Author Topic: need a marquee designed! (Read 13345 times)

hulkster · « **on:** February 01, 2004, 01:18:58 pm »

okay, im trying to get a marquee done but dont have the skills myself. snaaake graciously took his time to do a mockup marquee for me, but it was definitely his own style, and i wanted to kinda have my own style if ya know what i mean. no offense to snaaake, it was bad ass, just more his style.

ANYWAY, im looking for a cool looking blue background....something like this http://www.deviantart.com/view/4988889/ but not exactly. my cab is calle Mamestrosity and i want the marquee to show that. my buttons on my cp are blue and black and im going to paint the cab black as well. so i want some color mainly in the marquee, but i still want to keep the blue/black look. so basically, i want to put some characters in the marquee, mainly street figther or figther characters but i want to keep a "powerful" theme to the marquee. any help please?

Harakiri · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2004, 02:20:03 pm »

The style you want is quite abstract for a "arcade cabinet"!

I could do one but right now i'm busy vectorizing reactor logo and some other stuff! If you're english, take a look at some photoshop lessons that come with the program itself, you maybe be a good artist without knowing it!

Try:

Adobe photoshop CS

Adobe Illustrator CS

Good luck in your search/way to figure it out!

hulkster · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2004, 04:00:07 pm »

well i just put that image up there for a reference. i dont really want that particular image, but ive seen people make these cool backgrounds and i want something similar. i really dont know what kind of background i need, but i know i want it to be a blue/black background. i was just hoping somebody would help me out witht hat.

menace · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2004, 10:28:46 am »

What no red and gold???!

hehe I'm a little late to the game so whats the cab name and overall theme--I find I'm better with the ideas than the actual artwork but maybe between the lot of us, you could get something you like.

I went with a storm idea and incorporated lightning into the marquee and main control panel--just to give you some ideas...

hulkster · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2004, 03:37:44 pm »

ha, no....no red and gold. although HulkaMAMEia was the first idea i had a long time ago, ive opted to go to for the Mamestrosity! thats the name of the cab and its a showcase cab....so i want to maintain "powerful" feel to the marquee because the cab is so friggin big. storm stuff sounds cool....blue/black/white would work pretty nicely.

menace · « **Reply #5 on:** February 02, 2004, 07:30:46 pm »

hmm--i would definitely try to incorporate some "rampage" guys in there--nothing says monstrosity like some angry monsters

If you are talented you could have those guys and a few others "destroying" your marquee--smashing some letters, breaking glass..just an idea. I'd make the letters out of stone looking fonts give it the "bulk" you are looking for...for some reason i keep thinking fantastic four--but I digress..

hulkster · « **Reply #6 on:** February 02, 2004, 08:19:00 pm »

hmmm, smashing the letters, that sounds cool. but i dont know about the rampage guys. i kinda want to stay with some figther characters in my marquee. but i wonder if it would look cool with them kinda smashing it.

hulkster · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2004, 04:36:46 pm »

bump....i need help!

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2004, 10:44:11 pm »

Hey Hulk... I've got your back.

The fighting characters are definitely going to be a curve ball for me from a design standpoint....but as far as the massive Mamestrosity logotype...that should be fun.

Since I crammed that last marquee through during a slow afternoon at work, I may have to repeat what I posted in that TimeSink thread about too many pans in the fire. I won't forget tho.

hulkster · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2004, 10:49:43 pm »

thanks!!! i understand, im sure with your abilities you get a lot of calls for marquees. and if the fighter characters are too much for you, maybe you can create a really cool logo and background for me, and i can work with it some after that. oh, and whenever you start on it (take your time by the way) i kinda want the theme of the marquee to have a more rough type of look. the one you just did has a really nice smooth gentle finish. know what im saying? i mean, i dont want it to look all crappy

but the word "mamestrosity" doesnt sound all nice and rounded you know? it sounds more raw, and loud. maybe im just babbling, but if you know what im saying....well just do your best to decipher my talk

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2004, 12:28:35 am »

I agree. More angles than curves. Maybe the typeface can be distressed or even broken up a bit. I'll give it some thought. I'm pretty sure I know what you mean.

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2004, 04:52:08 am »

Like I said...broken up a *bit* This is ver A

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #12 on:** February 04, 2004, 04:58:58 am »

And ver B. One step forward for your marquees and two steps back for mine.

Grumble, grumble *pixelhugger gouges eyes with hot pencils*

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #13 on:** February 04, 2004, 05:07:32 am »

Still thinking about how to work in the fighters. Maybe when I get the outlines around the marquee I can jog in with some shapes and stick the fighters in there. I'm thinking they'd be dark greyscale or monochromatic blues..... I downloaded some images to vectorize, I'll work more on it tomorrow. Gotta go to sleep or I won't be able to stay awake to squander company time making revisions to this and tending to the other marquee pans in the fire at work tomorrow.

Nannuu · « **Reply #14 on:** February 04, 2004, 07:21:58 am »

Those look great Pixelhugger! To keep the fighting characters in there maybe you could change the background from the center halo to a straight line (blk bottom, blue top) so that it looks more like a blue sunset. Then have the silhouettes of the fighters walking toward the lettering. Uh, yeah, does that make sense? Or you could leave the background the same and still have their silhouettes? I think this would only work well on the "A" marquee.

Not sure if that idea is fightery enough for what he is looking for though.

hulkster · « **Reply #15 on:** February 04, 2004, 07:38:36 am »

whoa dude!!! thats so cool!!! the only bad part now is having to make a choice between the two! man, i cant tell you great that looks. i think i might like ver A the best, ver B is almost too bright. but im not sure, what do you think?

oh and if you are going to tackle the fighter thing, i dont want any snk guys in there. mainly capcom and marvel. thanks man!

p.s. - my marquee will be 27" by 8" if that matters at all. or whatever the norm is, is probably fine too.

Stingray · « **Reply #16 on:** February 04, 2004, 09:11:18 am »

I like the first one best too. I wish I had Illustrator on my PC here at work so I could do a little design work on company time.

-S

hulkster · « **Reply #17 on:** February 04, 2004, 09:25:05 am »

okay i have photoshop and i cant do diddly squat as far as designs go....but it seems everyone uses illustrator for their marquees. is that what i need?

mmmm...illustrator (homer voice)

Stingray · « **Reply #18 on:** February 04, 2004, 09:42:01 am »

That's what I'm using. Mainly because of the fact that vector artwork can be scaled without losing anything, or going choppy.

-S

hulkster · « **Reply #19 on:** February 04, 2004, 10:23:01 am »

coolness, but as long as pixelhugger is around, i dont need illustrator! man that marquee is sweet

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #20 on:** February 04, 2004, 11:07:24 am »

Thanks all! I'm really glad you like them Hulk. I was a little nervous about posting them without a chance to put the fighters in, but this way you at least get to see a work in progress

I think I like ver A the best as well. Version B does look pretty bright, but that may just be because my eyes are bleeding.

Sizing is not problem. The aspect ratio should already match pretty closley, as I designed it on top of a JPEG of your cab from your site.

I'll work on a revision to include the fighters today or tonight. I think it would be a lot easier to fit the fighters on a CP overlay, if you'd be interested in a matching set of art. Although your existing overlay looks cool just the way it is so tell me to back off if that's too much!

Nannu- I love that you suggest the silhouettes. I was wondering how on earth I could incorporate the fighters into my style as I drove home from work last night and decided that outlined sihlouettes filled with a subtle reverse gradient (opposite the BG) might look good. So, yeah you're idea makes perfect sense to me. I downloaded some JPEGS to start working on them but ran out of time. I'm glad someone else thinks that'd look cool. I'll definitely work a version up like that.

hulkster · « **Reply #21 on:** February 04, 2004, 12:24:30 pm »

well actually pixel thats my old cab, im building a new one now! yup, its a showcase style cab. heres a little paint mockup ive done to show you what im looking at. the marquee as you will is just on the top and will be the same size pretty much as my old cabs.

and about the cp overlay, i am definitely looking into some cp art, but its a totally different thing. as you can see, it will take on a unique shape. how would all that work? would i need to give you exact dimensions, etc.?

BobbyG66 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 04, 2004, 12:24:53 pm »

Pixelhugger's got mad skills!

I use Illustrator for work...and now my cab.
Still a newbie at it. You can make some good looking art pretty easily, but doing some of the stuff I have seen from Pixelhugger is outstanding.

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your ideas and drawings!

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #23 on:** February 04, 2004, 03:38:20 pm »

Thanks BobbyG!

Hulk- Holy crap - that'd be a fun project to design for! The sky's the limit for a CP like that- all kinds of space. I'd love to get the dimensions from you. I'll send a drawing indicating what dimensions I'd need if you'd like art for it. Are the top corners of the panel at 90 deg or some other angle?

Also, since all this art is vector I can resize easily to any dimension. The name of the cab almost seems to call for a larger proportioned marquee, no? Maybe a bit taller to compliment the overall size of the rest of the cainet.

Since I've already promised some other projects I'd have to put that CP in the queue for a bit.

hulkster · « **Reply #24 on:** February 04, 2004, 04:30:10 pm »

yeah dude, take as long as you need. i havent even started cutting my cp yet! im taking my time and planning planning planning before i make any cuts. that cp that i showed you in the mockup, is basically what it will look like. im debating whether or not to leave the cp like it is, or angle the corners like below.

what do you think would look the best? i dont know the exact dimensions just yet, but the cp is 49" wide, and probably close to 23" in height. ill try to get the exact dimensions tonight some time and maybe finally get up enough courage to start cutting.

about the marquee, explain to me more of what you thinking about doing. are you going to make the letters taller or something? im a little confused. i like the overall look of the marquee, so tell me what you have in mind. becuase as of right now, you are to me a certified genius!

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #25 on:** February 04, 2004, 05:02:04 pm »

Well, I was thinking (based on the scale of the drawing you posted) you might want to make the actual marquee box a little taller. So if the box is currently 21 x 8, you might take a look at building it 21 x 10" or 12" or so, just to make it more of a "Mamestosity" in proportion.

But then, that's a personal call. I know my cab is planned to super specific dimensions because of personal taste. I guess it's something you'd have to sketch out to scale to see.

hulkster · « **Reply #26 on:** February 04, 2004, 06:54:10 pm »

yeah, to really know exactly how big i want it, id have to build the cab first i guess....which is going to take a while seeing in that i work all the time. but anyway, im using a 27" tv...does that help proportion size?

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #27 on:** February 04, 2004, 08:36:25 pm »

I'll just work to the current size and if you need it scaled up later it'll be no problem.

hulkster · « **Reply #28 on:** February 04, 2004, 09:05:11 pm »

thanks! cant wait to see the final product!

hulkster · « **Reply #29 on:** February 05, 2004, 07:36:51 pm »

pixel, anything i need to be doing to help? i mean i dont know what, but i was just wondering.

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #30 on:** February 05, 2004, 07:49:03 pm »

Nope. I'm sorry it's taken me a bit to respond. Work ramped up and I haven't finished with the characters. One of two Street Fighter outlines is done. They will be subtle sihlouettes in the glow behind the type. I'll be posting soon. I apologize for the delay. $:-\$

hulkster · « **Reply #31 on:** February 05, 2004, 07:59:22 pm »

no need for apology!!! i totally wasnt trying to rush you or anything. i was just wondering if i could be doing something as far as the marquee while you were doing all the work!

with the marquee as bad ass as you will produce, ill wait for a long time.

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #32 on:** February 05, 2004, 08:17:20 pm »

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #33 on:** February 06, 2004, 05:25:06 pm »

Ver. C It's getting rowdier.

GGKoul · « **Reply #34 on:** February 06, 2004, 05:31:29 pm »

Hulkster:
I have basically the same CP that your planning to design. One thing... make sure you leave space between all the players

Pxelhugger:
That marquee you created in F#@King AWESOME!!

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #35 on:** February 06, 2004, 06:34:55 pm »

hulkster · « **Reply #36 on:** February 08, 2004, 08:14:12 pm »

titties!! man that looks cool. are the letters hanging off the edge on the bottom on purpose? just curious. but it looks great. are you going to put more characters like as the shadow effect or whatever!

great work by the way!!!!

hulkster · « **Reply #37 on:** February 10, 2004, 09:42:34 pm »

Pixelhugger · « **Reply #38 on:** February 10, 2004, 10:49:27 pm »

Sorry, work got busy. The letters hang off intentionally, but I think would need to be revised a bit to look right, I'm not sure I like them there. I can add more fighters (it'll take a bit of time of course.) I'll work on that. My hunch is it may get a bit crowded, but I'll see what I can do.

hulkster · « **Reply #39 on:** February 11, 2004, 12:02:38 am »

i wasnt complaining at all! i was just wondering what kind of direction you were going with this. i mean, it looks cool now. only i would think would look cool is like a "big" as in strong character like juggernaut, venom, bison, etc. (shadowed like you have there) would be used instead of the two guys. i dont know, thats just something im throwing out there. i know you are busy, so just take your time


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