most common look is having a main focus with a background. So, that is the style I am going for. However, I am gonna go a step further and show you folks how to blend. I love blending, it makes an insta-background without having to really do much.

Next find a subject. I am currently listening to some Britney Spears, so she will be my subject for this one.


For now, just go with three pictures: One main and two background. Here are the ones I will be using:

Main Picture

Background 1

Background 2


When picking your main picture, here are 'rules' I go by:
- Don't use a picture that has any limbs besides legs if standing (i,e. missing elbow) or hair cut off
- Don't use a picture that is hard to pull from the background
- Don't use a headshot (I am weird, remember?)
- In other words, think of the main pic as a magazine cover.

Paste your main picture as a new layer (check the hints at the start of the post).

Spoiler

Just a few things to go over. Your picture should've been pasted to the left of the project; The Layer Palette box (the box on the far right) should've changed to match what the project looks like' Finally, the the bumble bee line is to show how big the picture is.

I move the main picture to the middle. For those who aren't aware, the center of something is usually the first thing people notice when they are looking at it. Having the main picture in the middle will cause it to stand out more by default.

As you can see, my main picture is a little too big for that size.

So, I am going to resize it. The fastest way is to simply press Shift+T. This will cause the tool box to look like this. Click on the "Keep aspect" box near the bottom to keep your image from being distorted. Now, click and drag one of the corner boxes to resize the picture.

You might of notice that the image might need some moving around to make sure you are resizing it right. To do this without resizing, click on the circle in the middle to move around the image. Continue to resize until you like what you see.


Click on scale when you are happy with what you got going. Here is mine so far:

Now, remove the background from the image. If you are a litle intimadted by this, you can always use a .png someone else has made. There is a link to the a couple of sites in this thread. Guess I should've mentioned that at the beginning.

I would encourage people cutting their own images. Once you are confident in cutting, you really get the nerve to use any picture, really. Well, I will just assume you snagged a .png. If you would like more info on how to cut, feel free to drop me a PM.

There is what I have so far. Now to make a background using a blend of the other two pictures. First paste the two pictures as new layers.

Now, we need to move the two images to the background so the main picture is front and center. There are two ways to rearrange the layers here. The first way is to click and drag the highlighted layer to the bottom. The less confusing way if you don't know the heck I am talking about is following this. Move both layers to the back so that the main pic is showing.


Now, move the two background pictures so they look sorta like a background. If the background image is around the same size as the main pic was originally, you probably don't need to resize them. But if you do.. Just follow the steps for the main pic.

Now if you look closer, you will notice that there is a weird part on the right side of the main pic. This is where blending comes to play. Find the layer that the weird part is on. For me, it is the layer with face on it (the left side).

Now press Shift + E or find the Eraser Tool in the tool box. It is the one that looks like a pink eraser. These are the brush settings I am using, but feel free to play around. For blending, bigger brushes tend to work better.

Now, find the bumble bee line of the layer and click to erase all the way to the bottom. If you look close enough, you will see that weird spot is gone!

Now, if you are curious about it, you can just get rid of the main pic like so:

And just have a pretty blend.


I will try to get around to making a tutorial for some more interesting stuff tomorrow.

 

[CMSawall]

I need help with a sig. I have the "be miz" logo with the eyes and such thing, and I want to design the inside of it with pictures of the miz. how to i go about doing that. I seen some one running around here with one of CM Punks Logo with picture of punk in it.

So maybe if you could help me out. please.