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.

Focusing In

A focal point is the object or person that is the subject of a piece of art. This term is used for both photography and digital art. A focal point should be clear and catch the viewer's eye. It should also determine the mood for the rest of the picture. There are four different types of focals; positve, negative, neutral, and composite or "mixed". If the focal point is a smiling child, a positive focal, you might see a sunny or warm background that is bright and correlates with a smiling child. Just try typing in "smiling child" into Google Images. I'm sure you will see plenty of children in sunny backgrounds. Well, if you don't want to try, here just some i saw on the first page of results.







On the other hand, if the focal is something like a skull, it is a negative focal, and will in most occasions have a dark background and dull colors. Examples of neutral focal points are things such as cell phones, a pencil, etc. Composite focal points can have a different meaning depending on A) What direction the photographer or artist puts it in, or B) Personal experiences of the viewer. Here are some examples of how the same subject, in this case war, can give different feelings:





As you can see, war can show either the feelings that come with death and sadness or liberty and new life. As an artist, you must learn how to portray those feelings to others though your work.
There are several ways you can get your focal to stand out. Most often, especially in digital art, color is what draws your eyes to a focal point. Sometimes it is subtle, such as a slightly brighter color compared to the surrounding areas or it can be more direct. Contrast is a word commonly used here, where if a picture has a high contrast, colors stand out more. Here is an example using color:



Another common way to make a focal stand out is through texture. If everything in the background and foreground is smooth, then a person will really stand out.



The final way to create a focal point is by having a blurred background. This automatically focuses the eyes onto the focal. When blurring the background yourself, do NOT accidently blur part of the focal point as the whole effect gets thrown off by this. Also, do not blur too much of the image. If your focal point is small compared to the rest of the picture, consider cutting off some of the extra space on the outside to make less blur. Also do not blur the background too much to where there is no detail, for the image will get boring. See how you can still see some detail in the image below?



When coming up with an idea for an image, don't involve too many focal points. One is definitely preferred, but two could work if you do it properly. Don't bother with anymore than that. The viewer should know what to look at as soon as they see the picture. Their eyes should be drawn to it.