Kickass Spiderman+Venom CP overlay for "Tacosmugler"...

[SNAAAKE]

PS:Sirpoonga,totally understand your point.Its not that hard to do but I takes time if you do something decent.

Right, like I said, above it just 5 minutes of time but still is a little more involved than your spiderman/venom one.  
For the benefit of everyone:
extracting pacman and the ghost from the cocktail graphics isn't hard in photoshop, the extract tool rules!
The background is just two screenshots I took while playing the game.  I blurred them, set some blending options for the layers.  I should spend mroe time to perfect it as where the two images overlap needs work.  Then making a straightline of dots in photoshop is easy.  Just select the brush tool, moodify how it draws by increasing the spacing.  Hold shift while drawing to draw a straight line.  Dots automatically made because of the spacing of the brush.
Hehe, photoshop rules.

Who knows how photoshop is .

I actually never used it..maybe buy or look for it online

Anyway...nuff crap for a day already...Lets move on.

[SirPoonga]

I actually never used it..maybe buy or look for it "online"

You can try before you buy:)
http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jhtml#product=39

[SNAAAKE]

I actually never used it..maybe buy or look for it "online"

You can try before you buy:)
http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jhtml#product=39

Thanks..checking it out now.

[1UP]

No one said I drew these..these are comon sense that I got em from the web..reason it took 2 hours because I had to work on the image for a while..you know..brightness,darkness,scaling,make sure both image fit with the background..etc..

Just a tip -- if it's taking you 2 hours to adjust the brightness, let me introduce you to the Levels tool.  It is your friend, and will make your adjustments much faster than using Brightness/Contrast, with better results.  I haven't touched Bri/Con for years.  You can use Levels to adjust color too, though that's a little harder to learn, so just use Hue/Sat for that.

[SNAAAKE]

No one said I drew these..these are comon sense that I got em from the web..reason it took 2 hours because I had to work on the image for a while..you know..brightness,darkness,scaling,make sure both image fit with the background..etc..

Just a tip -- if it's taking you 2 hours to adjust the brightness, let me introduce you to the Levels tool.  It is your friend, and will make your adjustments much faster than using Brightness/Contrast, with better results.  I haven't touched Bri/Con for years.  You can use Levels to adjust color too, though that's a little harder to learn, so just use Hue/Sat for that.

naw man..just the total work was 2 hours..EVERYTHING..i am very picky about things aint looking right so some fixing here and there took around that amount of time..

Only like 2 hours isnt that shabby for an overlay if you ask me..

[1UP]

Still, use the Levels instead of Brightness/Contrast.  Much better IMHO!  

[TacoSmuggler]

Whoo hoo! A 2 page thread with my name on it! some people should be so lucky.

Sir poonga, That link was helpful. After i'm done with the cabinet I will see if i can learn photoshop for myself. I own the program but never learned to do more than re-size photos.

[Rasher2k]

Flame? Me no flame! Woah woah, you don't have to make me happy Snaaake, I have got a grip (on the beer I'm cooling down with) and I am grown up (last time I checked anyway, maybe I should check again...)

Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh, but the amount of CP designs I've seen lately that are basically just cut 'n paste jobs are really getting to me. It's just the awe-struck-ness of the receivers that I'm in disbelief of; you can do this in your own home, and its easy! Maybe I'm a subconcious Photoshop advocate or something. There are just so many cool blending options and filters that can elevate the feel of a design from a "yeah" to a "wow", and the thing is they only take seconds to implement it's just seems a crime not to use them! (Yeah, I'm the image police - you're under arrest Mo'Fo'.. ha ha)

I come from a world of graphics and criticizing my own work is something I do on a regular basis, and today I guess it just spilled out onto you. Sorry Snaaake, you're providing an excellent service to this community - I can't think of anybody else that composes CP images on demand - and maybe I should have been providing image editing tips rather than accusing you of credit snatching.

Tip #1. Get Adobe Photoshop - you really will be amazed at the simplicity and attractiveness of layers with nice fuzzy edged drop shadows. Your images will love you for it (wont they?).  

[Ghoul]

Besides how many of you REALLY would even take a minute to do something for someone..?

Well...

Well you could say every FE dev who tirelessly answer questions are doing something for people. Not only providing free tech support but the free software in the first place. Also, anyone who has ever answered a question on this board period is doing something for someone. Really, this entire board and website is doing something for someone. It's not like it's some silly video game discussion group or an internet soapbox, it's a place where people who have an unusual and often difficult hobby can share ideas, answer questions, and let people see the results.  Almost everybody participating in any way is doing something for somebody.

[TacoSmuggler]

Ahh diplomacy... If only my president knew how to use it.

[SNAAAKE]

Sorry Snaaake, you're providing an excellent service to this community - I can't think of anybody else that composes CP images on demand - and maybe I should have been providing image editing tips rather than accusing you of credit snatching.

Tip #1. Get Adobe Photoshop - you really will be amazed at the simplicity and attractiveness of layers with nice fuzzy edged drop shadows. Your images will love you for it (wont they?).  

Okay that sounds "OK".

You see the overlay as just so called "copy and paste"
Because you probley do tons of image editing or something for living..you see,to lot of people.
EVEN that is hard to do.
As for 3 overlays lately,someone bought some hacked pad from me once and he asked me if i can do 3 decent looking overlay for the guy so I did(yes..Snake is very nice ).

Now you cant expect me to do anything more then so called "copy and paste" for free !.

I am not gonna screw the guy up by hand drawing something then buy a scanner then scan it so I could call it 100% my own while the actual print will look like $hit and you will probley be really happy because I didn't do the so called "COPY 'N' PASTE".

After all you are the image police .

Just because you can do anything doesnt mean everyone can.

as for your shadow effect,LOOK ! carefully..venom do have a light fuzzy shadow thang goin on.

PS:
I SERIOUSLLY WISH THAT YOU WERE THE PRESIDENT Rasher  !..I mean America could have been better then how it is today .

IF ONLY...

[Zinfari]

Everyone keeps talking about how easy these CP layouts are with something like Photoshop.  That's if you:

A) Have access to Photoshop
B) Have a clue how to use it.
C) All you want is a Cut and Paste CP (which look nice)

This forum has a wide variety of folks with different skill sets.  Some can do wonders with wood, others with electronics, and others with art.

Photoshop while being a great product isn't the most intuitive product in the world.  It's not something the average person sits down in front of for the first time and knocks out an original masterpiece or even a "Cut and Paste" CP overlay.  Not everyone has the time to learn it or the desire.  

People build these cabs for different reasons.   For some folks the motivation is strictly to be able to play old arcade games on a realistic control panel.   These are the cabs you see out there that are still completely wood no artwork, etc.  It works for them and that should be fine with everyone.  

There is another group that wants there cab to look nice as well as perform well it's intended function.  These folks may not have all of the skills to make their cab look perfect so they enlist folks here or their other friends in an attempt to fill that void in their skill set.  That's what happened here.  Snaaake was nice enough to take the time.  How long he spent is irrelivent... the fact is he did it and that's what this forum is about.

I'm sure all of us wished we were a master craftsman with a fully equiped woodworking shop and a master artist to whom using Photoshop was as simple as making toast.  Oh and while I'm at it let's throw in electrical/mechanical genius (who also is a metal smith and had the resources to mold plastic) as it would be nice to be able to make my own Joysticks, trackballs and buttons so I could take credit for the entire cab.  Oh yea and I should build a new monitor while I'm at it, I wouldn't want someone to accuse me of not having a completely origonal cab.


-Zinfari

[SirPoonga]

Photoshop while being a great product isn't the most intuitive product in the world.  It's not something the average person sits down in front of for the first time and knocks out an original masterpiece or even a "Cut and Paste" CP overlay.  Not everyone has the time to learn it or the desire.  

I have to disagree.  Photoshop is very easy to use.  And there are alot of tutorials out there too.

Now GIMP has a very steep learning curve, but it's free:)

[SNAAAKE]

There is another group that wants there cab to look nice as well as perform well it's intended function.  These folks may not have all of the skills to make their cab look perfect so they enlist folks here or their other friends in an attempt to fill that void in their skill set.  That's what happened here.  Snaaake was nice enough to take the time.  How long he spent is irrelivent... the fact is he did it and that's what this forum is about.

I'm sure all of us wished we were a master craftsman with a fully equiped woodworking shop and a master artist to whom using Photoshop was as simple as making toast.  Oh and while I'm at it let's throw in electrical/mechanical genius (who also is a metal smith and had the resources to mold plastic) as it would be nice to be able to make my own Joysticks, trackballs and buttons so I could take credit for the entire cab.  Oh yea and I should build a new monitor while I'm at it, I wouldn't want someone to accuse me of not having a completely origonal cab.


-Zinfari

;DOHHH MY;D
Very well spoken !  

I wish atleast some people were like you...that UNDERSTANDS how things go..some are like dead blind and cold(*COUGH*Rasher).

And yeah..while you are at it..DO make your own buttons,joysticks,trackball,even make your own wood(BUILD YOUR OWN MDF.COM ) so its 100% your own build cabinet..I mean who needs Home Depot.
Afterall,we do need build something 100% your own...

[Rasher2k]

..will add some sort on name on it so people cant just call it their own..you know..

Ironic.

You dont HAVE to draw the characters yourself, that was never the issue, but the fact is you wanted to put YOUR name on it. Why? So people couldn't call your work their own? But what? YOU want to put your name on OTHER peoples work! Eh? Okay, maybe not so much their work but the actual arrangement itself. Fine.

Maybe I wasn't clear about my intentions in earlier posts; Some cut out CP designs do look very nice, but wanting to brand an arrangement of otherwise stock images seems a little vain to me. The more you work with an image, the more it makes it your own, and with just a little knowledge in various editing programs it becomes really easy to do - anybody can do it. Branding it then is okay, because it becomes an original - thats what I've been trying to get at.

Your CP designs are good, but I see potential for greatness. You've already done most of the required work, found the graphics, cut them out, pasted them down. All thats needed is just one more infintesimal step. Then again I've been working with graphics for quite some time now that what seems obvious to me is oblivious to others. Carry on.

(Another ironic thing is your MDF plug, seeing I used to work in a timber mill and actually made particle and fibre board, which I am going to use to build my cab!)

Yeah, lets build our cabinets one atom at a time.
Do you need a vicks to *cough* clear your throat?

[NickC]

anyone can do it, but not many will master it, or even learn anything beyond basic skills, art comes in many different shapes and forms, not everyone can be a marvel artist, and not everyone can be graphic artist, technically the design is his, the characters are not....

[SNAAAKE]

..will add some sort on name on it so people cant just call it their own..you know..

Ironic.

You dont HAVE to draw the characters yourself, that was never the issue, but the fact is you wanted to put YOUR name on it. Why? So people couldn't call your work their own? But what? YOU want to put your name on OTHER peoples work! Eh? Okay, maybe not so much their work but the actual arrangement itself. Fine.

EHHH....WTF
YOU WANNA GET OFF MY BACK ! !

I meant some name like *MAME* or something similer..

NOT MY FUKIN REAL NAME...in there..

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO...

NEVER EVER ! come back over here...you are only flaming and nothing but flaming..

You did make your own MDF so why dont you start making your own buttons and joysticks too since you you are like the *SUPERHUMAN* !  

[TacoSmuggler]

Snaake, Ignore Rasher. He is only trying to goad you. We know what you intentions were. Some 'noobs' like rasher will never grow up.
Seems he's also a Jack-of-all trades. Gonna build his cabinet from scratch huh? OOOOOKAAAY, I will wait with baited breath for the pics.   Wanna make a bet he's a 14 yr old kid?

Remember Snaake:

Never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.(or boy...)  

Dont bother to reply Rasher, no one wants to hear from you. And I will be busy mashing sawdust pulp to make my own wood so I can be soooo cool like you.

Oops, there I go again TOOT TOOT TOOTIN' MY OWN HORN!

[Frostillicus]

Chiming in with a thumbs up to snaaake for going out of his way to help a fellow BYOAC'er, very nice of you, man!

In response to some other posts:
I'd like to say that yes, graphic design is art, some good some bad, but no one can truly critique it but the artist who made it.  Also, photoshop is really easy once you understand basic concepts that are the basis of most adobe programs, like illustrator or indesign, for example.  They do act a bit differently than powerpoint or word(the non-artist's layout and design programs ).  

The point is give photoshop a try, in the long run it'll be all you use(other than illustrator) but it's not the only program that will work - just maybe the most efficient, especially with keyboard shortcuts! Tutorials certainly help!

The more you work with an image, the more it makes it your own, and with just a little knowledge in various editing programs it becomes really easy to do - anybody can do it. Branding it then is okay, because it becomes an original - thats what I've been trying to get at.

That pretty much sums up why your thinking is so skewed - and I just can't take what you say seriously.  if it wasn't your image to begin with, it will never be your image, hence you will never be able to legally take credit for it.  no matter how many layer filters, enhancements, level adjustements you make.   it will never be your 'original'.  period.