I just bought an Injustice fightstick and I’m working on art for it, but I have a few questions. Everyone says the art must be at least 300 dpi. At this size, the image has to be more than 4000 pixels wide, which is hard to come by. I want the art to be Batman-themed, and I’ve been looking at this image.
So a few questions (#2 is the main one):
I want a big, indicative image of Batman, but maybe this image is too dull (due to the grays, for example). What do you think? Does any art come to mind that would be better for this? I liked the Nightwing art KonnectionX did in this video.
I found a program called Vector Magic to make it higher resolution. It works okay but makes the image into cutout-style art due to the vectorization. Link (resized). Is there a better way of going about this? How do people usually get super high resolution images?
The art in d3v’s template (from the bottom of this page) is twice the resolution of any copies I can find online. Any idea how they acquired these images?
Your link to display the image doesn’t work, but most of what you’re going to find there is 72 dpi and 1920x1080.
Dull or lack of color can be good depending on how you use it.
Google image search with “search tools” size set to “large”. A lot of people will take a large image and resize it from standard 72 dpi to 300 dpi. In some cases the game company will release the stock photos (which will usually be 300 dpi automatically) to media outlets and such.
Better if he answers himself, but he probably did what I mentioned on step 2.
That’s exactly how I got a set of images from which I selected the one I’m using now.
I did look through those (though there’s no way I’m looking through 150 pages of art, especially since a lot of it isn’t in a form that can be taken and used). I never noticed the bicubic resampling bit, so I tried that and it didn’t really improve results compared to the default (bicubic automatic). It looks okay but it’s pretty messy.
You have to be aware that digital imagery has more than two basic dimensions to it: there’s physical size in terms of inches/feet/cm, size in terms of pixel resolution, and DPI (dots-per-inch). The relationship is not always that clear… You can images well over 1800 X 1440 pixels but with a DPI of only 72. Likewise, I’ve downloaded imagery that was 300dpi but was well under an inch squared in physical dimensions! That ultra-small image that’s 300dpi can look just as shitty “stretched out” as 640 X 480 image that’s 72dpi stretched out to three times its normal size.
It’s always been my understanding that the dimensions of the image in terms of pixels are an actual property of the image, whereas pixel density and dimensions in terms of inches are just user-defined values. So I have an image that’s 1800x1440 and I can set the pixel density to 72 (making the image relatively large) or 300 (making it relatively small). I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but you seem to be implying that pixel density is a property of the image that can’t be altered by the user (which is very easy to do in Photoshop).
that’s not what I’m saying… You can have a high pixel count but a relatively low DPI. You can have an image that’s literally miles long but is only 72dpi. It’s still very usable because of dimensional size. It’s understandable that scrunching art/imagery isn’t the problem; it’s when you expand/scale things up that issues start popping up.
That’s why, for instance, comic book artists and comic strip guys work at large scale on original art. It’s easier to hide those imperfections when you scale the art down for the final image. All those mistakes in inking and a lot of bad linework disappears. The guys who really get into trouble are the fellows who animate. The final drawings have to be DEAD-ON perfect. Any shakiness or clumsy inking sticks out like a sore thumb because the animation imagery is being projected on a screen that’s 30 feet or wider. There’s a double whammy: ON TOP OF being scaled up, their work’s being backlit which makes it even easier to see details!
It’s not all one thing or the other. You take into account a bit of everything and use what works best for your project. DPI, pixel size, physical sizes are not all directly related. You can see what happens to file sizes when you start lowering DPI or cutting inches/cm by halves. I think it’s a logarithmic(sp) scale; file size can shrink rapidly when you alter any of those values. (EX: 72dpi image can be an eighth the file size of the same image at 300dpi. That’s a gross exaggeration but I hope it gets across the point.) It’s easier to see when you’re scanning things into a computer and can preview image file sizes by changing scanning DPI, the color scan mode (grayscale, color, black line), or set a small area to be scanned with a marquee tool – usually the rectangle.
I’m not saying I even understand all this stuff. I just notice things and you see trends… I’ve been working with Photoshop on personal projects and school-related work for close to twenty years now.
I never bothered with pixel size (aside from keeping in mind bigger IS better when the DPI is low). I can’t fathom that in my mind; inches/cm and (to a lesser extent) DPI I can understand. I’ve used plenty of images that were “ONLY 72dpi” but they were fine as long as I didn’t try to scale them up by a large amount or just shrank them them to fit a template.
To keep it straight – bigger image size you scale up, smaller image you shrink.
It’s like washing laundry – you always clean colors in cold water; white’s the hottest color there is so you always wash white in hot water separate from the other colors.
DPI always pertains to printing. In other words, it tells the printer how many pixels to cram within a single inch of paper. @Slusho64 you are correct that in that it’s something that the user can change. However, what @GeorgeC is saying is that it’s more important to get large images simply because these are the ones that will give you better pixel density and that taking a small image and stretching it to fill a 4200x2550 space at 300dpi will only result in you having a horrible looking image.
Depending on where you live and who you use, print shops are really cracking down on printing ANY copyrighted imagery. Unless you have a release from the company that owns any character imagery you may try to print, they’ll refuse to print it out.
If it’s an original work or public domain, you’re probably in the clear. When they recognize those superheroes and mouses, you’re SOL… the print shops won’t take your business because they’re afraid THEIR business will get sued by the copyright holders (which I can’t see happening unless those companies have their lawyers in every print shop!).
[Welcome to the New World Order… I hope it burns faster than the last one did!]
Basically the upshot is you gotta pay these guys for 70+year-old characters which SHOULD be public domain now. These companies lawyers helped buy votes to extend copyright law and essentially alter the law. There’s no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. It’s all money and they want even more than they’re getting. This isn’t about protecting creator’s rights because in most cases those characters were practically outright stolen by corporations and/or the original creators are long dead and certainly aren’t receiving any more royalties for use of character art! Disgusting…!
It burns me up because A) I’m NOT selling the imagery to anybody; B) I haven’t even posted anything online that can get me into trouble; and C) I was only planning on printing a single copy to use as theme art for a joystick!
D) I DID all the work composing a new art theme and these blankety-blanks won’t even let fans do much of anything anymore!
This finally happened to me today at Kinko’s/Fed Ex which never hassled me before about this. I’m lucky I have a computer with a decent inkjet printer than CAN print out 300dpi AND that I also have a stock of photo paper that will absorb the ink well.
The problem is that most consumer-grade printers will NOT print larger than 8.5 X 14 (Legal Size) paper which is smaller than most joystick templates and it is difficult to find photo/glossy/matte paper that’s bigger than standard Letter size (8.5 X 11). Most paper 8.5 X 14 and larger that is sold in stores is low-grade copy paper which does not take color ink well at all. You’d have to special order good stuff (glossy paper; non-glossy photo presentation paper works fine, though) online.
As it is, everything I composed in Photoshop will have to be printed in two parts which I CAN handle. I’ve got plexis to protect the art, and, between them and the buttons and screws, the artwork will be held down flat. It just complicates things a bit more because now I have to cut two sheets of paper and merge under the plexi. It’ll work out easier than it sounds but it is a pain I didn’t expect to have this late in the game.
Thanks for the heads up. If Kinkos does that to me, I’ve got a friend with a good printer, and hopefully I’ll be able to find some card stock or better paper.
This is why most people printing artwork do it thru Art at Tek Innovations when they order their plexi(s) or thru an arcade art printer such as GameOnGrafix (which I used for my recent 1992 XMen CPO & Marquee).
If you aren’t going to use a plexi, it’s best to go GameOnGrafix as they have the poly-carb laminate on the top to protect the artwork.
I took a look at GameOnGrafix, and I’m guessing I should be looking at “Control Panel Custom Design”. The Injustice Fightstick comes with clear plexi so I guess I should go with the “Tough Tear resistant Polybanner”. I don’t actually see an option to select this though. And if you look at this image:
It gives the main price $33.99 for control panels (which are considerably larger than a standard stick size). You selected a CPO up to 10x16 which is correct and is labeled as -$9 from the normal cost bringing it down to $24.99.
Since you already have a plexi, the poly-carb laminate I was referring to previously doesn’t really mean much for you. That’s mainly for those who dont have a plexi or CAN’T have a plexi (in cases of an SE/Brawlstick).
GameOnGrafix is more pricey than you’d do with a LamiLabel at FedExOffice (would run you about $12-$15) but it’s much easier to work with but you’ll still have to manually cut out the holes for the buttons and such.
“Good” printer means over $200 brand-new…
Also, can it handle bigger than 8.5 X 14???
The HRAP V3 SA Template is nearly 11 X 14!
Most other joystick templates are closer to 8.5 X 14 but many, many printers will NOT print past 8.1 X 10 on 8.5 X 11 paper or 8.1 X 13~ish for 8.5 X 14 paper… it’s a restriction built into Photoshop and printers. I guess you can always try a custom print setting but more often than not, you will not be able to change these settings because it’s hard-locked into the printer. It will not print past a certain point on paper to avoid spraying ink onto the printing hardware.
You can’t print most template art on a single sheet on the majority of color printers most people have for their computers. It’s a huge pain in the butt but that’s the way it is. The vast majority of printers that could handle images that are bigger than 8.5 X 14 (paper-size, NOT image size) are going to be very expensive and won’t be sold in most computer stores.
You run into the same thing with scanners. Scanners are built around a base 8.5 X 14 scan area. You can get scanners capable of a higher scan-area but they are more expensive and there haven’t been as many “oversize” scanners built for home computers since basic hardware interface changed from SCSI standards to USB over 10 years ago. To get bigger than 8.5 X 14 scan area you would probably be looking at a glorified, tricked-out color copier/printer like Staples, OfficeMax, and FedEx/Kinko’s have. I’m sure those units run well over $800 new.
As far Art being able to print this stuff for you, my impression was that he WORKED for FedEx as part of his regular job. Maybe that’s changed since and he can do things with his own purchased equipment but I know the chain-store printshops will NOT touch anything that looks remotely copyright because of the corporate lawyers.
Eh, I’ll manage to cobble stuff together on my own when I have the time…
Copyrights are the least of the problems the lawyers have introduced into society with the nitpicking.
Okay, I guess I mean he has a great printer. He’s a graphic artist and photographer so he has printers that can print huge things. Also, the Injustice template is 8.5x14 and has pretty big margins.
Not sure if people get mad on this forum for continuing threads after 17 days, so if so I apologize.
I finally got a chance to print it. I went to Kinkos and they had no problem with printing it. In fact, the woman thought it was pretty cool. They had big matte card stock paper (larger than the legal size I needed) on which we printed it. We probably printed it four times because the blues kept coming out purple. We finally got it to be only a little purple. There’s some noise in the image, and she said the only way to get something printed without that is to take it somewhere that have offset printers and print hundreds of copies. I’m pretty happy with it, though, and they only charged us $1.78.
So a few questions:
What’s the best way to cut out the buttons? Putting the plexi overtop and running an x-acto blade around the insides seems fairly easy but might scratch the plexi.
I was being very careful but somehow the plexi got scratched. Is there any way to polish that out or would I just have to buy a new one from Art’s Hobbies? Are the ones from Art’s Hobbies basically the same material? If it’s that easy to scratch I’m not inclined to buy a new one.
I would trace the holes with a pencil or pen, not a knife.
After you trace the holes use a X-Acto knife or hobby knife to make your cuts. Go slowly and apply even pressure.
