[Tutorial] Adjustment Layers

[† poetictragedy]

TUTORIAL: ADJUSTMENT LAYERS

So you've made a signature--the hard part is over! These are some quick adjustments that can take your signature to the next level.

 
DISCLAIMER: I'm using Photoshop CS5 on Windows 7. There are probably differences between versions of Photoshop and/or between operating systems. I just don't know what those might be. And please excuse the quality of the signature being used in this demonstration. I literally threw a few stocks and render together, pffft.
 
PREFACE:
I'm a pretty organized person, so I like to make use of the Groups function. In the Layers window, click the manilla folder icon to make a new group. I make a "Work" group, and put all of the actual signature layers in there, and make another for "Adjustment Layers." [x]
 
To create a new adjustment layer, click the ying-yang icon in the Layers window, and select the adjustment layer you desire.
 
Now let's get to work!

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STEP 1: GRADIENT
I use this layer to help improve lighting and flow. Look at your render to see where the shadows fall--this is the direction your gradient should follow. [x]
 
Line up your gradient to follow the light path of your render, and leave the other settings as is. [x]
 
Before hitting Done, change the gradient to black>white, this will give you both light and shadow later on. Change the blending option to Overlay and the Opacity to 25%. (You can sometimes go higher, but I always start at 25%)
 

 
STEP 2: SELECTIVE COLOR
I use the Selective Color layer to really tweak the coloring of the image--it can help a lot with blending. This is by-far the most arbitrary step. All I do is go color-by-color and move each slider back and forth until I think it looks okay. It's really just trial and error.
 
Here's an example of the Reds. [x]
 
However, this layer plays a big role in determining the final outcome of the signature. See the difference between the image from step 1 and the after image?
 

 
STEP 3: COLOR BALANCE
This is really similar to the Selective Color layer. Again, I just slide the sliders until it looks right to me. This layer helps fix any over-coloring you might have done in the previous step, and helps if you want your signature to be more red, or more yellow, etc.
 
Here are the settings I went with. [x]
 

 
OPTIONAL STEP: VIBRANCE
Sometimes, a signature is too brightly colored for the look I'm going for. If that's the case, I use a Vibrance layer and turn down the saturation slightly. Somewhere between 5-20, usually.
 
On the other hand, if you wanted to make a signature more brightly colored, you can turn up the vibrance. In some cases, you can crank it all the way up!
 
STEP 4: BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST
This layer can help give your signature more depth. I recommend increasing the contrast first, then adjusting the brightness. [x]
 

 
NOTE: I usually use the Levels layer, but for the purpose of this tutorial, I used Brightness/Contrast instead. Levels is more complicated.
 
AND VOILA! The layers can be adjusted at any time, so if you notice something looks weird, you can always go back and fix it. Otherwise, you're finished! Here are all of the layers! [x]
 
Compare the before and after images!
 

 
PRO TIP: You can change the color of the canvas background in Photoshop! Before completely finishing a signature, I'll change it to Kametsu's post background color to check what it'll look like on here. This can be helpful for SOTW entries, wink wink! Set the foreground color to #121212, and select the paintbucket tool. Hold shift + click anywhere in the area outside of your signature to change the canvas background color.
 
Let me know if anything is unclear, and I'll try to help. Comments and criticisms are encouraged! Edited August 12, 2014 by poetictragedy

[† LimitLess]

Thanx poe, helpful to the novice's(like me )

[Kouhai]

Woh! Tutorials, awesome! I remember when I first came to the forums I went through PLGF's gif tutorial and your background tutorial, haha. Your tutorial format is sooo good, I'll definitely give this a shot with my next few works. :3

Thanks for the awesome tutorial! :3

[† poetictragedy]

Thanks, guys! Though looking at it again, I think I made my lighting go the wrong direction, haha. It probably should have gone down left to right instead of up, whoops. -3-

Edited August 12, 2014 by poetictragedy

[Kouhai]

I figured I'd post the results I got from this tutorial, haha.

Version 1:

+Adjustment Layers

I found the selective colours especially helpful, I never even knew that existed.

I have to say, thanks again Poe. This is going to help me soooo much! :3

[† poetictragedy]

That looks great, Kouhai! Glad I could help! uwu