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The Most Copied Sig On The Forum (AKA the pyrosig)


pyrochild

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This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to open or download it

 

Here's what you're making:

wte8aES.png

Yup, here it is. Finally. The long-awaited pyro-sig tutorial. I didn't even want to write a tutorial on this, but was suckered into it by countless requests, both in the main forum as well as private messages. A few emails even came my way... weird. To be perfectly honest, I don't think this is actually worth a full-blown tutorial, but hey, anything to keep y'all happy...

These instructions are to create an exact duplicate of my signature. Obviously, you just might want to change something or other, especially the name... unless you're the nitwit who keeps stealing my username on other forums. And deviantART. Grr.

Font and plugins needed:

Evanescence

from pyrochild's plugins:

Gradient Bars

Outline Object

Curves+ (Optional)

Gradient Mapping (Optional)

from MadJik's plugins:

Water Reflection

from evanolds' plugins:

Conditional Hue/Saturation (Optional)

The procedure:

1 - Set Primary color to WHITE and Secondary color to BLACK

-Paint.NET starts up with Primary BLACK and Secondary WHITE. Click the little bent arrow by the color wheel or press 'X' on your keyboard to swap them.

2 - Create a new image, 1000 x 200 pixels.

File -> 🆕 New...

k8cnQSVl.jpg

3 - Select the top half of your image

Tool: -> :RectangleSelectTool: Rectangle Select

-Your selection should span the whole width of your image, and go from the very top to about halfway down. You can use the text in the Status Bar to help you select the correct height

mTXbzkTl.jpg

4 - Run Gradient Bars

Effects -> Render -> Gradient Bars...

-Set Scale to 1.50

Ht4BFRMl.jpg

5 - Create a new layer

Layers -> :AddNewLayer: Add New Layer

6 - Set your primary color back to BLACK and Secondary color to WHITE

-Press 'x'

-or click the little arrow again

-or press the black and white swatch button

7 - Draw a reflected gradient across the image

Tool: -> :GradientTool: Gradient, :LinearReflectedGradient: Linear (Reflected)

-Start your gradient from the middle of the image and drag it across to either the right or left edge

-It's fine if your gradient only covers the top half of the image

vADFMv4l.jpg

8 - Set the Blending Mode of the top layer to Color Burn

Layers -> :LayerProperties: Layer Properties...

-Depending on your gradient, there may be a black bar in the bottom half of your image. Ignore it; it'll disappear in step 9.

lI6vVEsl.jpg

9 - Merge the layers

Layers -> :MergeLayerDown: Merge Layer Down

10 - Duplicate the layer

Layers -> :DuplicateLayer: Duplicate Layer

11 - Set the Blending Mode of the top layer to Negation

Layers -> :LayerProperties: Layer Properties...

QUahWGxl.jpg

12 - Merge the layers

Layers -> :MergeLayerDown: Merge Layer Down

13 - Color!

-Use whatever methods you feel comfortable with to recolor the image

-I used Curves+ in the original, but now I think I'd prefer Gradient Mapping. Conditional Hue/Saturation works also.

-If you don't know how to recolor it, well, there are lots of other tutorials that cover that, so ... http://searchpaint.net/

McqNpPkl.jpg

14 - Run Water Reflection

Effects -> Distort -> Water Reflection...

-Set Duration to 200, all other values can be left at default.

4pyt95Ul.jpg

15 - Create a new layer and name it Shadow

Layers -> :AddNewLayer: Add New Layer

16 - Draw your text on the Shadow layer

Tool: -> :TextTool: Text

-Font: Evanescent 72pt

QsOyBUrl.jpg

17 - Duplicate the Shadow layer and name it Text

Layers -> :DuplicateLayer: Duplicate Layer

18 - Put the shadow behind the text

Layers -> :RotateZoom: Rotate / Zoom...

-Start with these settings, then tweak them as needed to make the shadow look like it's being cast by the text

-Roll / Rotate: 0.00, -90.00, 75.00

-Pan: 0.00, 0.30

kQ2RClal.jpg

19 - Add a new layer under the Shadow layer and name it Glow

Layers -> :AddNewLayer: Add New Layer

20 - Draw a filled ellipse

Tool: -> Shapes Ellipse :ShapeInterior: Draw Filled Shape

K8cz1MQl.jpg

21 - Run Gaussian Blur

Effects -> Blurs -> :BlurEffect: Gaussian Blur...

-Radius: 25

xu1mdIul.jpg

22 - Recolor the shadow

You know how... if not, http://searchpaint.net/

DPiBPxrl.jpg

23 - Run Outline Object on the Text layer

Effects -> Object -> Outline Object...

-Width: 15

-Softness: 254

RVVHGdql.jpg

24 - Run Water Reflection on the Text layer

Effects -> Distort -> Water Reflection...

-Distance: 70.00

-Waves period: 1.50

-Duration: 100.00

W5pBw79l.jpg

DONE!

Post your results...

-If you plan on using this as your sig image, remember to scale it down to no wider than 500px and no taller than 150px. Otherwise, a moderator will remove it.

wte8aES.png

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xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

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*nods*

myPyroSig.png

Still classic. :-)

 

The Doctor: There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior... A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.
Amy: But how did it end up in there?
The Doctor: You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it.
River Song: I hate good wizards in fairy tales; they always turn out to be him.

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david.atwell and I decided that the new version of Water Reflection is defective, so the waves look funny. Hopefully MadJik will fix it soon.

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

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[attachment=0]pyro style sig.png[/attachment]

My attempt, I tried to get something slightly similar to Myriden's try without a tutorial to help :)

Anyways, for once a sig tutorial which deserves to be stickied :D

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Thanks pyrochild, I may never use it, but the inward sloping gradient bars ('grass'? Yes?) were a complete mystery.

Blend mode *slaps forehead*.

Yep, that's the problem I've seen in pretty much every imitation version. (Up until I put up this tutorial, at least)

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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Thanks pyrochild, I may never use it, but the inward sloping gradient bars ('grass'? Yes?) were a complete mystery.

Blend mode *slaps forehead*.

Yep, that's the problem I've seen in pretty much every imitation version. (Up until I put up this tutorial, at least)

I think I just took a lot of selections and shrunk them... :(

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Sweet! Thanks Pyro!

I've been wanting to try that out. I'll post my result later. :wink:

---- Gallery | Sig Tutorial | deviantART | Sig Videos | PhotoBucket ----

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Very well written tutorial pyrochild.

Like wither i have also wondered how you got the gradient bars to shrink at the middle.

Anyway, here's my try:

effected61small.png

effected56.png
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Also: I like how you did the instructions. :wink:
Very well written tutorial pyrochild.
Thanks. I figured since I'm one of the people who is constantly bashing people who write mediocre (or just plain crappy) tutorials, I figured I'd better do my own tutorial pretty darn well, lest I be deemed a hypocrite.

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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About a week ago, right after you changed your signature and before this tutorial I tried whipping up a replica (spent hours trying to find the font). Granted, I used jitter and reflection rather than the water plug-in, but I believe it turned out better than it would have with the new version of the water plug-in.

And, by the way, really like the tutorial. If only I had thought to color burn...nah, I woulda never thought of it..

10081_90ae65ee407db2bf9f0e6c5e5f4d91c3

BWLinesSignature.png
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spent hours trying to find the font
Coulda searched... it's only been asked about 20 times ;)
it turned out better than it would have with the new version of the water plug-in.
Yes, the new Water is kinda screwey. MadJik claims it has always been that way... I found the old version and tested, and indeed the problem is present, but in the old version it's only even noticeable if you're looking for it. In this new one, it's much more pronounced. It slaps you in the face.

And yes, yours is probably the best one I'd seen before the tutorial, besides mine (duh) and Crazy Man Dan's, but that was mainly just a recolor. I think.

(And Crazy Pyro Man's, but that's a-whole-nother story)

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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Actually, my copy was made from scratch.

ripasigblue.png

Crazy Pyro Man's was a recolor of that one.

cpmsig.png

As you can see, the gradient bar seed is exactly the same. Lazy me... :wink:

I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance;

I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast.

~ Becoming the Archetype

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Gah!! The layer modes! I should've known I missed the layer modes!! No wonder yours was so brilliant and mines was bloody potato.

Heres my first attempt at duplicating it. Which was utter bloody potato.

http://quenlin.deviantart.com/art/Styx-68501642

And heres my second, much better than the first.

http://quenlin.deviantart.com/art/Styx-redone-68580834

And heres the finished product.

http://quenlin.deviantart.com/art/The-Pyro-Sig-72390429

The_Pyro_Sig_by_Quenlin.jpg

The font I used was Dark Crystal, you can find it on dafont.

Thank you so much for posting this Pyro, your sig is actually the first thing I've ever tried to duplicate. Read my DA page and you'll see how I did the shadowy bit at the top.

A little perspective knowledge helps aye?

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Cool results Quenlin and rasengan105.

*sigh* if MadJik doesn't fix his water reflection bug soon, I'm going to have to rewrite the blasted thing myself.

I'll stick some useless new feature in it and tack a + on its name ;)

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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Wow, this has finnally been made a tutorial? Will the pyro-based sig theme ever end?

starts recreating pyros new sig to get ahead of the rest

I'm still alive!

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starts recreating pyros new sig to get ahead of the rest

The sig is easy... For a real challenge, try the avatar!

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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starts recreating pyros new sig to get ahead of the rest

The sig is easy... For a real challenge, try the avatar!

*shudders* Recreating that exactly would give me nightmares...you did a good job on it. :)

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Whoa, that means u made ur avatar urself? X_X

whoa that's nice :D respect for u! :)

No, Myrddin made it from a stock image. When I get some free time, I'm going to make a 100% PdN version.

xZYt6wl.png

ambigram signature by Kemaru

[i write plugins and stuff]

If you like a post, upvote it!

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