Optik Tutorials |

Outcome:

Now in this first step, start out by filling your background with a color that you think goes well with the stock. Now, grab a stock that has about the same color scheme as your render, and apply the spatter filter to it. Do this by going in the filter menu, the brush strokes sub-menu, and then selecting spatter. Mess around with the settings until you find something that you like. Use fairly high settings though, they seem to look best. Now set this spatter layer to difference, and lower the opacity to about 85-90%. Now erase parts that do not look good or that you just don’t like. In this case the eraser used was about 27px and was a 100% hard brush. Use what you think suites your signature best though. This is something like what you should have right now:

Now grab the stock that you want to be the main stock (click here for mine). In this case, a women was chosen for this. Erase most of the background to this stock with a medium sized hard brush. Your sig should look something like this now:

Now, choose a color slightly darker then your original color and fill the canvas with it. After you have filled the layer with a color from your signature, erase the bulk of this layer with the brush provided. Repeat this with varying shades of color from your signature, each time on a new layer and erasing more and more each time. Here is what it looks like once Pixelated Paradise was done repeating this:

For this step you will need to create an applied image. To do this, create a new layer and then go to the Image menu, then select apply image. Now add another Spatter filter like we did in the beginning but this time with lower settings so it isn’t too wild. Now get out a smudge brush (try using default brushing and messing with brush settings) and smudge it a little bit. Now erase most of this layer. Leave only a little bit to the closer side of the render. This should add some depth by separating the background from the foreground. Like so:

For this step you will need to create a new layer and fill it with black. Once you have done that add some small dark gray splatter brushing. Now erase the bulk of this layer making it mainly part of the background and not overlapping the render. Either erase with the brush that I have provided or use a soft round brush, it may need to vary depending on where in the signature you are erasing.

Now add some lighter brushing with a medium sized round brush around your render as lighting. Also throw in some other light colors that compliment the colors you already have in your signature. Set this
layer(s) to overlay and lower the opacity a little bit if it over contrasts the area around the stock.

Now, unfortunately you will need to make some nice vector shapes that fit in well with your signature. These can be hard to make but practice makes perfect. If you aren’t able to do this, search www.deviantart.com for some vector brushes and see if you can get something that you think looks good in your signature there. Leave these layers on normal and it is suggested that you put them in a group (select them all, and hit ctrl+g).

Here is a nice and small step. Just add some splatter brushing around the pen tool / vector shapes that you made in the last step. Set them to soft light. Use and appropriate color for your signature. The effects of this step should not be very noticeable. While your at it, add some text to your signature.

At this point your signature should be coming along nicely, so now we need to heighten the depth a little bit. Brush over the black areas a little bit with a soft round brush, maybe 200px big. Now if it seems too overbearing, erase areas and maybe gaussian blur (filter > blur > gaussian blur) it a bit (1-2px).

Make another new layer and again fill it with black. This time, erase the bulk of it with the brush I provided so that it has the same effect as the rest of the right side. This layer should only really be visible on the left (a little) and a little but more on the right. This should center the focus on the stock a bit more. Here is what has changed: