Recently while browsing forums, I came across a person who had created a fairly unique signature. The creator is a good artist and can make very good signatures, but this didn't fall into the normal code of signatures. Another member of that forum commented on the fact that it didn't have "flow" or "depth". While his statements weren't far off, he made it sound like these things made it a bad signature.

I've come to the realization that people have narrowed down what a signature should look like to something too specific to be considered art. All of them begin to look the same. You add a c4d here, a little smudging here, insert the render there, and then add some gradient maps and some nice lighting. A simple word for that kind of art is simply called, cookie-cutter. There is no originality in this.

If your signature looks unorthodox, it is immediately rejected. This is simply contradicting the concept of art. Art is your own personal interpretation of a person, concept, place, idea, object, etc. The art and creativity has fallen away from signatures. Now it is more a hobby of imitation. Limited imitation. Why are people so interested in limiting their own imagination, creativity, and abilities to a small 350x150 image. Why do signature tutorials get five times as many views and comments compared to a photo manipulation tutorial? Well I will tell you, it is because signatures are simple. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy making signatures, but I try to expand off of that. And think about it, are there any professional "sig makers"? Does anyone make a living off of creating signatures? No one makes a living off of making signatures.

On a positive note however, signatures can be a fun hobby for a casual graphic artist. People who already have a job or don't have the time to create a large piece artwork can really take advantage of the common occurring Signature Of The Week competitions and the like. Signatures also provide great practicing for getting familiar with your program, whether it be Photoshop, Gimp, or any other program. I am thankful for all of the signature tutorials I personally have followed because they taught be a whole lot. But my point behind learning Photoshop and Gimp through signature tutorials was to gain a better understanding of the programs so that I could use the new techiniques I learned to make my own unique large pieces. I think that is the ultimate use for signatures, to practice.