My Marquee Design - Need Criticism, etc.!

[needlesmcgirk]

Hello again!  So I have been working on putting together the marquee artwork for my arcade.  Everything else is finished, but there's a big hole where the marquee should be!  I basically just want a collage of arcade characters, and here is what I have come up with so far.

Let me know what you think needs changing, etc.  I also haven't come up with a background, so maybe I can get some suggestions from you.  Also, I can't figure out how to make the text any bigger.  Seems theres a maximum, but I'm sure there's a way.  I'll need to use a better font, maybe the Pacman font.

Also, if you think you can do a better job, I would love to see what you can come up with!  I can upload all the AI files to an ftp if you are willing to help out.  I would really appreciate it.  Thanks for your help!

[Malenko]

http://www.mamemarquees.com/collage-classic-marquee-from-p-40.html


actually theres a bunch at http://www.mamemarquees.com/  and they'll even print them for you at a reasonable cost

[needlesmcgirk]

I don't like the ones they have, that's why I want to do one myself.  Anyone have any words of advise or willing to help?

[Kaytrim]

Rather busy and it looks like the images are just slapped on there.   Also you can hardly read the title.

[stephenp1983]

I think the font is the biggest problem there.  What are you using to create it.

[Naru]

Hmmm.
Something with multiple characters
like this would be best done in one style.
Meaning one person makes draws all
the characters.
The idea itself isn't bad.
The letters are the weakest part of this.
If your going to have a title, that should
be the largest part.
It's a good start, I don't know
maybe I could try sketching
some of these out.

[BradC]

Yes, I agree that the title needs to be bigger. Also, make either a shadow or a stroke around the text, in a different color so that is stands out from the background.

Another option (or do this in addition) is to take all the characters and fade them into the background a bit (set their transparency to anywhere from 40%-60%). The boxer (I'm blanking on his name, is that Mr. Dream?) is pixelated while the rest of the characters are not, so he doesn't fit in.

[needlesmcgirk]

Thanks for the help.  Yeah, as I said in the original post I am working on the font, its obviously not finished at all.  Thought maybe someone could help me with the font or title.

[Malenko]

The boxer (I'm blanking on his name, is that Mr. Dream?) i

Thats Bald Bull.

Later on tonight I'll try to whip up a rough draft marquee for you, but I can't promise anything. I think what you have is too busy, you need to pick a couple characters or at least settle on a theme, like My Kabinet is Mortal Kombat Themed, while others do pac-man and the like.

[travis]

Ok here are my thoughts. First thing I notice about this marquee even though it's filled with characters is it just looks quite bland. This is probably partly due to lack of a background/background colour. Most cabs tend to have a colour scheme or are themed around a favourite game or group of games but not all cabs go down the conventional route. This might be something to think about.

Can ask what colour is your arcade cab?

With the character art you've chosen there's a real mix 'N' match scenario going with all the different ways there drawn. It's going to be difficult to get them to work together due to style, sizes and interaction so it could be an idea to pick a few you really want to keep. Or if your dead set on this group of characters then go with them, its always best to do something that suits you and your taste.

A montage of characters usually works best when the characters that are stylised the same way as Naru mentioned earlier on. Its worth checking out some of Capcoms character art they have the montage style down to a tee.

As for the letter arrangement you can work with it in a few ways. You're not just restricted to a straight formation. For the font itself are you wanting something quite broad and bold, bordered, patterned, a 3D effect also what about effects on the text in general (for example lighting strikes, textures, flames etc).

Best thing in a situation like this is to put pen to paper to get an idea of what you want. I'll post back with some font ideas.

[needlesmcgirk]

You guys are awesome, thanks for your help!

The arcade is black, with black t-molding.  I'm going to update the t-molding to be blue or green or something, definitely want to have a color scheme.  Here's the link to my project thread so you can see it:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62631.0

Please feel free to take whatever liberties you want.  For the fint, I defintely didn't want flames or anything super serious, I want it to be fun, but not silly, if that makes sense.   Textured font would be cool, but really I'm down for whatever.  The whole "Arcade Anthology" thing I guess goes with all the different characters, but for sure do whatever you think looks the best, and thanks so much!

A nice background that will work well with the backlight will be awesome too.  I have no idea how to make a good background or any of that.

[leapinlew]

What I would do is a multi-marquee design with the arcade anthology name over the top of it...

[BradC]

Thats Bald Bull.

For some reason I thought I remembered Bald Bull being a white guy.

[johnperkins21]

Thats Bald Bull.

For some reason I thought I remembered Bald Bull being a white guy.

You're probably thinking of King Hippo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Punch-Out%21%21_boxers#King_Hippo

[needlesmcgirk]

You know, if you look at that list, Bald Bull looks pretty white.  I guess on Nintendo he was a white guy and in the arcades he was a black guy.  Either way, he was an easy KO.

^^^ I don't really like the multiple marquee thing really.  I really like the characters.

[BradC]

Yes, the Bald Bull from that list is the one I remember, I don't think I ever played it in the arcade.

[leapinlew]

You know, if you look at that list, Bald Bull looks pretty white.  I guess on Nintendo he was a white guy and in the arcades he was a black guy.  Either way, he was an easy KO.

^^^ I don't really like the multiple marquee thing really.  I really like the characters.

I figured since you were evenly spacing the characters, the organized look of the marquees might be your thing.

[needlesmcgirk]

Well, maybe.

I'm pretty much stuck right now as I'm not a graphic designer so I can't really do any more with this.  I really don't want to order a generic one from MameMarquees though (although I will have them print it).

Anyone think they can put together a quick draft for me or anything?  I'm willing to pay some if it takes a lot of work.  Thanks!

[Naru]

Well, maybe.

I'm pretty much stuck right now as I'm not a graphic designer so I can't really do any more with this.  I really don't want to order a generic one from MameMarquees though (although I will have them print it).

Anyone think they can put together a quick draft for me or anything?  I'm willing to pay some if it takes a lot of work.  Thanks!

I don't know if you'll like my style,
but I will draw something up with
these characters. Are these characters
in the picture the only ones you want?
If there's others/more please list them out.
Also what are the dimensions of the marquee?

[needlesmcgirk]

^ PM Sent.

The dimensions are:

Width: 25 7/8"
Height: 7 3/4"