Note: Thecleaningguy suggested that I document my stick art design process and I thought that was a good idea. So, here it is.

Design style
Through college and work, I’ve slowly discovered my design style. I tend to favor balance through asymmetry. I also tend to play with weight and color. For instance, if something is large, I like it to be transparent or very light. If something is small, it should be dark. This creates a sort of visual balance despite its inherent imbalance. I favor the gestalt approach to design. Basically this means that the sum is greater than its individual parts. I try to look at the whole design as one giant canvas rather than a collection of individual elements. This is especially true in the case of arcade stick art design. I want the hardware to flow naturally within the design rather than to disrupt it. Most modders follow a more Bauhaus approach and accept that the stick and buttons need to be there and don’t mind if it interrupts the design as long as the end result is functional.

An example of what I consider the Bauhaus approach to stick design. Notice that the buttons, stick and turbo panel all interrupt the flow of the art.


Tools
Image manipulation program (Photoshop, The GIMP, Aviary)
Template for your stick
Plan
Exact knife
Self-healing mat
Printer that can print legal sized paper or Kinko’s
Plexiglass or Kinko’s that can lamilabel

The plan
One thing I learned in school that I’m constantly reminded of is planning. Never, ever start designing without a plan. I usually start out general and, as I work on it, I refine the plan. On the Mega Man Zero stick, I decided that I wanted to create a Mega Man stick. I then searched the web for images. When I found a large image that featured him with his hands extended out and glowing, it seemed a natural point for the balltop. In researching parts, I discovered the clear blue balltop and the design fell into place. On the SNK stick, I started with the idea of matching a design to the original arcade cabinets. I started out by creating a red layer and then adding on white stripes. I visited Creative Uncut and downloaded several pieces of character art to play around with. I then found the SNK logo, converted it to white and placed it at the top of the template near the turbo panel. After removing the extra 4 buttons, I needed to add something to the lower right to balance the design. I ultimately decided to relocate the SNK logo to that point and to add the “330 Mega Shock, Pro Gear Spec” as homage to the start up screen and to add more visual weight.

Workflow
Initial stages (the plan)
At this point in the process, I did not know that pre-cut plexi was available so the hole plugs are indicated.





I now knew that pre-cut plexi was available but did not know if custom cutting was so I was toying with using a 6 button layout with 2 plugs.


After ordering the plexi with 4 holes cut, I removed the plug indicators from the design. This allowed me to reevaluate the art. I felt that the right side was too plain, resulting in an unbalanced design.


Here's the final version:

I moved the SNK logo and text to the lower right, creating balance and opted to list SNK fighting games in a transparent text to add some texture to the otherwise flat background.

Implementation
Once you’ve decided on a plan and visual approach, it’s time to search for art. Creative Uncut is a great site with a nice collection of game art. It’s important to find the largest image possible so as to avoid pixelated print outs. Once you have chosen the art, you need to download the template for your stick. It’s pretty easy to find templates for HRAPs, Mad Catz SE/TEs and even low end Hori sticks. Google is your friend. Now that you have all of the items, it’s time to create.

Open the psd template and check the resolution. Most templates are 200 dpi and that’s all that’s needed. Some templates are 300 dpi which is technically print resolution but more than is necessary. Using the higher resolution will result in larger file sizes and not really print much nicer. The higher resolution also makes it much harder to find art as most images on the web will be 72 to 100 dpi. Now it’s time to paste in the elements. I prefer Photoshop for this task, mostly because it’s easier to quickly remove the background, especially if the character is one a solid color such as white. Another reason for this preference is that I work in Photoshop everyday so it’s very familiar. I also find that Photoshop is better at scaling up game art. It’s important to work on multiple layers so that things can easily move and be added or removed. I like to dummy in buttons on a different layer than the button outlines so that I can get an idea of how the design is working. I create the basic idea from the plan and then mess around with other ideas as they occur to me.

On the SNK design, I erased the unused buttons and then moved the logo to the lower right of the panel. I liked that look and then added the list of SNK fighting games and then lowered the opacity so that the test was bold but light. I tweaked the design until it looked balanced and felt right.

The process of the Mega Man Zero stick was similar. I chose the art and bubble top and then chose colors that worked with my bright green buttons and clear blue balltop. That’s how I ended up with the mint green background. It has a nice amount of light blue and green so that it harmonizes with the buttons. Having Zero on the mint green background was a bit too plain so I decided to add in some shapes to create compartments for the buttons. I wanted the Start and Select to be separated from the action buttons. I decided to create a file folder look but make it transparent to give it a futuristic computer look.

Once I’m happy with the design, I flatten the image and do a “Save as...” so that I don’t overwrite my layered file. If the file was going to a large printer, you’d need to convert the file to CMYK. I deal with Kinko’s and find that their prints look better if the file is submitted in the RGB color space. Home printers and color copiers can print brighter colors than CMYK commercial printers due to the type of ink used. If possible, save the document as a PDF. PDFs will define the paper size to Kinko’s making life much easier for you. The next step varies depending on whether or not yoy plan to use plaxiglass. If you’re using plexi, have Kinko’s print the file out on plain laser paper. If you don’t plan on using plexi, contact your local Kinko’s and ask if they can do lamilabels. Lamilabel will result in a laminated sticker with your art inside. This will be a very tedious process so be warned. Once the art is printed, use an Exacto knife and self-healing mat to carefully cut out the art. I start with the buttons and then move on to the edges. The circles are harder to cut but don’t need to be perfect as the buttons will cover the imperfections. The edge cuts are easier but more crucial. I recommend filling the edges of the art with the color of your case so that imperfections are harder to see. Once the art is trimmed, remove the top panel of the stick, remove the balltop and dust washer from the stick as well as the buttons. Lay the art and plexiglass on the panel, reattach the buttons, dust washer and balltop and reattach the panel. Congratulations, you’re done.