design help please

[reekes2k2]

im sort of stuck at the marquee and cpo design stage and simply cannot think of a direction to go with this the cab itself has no specific theme or is not geared towards a specific game etc

i have some photoshop skills and very basic illustrator skills and im hoping someone can advise me and give me a direction to go in

i have a very basic marquee drawn up but i tthink its too plain and dull and i have no idea which way to go for the cpo and also would like ideas on a colour scheme which is still open for me

the cp itself is not the big x arcade style panel just the smallish cab style panel

anyway ill attatch the basic marquee and cpo layout so you can ge the feel and hopefully some kind soul will be able to help me and give me a direction to go in

heres the link to the marquee for some reason it wont let me attatch it to the forum

[Bobulus]

I'm watching this thread with interest, because this is the step I'm stuck at, too. Can't order the colored buttons and start CP testing until I pick a color scheme and design for the CP and marquee.

[reekes2k2]

its very difficult i already have my buttons whch are blue so i kinda have to throw a bit of blue in somewhere or at least a contrasting colour somewhere

it just seems whatever i try or put together doesnt quite look right  and for the cpo well i haven got a clue which direction to go in ive been wracking my brains for about 3 weeks now trying to find something and i thought i was quite creative lol

so come on guys and help will be much appreciated

[drventure]

I suck at artwork, so what I did was just surf around this forum looking at the art that guys (much better artists than I) have put together to get ideas.

Narrow down to something (or several things) you see that you like, and then either do your own mashup of the styles, or contact the artist and see if they'll do an alternative for you for a little $$$.

Then there's always MameMarquees or the other services out there that have ready made art available for the CP's and Marquee, though it sounds like maybe you're not really wanting to go that way.

[reekes2k2]

its a good point about looking round here for inspiration some of this artwork is awsome

im not really feeling the generic mame  stuf ala mamemarquees etc

all i really want is something clean with good contrast 

[Bobulus]

I'm so conflicted that I'm tempted to get the RGB buttons just so I don't have to decide on a button color before I order my parts. 

[drventure]

Well the rgb buttons are nice for other reasons too (the Benderama is a great example of their use).

But personally, I don't much care for the clearish buttons. But then, that's just me.

I LOVE rgb led's though!

[Bobulus]

Yeah, I'm not wild about the clear buttons either.

I'm seriously tempted, though, especially if my idea for mapping controls to make Tie Fighter play on my cabinet works out. Having three buttons color-matched to the colored engine/shield/laser recharge buttons would be fancy.

[drventure]

Having three buttons color-matched to the colored engine/shield/laser recharge buttons would be fancy.

Totally doable

Bender's got the Benderama lighting only the buttons used in a particular game, in the colors that match the original CP. Very slick.