graphics gale -- userbars

Userbars are a really cool addition to any forum signature. They're really simple to make, and here's how. First, choose a background. I'll provide some that I made (no credit necessary):



I'll use the darker yellow one. Once you have chosen a background, open up GraphicsGale and open a new document. (I normally begin with a 1000 x 1000 px window for all of my pictures) Copy and paste the background into G.G.

Now, select an image for your userbar. Sprites are normally the best, since you don't have much space. I'm going to use the Sinnoh starter sprites. Place them in your banner, and you should now have something like this:



Then, crop out the parts of the sprite that are outside of the original background. Replace the borders where the sprites where pasted, and you should have this:



It's time to add the text. A pixel font works best for userbars. You can find some nice ones here. (If you don't know how to install fonts, go here) Choose some text, and add it onto the banner with the text tool. I think it looks best if you use a white font with a black border. To do so, select white as the foreground color, black as the background color, and adjust the settings like this (after you click on the text tool, this pop-up will appear):



After you've added the text, you have your finished product. Have fun making userbars!