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9 Years Ago
I have seen some posts about using a signature on your artwork/photography here and other sites. It seems there is no right answer and to each their own. I was debating this myself. I used to have a font signature that I used and it just looks tacky unless it is strictly for the web but for prints...well I personally don't like it. However I believe artists should sign their work for various reasons. Im sure most of you know how to do your own custom signature but for those who don't I am creating this little tutorial (pun intended) for people who want to sign the digital prints but don't want to use fonts. This is also geared to people who do not have a scanner or a tablet. Just paper, sharpie, photoshop and a phone.
1) Take a piece of white paper and a black sharpie. Create your signature you want to use.
2) Take a picture with your phone. (If you have a scanner, then scan it in). Then transfer that picture to your computer. You can email it to yourself or use a usb cord in most cases and just drag it off the file it is stored at on your phone and place it on your desktop.
3) Open the image up in photoshop or another software you use for editing your pictures. Take the magic wand tool to select the black signature from the white background. It should select it pretty clean because of the high contrast of black and white. You can zoom in and touch it up if needed. Go up to edit I believe and select copy or copy selection. (make sure your selection is not in inverse, you want the signature copied not the background).
4) Open up a new file in photoshop and select the size you want, I did 900x900 pixels just because it was a large size even though it was on my phone. But you can have it smaller or bigger. I prefer to downsize the signature when placing it in my photos instead of having to upsize it..Not that you would need a signature that big but hey who am I to say that lol. Make sure that transparent is set for the new document and NOT the background color selection or white selection.
5) Make sure you are on the new document you created, then go up to edit and now hit paste. It should paste your signature on the transparent background.
6) Then save your file WITHOUT merging layers or flattening the image. Save in psd or png. You want the background to stay transparent. Save to an easily locatable file on your computer. I made a file for just my signature and other custom stuff in my pics folder for easy access. Thats it!
So now every time you are going to upload a picture that you want that signature on, all you do is open up that picture you want in photoshop and then open up that file with your signature. Make sure you are on the actual image you want the signature on and then just drag that signature on to your image ( both should be open in the editing software). Then you can resize it and put it wherever you want. Set the opacity of the signature in the layers tab to whatever opacity you want. Then flatten image or whatever (to merge the layers) and then save your picture in whatever format and quality you want. Always keep that original signature files background transparent by not flattening the original signature file. When i am done with my image, I just close photoshop (if im done with it) and it will ask if you want to save the signature file if you did any changes like make it a different color. I always say no and it just closes.
TIPS!
If you want a different color then black- Say you have a picture that would be black in the area you want to put it. Well that wouldn't work because it would just blend in. Click on the signature file that you have opened in photoshop and then go to the filters tab, click on adjustments, and hit inverse. It will make it white. Or you can just use the fill bucket to make it whatever color you want. Doing the fill bucket will make your signature a little thicker or change it somewhat. You can prevent that a little bit by lowering the tolerance when the fill bucket is selected. I believe the default tolerance is set at 15. So try lowering it to 10 but it may not cover all of it and you may need to use the fill bucket multiple times to cover the image. That will happen anyways if the letters aren't touching or the signature is not one whole piece. Always remember to never save the changes on the actual signature file or you will have to redo the whole process.
Be careful of using the signature you use to sign legal documents. Ya never know..
Keep the signature small and unobtrusive on your images set to print. I keep it really small in the lower right hand corner and usually have the signature's opacity set to under 50%, usually around 20-30% depending on the image. However I keep mine bold, bigger and 100% opacity and I turn it sideways a little on the images I share on Instagram and facebook or the net in general etc..
Always always always keep an original WITHOUT the signature. I keep a seperate file for unsigned prints/originals. People are up in the air about signing photography on the front. Traditionally in fine art galleries you can not have a signature on the front of the image. The signature, info, and date is put on the back of the picture. So if you want to print one to get framed and hung in a gallery, you will have that original without the signature. Or if you just need one without it for whatever reason.
I hope this made sense, i am not the best at explaining things. I can make a video tutorial if needed. If you have any questions or need help just send me an email or respond here. The pic I have attached is one I did for sharing to social media, it is not something I would put up for sale. So I could careless about it being in your face lol. You can always make 2 copies, one lower resolution with a bold signature for sharing on social media and a seperate one with a tidy little signature and full resolution for print.
Hope this helps anyone that wants a custom signature without using tacky fonts!!!
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