Dearest Petey;
The first one...I actually DO like this one, except the metallic color it progresses into gets really choppy and bad. Overall, not bad.
The second one, I don't like one bit. >> The edges of the...whatever it is, are very choppy. It's too pixelly, and I hate the font. I usually tend to stick with...smoother, more standard font.
Since you want to work on backgrounds...
Here's your next assignment.
Take this;
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...nsyou/pete.png
Use it in the signature.
No text.
Make the background out of the image.