Also, since the marquee has a lot of black, does that translate well for being backlit? I'm planning on getting it printed professionally and using some LED strips behind the plexi.
It does not! Avoid pure black backgrounds for marquees...this will definitely not look good when lit.
Hey guys,
I'm just getting started on my artwork for an upcoming build. I was hoping to get some opinions on it. I'm looking for both good and bad. It's my first draft, so, please let me know what's up.
The good:
- The button and joystick stand-ins are nicely created.
- P3 and P4 joysticks are not rotated.
- You gave it the old college try.
The bad:
Where to start?
CP- First, lets talk about your choice of CP shape. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the design for the CP is absolutely wrong for a 4-player experience. You'll notice this when P4's joystick arm's elbow is invading P2's button space. P3's elbow will for sure be colliding with P1's forearm during games. I understand people like the "look" of the shape of this CP, but for practicality it is not comfortable for a 4-player experience. The original midway/konami style CP shape is a standard for a reason, it gives the most elbow room and spacing for crowding around the machine.
- Artwise...I'm not a fan of the mix of box art from all these different games. GTA?? On an arcade machine...I just don't get it.
I would simplify the CP art, to start...and rely on more patterns, grids, halos rather than random images of different styles and games that don't even relate to the arcade concept.
- Those label fonts are tiny! When printed they will not be readable. Also, I'm not sure I agree with the category labels like "master control, and Player 1/2/3/4 being on the bottom of the button groups rather than at the top.
Marquee:
- The clipart look is standard for most people that aren't really artistic, per say. The tackiness comes from the mixture of different styles, characters from different angles/perspectives, and a lack of overall composition of their placements.
The plain black background isn't going to print well, and it dominates the overall look, has nothing really to it that's interesting. You don't want the background to stand out, i get it, but at the same time the black void is engulfing the image.
I would scrap the idea of the clipart style, or at least if you're set on these different characters from a wide variety of games, try to find art that go together in style. You've got too many different looks here from Pixel to 3D rendered, to wireframes and realistic shadows?? Too much.
- "Arcade" is a location. This is an arcade machine. I don't think you need to hit people over the head with a hammer to tell them that they're playing an arcade machine. Pick a name with a theme. If you're set on your name being on the thing, then come up with something clever to go with it.
- Thematically I don't know what I'm looking at. You have a Nintendo logo, on an arcade machine that also has art from Sega, Sony, atari, etc... Pick a theme!
I'm in the same "start over" crowd. As harsh as this all sounds, you are doing your project a disservice not putting more effort into the artwork. Do more research, as much as you would with the building process. Look up artstyles you like, artists that have a particular style that appeals to you, then try to emulate that. Look at the classic cabinets and how they compose their art kits and take queues from them. Also, Simplify. Less is more.
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Topic: New arcade artwork (Read 3583 times)
