Control Panel Graphics - critque.

[Richardgregory]

Hi Folks:  so a rough crack at designing a control panel with artwork....[don't laugh, and be gentle].  What do you think of the artwork layout...too simple, too ugly, too less.....

I don't know what to do about the surrounding of the buttons....the left side are Black buttons, and the Right side are Blue buttons.  I just put in yellow and blue 'cause I had no idea yet.  Suggestions?


Thanks

[yotsuya]

What's your theme? Develop a theme and design the panel around that.

[AzureKnight]

I would recommend you put the center dot back into the button layouts to make it easier to line up for drilling later.

Beyond that I would agree with Yots, pick a theme and a style.  The Pacman and Ghosts have a mirrored effect while nothing else does, that looks odd.  Q-Bert if floating on the right above the Pacman fruit...why?

I like that you are not completely over crowding things.

The warped Tron art looks a bit out of place compared to the rest of the 8-bit graphics look.

[Richardgregory]

Hmm...for this particular build, it's just like a generic MAME that highlights the big hits of the 80's:  DK, Pacman, Galaga, Frogger......I thought I'd just keep it simple and toss in a few artwork that represents the classic hits.

Likewise with the sideart as well.

[Generic Eric]

What's your theme? Develop a theme and design the panel around that.

Even More Good Advice


But seriously, yots has said it as succinctly as possible. 

To elaborate:
You have 4 way joystick games, that while maybe 2 player only 1 played at a time, on a 2 player panel with presumably 8 way joys and 6 buttons. 

The goal is to make something look cohesive.  Like it was originally in an arcade.  But the truth is an arcade wouldn't survive if you could walk up to every game and play the same thing. 

TBH, I've given up on the artwork.  I'm gonna use wood grain on the sides, black on the control panel. of my multigames; should I do another.

For my money, if I'm going to pay a lot of money on artwork, it will be for a restore.  If you want something that plays vertical shooters, you could have a nice space scenery with ships and stations. 

[yotsuya]

I would love to see someone at some point in time do "Classic Arcade" as a theme rather than  "Arcade Classics". The former would take design elements from classic games (stenciled designs, control panels that look like instrument panels); the later seems to be an excuse to plaster a ton of characters all over the place.

[Richardgregory]

I think I'll go back to the drawing board 

Yotsuya:  good points, and I like what you said about Classic Arcade theme vs Arcade Classic...something yet to be seen.  Hmmm, I nominate you. 

[yotsuya]

I think I'll go back to the drawing board 

Yotsuya:  good points, and I like what you said about Classic Arcade theme vs Arcade Classic...something yet to be seen.  Hmmm, I nominate you. 

Thanks for taking my feedback for what it was meant to be: constructive.

Start here: Arcade Art Library: Control Panel Overlays. Browse through them. Look for elements you like. Go from there.

[Richardgregory]

Thanks Yotsuya for the link!  With this information, I'm going to rethink all of this for sure.  Hmm, I was thinking for the interim while I do so, maybe I can just print out the following Tron theme and use that...what do you think?  Looks too messy?

P.S.  I know some that hate Tron, but I'm not sure why....it really brings back good ol' arcade memories for me.

I think I'll go back to the drawing board 

Yotsuya:  good points, and I like what you said about Classic Arcade theme vs Arcade Classic...something yet to be seen.  Hmmm, I nominate you. 

Thanks for taking my feedback for what it was meant to be: constructive.

Start here: Arcade Art Library: Control Panel Overlays. Browse through them. Look for elements you like. Go from there.

[Richardgregory]

Good points:  and about the wood grain....do they still sell them adhesive backings??  I recall vividly buying sheets of them a while back in a small project of mine in my teens, but that was eons ago.  Would they sell them in big sheets to cover an entire side of a cab?   Maybe I'll check HD later.

What's your theme? Develop a theme and design the panel around that.

Even More Good Advice


But seriously, yots has said it as succinctly as possible. 

To elaborate:
You have 4 way joystick games, that while maybe 2 player only 1 played at a time, on a 2 player panel with presumably 8 way joys and 6 buttons. 

The goal is to make something look cohesive.  Like it was originally in an arcade.  But the truth is an arcade wouldn't survive if you could walk up to every game and play the same thing. 

TBH, I've given up on the artwork.  I'm gonna use wood grain on the sides, black on the control panel. of my multigames; should I do another.

For my money, if I'm going to pay a lot of money on artwork, it will be for a restore.  If you want something that plays vertical shooters, you could have a nice space scenery with ships and stations.

[yotsuya]

Thanks Yotsuya for the link!  With this information, I'm going to rethink all of this for sure.  Hmm, I was thinking for the interim while I do so, maybe I can just print out the following Tron theme and use that...what do you think?  Looks too messy?

P.S.  I know some that hate Tron, but I'm not sure why....it really brings back good ol' arcade memories for me.

There you go. Take the Tron there. Maybe recolor the lines.

I love the Space Invaders arrows. I've used those elements in my projects many times, simply by recoloring the arrows.

Original:



My use (early draft of a project I'm working on):

[Generic Eric]

Good points:  and about the wood grain....do they still sell them adhesive backings??  I recall vividly buying sheets of them a while back in a small project of mine in my teens, but that was eons ago.  Would they sell them in big sheets to cover an entire side of a cab?   Maybe I'll check HD later.

I'll probably just stain the plywood.  But I'm sure you could find wood grain vinyl if you were determined.

[Darkfall]

My only observation is that if the characters on the left have a reflection, I'd make sure the ones on the right do, as well. I assume the left graphic already had the reflection, so making it match perfectly on the right might be tricky - so I'd remove the reflection from the left ones and redo it for both sides, so they match.

[mgb]

While I don't hate the original art you posted, I agree with everything Yotsuya said.
Its all about finding a theme and locking in with it. The classic game sprite thing has been done.
Be careful on putting together too many elements of different games.

You're taking the advice well and I'm sure you'll come away with cp art that you'll enjoy much more.

I've seen it happen many times over the years on this forum, where someone posts their first draft and then everyone puts in their thoughts. Little by little the work drastically improves into a great piece of work.
Good luck

[matsadona]

Well, with my first build I was super anxious to get as much as possible in, just "because I can" - and that included the artwork as well.
So it was Final phantasy sideart (?!, yes, I love Yuna, but have never played the game ), Bubble bobble CPO, some Donkey Kong, Space invaders and Pacman characters at the bezel and as the icing on the cake there was Mario Bros in the marquee. At least I had the sense of doing everything in the same blue shade

Later on I did a restoration, and without any shame I totally ripped off the design from Koenigs Wee Cade. A clean design indeed.

For my Minicade I was even more simplistic, doing no CPO at all

So what is my point? Less is more And the genuine artwork in the 70's and 80's was often pretty simplistic. Maybe not that much by design, but the consequence of primitive technology and cost savings. Usually it was made of stencils and screen printing, and that only allowed simple graphics with few colors. So when you mimic that style it feels more authentic to me.

I second what others has said already - stick with a theme. And keep it simple. If you need to show off all the games, do that on the monitor with a fancy frontend and attract screens

[Richardgregory]

Hey all:

The more I look at the CP that I posted, the worse it looks to me :-)  Upon reading all your advice and opinions, I've come to realization that it would esthetically be out of alignment if I had proceeded with it.  I am definitely going back to the drawing board and pick a theme, and keep it simple and clean, much like some examples posted by fellow members.

Thanks guys.