How to make a sig. [Helpful]

How to get started in media
Making graphics is a lot of fun, and used to be big business. It's a good hobby to have, whether it be drawing or making GFXs, and can often lead to career opportunities should you possess the skill and willpower.

Step1: choosing a discipline
In online media, there are usually three heavy contributors, they are:

Drawing/Vectoring
Drawing/Vectoring (my favourite) involves the creation or reproduction of images in an adapted style.

Examples of Drawing/Vectoring




As you can see by viewing just two examples, Drawing and Vectoring can take many many forms.

Pros

-The timing of works can adapt to fit your lifestyle, the result is proportional to the amount of time you put in
-A veritable bounty of programs available
-You can practice on paper
-You can make your own unique style
-With Constructive Criticism you can improve greatly


Cons

-It takes a fair amount of natural skill to get it right away
-The market has a lot of vector/drawing artists


Pixelling
Pixelling is a lot like Vectoring/Drawing, but also very different. It involves getting MS Paint up and meticulously making an artwork, pixel, by pixel.

Examples of Pixelling


(You don't always have to do stuff this complex, I just got it off google)

Pros

-A good pixeller is very very sought after
-Only need 1 Program, and it's free.
-There is a huge community of pixel artists to help you
-Since pixel artists are all in the same boat program wise, it's easier to get help
-With Constructive Criticism you can improve greatly


Cons

-MS Paint isn't error friendly.
-It takes quite a bit of work to get yourself good enough.
-The time required to make a pixel piece is a lot greater than making a GFX or a Vector


GFX
GFX is very different to the other two candidates, in that it involves completely graphic manipulation, as opposed to any drawing.

Examples of GFX




Pros

-The time taken to make a GFX can completely vary, even moreso than Vector/Drawing.
-Programs are comprehensive and readily available, allowing you to fully explore your talent
-You can GFX with just about anything
-Playing around with composition, lighting etc can make each work thoroughly unique
-As with pixelling, all of your contemporaries would usually be in the same boat.
-Newb friendly
-There's a huge amount of resources - brushes, renders etc.


Cons

-You've got to have a knack for composition and aesthetic.
-Can't think of enough Cons!


OK, I've gone through the options you can choose, now for your tools

Software

Vector/Drawing

Adobe Illustrator CS3 - NOT FREE, TRIAL PROVIDED



QUOTE
Explore new paths with the essential vector tool
Discover new ways to experiment with color; work faster with new drawing tools and controls; and produce artwork for print, web, mobile, and motion designs with Adobe® Illustrator® CS3 software.


Adobe Illustrator Trial

Adobe Flash CS3 - NOT FREE, TRIAL PROVIDED


My personal favourite. I find it very newb friendly for line manipulation, easy shading. The best vector tool in my opinion.

Adobe Flash CS3 Trial

Corel Painter X - NOT FREE, TRIAL PROVIDED


QUOTE
New Corel® Painter™ X—the world's most powerful Natural-Media® painting and illustration software—features unique digital brushes, art materials and textures that mirror the look and feel of their traditional counterparts. Setting the standard for digital painting and illustration, the Corel Painter X digital art studio introduces new composition tools, unparalleled performance, and the all-new RealBristle™ painting system that models traditional brushes like never before—right down the individual bristles on the brush!


Corel Painter X Trial

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - NOT FREE, TRIAL PROVIDED

Not really my cup of tea, but everyone else loves it. Mostly used for graphic manipulation, Photoshop however can also be used for Vectoring/Drawing.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - Trial

Pixelling
MS Paint FREE



QUOTE
Paint (formerly Paintbrush for Windows) is a simple graphics painting program that has been included with almost all versions of Microsoft Windows since its first release. It is often referred to as MS Paint or Microsoft Paint. The program opens and saves files as Windows bitmap (24-bit, 256 color, 16 color, and monochrome, all with the .bmp extension), JPEG, GIF (without animation or transparency, although the Windows 98 version and a Windows 95 upgrade did support the latter), PNG (without alpha channel), and TIFF (without the multiple pages). The program can be in color mode or two-color black-and-white, but there is no grayscale mode. For its simplicity, it rapidly became one of the most used applications in the early versions of Windows—introducing many to painting on a computer for the first time—and still has strong associations with the immediate usability of the old Windows workspace.


One of the pluses of Pixelling - you only need one program, and it's free and already on your PC.

GFX

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - NOT FREE, TRIAL PROVIDED

The benchmark for GFX.

QUOTE
Adobe Photoshop, or simply Photoshop, is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems. It is the current and primary market leader for commercial bitmap and image manipulation, and is the flagship product of Adobe Systems. It has been described as "an industry standard for graphics professionals"[1] and was one of the early "killer applications" on Macintosh.[2]
Photoshop CS3, the current tenth iteration of the program, was released on 16 April 2007. "CS" reflects its integration with other Creative Suite products, and the number "3" represents it as the third version released since Adobe re-branded its products under the CS umbrella. Photoshop CS3 features additions such as the ability to apply non-destructive filters, as well as new selection tools named Quick Selection and Refine Edge that make selection more streamlined. On 30 April, Adobe released Photoshop CS3 Extended, which includes all the same features of Adobe Photoshop CS3 with the addition of capabilities for scientific imaging, 3D, and high end film and video users. The successor to Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS4, will be the first 64-bit Photoshop on consumer computers.[3]


Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - Trial

Paint.net - FREE! LINK PROVIDED!


QUOTE
About
Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

It started development as an undergraduate college senior design project mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Originally intended as a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes with Windows, it has grown into a powerful yet simple image and photo editor tool. It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe® Photoshop®, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP.

The programming language used to create Paint.NET is C#, with a small amount of C++ for installation and shell-integration related functionality. The source code is available under the terms of the MIT License.


Paint.Net full program download

GIMP - FREE! LINK PROVIDED!



GIMP version 2.4
GIMP for Mac OSX


Tutorials

Motion Tweening and Animation - The Basics By Thx4urcash
Deviantart Tutorials
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
Good-Tutorials
GIMP Tutorials
Paint.net Tutorials
Pixel Art Tutorials


Resources

Sites:
DeviantArt
http://www.planetrenders.net
http://www.gamerenders.com
Where most of the brushes , stocks ect can be found.Very good Gfx related sites.


Renders:

http://www.gamerenders.com/forum/index.php?showforum=10
http://www.gamerenders.com/forum/index.php?showforum=6
http://www.clantemplates.com/renders/gallery/
http://www.planetrenders.net/renders/

Stocks

http://www.sxc.hu/
http://images.google.com/

Tip: Search google for Photobucket stock images, theres hundreds of them.

Anime Stocks

http://www.minitokyo.net/


Image Uploading:

www.imageshack.us
www.photobucket.com
www.iuploader.net


BRUSHES (Mostly PhotoShop)

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16056024/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18834023/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18983546/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18299797/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18357913/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18168983/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/9545860/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18282913/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18280818/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18248440/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/8467384/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7749080/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7802852/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/8662955/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7745995/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7553531/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7525461/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7370185/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/6224354/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3573991/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3531495/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3313649/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3301761/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3180354/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3141271/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3125631/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3101841/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3089263/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3087272/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3063755/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/3048232/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7533553/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7554326/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/8182277/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7847883/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/7829668/
http://resources.deviantart.com/applications/psbrushes/
http://www.rebel-heart.net/brushes/
http://www.8nero.net/brushes/
http://veredgf.fredfarm.com/vbrush/main.html
http://www.cybia.co.uk/brushes.htm
http://www.dubtastic.com/resources.php
http://www.itsuji.net/brushes/
http://www.spyroteknik.com/
http://www.deviantart.com/

http://photoshop.mdvhosting.com
http://veredgf.fredfarm.com/vbrush/main.html
http://www.photoshopbrushes.com/brushes.htm
http://www.1greeneye.net/brushes/grunge.php
http://www.1greeneye.net/brushes/pretty.php
http://celestial-star.net/brushes.php
http://www.finfond.net/pinceaux-e.htm
http://www.beachfly.net/brushmain.htm
http://www.ignite.nu/
http://www.justlia.com.br/brushes.php

ABSTRACT
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/21369509/
2. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16777316/
3. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18006435/
4. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/20484978/
5. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16269358/
6. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16552053/
7. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17248256/
8. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16912332/
9. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/21974513/


GRUNGE
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/19093632/
2. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18521167/
3. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/16935211/
4. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/19991122/
5. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17523508/
6. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17112056/
7. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/20305496/

FUTURISTIC
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/20309857/
2. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6784197/
3. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/12589205/
4. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18909361/
5. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/7612224/
6. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/13156354/

FINGERPRINTS
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/549217/

FLARES
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18609793/
2. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/1225484/
3. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/5625621/
4. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17554428/
5. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/7893418/
6. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/13080981/

CLOUDS
1. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/13652942/
2. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/18393577/
3. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/9258694/
4. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17998814/
5. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/21622771/


BRUSHES(Advanced Gimp Brushes)

http://www.gimptalk.com/forum/topic/Fencep...ces-1139-1.html

FONTS

http://www.abstractfonts.com/
http://www.webfontlist.com
http://simplythebest.net/fonts/
http://www.fontfreak.com/
http://www.fontsnthings.com/
http://www.fontface.com/
http://www.bvfonts.com/
http://fonts.tom7.com/
http://www.swank.ca/caffeen/fonts/
http://www.girlswhowearglasses.com/
http://www.fontomas.com/
http://www.fontfont.com/index2.ep
http://www.fontparadise.com/
http://www.fontalicious.com/index2.html
http://www.fontgarden.com/
http://www.blambot.com/
http://www.beautifulfonts.com/
http://www.davebastian.com/goodies/fonts/
http://www.1001fonts.com/
http://www.coolarchive.com/fonts.cfm
http://www.freepcfonts.com/index.html
http://www.moorstation.org/typoasis/typoasis1.htm
http://www.themeworld.com/fonts/index.shtml
http://www.highfonts.com
http://www.dafont.com
http://www.downloadfreefonts.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.fontfile.com/
http://www.searchfreefonts.com/
http://www.fonts.com/
http://www.getfreefonts.info

http://www.dafont.com/en/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.1001freefonts.com/fonts/afonts.htm
http://www.fontfreak.com/index2.htm
http://www.free-fonts.dk/
http://whaaou.free.fr/brushes.htm
http://www.highfonts.com/
http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/
http://www.fontreactor.com/en.php
http://www.beautifulfonts.com/
http://www.all-4-free.com/fonts/a1.html
http://www.fontfiles.com/
http://www.webpagepublicity.com/free-fonts.html
http://www.fontheaven.de/a14.htm
http://www.fontvillage.com/default.aspx?font=

http://www.angryblue.com/
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.fontfile.com/
http://www.pcfonts.com/
http://www.volition.com/freefonts.html
http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/fonts.htm
http://www.webfontlist.com/
http://www.1001fonts.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.fontsnthings.com/index.shtml
http://www.smackbomb.com/famousfonts/
http://www.fontfreak.com/index2.htm

Tutorials:

http://www.pixel2life.com/
http://www.good-tutorials.com/
http://www.gamerenders.com/forum/index.php?showforum=8
http://www.gamerenders.com/forum/index.php?showforum=73
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/
http://www.ps-tuts.com/
http://www.planetrenders.net/
http://www.gamerenders.com/


Thanks, hope this helps.

 

Can you add pictures cause this was confusing to be honest thanks.

 

Yeah, I agree. I only read the first line, So if you could add some Screenie's/Images It'll be helpful. We'd be able to understand it better.

-TrainingAccounts.

 

yea im adding them right now.

 

That's a little bit better, Im just flicking through it.
If you apply a little more Images on the Main parts, Add a little colour to it. It'll be more helpful to. (Thanks for uploading some pictures)
-TrainingAccounts

 

I like this alot maybe try to do a quick tutorial like you do one and show us step by step is possible thanks.

 

ok, thanks for the feed back.

 

bump.

 

Thanks for this. BM'd

 

np..