Guide to creating signatures

Summarized Guide.
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Here is a brief summary of the Simple Guide to Signature Making, the three posts following this one.

1: Open up a word document (Arial, Font 9) or a new post. You will use this to make your signature.

2: Choose your text. Can be Normal Text, ÀÎt †ë׆, L33t t3xt, or a mixture. Can also be Neat or MeSsY.

3: Center the text of each line over the rest, and be sure the border is symmetrical.


Simple Guide to Signature Making- The Basics.
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For those of you that want to keep this simple, this is the place for you. This guide was originally intended to make signature making simple, and it will continue to do that under my ownership. If you understand everything here and want to go on, procede to post 11.

~Choosing Your Text~
First things first, making the text in your signature.

There are several types of text. Normal text is regular text typed using only the keyboard letters. Alt text uses alt codes to make letters. If you don't know how to do alt codes, simply copy and paste them from the list in post 6. Not all letters have alt codes, so you'll have to use regular letters for them. Leet text uses numbers and symbols found on the keyboard to make letter-like shapes. Full leet is rarely used, as it is difficult to read.
This is normal text.
†hïš ïš Ãφ †ë׆.
Th1$ 1$ L33t t3xt.

Text can also be messy or neat. Neat is perfect capitalization, while messy is mixed capitals and lowercase.
Thïš †ëx† ïš ñëä† Ãφ.
†Hï§ †£x† ï§ m£§§ÿ Ãφ.

You want to choose something catchy- A pun, a joke, a famous quote, something that sticks in the mind. You can also choose goal oriented text, or something to that extent. Whatever you choose, be sure that it isn't vulgar or obscene.

Simple Guide to Signature Making- Centering and Aligning.
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There is almost always a way to make your signature better. Centering is one of those ways. Take for example this one:
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸Çëñ†ërïñg¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸Mäkëš šïgñ䆵rëš Ïððk ß놆ër¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸

As you can see, it looks a little off. The top line isn't centered over the bottom line. Several ways you could fix that:

Increase the length of the first line border, but remember to keep it symmetrical. Most signatures look better when symmertrical.
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.Çëñ†ërïñg.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸Mäkëš šïgñ䆵rëš Ïððk ß놆ër¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸

Use spacers. Spacers are symbols used to make the border even without actually changing the border any. Most commonly used as spaces are periods ( . ) and underscores ( _ ).
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸ ..................Çëñ†ërïñg.................. ¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸mäkëš šïgñ䆵rëš Ïððk ß놆ër¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸

________¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸Çëñ†ërïñg¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸________
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸Mäkëš šïgñ䆵rëš Ïððk ß놆ër¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸

Rearrange the text. Usually it won't come out perfectly, so you'll still need to use one of the other methods as well.
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸ .....Çëñ†ërïñg mäkëš..... ¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸
¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸šïgñ䆵rëš Ïððk ß놆ër¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸¸,.-¬*ª''ª*¬-.,¸

Well, for basic border making, thats about it! However, you can get on to more advanced methods, and actually make your own border! If this interests you, read on!

Intermediate Guide to Signature Making-Intro to Waves.
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By now, you should already know how the difference between a border, the text, and the actual signature. If not, see the Glossary. If you are reading this, then you are probably interested in making your own borders. The first step is making a wave.

~Waves~
A wave is a series of symbols that create a fluid, \"up and down\" motion. This is an example of a simple wave:
¸„.‹•*'˜˜'*•›.„¸¸„.‹•*'˜˜'*•›.„¸¸„.‹•*'˜˜'*•›.„¸¸„.‹•*'˜˜'*•›.„¸¸„.‹•*'˜˜'*•›.„¸

To you, this may or may not seem complicated. But for those who don't understand how I did it, copy and paste this to a new post:
_¸„,.‹«-·¬•¤^*ªº³²¹“\"°'ˆ˜´¨¯¨`˜ˆ'°\"”¹²³ºª*^¤•¬·-»›.,„¸_

Here it is stretched out, easy to read. (c)
_ ¸ „ , . ‹ « - · ¬ • ¤ ^ * ª º ³ ² ¹ “ \" ° ' ˆ ˜ ´ ¨ ¯ ¨ ` ˜ ˆ ' ° \" ” ¹ ² ³ º ª * ^ ¤ • ¬ · - » › . , „ ¸ _

This is a giant wave made out of varios symbols you can use for other waves. Copy and paste (with a two button mouse) various symbols from left to right in an order that flows. DO NOT DO THIS:
,-~^¯^~-,

Does that flow? I think not. They have to be in a reasonable order. You cannot randomly paste the symbols. Start by using sumbols near the bottom of the line, then work your way up. That is the point of the above all-character wave- to show you in what order the symbols go up or down from left to right. Try making the waves half at a time, like this:
¸„›•*“

Then reverse that half, like this (Some symbols don't look the same backwards, so you'll half to use the mirrored version, which can be found in the same all-character wave):
”*•‹„¸

Now put them together:
¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸

Now repeat that wave several times in front of itself:
¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸¸„›•*“”*•‹„¸

Waves are probably the most important part of learning to make a border. Nearly every single signature has a border with waves in it. Read on to learn more about making your waves into borders.

Intermediate Guide to Signature Making- Wave Application.
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Now that you know how to make a wave (hopefully ), we can move on to actually USING that wave. It's not hard, if your doing it the novice way. Take ur wave, after repeating it:
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸

And make several lines of it, as many as you need for your text, BUT NO MORE THAN 4 LINES!
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸

Insert your text, as you should have learned:
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸Wävëš ärë
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸ ŠïmpÏë

And finish it off by adding the other side (Remeber to align it):
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸Wävëš är븄.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸
¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸...ŠïmpÏë...¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸¸„.«•*'´`'*•».„¸

Not too hard, see? There are hundreds of combinations of symbols that make waves. Here are several others:
¸„.‹¤^ºº^¤›.„¸¸„.‹¤^ºº^¤›.„¸¸„.‹¤^ºº^¤›.„¸

¸„.‹•º°¨¨°º•›.„¸¸„.‹•º°¨¨°º•›.„¸¸„.‹•º°¨¨°º•›.„¸

¸„.›¤^*˜˜*^¤‹.„¸¸„.›¤^*˜˜*^¤‹.„¸¸„.›¤^*˜˜*^¤‹.„¸

,.‹·*\"*·›.,,.‹·*\"*·›.,,.‹·*\"*·›.,,.‹·*\"*·›.,,.‹·*\"*·›.,

Here is an example of a wave that DOES NOT look good in a basic signature:
¸•*'¨¨'*•¸¸•*'¨¨'*•¸¸•*'¨¨'*•¸

If you'll notice, the bottom doesn't curve, but comes to a point. You want the bottom to curve, just like the top does:
¸„‹•*'¨¨'*•›„¸¸„‹•*'¨¨'*•›„¸¸„‹•*'¨¨'*•›„¸

Once you get the hang of it, it's second nature. Practice is key, and get an opinion when you don't know your own. If this is enough border making for you, then feel free to stop reading. If you want more information, read on to intermediate borders.

Advanced Guide to Signature Making- Taking It Up A Notch.
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If you've already read and understood both the Simple and Intermediate guides, and you want to get better, you've come to the right post. Here is where the challenge begins, as this will NOT be simple, to the new guys.

~Twisting Waves~
Waves do not always have to be straight forward. They can sometimes be doubled up on each other, reversed, or used in multiple lines to create bubbles, ovals, etc.

Remember how I said that you can make waves half at a time? This is where that starts getting very important. True waves consist of two halves, perfect, or almost perfect, mirrors of themselves. Consecutive(Spelling?) halves are equal in length, but opposite in slope. When put on two lines, one after another, they will meet at one point, and spread apart at the other. Observe:
¸„.‹•^*“
”*^•›.„¸

You will use this to your advantage, to create borders like these (c)
¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸(Text Goes Here)¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸
˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜(Text Goes Here)˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜˜*^¤».„¸¸„.«¤^*˜

¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸(Text Goes Here)¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨
¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨¸,.-¬*'¨(Text Goes Here)¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸¨'*¬-.,¸

”*^•›.„¸¸„.‹•^*“”*^•›.„¸”*^•›.„¸(Text Goes Here)¸„.‹•^*“¸„.‹•^*“”*^•›.„¸¸„.‹•^*“
”*^•›.„¸”*^•›.„¸”*^•›.„¸¸„.‹•^*“(Text Goes Here)”*^•›.„¸¸„.‹•^*“¸„.‹•^*“¸„.‹•^*“

............¸„.‹¤^ª'˜˜'ª^¤›.„¸(This Is A 4 Liner)¸„.‹¤^ª'˜˜'ª^¤›.„¸............
¸„.‹¤^ª'˜...................(Centered and Aligned)...................˜'ª^¤›.„¸
˜'ª^¤›.„¸¸„.‹¤^ª'˜˜'ª^¤›.„¸..(Not Too Hard)..¸„.‹¤^ª'˜˜'ª^¤›.„¸¸„.‹¤^ª'˜
.....................................˜'ª^¤›.„„¸¸¸¸¸„„.‹¤^ª'˜.....................................

You will get better with practice. For more instruction in these advanced borders, read on.

Advanced Guide to Signature Making- Bubbles.
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Bubbles are parts in a signature formed when waves (The same one or two different ones) comes together, split apart, and come together again, like this:
¸.‹•*''*•›.¸
'*•›.¸¸.‹•*'

These can be made by repeating the same wave several times on one line, and then, on the next line, repeating the same wave, starting with the opposite half. Remember how I said that waves have two halves? One line with start with one half, the next line will start with the other:
¸„«•*“
”*•«„¸

For each line, you will then add the following halves of the waves until that side of your border is long enough:
¸„«•*“”*•«„¸¸„«•*“”*•«„¸Màkíñg búbbÍéš íš àçtúàÍÍý¸„«•*“”*•«„¸¸„«•*“”*•«„¸
”*•«„¸¸„«•*“”*•«„¸¸„«•*“”*•«„¸....Vérý šímpÍé....¸„«•*“”*•«„¸¸„«•*“”*•«„¸¸„«•*“

You won't want it too long, because your other side will be the same length and might carry on to the next line in the post preview.

Advanced Guide to Signature Making- Line-to-line.
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Okay, you may have seen some signatures where the wave flows from one line to the next, line the example in the above post. By doing this, u can create a bubble around your text, and some other cool effects and designs.

~How to make your wave flow across lines~
Firstly, and obviously, u must have a way. Usually this is easiest if you use the same wave throughout the whole process. NOTE: This works best if u don't use wide symbols on the top or bottom of your wave, such as ¯ ¨ ˜ or _
¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸

NOTE: This works best if u don't use wide symbols on the top or bottom of your wave, such as ¯ ¨ ˜ or _

Now repeat half of that wave on the line beneath it. The half u repeat depends on which direction u want the whole thing to slope. This one slopes to the right.
¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸
'*•-.,¸

Now use spacers or any kind (Remember what spacers were? Periods or underscores, etc) to line up the top of that half wave with the bottom half of that whole wave.
¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸
................. `*•-.,¸

As you can see, the wave now extends to the line below it. You can continue this pattern like so:

¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸ ................ ¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸
................. `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´ ................ `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´

Add text, and then mirror the left side to make the right side (See mirroring guide, coming soon):

¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸ ................ ¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸ (Your Longest Text Goes Here) ¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸ ................ ¸,.-•*´`*•-.,¸
................. `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´ ................ `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´ (Text Here) `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´ ................ `*•-.,¸¸,.-•*´ .................

Viola! Perfecto! (two different languages... lol.) Read on for more instrucciones (instructions ).

Tips and Tricks

¤ If you do a second line, try using the same, or a similar border. This can be very effective with some borders.

¤ Use underscores ( _ ) or a similar character to make your first line in the centre. If you play around with this technique for a bit, it can look very professional.

¤ Be patient. Dont rush your signature. If you want it to look good, spend time on it to make it perfect.

¤ You dont have to use the symbols/Alt codes in your signature. Normal writing can look good too.

The Letters

a— A a /-\ À à Á á Â â Ã ã Å å Ä ä Æ æ @
b— B b ß
c-- C c Ç l l ( < ç ¢
d— D d Ð l)
e— E e È è É é Ê Ë ë € £
f— l= F l f l ƒ
g— G g
h— H h )-( l-l |-|
i— I i Ì Í Î I | ì í i ï Ï 1 ¦ ¡ ‡
j— J j ¿
k-- K l{ l< ]{ k
l— L l |_ L Ì Í Î l | 1 ¦ Ï
m— M m /X\ /\/\ /x\ (V) (Y) (¥) /Y\ /¥\
n— N n ñ l\l |\|
o— O o 0 () Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø ð ò ô õ ø
p— P p ¶ þ
q-- Q q
r— R r
s— S s § $ Š š
t— T † 7 ‡ t
u— U u (_) Ù Ú Ü ù ú û ü µ
v— V v \/
w— \X/ W \/\/ \x/ w
x— X x }{ >< ×
y— Y y ¥ Ý ý ÿ
z— Z z Ž


Here's a modified version of Jedi Scout3's all-character wave of the symbols I recommend using if you are making your own border. Copy and paste this to a new post or to a word document, and cut it apart (Copying and pasting) for symbols:

_¸„,.‹«-·¬•¤^*ªº³²¹“"°'ˆ˜´¨¯¨`˜ˆ'°"”¹²³ºª*^¤•¬·-»›.,„¸_