Abstract Signature Tutorial

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Janina

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Member for 5 years
In this tutorial you will learn to create an abstract signature like the one you see below, the only thing you will need are some C4D renders and basic photoshop knowledge.
result (2).jpg

You will need to have some C4D renders to follow this tutorial, C4D renders are abstract looking renders made out of shapes and they are used often when creating signatures.

Lets get started
Open up photoshop and create a new document of 380px by 120px, select the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill the first layer with black.
2 (1).jpg

Now create a new layer. On the layer add a C4D with a dark color (dark blue/red/green). I used the following render:
3 (2).jpg

When you have added it to your signature go to edit > transform > scale and scale the render down a bit, then move a nice part onto your canvas, so it fill ups the canvas for about 30-50%.

Time to start smudging
Now we have added our C4D render we are going to smudge it, take out your Smudge Tool (R), and on the top of your screen select the Hard Round 13px brush (if you cant find it click on the reset brushes, this will not delete any of your download brushes but will simply show you the default brushes):
4 (1).jpg

Now load your brushes window by pressing F5 or going to Window > brushes and use the following settings:
5 (1).jpg

6 (1).jpg

7 (1).jpg

Now you can smudge the C4D you added by using the smudge tool (click > drag a bit > let go etc.).
Now create a new layer (ctrl+shift+N) and add another C4D render in it, this time I used a lighter C4D render (green).
Place it on top of your previous render and again smudge it like you did it the last step, again smudge in the same direction (although you can change the direction a little bit like I did). Then set the blending mode on screen
11.jpg

10 (1).jpg

Post automatically merged:

Again repeat the same process with a different C4D, I picked a red one this time and I set the blending mode on Lighten
12.jpg

Post automatically merged:

Final Adjustments
Now we are done creating the background, but of course we do a lot to improve this, like adding a light source and by changing the colors around using various adjustment layers.
First create a new layer on top of all other layers and go to image > apply image and press on ok. With this layer selected go to Filter > Blur > Smart blur and use the following settings: radius: 3.0, Threshold: 25.0, Quality: low, Mode: normal.
13.jpg

The signature looks a bit flat now so we are going to add a light source in the signature. Create a new layer and select the brush tool (B), then select the soft round brush 200px and click once or twice where you want your light to come from, I picked the top of my signature. Then set the blending mode of the layer to Overlay.
14.jpg

My left side was a bit to dark in my opinion so I also added some light on the left, you can lower the opacity of the light if you think its to strong.
15.jpg

Looking much better already, but I the colors are a bit dull in my opinion, so I stared by adding a gradient map by going to Layer > New adjustment Layer > Gradient Map and I picked the following gradient:
16.jpg

The sides of the part on the signature which I smudged are a bit jagged and I don't really like them, thats why I decided to make the look smoother by smudging them a bit with the same smudge settings as we used in the first few steps. First create a new layer and apply image again. Then you can smudge the sides just a bit like I did:
19.jpg

Now I added a few minor adjustment layers, to get to my final result. Now you can add some simple text as I did on my signature:
result (3).jpg

Thank you for reading this tutorial, I hope you have learned something. When you get stuck somewhere or want to show the signature you made with this tutorial feel free to make a post on our forums!
 
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