Control Panel Art

[Vash]

Well, my original plans to either have a friend design my panel art for me, or to ask someone on Deviant Art if I could use their image have both fallen through.  My friend is busy with school, and most of the people I asked off of Deviant Art were either unwilling to let me alter the picture, or unwilling/unable to re-render the image to 300 dpi and my requested resolution.  So, I guess that leads me here.  What's another possible solution for CP art?  There are a ton of gorgeous back drops on members MAME cabs from here.  Did you make them on your own or commission someone to do it for you?

[Dazz]

I would like to know this too...  I've previously purchased generic artwork from Mamemarquees.com since I needed it fast.  3 years later I now want to re-do all the artwork and just now starting to look around.

[waveryder]

Try reading the adverts on the artwork forum. Loads of people, myself included, produce custom artwork.

[Afterburner]

Here's what I did....

There are tons of cool-looking, ultra-hi-res pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Go find something you like for a backdrop (nebulae or deep field shots are great choices) and use that as the background.

Then just add whatever other graphics you'd like on top of that.

Here's mine:

Lower Deck Artwork


And the (nearly) finished article.  I have yet to add the spinner and flight stick to the upper deck for Discs of Tron!
You can see my 1P/2P and Insert Coin buttons as well as my small admin buttons on the vertical part between upper and lower CP decks

[waveryder]

How many cabs have space based background art. Isnt it time for something a bit more original. Its so cliched. Lightning  , space, grids and fire. Theres some amazing artwork coming out of this forum, real insperational stuff. We have etched plexi art, hand carved 3d artwork, airbrushed work, custom character art. For the love of god dont end up with one of these space based CP's just because you cant produce anything else 

[Vash]

How many cabs have space based background art. Isnt it time for something a bit more original. Its so cliched. Lightning  , space, grids and fire. Theres some amazing artwork coming out of this forum, real insperational stuff. We have etched plexi art, hand carved 3d artwork, airbrushed work, custom character art. For the love of god dont end up with one of these space based CP's just because you cant produce anything else 

The problem with just commissioning someone to do the artwork for me is twofold.  I don't know what colors I want to be the focus of the panel;  I was going to design the cab's color scheme around a panel image that I found.  And if after all is said and done, I don't like what the person I commissioned comes up with, I'm sort of stuck with it.  All I want is a cool 3D background with nice brush work.  Nothing specific, just a cool abstract that isn't too distracting. 

[waveryder]

Thats the problem with cabinet artwork. If like Afterburner your intention was artwork with a space background or theme,  thats fine. (A great job he did to) Im sure that is the design he had in mind before he started working on the art for his cab. Saying I just want a "cool 3D background" is a bit vague. Maybe you should figure out what you want your cab to look like and what message you want it to send, then think about the art. Most people have an idea of what their cabs mean to them and that's the best place to start. Personally I treat my cab like a large breasted, pink, mini skirt wearing space queen! And my artwork reflects that. What does your cab mean to you? Is it a throwback to your childhood, Is it a fighting arena to kick your mates butts or is it a last ditch attempt to assert your masculinity in a house with a wife and only daughters!!!! All of these will give you a starting point which can be developed. Check out the "artwork board" Its full of people bouncing around ideas and suggestions.

[Afterburner]

How many cabs have space based background art. Isnt it time for something a bit more original. Its so cliched. Lightning  , space, grids and fire. Theres some amazing artwork coming out of this forum, real insperational stuff. We have etched plexi art, hand carved 3d artwork, airbrushed work, custom character art. For the love of god dont end up with one of these space based CP's just because you cant produce anything else 

Cliched?!?  Are you kidding?  Aren't arcade machines themselves cliched?  Yes there are numerous space-oriented cab themes out there.  Given that:

• the majority of cab builders are technically oriented people who enjoy doing things themselves
• most of us are not graphic artists with cartoon talents
• many of the games are space-themed

....it isn't too surprising to see why the space themes are so prevalent.

Certainly those with the means and the will to commission custom professional artwork to adorn their cabinets are welcome and encouraged to do so.

But for many DIY cab builders with only a casual familiarity with Photoshop or some other editing app, space themed artwork is familiar, recognizable, and easily obtained to work with.

Yeah, there are other ways to go, but I don't think the OP should be shamed away from going with something space-themed.

I'm hoping to start a driving cab soon.  Obviously my artwork for it won't be space-themed.  But given my limited graphic art skills, it will be limited to modifying and assembling artwork I can find suitable for the end effect.  In fact, I plan on it as a dual use driving / flight sim cab.  Artwork for that will indeed be interesting.

[MaximRecoil]

How many cabs have space based background art. Isnt it time for something a bit more original. Its so cliched. Lightning  , space, grids and fire. Theres some amazing artwork coming out of this forum, real insperational stuff. We have etched plexi art, hand carved 3d artwork, airbrushed work, custom character art. For the love of god dont end up with one of these space based CP's just because you cant produce anything else 

A quest for "originality" while trying to recreate the arcade experience is kind of ironic, don't you think?

[waveryder]

No offense was meant towards you Afterburner, or your cabinet. I dont feel the need to insult anyones work so no need to get your back up. My point was simply that Vash shouldn't settle for something "cliched" simply because he believes he doesn't have the skills. Tutorials are not hard to find on the net. However as both Vash and Dazz originally commented they didn't want something generic and couldnt get hold of re-rendered/drawn work at 300dpi. Original cabinet artwork doesn't require the "commision" of a proffesional artist far from it. Just check the artwork forum to see how much work is "shared" between the regulars of that forum. I dont believe that arcade machines are themselves "cliche" there is a world of difference between "Retro" and "Cliche".

[Vash]

How many cabs have space based background art. Isnt it time for something a bit more original. Its so cliched. Lightning  , space, grids and fire. Theres some amazing artwork coming out of this forum, real insperational stuff. We have etched plexi art, hand carved 3d artwork, airbrushed work, custom character art. For the love of god dont end up with one of these space based CP's just because you cant produce anything else 

A quest for "originality" while trying to recreate the arcade experience is kind of ironic, don't you think?

Not really.  Granted, a large portion of any cabinet is going to be the same, but there's plenty of room for creativity and originality with out rehashing previous ideas or ruining the authentic feel of an arcade experience. 

[AtomSmasher]

For my CP's, I just used artwork from http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art

Heres the two control panels I made using the artwork from that site:

[Cero21]

Thanks for the link.  Any other site like that?

[psychotech]

Yeah!

A quest for "originality" while trying to recreate the arcade experience is kind of ironic, don't you think?

Not really.  Granted, a large portion of any cabinet is going to be the same, but there's plenty of room for creativity and originality with out rehashing previous ideas or ruining the authentic feel of an arcade experience. 

Vash, you said it! You're the man Plenty of room for creativity ... without ruining the arcade experience!

I've never even tried to reproduce any of the old machines ..and most likely never will (yeah, don't have the skills, OK) - still, I'm pretty happy with the "arcade feel & atmosphere" of my builds so far. Haven't heard any complaints from the people who have actually played these not-so-true-to-the-originals -originals.

So, I'm all for expanding your horizons ..mangling the graphics, changing the colors, altering proportions, whatever ..as long as you really can say you like what you've done afterwards

Keep on being creative 

psychotech

[Afterburner]

No offense was meant towards you Afterburner, or your cabinet. I dont feel the need to insult anyones work so no need to get your back up. My point was simply that Vash shouldn't settle for something "cliched" simply because he believes he doesn't have the skills.

No offense taken.  Other than my CP, my display bezel and marquee are simply both revised versions of those I borrowed from another builder on the net.  Much of his artwork, was, in turn, nicely done collection of high quality artwork of characters he'd gathered from others.

As I'm an aerospace engineer by profession, I obviously have an affinity for space themes.  I guess I misunderstood the OP's intentions....thought he was just looking for a nice high res, print-quality image to start with as a background.  The Hubble shots fit that bill very nicely and they are free.

[waveryder]

Creativity is definetly key here. I cant get over the fact that people will spend hundreds getting their cabs built just right. The right controls, moldings etc; and then chuck on some crappy pixelated artwork they found on the net. I been a member here for years and it shocks me how many people actually do great project threads with amazing attention to detail and produce artwork that is contermount to sticking the dreaded "Marble Contact Paper" on their cabs. There are a million tutorials on the net and so much help avaliable on these forums. I just dont believe theres any excuse to just "cop out" on the art. Its just a waste! There is nothing worse than staring at your CP every time you play and knowing it is not what you actually wanted.....it was just free and easy.

[MaximRecoil]

Creativity is definetly key here. I cant get over the fact that people will spend hundreds getting their cabs built just right. The right controls, moldings etc; and then chuck on some crappy pixelated artwork they found on the net. I been a member here for years and it shocks me how many people actually do great project threads with amazing attention to detail and produce artwork that is contermount to sticking the dreaded "Marble Contact Paper" on their cabs. There are a million tutorials on the net and so much help avaliable on these forums. I just dont believe theres any excuse to just "cop out" on the art. Its just a waste! There is nothing worse than staring at your CP every time you play and knowing it is not what you actually wanted.....it was just free and easy.

I don't see the point of fussing over artwork on a MAME machine in the first place. Original arcade artwork was created to go along with original arcade games. The few official multigame machines from "back in the day" (e.g. PlayChoice-10 and NeoGeo MVS) had very rudimentary "artwork" (I use the term loosely, it was more like labeling).

Just to reiterate: artwork was created to go along with a single game.  The only "artwork" that makes sense on a MAME machine is something that says "MAME". Since you are creating artwork to go along with the system rather than a game that you created, you might as well just identify the system and call it good, like Nintendo and SNK did with the PC-10 and NeoGeo systems.

[waveryder]

I can see your point, but clearly we aren't dealing with single game machines anymore are we. The users of this forum in my opinion are "progressing" what seems to be a dead genre. Thats how it should be. No ones arcade cab sits in a arcade racking up coins anymore, They are in peoples gamesrooms, living rooms....or in my case the bedroom! Unless someone is building/restoring a dedicated machine unique artwork is important. Slapping "MAME" on the side implies that is all the machine does. You just need to look through project anouncments to see people use their cabs for more than just MAME.

[BORIStheBLADE]

Everyone one here wants to be original, but when it comes to art alot of us aren't artist and a tutoial isn't going to fix it. To top it off if we can find a free picture that works why pay someone a couple hundred dollars to do some custom work for you?
 I have spent hours with photoshop and have posted questions regarding some photoshop techniques that have come up unanswered. In these situations people will get the cliche art.

[waveryder]

Wow a couple of hundred dollars...Am I seriously undercharging! If you want some work done BORIStheBLADE Just roughly sketck out what you need and i'll do it for. As for price let me know what your budget is. Im always up for trades as well as cash (after lots of parts for my projects) . Believe me, myself and the other custom artists on the board dont do it for the money (not with our prices, we dont even get minimum wage). If we did we could pack in our suckfest jobs and just draw and play games all day.....wouldnt that be a beautiful world! 

[emerica]

I used a poster from allposters.com. I think it cost me about $10 including shipping. I thought this was an easy way out considering I am not a graphic artist and my Illustrator skills are nowhere to be found.

[ids]

I used a poster from allposters.com...

Looks awesome, and great price too.  I'm struggling with artwork ideas too.  I don't want to cover it up with caricatures, don't want it too loud or too subtle, too geared towards a given game or genre, .... now that I spell it all out, I realize I'm asking way too much!  Maybe this is why some people just buy a pre-built cab; don't have to struggle with a million decisions and possible regrets.

[Avrus]

Creativity is definetly key here. I cant get over the fact that people will spend hundreds getting their cabs built just right. The right controls, moldings etc; and then chuck on some crappy pixelated artwork they found on the net. I been a member here for years and it shocks me how many people actually do great project threads with amazing attention to detail and produce artwork that is contermount to sticking the dreaded "Marble Contact Paper" on their cabs. There are a million tutorials on the net and so much help avaliable on these forums. I just dont believe theres any excuse to just "cop out" on the art. Its just a waste! There is nothing worse than staring at your CP every time you play and knowing it is not what you actually wanted.....it was just free and easy.

My problem is I can't see to beg, borrow, steal or hire anyone to do my artwork.  So at this point the cabinet is getting assembled sans art, and I suspect it might be without art for some time.

[Fozzy The Bear]

My problem is I can't see to beg, borrow, steal or hire anyone to do my artwork.

What?? To design it? or to print it?

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Avrus]

My problem is I can't see to beg, borrow, steal or hire anyone to do my artwork.

What?? To design it? or to print it?

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

Lots of places I can get artwork printed Fozzy, it's the creation of the artwork that's the issue.  Creating artwork isn't like building a cabinet.  Building a cabinet you can kind of work your way through, go back and touch it up, and with enough paint and distracting flashy bits it will look good.

Artwork, you either have the skill or you don't.  No matter how much you polish that turd in Photoshop, well it's still a turd. 

I had 4 people I know lined up to do artwork and they all ended up backing out.  Pixelhugger is too busy (and probably realizes how much work is involved).

So I'm jammed!  I've got a black cabinet that took a lot of time, effort and money, and no shiny artwork.

[AtomSmasher]

Lots of places I can get artwork printed Fozzy, it's the creation of the artwork that's the issue.  Creating artwork isn't like building a cabinet.  Building a cabinet you can kind of work your way through, go back and touch it up, and with enough paint and distracting flashy bits it will look good.

Artwork, you either have the skill or you don't.  No matter how much you polish that turd in Photoshop, well it's still a turd. 

I had 4 people I know lined up to do artwork and they all ended up backing out.  Pixelhugger is too busy (and probably realizes how much work is involved).

So I'm jammed!  I've got a black cabinet that took a lot of time, effort and money, and no shiny artwork.

Thats why I used the vector graphics from the site I linked earlier to create my artwork.  I can't draw worth a damn, but I can resize and rotate like a master 

[emerica]

I agree with atomsmasher. Using the art at localarcade.com is a lot easier than trying to create your own. I used it in some extent to make a marquee for my cab following the superman theme (although I never had it printed).

My problem with cp artwork is trying to line up the joysticks and buttons in programs like illustrator. It seems like the field is just way too big for me to figure it all out dimension wise. It appears that if everything does not line up right then the whole panel will not look right.

Looks awesome, and great price too.  I'm struggling with artwork ideas too.  I don't want to cover it up with caricatures, don't want it too loud or too subtle, too geared towards a given game or genre, .... now that I spell it all out, I realize I'm asking way too much!  Maybe this is why some people just buy a pre-built cab; don't have to struggle with a million decisions and possible regrets.

This is what makes diy fun. Its those big decisions that makes it all worth it. Be patient and you'll find what you like. Your the only one that has to like it. I don't think that we build these machines to impress the neighbors.

[Avrus]

I don't think you appreciate the depth to which my artistic ability sucks.  You know that new material they made that's 10x darker than any previous material?  Make it 60x darker and it represents my absence of artistic skills.  l

[Crowquill]

Vash--Definitely check out the Artwork forum. Someone can probably help you out there, but you'll need to narrow down what you want a bit more. Check out the artwork people have done and find what you like about each one whether it's a graphic or a color scheme. I'm not saying you just copy and paste graphics together, but you could have something influenced by it. If you have the control panel arwork for MAME you might page through those as well to see how it was done on the original games.

Ultimately you'll want a cohesive design for the whole panel and marquee and perhaps even side art. That's one thing that's so amazing about early-80's cabs--the whole cabinet had a unified theme and artwork. Having mis-matched pieces is one way to make your cab look very "home-built".

A few good questions to ask yourself:

What basic "style" do you want? (Photo-realistic, simple graphics, cartoons)

What color(s) should it be? (Mainly worry about the background color to start)

How much space do I have to work with and where do my controls fit into that? - You may start with great artwork, but if the trackball lands in the middle of Superman's face, it's not going to work so well for your panel.

Hope this helps.

[waveryder]

A few good questions to ask yourself:

What basic "style" do you want? (Photo-realistic, simple graphics, cartoons)

What color(s) should it be? (Mainly worry about the background color to start)

How much space do I have to work with and where do my controls fit into that? - You may start with great artwork, but if the trackball lands in the middle of Superman's face, it's not going to work so well for your panel.

Hope this helps.

Amen to that!