Basic Filter and Blending tutorial

Welcome to this tutorial, in which you will be learned how to make a signature like this:

Before you start, you need to download the render I used for the signature. Ofcourse you can also use your own render.

You can find the render here, save it to your computer because we will need it later on.

The Background

Open a new document in photoshop with these settings:

Now load your just downloaded render in a new photoshop document, press ctrl+a and then copy (ctrl+c).

Now go back to your just made document and paste (ctrl+v) your render in it, it should now look like this:

Make sure that the complete background is covered by your render, then duplicate that layer 2 times.

Now its time for the fun part

You should now have 3 layers, the original one and 2 duplicates. Select the bottom duplicate layer and go to
blur > motion blur. Now use something like these settings, ofcourse you can play around with them to get a different result.

If you are happy with it set your layer to lineair dodge with a fill of around 50% – 80%:

Now select your second duplicate layer, move your render a bit to the left or right and repeat the process,
your signature should now look something like this:

Adding your main picture

Now its time to add your main focal point, im going to use the same master chief as found in our render we used in
the first step. To save you some time I already cut 2 out for you, this one or this one.

Pick the one you like and add it to your signature, on top of the other 3 layers.

Now we are going to blend in your master chief with the background, this is very easy. But often beginners have no idea how to do it.

First duplicate your master chief layer once, so you have 2 of them. Hide the top one (click on the eye in front of it ). Then select the bottom one and add a motion blur to it, like we did with the background

This time use the same angle as used for the background, but lower the distance to around 2 pixels, with your top master chief layer hidden,
your signature should now look like this:

Now unhide your top master chief layer, we are going to blend its edges with the background:

Select your lasso tool, lasso around your render and then click the vector mask button like this:

After all of this, your signature should look like this and is almost done!

Adding the text

I think that text is always the hardest part of making a signature. If you dont know what your doing (Like I am), its better to keep
the text small and normal. Some tips

1) Use fonts like verdana and arial, they might be plain but always look good

2) Give the text the same color as used in the rest of your signature, dont let it stand out to mutch

3) Never ever use bevel or something like outer glow on your text (if you dont know what im talking about, lucky you)

4) Dont tuck it away in a corner, but also dont slap it right onto your main picture, also make sure its easy to read.

Here is quickly how I made my text, just play around with the text for yourself untill it looks nice. Remmeber you learn fastest
by trying out new things yourself .

I typed my own name in a text color that matched the background, then I added some subtext to it with a slightly lighter color.
I couldnt really read the text that good so I added a shadow behind it:

Final result after this step:

Finish your signature

Now our signature is almost done, we only have to add a border and add some balance layers to it. After that we sharpen our signature.

Lets start by adding some balance layers to our signature, you can find them here:

The options that have a red circle around them are the options I almost always use. Im not going to help you with this step, just play around
and add some contrast / colors to it untill you think it looks nice. Here is what I got:

before:

after:

Now its time to add a nice border around it. First create a new layer on top of all your other layers, then press ctrl+a to select the entire
canvas. Then go to edit > stroke and play around with the settings until you think it looks nice.

I then took out my erasor tool and removed the vertical borders, because I didnt really liked them:

And finally our last step is to sharpen our signature one time. To do this first create a new layer on top of all other layers
and go to image > apply image. Leave all settings on default and press ok. Then with that layer selected go to filter > sharpen > sharpen.

before:

after:

And now you have finished your signature, in this tutorial you have learned:

-how to create a nice looking background without brushes

-how to blend your render

-how to add simple, but good looking text

-how to improve your signature by adding a border and sharpening it