Forum Signature Generator Reborn!

A few people who've been on the forum for a while may remember the Forum Signature Generator that I made, originally inspired by @Poofiemus' post. In the end it didn't seem to get much traction. I guess a shell script was probably a bit too fiddly or intimidating for most users.... 😢

That's why I've been hard at work, and now I'm able to present to you:

DDsiggen - Tierparkzone's Forum Signature Generator

A standalone program to turn your favourite doll photos into images for your forum signature.

<GitHub Link>

The program currently offers the same functionality as my old script, including the extra features I decribed later in that thread.
It adds a graphical interface and several quality of life improvements. 
I plan to keep adding some extra  functionality / customization options in the future.

 

Features:
Two modes are currently available.

Quick Sig:
Generate a signature from multiple photos with only a few clicks.
  - Batch import photos from the working directory and reorder them
  - Arrange photos into one or two signature images, while keeping their size as large as possible
  - Select one of the provided photo styles
  - Export the final signature image(s)

Create new:
Generate a signature with custom text and additional options.
  - Batch import photos from the working directory
  - Import photos one by one from anywhere on your computer or from the web
  - Add or import up to two text layers ("name" and "epithet") that will get applied to the photos
  - Reorder photos and text as desired
  - Select one of the provided photo styles
  - Customize text font, colors and positions for each text layer (you can also use your own font files)
  - Choose how the photos will be arranged in the signature image(s) or leave it to the program
  - Export the final signature image(s) in multiple resolutions

 

Fow Windows users:
   - Download "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip" and use the Windows executable (.exe) inside.

For Linux users:
   - Download "DDsiggen_<version#>_linux.zip" and use the Linux executable inside.
   - Alternatively, download "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip". The Windows executable (.exe) inside should run without issue under Wine.

For Mac users:
   - I don't currently have a Mac machine available to pack a MacOS executable, but may be able to pack it through GitHub eventually. In the meantime, if someone is willing to pack a version for Mac, feel free to fork the GitHub repository.
   - If you have Wine installed on your Mac, you can download "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip". The Windows executable (.exe) inside should run under Wine. (Although it's untested on Mac).
   - Alternatively, you can run the source script directly in Python (see below).

Run directly in Python (any OS):
   - Download the Source code and run "DDsiggen.py" in Python
   - Requires an installation of Python on your system
   - Also requires the additional Python packages "nicegui", "pillow" and "requests"

 

How to use (Windows example):

• Extract the contents of the "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip" file.
• Copy the doll photos you want to use in your signature into the same folder as the extracted "DDsiggen_<version#>.exe" file.
• You can enter your dolls' names into the "names.txt" and "epithets.txt" files
• You can copy additional fonts into the "fonts" folder

• Run "DDsiggen_<version#>.exe" by double clicking.
  • On first launch, you will get the warning shown in the images below, since Windows does not know this application.
  • You can click on "More info", then "Run anyway" to start the program.

 

• A terminal window will open.
• Shortly afterward, your browser will open a new tab displaying the application.
  • On first launch, you may get a firewall alert - Denying the communication request will at most impact your ability to import images from the web. Everything else will function regardless.

• Follow the instructions in the browser tab to generate your signature images.
  • You can use either "Quick Sig" or "Create New"
• It's best to start out with 30 doll photos or less.
  • When loading too large or too many photos, the application may appear to hang. - Usually this can be fixed simply by reloading the browser tab.
  • For details, check the known issues section in the "README.txt" included with your download.
  • There is no enforced limit to how many photos you can put into a signature, and I've successfully tested it with 1000 photos at once. If you want to see how that looks, I've included the result in the examples below.

Quick Sig:

Create New:

• Exported signature images can be found in the "signatures" subfolder.
• How to exit:
  • If you use any of the "Exit Application" buttons in the browser tab, the terminal window will close automatically. You may now close the browser tab.
  • Closing the terminal window will terminate the application and your browser tab will display a "Connection lost" message. You may now close the browser tab.
  • Simply closing your browser tab will not terminate the application! (By reopening the tab you may continue where you left off.) Close the terminal window to fully terminate the application.

 

Examples:

Here are a few sample signatures created with DDsiggen.

If you don't need any text, you can use "Quick Sig":

 

With "Create New" you can get creative with text:

 

Japanese names are possible, too:

 

Why not both?

 

A similar look to what I'm currently using:

Or give it your own twist:

 

You can add other text, not just names:

 

You can also export the sub-images individually at 200px x 200px resolution to create something like character badges:
    

 

And here's the signature combined from 1000 photos:
This takes about 20 minutes to generate and 15 Gigs of RAM. Is it possible? - Yes! Is it worth it? - Probably not.

So, go have fun with your doll photos and create some awesome signatures. 😁 And if you do so, why not show 'em off here?

Feel free to let me know about any issues you might encounter and I'll try to help you get this running.

You can also post ideas for additional features, but I cannot promise I'll be able to implement them. (Text and customizable number of rows/columns is already planned.)

Edited December 6 by Tierparkzone
Updated for program version 1.16

<reserved for updates>

4 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

A few people who've been on the forum for a while may remember the Forum Signature Generator that I made, originally inspired by @Poofiemus' post. In the end it didn't seem to get much traction. I guess a shell script was probably a bit too fiddly or intimidating for most users.... 😢

That's why I've been hard at work, and now I'm able to present to you:

DDsiggen - Tierparkzone's Forum Signature Generator

A standalone program to turn your favourite doll photos into images for your forum signature.

<GitHub Link>

The program currently offers the same functionality as the basic version of my old script, 
plus a graphical interface and several quality of life improvements. 
I plan to add additional functionality / customization options in the future.

 

Fow Windows users:
   - Grab "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip" and use the Windows executable (.exe) inside.

For Linux users:
   - Grab "DDsiggen_<version#>_linux.zip" and use the Linux executable inside.
   - Alternatively, grab "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip". The Windows executable (.exe) inside should run without issue under Wine.

For Mac users:
   - I don't currently have a Mac machine available to pack a MacOS executable. If someone is willing to pack a version for Mac, feel free to fork the GitHub repository.
   - If you have Wine installed on your Mac, grab "DDsiggen_<version#>_win.zip". The Windows executable (.exe) inside should run under Wine (untested on Mac).
   - Alternatively, you can run the source script directly in Python (see below).

Run directly in Python (any OS):
   - Grab the Source code and run "DDsiggen.py" in Python
   - Requires an installation of Python on your system
   - Also requires the additional Python packages "nicegui" and "pillow" (future versions may require further packages).

Users of Linux should have Python installed by default as part of their operating system, but it may be outdated depending on what version of Python @Tierparkzone's script was written in and whether it uses features exclusive to a certain Python version. Since updating the system Python may break things, I recommend using something like pyenv (which lets you use multiple Python versions on the same system easily) if it turns out DDsiggen.py needs a very new Python.

For macos, it depends on the age of your Mac. Apparently newer ones don't include python in the base OS install anymore. But see https://docs.python.org/3/using/mac.html 

As for the executable generation, apparently it's possible to generate executables for systems you don't own using Github Actions.

This is amazing, thank you! 
 

6 hours ago, Kemonomimicry said:

Users of Linux should have Python installed by default as part of their operating system, but it may be outdated depending on what version of Python @Tierparkzone's script was written in and whether it uses features exclusive to a certain Python version. Since updating the system Python may break things, I recommend using something like pyenv (which lets you use multiple Python versions on the same system easily) if it turns out DDsiggen.py needs a very new Python.

Thanks for the additional clarification. Depending on your Linux distribution you may have to use a virtual environment to install additional packages like "nicegui" anyway. It looks like pyenv would solve that together with any possible version issues. - Although, all of this is only necessary if you want to run the script (DDsiggen.py) directly in python. The packaged executable effectively includes its own portable python environment and is therefore independent of what you have installed on your system. 

 

6 hours ago, Kemonomimicry said:

As for the executable generation, apparently it's possible to generate executables for systems you don't own using Github Actions.

Oooh, that's good to know. I'm pretty much a beginner with GitHub, but I'll look into that. Thanks for the tip!

Now I just need to earn permission to change my forum signature here.

I'm currently working on an update for the signature generator that introduces the "Create New" functionality with a lot more options including customizable text on each photo. Although, it'll probably be a few more weeks before it's ready for release...

Here's a little teaser, if you're curious:

Spoiler

 

If anyone so far has tested the current version of the signature generator, please let me know how it went? Did everything work as expected? Did you run into any bugs or were some things unclear? The more feedback I get from you, the more I may be able to improve the upcoming releases.

And you don't have to put this off until you took proper new photos of your dolls. Try it with a few old ones to see if it works how you'd like it to. The program is supposed to make signature creation quick and easy. - Once you got new photos, just replace the old ones and run the generator again. 

 

On 10/29/2025 at 3:26 AM, Kemonomimicry said:

As for the executable generation, apparently it's possible to generate executables for systems you don't own using Github Actions.

I had a first look at this. It might be possible but will require some fiddling around with the build script. I'm not sure when I'm going to get around to playing with that.

The big update is here! DDsiggen Version 1.16 is now available, and it brings support for text on your signatures!

The program can now basically do everything the old ImageMagick script could do (including the extra features I explained over there), and a fair bit more.

I've updated the program description in the opening post accordingly, and made everything a little easier to follow along.

I hope, everyone has fun making some cool new signatures now.