How To Create And Use The Perfect Artist Signature

Executing The Best Artist Signature For Paintings, Drawings And More

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It’s something that established creatives do instinctively at the end of their finished piece – but how exactly should you use an artist signature if you haven’t done so before?

artist signature

Why do artists put their signature?

Leaving a mark or signature on an original creation has been around as long as humans have been making. In that time, the reasons as to why artists use signatures hasn’t changed a great deal. There’s a few main benefits, but in general; an individual will sign their artwork as a way of claiming ownership of the piece. However, the appeal of using an artist signature goes a lot further in modern day.

For art historians and conservators – artist signatures help to date a painting, which indicates its importance and monetary worth. Although finding a small indicator on your old, treasured painting is quite exciting; it’s not uncommon for a fake artist signature to be used in order to increase value. This continues to be an issue within art markets, especially older pieces of work.

For the artists themselves; using a signature after you finish every piece of work has become a tradition. It almost becomes part of the innate creative process.

But more importantly, an artist’s signature helps to build a cohesive, original body of work that will always be linked back to you. Our art styles can change a lot over time so ensuring that your artist signature remains the same throughout your entire practice ties the work to your name even if it looks different.

Another more logistical reason for signing artwork is for the copyright protection it grants. By leaving your mark – you’re deterring others from using your creativity as their own. Think of it as a brand logo or trademark. Protecting yourself and your work from copies is particularly pertinent during the age of social media where art theft happens on a regular basis.

Do you need to use an artist signature?

With all these explanations in mind, is an artist signature an absolute must? Well, this choice is up to the individual artist in question, with no right or wrong answer available.

Many creators never used artist signatures at all and continue to do so today. There’s a variety of reasons for this; including not wanting to distract the aesthetic of the painting or ruin it’s composition. Methods to work these issues could involve signing your work on the back or incorporating the artist signature into the work itself.

Whatever you decide, just remember that an unsigned piece of work could lead to copyright issues and a decrease in value overtime.

How to come up with artist signature ideas?

What to sign

Firstly, you’re going to want to establish exactly what it is that you’re going to use. For example, do you want to use your first name, initials or full name? These are options that are very easily identifiable when tracing the artist – but if you prefer anonymity or a degree of mystery – you might want to opt for something else.

Some artists don’t involve their name at all in artist signatures. Instead, you could choose a new title or slogan to represent yourself as creative; a bit like a stage name. Others choose to design a symbol or marking that doesn’t necessarily read as a word, but the link to who created the work is still there.

Do artists need to sign the date on a painting? This would be a completely optional addition – but it would help keep track of when the painting was created. Perhaps you could include this for your more important and significant pieces of work.

Either way, the most important feature of your artist signature is consistency. Before you’ve solidified your choice, make sure it’s something you’ll want to use for years to come.

Something to remember: Do artists use their real signatures? If by real you mean legal, then no. Don’t use your legal signature as your art signature for security purposes. Try to have a separate artist signature that you use on all your pieces.

How to sign

Next, you’ll need to decide how and where to leave your artist signature. Traditionally, painters have signed their work in either of the bottom corners, but there’s actually no rule to this. In fact, you can sign your art anywhere; it simply depends on how visible you wish it to be.

Incorporating your signature into the art itself can also be a fun and discreet way to mark your ownership. Let’s say you’re painting an interior scene and there happens to be a postcard on the wall. You could sneakily sign your name within the postcard, as if it’s supposed to be there.

But how exactly do artists sign their work? What’s the best medium to use? Again, this depends on your desired outcome and effect.

For practicality reasons, it’s recommended that you stick to the same material that the piece is made of. For example, it might be hard to sign a thick oil painting with a normal HB pencil. In this case, you’re better off etching your artist signature into the paint surface with the back of your paintbrush, something done by famous painters like Vincent Van Gogh.

If you’re applying your art signature with paint or pen – remember to consider the colour. This will heavily impact how well your mark stands out against the rest of the piece.

artist signature

Digital artist signature

Digital artists can still sign their work without physically putting pen to paper through a couple of options. If there’s a certain font you enjoy, you could digitally use that to type on top of the work after completion – or simply scan your handwritten signature and insert using photo manipulation programmes.

These digital signatures can act as watermarks, protecting the copyright of your art once it’s shared online for everyone to see.

Artist signature examples

If you’re still finding the idea of your artist signature too daunting – it’s best to become familiar with some examples. Next time you’re at a gallery, be on the lookout for the artist’s mark or whether they even have one.

To find more artist signature examples, you could also visit online databases filled with thousands of scans from historic art periods and modern day. This wide variety should enrich you with all the inspiration you need. Good places to start would be Pinterest or websites such as artistssignatures.com.

Final Thoughts

Despite being such a small part of the artwork – that little signature can easily throw an artist off as they approach the end of the making process. Whilst giving it the attention it deserves, it’s important to not dwell on the outcome too much. At the end of the day, the art itself is what will attract an audience. Just remember to sign your work at the end if you’re planning on becoming rich and famous anytime soon.

WHAT DOES YOUR ART SIGNATURE LOOK LIKE? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

Don’t forget you can always share your art with us! Submit to one of our open calls or tag us on Instagram @darkyellowdot.

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