The outcome of the Photoshop signature tutorial:

Create a new file, our size was set to 400 pixels by 97 pixels. Fill the background with black:

Add a render in your canvas. You can download the render we’ve used here. Erase the sides and the areas that are too bright. We’re going to smudge this and use it as our bakground:

Select the smudge tool, and use your favourite smudge settings. Erase anything that appears too bright. Try to create a focal point by creating a flowing direction from the center outwards:

We’re going to add a sprite on the stock. You can pretty much use any sprite you like, however try finding one that we can create a “blast” effect with.

Here’s the sprite we’ve used:

Placed on the canvas:

Paste the render we provided in the beginning back on top of the sprite. Try covering it only partly, and make sure it follows the general direction of the color flow.

Duplicate the sprite layer, and place it on top of the render. Using the eraser tool, we’ve removed a part of his backleg. This makes it seem like the sprite is partly behind the render.

Create a new layer, and select Image > Apply Image. Now grab the smudge tool, and slightly smudge the sharp edges on the right side:

Paste the cinema4d render on your canvas again. Erase most of it, but keep a light piece of the render next to his hand. We’re going to use this to create the “blast effect”.

Grab the eraser tool, and erase some more. Then grab the smudge tool with a hard brush, and smudge it upwards a little. Erase, smudge, repeat until you get something you like. Our blast effect:

Set this layers blending mode to “Color Dodge”.

Duplicate the layer (Layer > Duplicate Layer) to enhance the explosion:

Now create a new layer, and select Image > Apply Image. Now with a hard brush, smudge the render into an explosion coming out of his right hand: Smudge the background as well, create some detail into it:

We’re going to add some Gradient Map adjustment layers. Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map… The first gradient map is a black to white gradient to blend the signatures colors:

Set the blending mode to Multiply, and reduce the opacity to about 40%-50%:

Add another gradient map adjustment layer, This time the Purple to Orange adjustment layer:

Set the blending mode to Overlay, and reduce the opacity to about 50%-55%:

Create a Photo Filter (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter). We used Deep Yellow, and the density set to 62%:

Outcome (Blending mode kept on normal and the opacity at 100%):

A final Photo Filter to finnish the lighting:

Outcome with the blending mode kept on normal and the opacity still on a 100%:

Next we’re adding depth by blurring the area around our sprite. You can do this manually by using the blur tool after applying the image (Image > Apply Image), or select Filter > Blur > Blur More:

Now use the Eraser tool to erase the blurring on our sprite, keep the area in front (his legs) and around the explosion and background blurred:

Apply the image on a new layer (Image > Apply Image) and sharpen everything we haven’t blurred. You can do this either by using the Filter > Sharpen, or by using the sharpen tool:

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast….). Don’t use the exact same settings as these probably will not produce the same result:

The outcome of the Brightness/Contrast layer:

Apply the image on a new layer (Image > Apply Image). We’re going to use the burn and dodge tool to add some extra depth.

Using the dodge tool in the top of the signature to add lighting (You can also do this by brushing with a light color, then setting the layer to screen).

as a finnishing touch, add a Photo Filter adjustmetn layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter):

We’ve kept the blending mode on normal, and the opacity on 100%. This brings us to our final result:

We hope you’ve enjoyed this sprite signature tutorial. Premium Members can Download the PSD file in the Premium Section. Sign up now!

1. Start by opening a new file with your preferred size, we picked 325 pixels by 115 pixels. Fill this with a random color:

2. Paste your stock in your canvas, however don’t resize it yet:

3. Move the stock around, and softly smudge the render. Keep some sort of texture or detail in the background like shown here:

4. Repeat the previous step, however resize the render this time and move it around some more.

5. More smudging and filling up the black areas:

6. Add your render to your canvas. You can either remove the sides with the eraser tool or use the smudge tool to blend the character into the background:

7. Duplicate the previous layer, and erase most of it. Keep an interesting part of your render, and place it nicely onto your canvas. We selected the hair like shown below:

8. We’re going to create a clipping mask to cover the rest of the original black canvas. Make a new layer, and softly, then paste your render on a new layer. Smudge this layer a bit, and move it around to cover the clipping mask. Select your pasted render, and go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask (or press ALT + CTRL + G):

Smudge, move and erase the render:

After creating the clipping mask, this is our result:

9. We’re going to repeat this a few times, brush on the background, paste the original render and smudge it. You can also apply some filter effects to it, like paint daubs. We started with some spreckle brushing:

Some more brushing:

Pasting the render on the canvas and smudging, erasing and other effects applied:

result after applying the clipping mask:

10. More brushing on the sides:

Create another clipping mask:

11. Apply the image on a new layer (Image > Apply Image), and add some texture. Brush, sharpen and erase. We’ve added the texture on the left side of the canvas:

12. Add a vector shape that follows the flow of your tag. You can either use a vector brush, create a custom shape using the Custom Shape Tool (pressing U), or paste some other sort of vector.

13. Paste your render, smudge, erase and brush on top, then create another clipping mask:

14. After creating the clipping mask:

15. We’re going to fix her arm, because it looks a bit too dark. Duplicate your render, and place it on top of your layer window. Erase some of the right side where we added the vector shape and a copy of her hair. This way we brightened her shoulder a bit:

This is how we erased the render shown on a black background:

16. We repeated the previous step, to strengthen the effect. This is the render shown on a black background:

Our result afterwards:

17. We’re going to create another clipping mask, and use a vector shape with the clipping mask. Add a random shape using a vector brush, vector image, or whatever else you like:

after pasting the render and creating a clipping mask:

18. Apply the image on a new layer. We’re going to change our colors around a bit. Press CTRL + U, and play around with the settings. Experiment to get the best looking result;

Our result after playing around with the settings:

19. Hide this layer, and use a splatter brush near your focal point:

20. Show the layer again, and move it around on top of the splatter. Then press CTRL + ALT + G to turn it into a clipping mask, or go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

result of our clipping mask:

21. Use your gradient tool to create a light radial gradient. Make sure you have the second option selected in the toolbar:

our result:

22. Set this layer to Multiply, and reduce its opacity to about 30%:

23. We’re going to make a few adjustment layers. Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient map, and pick the purple to orange gradient. Set this layers opacity to 30%:

Result with opacity on 30% shown:

23. Duplicate the gradient map, however change the blending mode to Soft Light and set the opacity to 45%:

24. Create a black to white radial gradient, and set its layer style to Multiply on 25%:

Result shown below with blending mode set to Multiply and 25% opacity:

25. We’re going to add some sweet effect to our tag. We’re going to use the Paint Daubs filter effect and the liquify option to texture the signature a bit. Try following the flow of the tag when you’re using liquify. Erase the focal point after using the filter effects, we’re only texturing the background:

Fitler > Artistic > Paint Daubs, play around with the settings, just experiment:

select Fitler > Liquify, and play around with the background as well:

The layer shown on a black background (remember, we erased the parts covering our render and focal point):

our result:

26. Apply the image on a new layer, and select Filter > Sharpen. remove parts that come on too strong:

27. Make a new layer, and fill this with black. We’re going to make a light dot with a large soft brush to add some lighting. Set this layers blending mode Linear dodge, and reduce the opacity:

Blending mode set to Linear Dodge and opacity set to 45%:

28. Add your text, sharpen or soften areas you don’t like, and you’re done!

Thank you for following this tutorial. If you have any questions please use the comment system below, we would appreciate any comments and suggestions!

1. Create a new file, ours is rather large, 400 by 200 pixels:

2. Fill the background with a dark blue color, and with a hard brush, tap some dark colors on the background. Select the smudge tool, and smudge your background a bit:

3. Add your render in the middle of the file, and softly smudge the edges of your render.

4. We’re going to smudge the edges of our render. Duplicate this layer, and remove most of it. Keep some of the sides, and smudge those a little (don’t overdo this step):

5. Repeating the previous step, duplicate the original layers and smudge parts of the sides. Remove unwanted parts again with your eraser tool. Our tag at this point:

6. We’re going to add a small white to transparant Radial gradient at the bottom. Select the gradient tool, and on your toolbar press the radial gradient button. Make sure you have the gradient set on foreground to transparant, and have your foreground color on white. Here’s our radial shown on a black background:

Shown on our canvas without the black background:

7. Apply a white to black gradientmap adjustment layer. To do this, select New Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map:

Set this layers blending mode to Luminosity, and leave the opacity on 100%.

8. We’re going to create a high pass filter, and we’re going to set its blending mode to Soft Light. Make a new layer, go to Image > Apply Image, and select Filter > Other > High Pass. Result:

After changing the blending mode to soft light, this is what our tag looks like:

9. We’re going to add some splatters to the side of our tag. Grab one of your splatter brushes, and brush to the side of your render. Smudge this linea little bit. You don’t have to use a splatter brush for this step, you can also create a line with the pen tool and simply smudge that line. Our result shown on the left side of our render::

10. Repeat this step on the right side, brush, smudge, erase:

11. We’re going to apply some detail onto our signature. Paste a bubble cinema4d render on your tag, and remove some areas of it. We’re going to set this layers blending mode to Lighten. This is the bubble render shown on a white background:

Set to lighten:

12. Repeating the previous step with a new render (if you need any, there’s plenty of renders in our resources section). Shown on a black backgruound with some areas removed:

13. Blending mode set to lighten:

14. Add some text to your tag, add a border if you like, and apply final fixes:

15. We added the final details by brushing and smudging some areas we didn’t like.

Final result in high quality:

We hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below, and be sure to check back soon for more updates.