Big E’s Tips on Making Your OWN Stick Art

Hey, all! Inspired by a PM I got on Twitter, I decided to write a blog post giving tips on how one can make his OWN stick art. I’m an ‘09er and always had at least some interest in art and design, so soon after I got my first MadCatz SE, I wanted to customize it.

How was that SEVEN YEARS ago already?! O_o

I’ve also always been a more I-wanna-do-it-myself kinda guy. That said, I understand that there are some newbie modders like me that want to have a go at designing sticks themselves, but don’t really have a good idea of where to start. Here are some tips if you want to take matters into your own hands for these projects.

LEARN YOUR SOFTWARE

It may surprise you, but I don’t ACTUALLY use Photoshop! Since about 2007, I’ve used Paint.NET. It’s free, simple and at least for stuff like this, it works really well! No matter if you’re using Paint.NET, GIMP, PhotoShop, etc. you NEED to know your software. In this age, there’s nothing you can’t Google and even BETTER, we now have YouTube. There are so many tutorials online for graphic design. If you don’t know how to do something, look it up! Don’t be afraid of experimentation. Sometimes even just tinkering with certain settings can make things that look okay look great. There nothing wrong with a little trial and error, especially when you can just CTRL+Z something that doesn’t look good. Learn how to use layers and blending modes to get different looks. With enough practice, your designs will be looking great!

YOUR ART IS ONLY AS GOOD AS WHAT YOU USE TO MAKE IT

The word of the day is “high-res”. Find the biggest, sharpest images online to use for your pieces. For arcade sticks, the optimal print resolution is 300dpi, so you’ll need assets to accommodate for that. Using Google Image search, it’s a good idea to type what you're looking for and immediately go to size, larger than, 2MP. See below.

Google Image search of "ryu street fighter" after the size option has been changed

There are lots of things you can try. You can pull a character's name in a different language and search for it instead of the English one. If you FIND a pic that's not quite big enough, right click it and select "search Google for image" to see if a larger version exists online. Also, finding already transparent art is always helpful. Try tossing “png” or “render” into your Google searches.

A little tool that I like using for Anime or even hand-drawn style art is Waifu2X. If you find something that you REALLY like, but it’s not quite big enough and you can't find a larger version on the web, give Waifu a shot. You lose a bit of detail, but it still looks really good in the end. I wouldn’t recommend it for realistic photos, though.

A LITTLE ART THEORY DOESN’T HURT

I’m not sure if there’s such thing as a bad stick art, but I know that without good typography, balance and color temperature, things can look… off. Learning about these art concepts (and more) and their importance can GREATLY improve the look of a design. 

STEAL, STEAL, STEAL! (lol jk)

Draw inspiration from other designers. Don’t feel bad about it. All artists and designers have influences. At least for stick art, my greatest influences are Hibachi Final and d3v from Shoryuken.com.

"Street Fighter X Tekken" Piece by Hibachi Final

SSFIV Gouken Piece by d3v

Speaking of which, be sure to browse the “Official Stick Art” as well as the “Check Out My New Arcade Stick” threads on SRK, if you haven’t already. There are a lot of great ideas and a whole lotta talent.

There have been times when I’ve been asked to do designs for characters and themes that I had absolutely NO history with. A quick Google Image search with that character’s name followed by “wallpaper” was able to help me get the wheels turning, so other stick mods aren’t the only things that may inspire you. 

FINAL TIPS

You’re essentially making REALLY high-res wallpapers with buttons and sticks in the way. When designing, always keep in mind what the colors of your case and parts will be. There are SO many possibilities, so don’t be afraid to get creative with the placement of your buttons and stick.

One Punch Man commission I did earlier this year

Also, while there can be a nagging feeling that something is missing from a design, but a really simple design can be just as effective. My buddy, Sai Evermore is a REALLY big fan of filling up the space on his canvas...

Piece by Sai Evermore featuring Luong from KOF XIV

...but something as simple as this can be just as effective.

That’s about it! Have fun and if this helps you out, please let me know! Also, if something is unclear or you need more help with something, email me and I'll be able to help out.

As always, take care, happy gaming, and God bless,
Big E

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