few simple tools that can give a great finish to your sigs.
i'm not the pro here, i just wrote down some of the tools i normally
use when making a sig. if anybody wants to fill me in on this one, and
have us make a big guide of handy sig-making photoshop tools, let me
know and we can write up a nice guide with nice layout n stuff ;]
Gaussian blur
Something lot of people use to blur the background a bit. select the
background around your render, like, select a bit of the render as
well to make it blend in nicely, then blur it with the option shown
in the screenshot below.
Apply image
Something i use a LOT. make a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N) on top of your
other loose layers. do as the screenshot below, apply image. now you
will have all your layers on one layer, and you still have your layers
seperated on other layers. great tool.
C4D renders
Used for effects around the focal, mostly. bringing a bit of action to
your sig. you find em at http://planetrenders.net/renders/thumbnails.php?album=1.
Example of a c4d render:
Layer modes
Play around with these. I mostly use Multiply (basically makes dark spots
darker), Overlay and Soft Light (those make light spots lighter, the first
one does it hard, the 2nd one does it soft). Play around with these, like
do the apply image trick first, then put that layer on soft light, then
play with opacity. most of the times this brings up the contrast giving the
sig more depth at the same time.
Gradient maps
Follow the screenshot. Mostly i use foreground color to transparent. put a
gradient map on a new layer (it automatically puts it on a new layer), then
put that layer on layer mode "Screen" or something, just try some modes out.
Usually gives it a nice finishing look.
