Okay, this is a short and simple tutorial on how to add a render (which is basically another picture) to your signature in Photoshop, like this:


STEP 1 -- Find a render
Yes, this is the most important step. Think about what kind of sig you want to make, and what you want on it. I usually use game or comic characters on my sigs, so I'm going to be using this render of Vivi, a Final Fantasy character, that I found on GameRenders.com.
http://rendersdesign.com/uploaded_graphics/render.jpg
Tip - Don't go for renders that are unclear or have hectic backgrounds. It usually makes life harder for you.

STEP 2 -- Erase the background
Okay, this is a relatively simple step if you have a one-color background, or no background at all, on your sig. If you do have a one-color background, just grab your "Magic Eraser Tool" (which is fight by holding the left mouse on the "Eraser Tool") and use it to erase your background. I usually start at a high tolerance setting (70) and go down if it starts to cut up my render. If you have a slightly more colorful background, I'd suggest using the "Polygonal Lasso Tool" (under the "Lasso Tool") to select your background, and then delete it that way. This will probably end up a little less "fine-tuned" than the Magic Eraser, but it gets the job done on tough backgrounds. You should eventually have something like this:
http://rendersdesign.com/uploaded_graphics/rendertut1.jpg
Tip - The higher your tolerance level is, the more colors that are similar to the one you're erasing will also be erased. Sometimes this can erase too much, and get rid of part of your render. And DO NOT use the Magic Wand to select your background/render. It's BAD.

STEP 3 -- Copy your render
This is an easy step. Simply hold control and left click on the render layer, to select it. If the background is fully deleted, you shouldn't see anything selected but your render. Then copy (ctrl+c) your selection. This is the result:
http://rendersdesign.com/uploaded_graphics/rendertut2.jpg
Tip - You can also just select all, because the rest should be transparent, but this just makes life easier.

STEP 4 - Put the render into your sig
Now's the moment we've all been waiting for. Open a new document sig size (or a previous one, if you already started on a sig) and paste this render in there. Move it around until you get what you want to show. This is what you should have:
http://rendersdesign.com/uploaded_graphics/rendertut3.jpg
Tip - If the render is too big for your sig, you can go back to the render's window, and change the image size, to make it smaller. Then recopy and paste, and delete the big one.

So, there you have it. Simple as...something simple. Have fun with your sig-making. Here's something I did with the same render, to show an example.


If you see any errors or have any suggestions to better the tutorial, I'll try and do so.
*BTW, this tutorial is done in Photoshop CS. Things may vary in different versions, but you should be able to get the same result.

since alot of people have been asking alot of questions about what are sigs how do i do them what are renders etc. etc. so lets start with the basics Render: A render is a image cut from its original background. here is an example of that: [url="http://w ...more

I have made a collection of sigs Don't expect them to be awesome because I'm just learning(started about a month ago ...more

I have often wanted space beneath the container div so that if rounded corners were used they would display well and not curve into the bottom of the screen. I tried to get that space by adding a bottom margin to a div (any div!) using the technique above, but it would never work for me. I did f ...more