Complete Guide to Sigs/Banners & Requests | Read Before Posting a Request!

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Post Index

Rules for Sigs & Banners

Guide : Completing the Request Template

Useful Links for Requesters

Guide : Getting the Right Filesize

Adding your Signature

Create your own Sig or Avatar

This section is for Requests of Sigs/Logos/Banners/Avatars, Requests for modification of one of those and for Giveaways of sigs etc.

If you want to know whether something is appropriate or not, check out whether it fits under one of the New Thread Prefixes. If it does, then go ahead. If it doesn't, don't. If, however, you think that there is something appropriate which is not under the Prefixes, let a Fan Art Moderator know via PM, and we'll do our best to help.

Thread Title
Thread title must include both "Request" and the general feel of the set.
Some examples:

• Request: Dragon sig
• Request: Nova sig/av
• Request: Grunge sig

Starting a thread without this template = warning.

Thread Contents
[Size/dimensions]: If other than default.
[Images to be used/links]: Please provide links. It helps sig makers
[Colours]: Do you want a red/black/grey background? Black font? etc
[Font]: If you have a preference. Example: Morpheus
[Text/Quote/Name]: Any text on your graphics. Is it necessary (ie, if someone makes you a sig without all of the text on it, is that a problem?)
[Style]: Is there a specific style of graphics you want (grunge, brushing, soft blending, etc)?
[Border]: Do you want one? If so, which style?
[Animation]: If yes, what kind of animation?

This, as you may notice, comes as part of any New Thread you make in this section. So there is no excuse for forgetting to use it !

Quote

Signature Pictures may not exceed the following measurements:
Height: 150
Width: 450

Datafile Size is always: 50 kb

Requests are welcome, but it does not mean that you will get a response or a banner; no one works here - we do this of our own free will.

Rules for requests:

• Format the title like: "Request: Red Dragon Banner" - do not simply post "help" or "signature", your request may get lost, or even removed.
• Be polite! You will get a better response.
• Use proper grammar. You will get a better response.
• Be descriptive, so that we can tailor more to your specific wants and produce a superior poduct.
• 'Cool' is not descriptive. Any thread using 'cool' as a main means of description will be closed.
• If you want pictures, please find them yourself. But:
• Do not steal badwidth, only post pictures from your own site or an image hosting site, otherwise just provide a URL.
• Follow the Request Template seen above.
• Anyone posting a request thread which does not follow the Request Template may have their thread removed. We don't want to encourage rulebreaking. This may also result in a warning.
• Do not post in a request thread unless you are asking for clarification, or are submitting a sig/banner/avatar/logo/modification. Any other post will be given a warning for spam (because that's what it would be.)
• One exception to this is if you post to say that you will attempt their request. If you do say this, please out of politeness do attempt it; dashing people's hopes is not nice.
• If a user has posted a thread without the template, let a Moderator tell them please. If you really must tell the person, make sure no-one else has already told them. Seriously, they only need to be told once.
• A request thread will be closed when the author is satisfied, please make sure to tell a Fan Art Moderator when it is okay to close the thread.
• Bumping : You may only bump your Request if 24hours have past from your original Post /OR Its has been 24hrs since a reply to your thread. Bumping before this time may result in a warning or your thread being closed. The thread starter may only bump their Thread.

This is directed at the sig makers out there

Please, when you give away sigs, either by giveways or in reply to a Request, keep to the size limits (seen above).

Remember, the people to whom you're giving sigs often do not know any way to resize the sigs themselves.

Rules Addition
It is now warnable to give away a sig which exceeds the board rules size limits.

--

A violation of ANY of these rules will result in a warning or closure of the thread.

General tips for getting a faster response on your request thread(s) and making its easier for the artist to give you the best outcome possible.

The Purpose of this guide is aimed at people who would like to start a request thread but are unsure how to use the template. this guide explains how to make the best use of all the template so both the requester and artist is happy.

Size/Dimensions:

Sigs: Max file size for sigs is 450 by 150 and max file size if 50kb Artists may have preferred dimensions they like to work to so if your unsure of size don’t worry about it as the artist will compensate this
Avatars: 150 by 150 50kb max again don’t worry if you don’t know

Banners: Best banner size is 516 - 250 but since there are no rules just give a general size or this is another thing artists will have a size they like/ goes with render or stock so don’t worry if you don’t know.

Images to be used/links:

Try to get good quality and also provide a few if possible so artists can get more free will. Also make sure they are copy write free* (notes on this at the bottom)

Try to find high quality/ Larger Images and also provide a few if possible so artists can get more free will. Also make sure they are copy write free* (notes on this at the bottom)

Good place to look

http://www.planetrenders.net/

All renders are free from copy write, make sure you link the page the render comes on (the one with comments and rating) rather than the full screen version.

Colours:

Artists will probably use colours based on the render/ stock and style you ask so you can leave this blank but if you think you have a preference say it just make sure the way you word doesn’t restrict artist freedom (e.g. I think that green would work well with this sig but it is artists choice)

Font:

Basic fonts tend to look better in sigs as they do not take over the sig so much and also look more professional.
If it’s a common font like Arial just name it or if you can download it for free you could try linking to it (don’t demand a download font though because people might not want to download it) just use this a guide though if possible. Also you could leave it blank or put “Artists choice”

To help you ask for a style of text you could check out dafont
http://www.dafont.com/

If you ask “I would like a font in a serif style” then it gives artist an idea of what you want or “I would like a font similar to insert font name” and provide a dafont link.

Text/Quote/Name

Text is one of the most challenging parts of a piece for an artist so: keep it short, nobody wants to read big speeches on sigs especially. It takes way to much away from the rest of the sig and just looks terrible. Also just because you can have text doesn’t mean you need to, some art looks better without so don’t be afraid to ask for no text.

Style:

Explanation of styles

READ THIS to know about styles but most sigs will be a mix of styles anyway so it’s used as a rough guide to know the kind of thing you would like.

Border:

Most artists do this a different way I believe simple borders will almost always make sigs better .

A few examples of different borders

No Border

All round 1 pixel (or px)

All round 3px

All round 5px (super massive)

Top and bottom 2px

Of course these are only examples there are a ton of different kinds of boards, some are completely solid others are different colour ect. Artist will normally have some preference of what they think goes with the sig they are making but if you have a particular boarder in mind just ask!

Animation:

Some people can do this other don’t so don’t expect it but in my opinion it’s better to give artists choice if you can

To Conclude, to get a faster response follow all the above but also be polite and also be flexible while giving guide lines, By this I mean if you give people only one picture and tell them exactly what you want you give them no creative freedom (hint: artists like this) but if you don’t even provide a picture and say “I don’t know what I want but I want a sig that looks cool” it will be very difficult to get something you like. Also never say “I could do it myself” if you believe you can try! Just don’t blame me if you get addicted and we see you around here more often but if you say that you could do it yourself it makes people just think your being lazy and much less likely to answer. Also BE POLITE nobody here is paid and most do it for fun so being polite always helps.

*A note on copywrite: You cannot use images with a © logo or anything else that implies copywrite if you really want to use a copy write image contact the author to try to gain permission and if you get it prove it by supplying evidence (such as copies of e-mails) Remember you need PERMISION TO EDIT AND REDISTRIBUTE to use.

Contents thanx to Capjoel

Please Note The Follow Guide is to Reduce a Signature to Below 30kb ( Old Board Limit ) But Same Rules Apply to get Signatures under 50kb ( Current Board Limit )
Apoc.

This guide is for prospective signature artists who feel encumbered by the forums’ 30KB rule. I’ll cover and link to a freeware program (virus/spyware free as well) that can get your JPEGs under 30KB with virtually no loss in quality. I’ll also cover how to make sure your banner is fewer than 30KB, on any Windows machine.

Checking Filesize
First, let’s start with talking about how to check the size of your banner, and expose a problem with Photoshop. Frankly put, Photoshop sucks at making images small while preserving quality. The newer your version the worse it is. I use CS2 and it is impossible for me to get any image to be presentable under 30KB. Photoshop has a JPEG quality tool when saving, and a maximum quality JPEG is a beautiful thing. I’ll use one of El Nombre’s masterpieces as an example.
Maximum (12):

Filesize: 76.5 KB

Minimum (0):

Filesize: 30.22 KB

Absolutely awful quality and STILL over the limit.

A problem with CS2 and CS1 (I'm not sure if this is a problem for other versions) is that Photoshop's size estimator is completely bogus. The maximum quality image was estimated at 61.74 KB while the minimum was estimated at 15.41 KB! Almost half the actual size! There are two easy methods for getting an accurate size reading. The first is to right click on the image file on your hard drive and select "Properties". The actual size of the image is listed under (*shockingly*) "Size". The second method is done in your browser. I'll cover Internet Explorer, and Firefox.

In Internet Explorer find the image you are interested in getting the size of. Right click on the image and select Properties, much as you do with your hard drive. The tricky part is that Internet Explorer lists the size in bytes. To get it into KB (kilobytes) just divide the number by 1000 (1024 for the picky). So as long as the byte count is under 30000 your banner is properly sized.

In Firefox find the image you are interested in getting the size of. Right click on the image and select properties. It is under "Size of File" and is listed in KB so just make sure it is under 30.

What can I do?
Well, the good news is that the problem lies mainly with Photoshop, not with JPEG compression. One of the best programs I've found for making your images smaller is a freeware program called IrfanView. IrfanView not only has a great lossless (meaning no loss in quality) JPEG optimizer, it also can reduce filesize drastically while losing minimum quality.

Installing IrfanView
First, go to "www.irfanview.com", then click on Download on the left. The simplest download method is the one third from the top named "Get IrfanView from CNET Download.com!". After clicking that link it will take you to www.download.com, one of the safer sources for spyware/virus free software online. Click on "Download Now" and you should be taken to a page where you will be prompted to download. Just accept the download and let it come down. It's only 0.98 MB and should come fairly quickly.

For the lazy, just click this link:
http://www.software.com/downlo…22-graphic-viewer-plugins

After you have downloaded IrfanView, you need to install it. Double click the icon, select your installation path (WARNING: It will NOT create an IrfanView folder unless you tell it to, so be sure you want to install in the folder you select.) and options, then click Next. Click Next again to go through the version notes. It will then bring up a file association screen. The safest option is just to click the None button and then click Next. The next screen is an advertisement for Google Desktop Search, just choose "Don't Install Google Desktop Search" and click Next. Click Next again and the installation will begin. After a short installation process, it should say "Installation successfull!" Now uncheck both "Open Irfan View FAQs help page" and "Start Irfan View". Then hit Done. There's one more step before we're ready to use it. We have to install the JPEG lossless optimizer PlugIn.

Again, go back to www.irfanview.com and click on PlugIns on the left. Select the Alternative Download Link below, and accept the download. This is a larger download at 5.43 MB.

For the lazy, click this link:
http://irfanview.tuwien.ac.at/…irfanview_plugins_399.zip

Double click the icon, it should automatically load your installation path. Then just click Next. A window should pop up telling you "Installation successfull!" Click OK and the installer will close.

Using IrfanView
IrfanView is fantastically simple for operation. Open up IrfanView and then just simply drag your banner file onto the window. Your banner should appear in the window and look something like this:

Now the good part begins. First, we go to the Options pull-down menu. Select "JPG Lossless Operations..." now leave everything the way it is, "Optimize JPG file" should be checked.

Now, go to File and choose "Save As..." it should bring up a save window. Find where you want to save the image and then go down to the pull-down menu where it probably says: "BMP - Windows Bitmap", pull that menu down and select "JPG - JPEG Files". You should have a JPEG/GIF save options window pop up. Check "Save as progressive JPG" and drag the "Save quality" bar to 100. Then click Save. This should create an image of about 40KB that will have no loss in quality. Check your image size using one of the methods described above, here is the El Nombre banner again:

Filesize: 42.55 KB

It's still too big but much better now. Now just go back to the Save screen and drag the image quality bar down. This will degrade the quality of the image, but I've found that to get it under 30KB does not degrade the quality much at all. Usually this happens around 95. You just have to save, check the file size then move up or down as needed until you find the right number. El Nombre's banner required going down to 97 to get under 30 KB.

As a final thought I leave you with the maximum Photoshop-generated 76.5 KB banner next to the under-30 KB banner side-by-side to compare quality, see if you can tell which is which without checking:

To Add your Signature Enter your Profile by going to "My Profile" at the Top of the Page

From the Profile Tab, You will locate "Signature" at the end on the next line.

Once Open you can Create You Signature in the Normal way you would make a Board Post.

To Add a Image to your Signature you the bbcode

If you have any problems with contact a Board Moderator

Avatar size -
Maximum avatar size (in bytes): 30720 (30kb)
Maximum avata dimensions 150 x 150 px

Coming Soon :

Quick Guide for New Users who want to learn how to make their own Sigs

This Section will contain useful downloads and links to specific starter Tutorials

So to Start

Downloads :

Photoshop : Trial Version Photoshop the ultimate in Image Manipulation Programs

GIMP : Free Image Manipulation Program, this program is the closest thing you will find to Photoshop without paying.