Silkroad Online Forums

When making a sig, I tend to use elements of all kinds. Sometimes I even incorporate whole backgrounds or entire pics (not rendered). I have noticed that my style differs pretty significantly from the main stream and I am wondering if these things are why. Im not a big brush person. I mean I use them, but I dont really like that whole metalic look that seems to be the standard for backgrounds. It seems like ppl make them specifically for whatever sig they are making.

I dunno exactly what I am asking here. LOL

Is using a whole pic as foreground or background considered less original?

I dont think that its "less origonal" i guess people just dont think of it as being "cool" but with some of the ones youve made.. I think that they are wrong. When you know how to incorperate full pix and make them work you can create some amazing Sigz

Well, sometimes, I DO use my own backgrounds, ones that are totally mine. Sometmes I dont. It depends on what strikes me. I am a researcher by profession and when I look for pics, I tend to get strange results and somtimes, something jumps out and grabs my creativity. I generally tweak them and make them my own, sometimes nearly unrecognizable from the original.

I dunno.. I get some critiques that seems to be more about, "Your sigs dont look like whatever everyone else is doing" than really about how creative or well formatted they are.

Yes it is true that your sigs do differ from the rest E.g your obsetion with squares and the fact that your sig doesnt fit in the "box" (for example the leggs of the girl). However it is true that some of your sigs can be.. timid lets say. it doesnt like strike you as wow... For example the background of this one seems to be lacking... However its a really well themed and structured sig

Yep.

Doesn't fit any of the mainstream styles but they are uniquely nice. Plus they're made from your own creativity, not someone else's pop-culture whoring tutorial.

Thats true as well, i forgot to mention thier uniqueness which seperates them from the rest, which seperates you slightly from the rest of us, as people can easily destinguish your sigs. N no were not just talking abou the checkers pattern in the background

Thanks ^^

It's prolly because no one taught me how. LOL This is the closest I have ever come to being around other ppl who make sigs before.

I RARELY use brushes, I take the render and minipulate it into a backround. Im not a fan of stock images, but I'll use them on occation.

I think I need the word "render" to be better defined. When you say that, what does it mean?

You make tons of sigs and dont know what a render is... -_- A render is a image, liek your devil girl that is used in things. For example http://www.planetrenders.net You'll find tons of them there.. Self exsplanatory.

Ive said it a million times, I taught myself. How would I know what a render is.... I dont use prepared images...ever. Every image I use I searched the internet for, cut out and prepared myself. So a render is a prepared image. See, that is what I was asking.

PSP has tube sites, but they are limited and I never like what other ppl have cut out and prepared, so I always use my own. I made almost all my own brushes. I have never been part of a sig making community before, so I am learning the lingo now, for the first time. lol

No worries, were always here to help. Welcome to the dark side

I think using a background from someone else is possible, BUT you need to manipulate it a lot, so in the end you barely see that the background is used. Else I think it's not very original, because it's your sig.

Bout brushes (downloaded brushes which produce a total background) I think almost the same if you use 'em to make a total backgrouns. It's kinda lame to use someone elses stamps when you are kinda advanced in designing. If you manipulate the brushes that much that u can't see anymore theyre used, it's allright.
But what I also think about brushes is that they are very helpful for beginners. Like that u can make a background, which u think you made yourself. On that background you can learn using adjustments layers and you can learn how to blend renders.

But when youre more advanced I think you need to make your backgrounds on a different way. I make the base of my backgrounds with the gradient tool and STANDARD brushes. Like the basic brush and spatter brush. The main part of the background I get out of my render with different tools.

So that's my opinion about it. And in fact when you are very precisely, a render is NOT just a pic without a background. A render is a 3D pic made with for example C4D. The thing that you guys call a render is called officialy a stock.
But yeah, that's officially, in fact you can just use render lol.