Help Me Improve My Art!

[Pokemanz]

I figured I need this if I'm ever gonna improve. Help me improve my signatures by giving me feedback!

Keep in mind I use Paint Shop Pro 8 for all my projects! I have a 2004 laptop that does not support newer programs!

Thanks for helping me out! ​

 

[Ragdoll]

I figured I need this if I'm ever gonna improve. Help me improve my signatures by giving me feedback!

Here's what I'm working on now:

An old sig I was requested to do that I'm remaking because it's an EYESORE.
I need help choosing the right colors to make everything stand out. I could just change the font, but if the person wants a specific font I won't be able to just change it. I have ALWAYS had a huge problem with text not sticking out. It got to the point where I wasn't even trying to match with the background anymore.

I took some advice given to me earlier and used a palette of the image to change the text color. This made it a lot easier to read, but it still doesn't feel right.

I would love to make the outline nice and thick or give it a glow effect or something, but the program I use makes the outline thicker INSIDE the text so the thicker the outline and the smaller the text, the less you can read. Ugh. This means giving an outline to the text at the bottom is totally out of the question. Any suggestions?



Keep in mind I use Paint Shop Pro 8 for all my projects! I have a 2004 laptop that does not support newer programs!

Thanks for helping me out! ​

Ah,,, may i ask what program you use? ;w;

 

[Pokemanz]

Ah,,, may i ask what program you use? ;w;

Right here, silly:

Keep in mind I use Paint Shop Pro 8 for all my projects! I have a 2004 laptop that does not support newer programs!​

 

[Allycat]

PAINT SHOP PRO THAT'S WHAT I USE!
Give me a second and I'll make a tutorial on how to make cool words.

NO SERIOUSLY I'll make a huge long tutorial on this post if you give me 20-30 minutes

 

[Pokemanz]

PAINT SHOP PRO THAT'S WHAT I USE!
Give me a second and I'll make a tutorial on how to make cool words.

NO SERIOUSLY I'll make a huge long tutorial on this post if you give me 20-30 minutes

NO WAY I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY PERSON ON EARTH WHO USED IT

Yes yes please do~
I NEED TO LEARN

 

[Ragdoll]

Right here, silly:

AHHA srry XDD i dont have any experience with that program... hopefully Ally can help you out lots!!

all im gonna say for now is... see the words at the bottom? kinda clashes with the fences in the background.. try making the words work with the background c:

for example... shift the villagers up a bit, and make the words fit on top of the fence!

t-that's all for now >.<

 

[Pokemanz]

AHHA srry XDD i dont have any experience with that program... hopefully Ally can help you out lots!!

all im gonna say for now is... see the words at the bottom? kinda clashes with the fences in the background.. try making the words work with the background c:

for example... shift the villagers up a bit, and make the words fit on top of the fence!

t-that's all for now >.<

Aha! I see what you mean! I'll change that around. Thanks! c:

 

[Allycat]

I have a newer PSP but i've had psp 8 before and it's basically the same

HOW TO ADD GRADIENTS:

Spoiler

you first need to have ur words as its own image on psp like this:


next go on paint and open a new image
make something that looks like this


Now resize the image

MAKE SURE MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO IS UNTICKED AND ITS IN PIXELS, NOT %
and make the horizontal 1 px (vertical doesn't matter) then click ok
it should look like this


now check the dimensions of your words (in pixels)

and resize the image in paint to the same
AGAIN IN PIXELS AND UNTICK MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO


click ok and then you should get a gradiant

copy this to your clipboard

go to psp, right click your word image and click "paste as new layer"
then click "layers" at the top between Effects and Objects
scroll down to "properties" and click


change your blend mode to "screen"


THEN GO BACK TO LAYERS> MERGE> MERGE ALL (FLATTEN)


WOLLAH! gradient text

The bigger difference in shades of color, the more noticeable it is.
if you'd like, I can make you some gradients and you can just change the size of them to match your words.

HOW TO HAVE FEATHERED, COOL GLOWY WORDS:

Spoiler

IM GOING TO USE THE SAME TEXT WE JUST DID ^ UP THERE

click eraser tool arrow and click "background eraser"


in the settings, change the size to 500 px


erase white part of text, make sure you get all of it.
Missing a small part will make you start all over, and that really sucks
because it usually takes you forever to notice it.


now click "file"> "new"
make the new image dimensions around 100 pixels wider and longer than the words image

this is going to be the "feathered" part of the words


now copy your word image and paste it as a "new selection"
onto the new, white image

go to SELECTIONS>MODIFY>EXPAND

You can make how many pixels you want, but I usually do around 2-3, click ok

now go to SELECTIONS>MODIFY>FEATHER

again, do how many pixels you like, I usually do 3-5, click ok

right click the words, click copy
paste as a new image

at this point, you can directly put this onto your sig banner, but instead I'm going
to paste it on a 500x200 transparent image

go to the new image, right click, "paste as a new selection".

then go to EFFECTS> 3D EFFECTS> DROP SHADOW
fill in the the boxes with these numbers:

Finally do SLECTIONS > SELECT NONE

here is the finished product:

The drop shadow isn't necessary if you'd like to just have the glow effect of the words.

If any part is confusing, just tell me!

Sorry if it's hard to follow along.
If you have ANY questions, feel free to ask
(I've been doing this for a super long time
so I know mostly everything on psp and how to do stuff, I used to run a site based on psp resources actually way backin the day)
here's some of the old stuff I used to do)

 

[Pokemanz]

I have a newer PSP but i've had psp 8 before and it's basically the same

How to add gradiants:

Spoiler

you first need to have ur words as its own image on psp like this:
View attachment 86461

next go on paint and open a new image
make something that looks like this
View attachment 86462

Now resize the image
View attachment 86463
MAKE SURE MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO IS UNTICKED AND ITS IN PIXELS, NOT %
and make the horizontal 1 px (vertical doesn't matter) then click ok
it should look like this
View attachment 86464

now check the dimensions of your words (in pixels)
View attachment 86465
and resize the image in paint to the same
AGAIN IN PIXELS AND UNTICK MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO
View attachment 86466

click ok and then you should get a gradiant
View attachment 86467
copy this to your clipboard

go to psp, right click your word image and click "paste as new layer"
then click "layers" at the top between Effects and Objects
scroll down to "properties" and click
View attachment 86468

change your blend mode to "screen"
View attachment 86469

THEN GO BACK TO LAYERS> MERGE> MERGE ALL (FLATTEN)


WOLLAH! gradient text
View attachment 86470

HOW TO HAVE FEATHERED, COOL TRANSPARENT WORDS:

Spoiler

IM GOING TO USE THE SAME TEXT WE JUST DID ^ UP THERE

click eraser tool arrow and click "background eraser"
View attachment 86472

in the settings, change the size to 500 px
View attachment 86473

erase white part of text, make sure you get all of it.
Missing a small part will make you start all over, and that really sucks
because it usually takes you forever to notice it.
View attachment 86475

now click "file"> "new"
make the new image dimensions around 100 pixels wider and longer than the words image
View attachment 86479
this is going to be the "feathered" part of the words


now copy your word image and paste it as a "new selection"
onto the new, white image

go to SELECTIONS>MODIFY>EXPAND

You can make how many pixels you want, but I usually do around 2-3, click ok

now go to SELECTIONS>MODIFY>FEATHER

again, do how many pixels you like, I usually do 3-5, click ok

right click the words, click copy
paste as a new image

at this point, you can directly put this onto your sig banner, but instead I'm going
to paste it on a 500x200 transparent image

go to the new image, right click, "paste as a new selection".

then go to EFFECTS> 3D EFFECTS> DROP SHADOW
fill in the the boxes with these numbers:

Finally do SLECTIONS > SELECT NONE

here is the finished product:

If any part is confusing, just tell me!

Sorry if it's hard to follow along.
If you have ANY questions, feel free to ask
(I've been doing this for a super long time
so I know mostly everything on psp and how to do stuff, I used to run a site based on psp resources actually way backin the day)
here's some of the old stuff I used to do)

AHHHH THIS IS LIKE SO HELPFUL THANK YOU SO MUUUUCH
I'll be sure to PM you or something if I have any questions~
I'm surprised I didn't think of this stuff before o_o"

 

[Allycat]

AHHHH THIS IS LIKE SO HELPFUL THANK YOU SO MUUUUCH
I'll be sure to PM you or something if I have any questions~
I'm surprised I didn't think of this stuff before o_o"

yay! I'm glad it (may) be helpful!

 

[Pokemanz]

I also want critiques on my ref sheets that I'm sure you've heard me going on about. ;w;

Spoiler: Some Others

Personally I think the mayor one is a bit too cluttered, but I tried to fit in as much as possible.
Amber's is my favorite though since it seems just right.

Anyways I think they're pretty good at least and I love making them, so I wanted to see what others think!
​

 

[Finnian]

Wahh I wanna help so badly but I'm so bad at graphics.

 

[Pokemanz]

Wahh I wanna help so badly but I'm so bad at graphics.

Your encouragement helps me improve! ;v;

 

[Finnian]

yeah wow that sounds mean I'm so sorry WHAT I MEANT IS YOU ARE MUCH BETTER THAN I AM SO I WOULD RUIN IT SO MUCH
WHY AM I SO UNINTENTIONALLY MEAN TO YOU IM SO SORRY

 

[Pokemanz]

yeah wow that sounds mean I'm so sorry WHAT I MEANT IS YOU ARE MUCH BETTER THAN I AM SO I WOULD RUIN IT SO MUCH
WHY AM I SO UNINTENTIONALLY MEAN TO YOU IM SO SORRY

NO YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTERER YOU COULD JUST DRAW A LINE ON A PAPER AND I WOULD PAY 1k TBT FOR IT

 

[Simple]

NO YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTERER YOU COULD JUST DRAW A LINE ON A PAPER AND I WOULD PAY 1k TBT FOR IT

LOL! OMG ! XD So funny!

Also I read your post and glad Ally helped you out! I wanted to help out, but I do not use the same program as you >.< If you need any other help be sure to ask away~

 

[Pokemanz]

LOL! OMG ! XD So funny!

Also I read your post and glad Ally helped you out! I wanted to help out, but I do not use the same program as you >.< If you need any other help be sure to ask away~

Thanks so much~

 

[Simple]

Thanks so much~

I will show you an example of maybe what you expected and what ally was showing you so you know how to put it all together. Not perfectly, but an image so you get an idea of maybe what you want to try in the near future. Give me a few minutes Also are you able to do animated backgrounds? Or was it specifically non-animated due to the costumer not wanting that?

- - - Post Merge - - -

So through the tutorial Ally gave you~ You can put them into practice like the signatures below~

1. I usually pick any font that fits the image or preferably what the costumers decide on.
2. Gradient as ally taught you can be applied. I pick the colors from the background to divide 2-4 shaded colors to fit into the text.
3. I usually add a border to make them stand out which makes it easily readable.

Movement

No Movement

​

Hope this helped! If any questions ask away~

 

[Finnian]

NO YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTERER YOU COULD JUST DRAW A LINE ON A PAPER AND I WOULD PAY 1k TBT FOR IT

i guess my only advice is to make sure you have some nice elements and use fuchsia.

A graphic I did for you. Free of charge~ ♥♥♥
p.s. that drawing is all one line.


No but really. i don't know anything about signature making, but I have made birth announcements and app games, so i know how to make things stick out.
White boarders. Glowing effects.
Use contrasting colors for font, though the background needs to flow together.
Some o my graphic deigns

Also ISN'T MY NEPHEW CUTE??

Also:
Look at my signature that fup10k did. She put an overlay over the villagers to make them fit in better, then she took the color from chief's snout and put a dark glowing effect around it, using the color from Mitzi's snout, to help it stand out.

Also, i download a LOT A LOT A LOT of fonts from fontspace.

Also stay away from using black as much as possible.

 

[Pokemanz]

I will show you an example of maybe what you expected and what ally was showing you so you know how to put it all together. Not perfectly, but an image so you get an idea of maybe what you want to try in the near future. Give me a few minutes Also are you able to do animated backgrounds? Or was it specifically non-animated due to the costumer not wanting that?

- - - Post Merge - - -

So through the tutorial Ally gave you~ You can put them into practice like the signatures below~

1. I usually pick any font that fits the image or preferably what the costumers decide on.
2. Gradient as ally taught you can be applied. I pick the colors from the background to divide 2-4 shaded colors to fit into the text.
3. I usually add a border to make them stand out which makes it easily readable.

Movement

No Movement

​

Hope this helped! If any questions ask away~

This was really helpful, thanks!

No, I can't do animated backgrounds simply because it says that it doesn't open as a .gif and blah blah blah. I'm sure there are ways around it so I could probably learn. But for now baby steps lol.

And there was a part that I got stuck on in her gradient tutorial, not sure if you could help with that? She mentioned "MAKE SURE MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO IS UNTICKED AND ITS IN PIXELS, NOT %", but in my version of Paint it doesn't have a pixel setting OR aspect ratio. :/

I also just made this using what I learned:

Finally I can make a glow effect rather than just a boring outline. I may touch it up a bit later, but for now I'm happy with it. c:

- - - Post Merge - - -

[Hella lotta stuff here]

Also:
Look at my signature that fup10k did. She put an overlay over the villagers to make them fit in better, then she took the color from chief's snout and put a dark glowing effect around it, using the color from Mitzi's snout, to help it stand out.

Also, i download a LOT A LOT A LOT of fonts from fontspace.

Also stay away from using black as much as possible.

HOLY CHEESE THAT'S HAWT
AND THAT'S BETTER THAN MY STUFF
Tbh I have too many fonts.
I think they're slowing my computer down .-.