PDA

View Full Version : The Graphics Help Thread



Sonic Mountain
02-11-2018, 07:23 AM
I've been tossing up starting one of these for a little while, the lack of head stock logos in last months GOTM comp convinced me its a good idea.

So as most of the regulars probably know by now my day job is graphic design. Signage in particular. As such I've had a lot of experience coming up with logos etc. I think it's one of the more fun aspects of building your own guitar, but I realise not everyone has access to the software and experience to do something at a professional level.

So what I'm proposing here is a free service to knock up head stock logo designs and possibly some concept work to help people out. I would do them as my time allowed obviously, they are pretty fun and straight forward - so long as you don't get too picky and difficult about it :).

I'm also thinking other people who have the gear and want to help out are welcome to offer their services to the community here as well.

I would provide a printable, vector based, file to you in PDF form via email. I've done this a couple of times previously and I generally do a page of logos in slightly varying sizes so you can work out the best fit.

There are a number of ways to get the design onto your head stock - water slide decal is the most common. There are lots of places online you can order the paper from and print it out at home. Alternatively you can get the design cut out of vinyl. Most sign shops will do this and at these sizes it will be pretty cheap. I may also be able to organise this through my work and have them sent to you - there would be a cost involved in this production.

There is also a thread here somewhere that Adam discusses offering a printing service through Pitbull - I'm not sure if that is off the ground yet - but I offered to help out in that thread as well.

If you want to do it via PM that's fine, but it would also be good if it were public so people can see the process and results.

I also do a bit of illustration mock up work which I might be convinced to help out with.

I'll add some examples to this thread as I get the chance. If I've done one for you already feel free to share it here as well.

Cheers.

EDIT: Here is the thread regarding Pitbulls Decal Service

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=8846

Sonic Mountain
02-11-2018, 08:02 AM
Some previous decals - these are all water slide decals

https://i.imgur.com/a58puwz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Vz9G3Fh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KAxtsv4.jpg

This one is water slide onto a piece of aluminium with clear over it.

https://i.imgur.com/RBSq7Ha.jpg

This one is cut out of gold vinyl. With something as small and complicated as this you need to stick it on and weed all the negative space out in place - this is probably the limit of our equipment - this decal is about 50mm across.

https://i.imgur.com/vs16fVM.jpg

king casey
02-11-2018, 08:25 AM
Although I'm a strictly amateur when it comes to 'pre-press' (I was a printing machinist once upon a time when I had a day job).
Iv'e been chipping away at the coal-face of Adobe frequently over the years.

I'd be happy to offer some assistance if required.
Having said that though, these days you can easily find video examples to most issues that crop up.

cheers, Mark.

P.S. That's some exceptional work there sonic.

dave.king1
02-11-2018, 11:05 AM
Some very nice work indeed.

Too late for me now for the current project because I've just ordered a period correct Gibson logo from Canada for the SG200 restoration.

BTW. I would not put a brand name on a kit or replica guitar ever.

Sonic Mountain
02-11-2018, 11:09 AM
Oh yeah, only offering original designs. There are plenty of replica/replacement decals for the major brands available. I might consider it for an obscure resto project.

king casey
02-11-2018, 12:21 PM
BTW. I would not put a brand name on a kit or replica guitar ever.

I don't have a problem with it.
I see it as a challenge to see how close I can get it.
From the headstock to the bridge the guitar screams 'Fender'.
Yet with the application of a decal it becomes a bridge too far.

I certainly wouldn't attempt to sell one as a genuine Fender/Gibson though.
That's definitely a bridge too far.

cheers, Mark.

dave.king1
02-11-2018, 02:22 PM
I don't have a problem with it.
I see it as a challenge to see how close I can get it.
From the headstock to the bridge the guitar screams 'Fender'.
Yet with the application of a decal it becomes a bridge too far.

I certainly wouldn't attempt to sell one as a genuine Fender/Gibson though.
That's definitely a bridge too far.

cheers, Mark.

And therein lays the problem, ultimately someone would try to pass it off.

Similarly I frown on folks who put Lotus, Caterham or PRB badges on cars similar to the one in my avatar and then try to pass them off as the real thing

Richy17
02-11-2018, 05:56 PM
This is great sonic, Good on you mate (y)

JohnH
06-11-2018, 04:36 PM
Great idea Sonic.

The Adobe Creative Suite and similar can be daunting if you've not worked with them before.

I must admit, the lack of headstock logo on mine was a complete oversight rather than lack of skill with the creative suite (I still struggle with guitar designs in Illustrator, but for simpler things like text based logos I'm ok), but this has inspired (and reminded!) me that I really need to do something about it for my next build.

Hardcoretroubadour
07-11-2018, 09:47 AM
Very generous offer sonic, i will take you up on it when back home and working on the guitars again. Much good karma to you

dave.king1
07-11-2018, 10:13 AM
G'day SM,

Any chance of getting a waterslide of this one without the Fender name, just the dogs head and Merle's sig (if possible)

28963

fender3x
07-11-2018, 10:19 AM
This is a great idea and service to the community. Maybe we should also have a headstock gallery. I would love to see the cool things people come up with.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

king casey
07-11-2018, 11:56 AM
G'day SM,

Any chance of getting a waterslide of this one without the Fender name, just the dogs head and Merle's sig (if possible)

28963

Surely the dog's head and Merle's signature are trademarks just as much as the Fender is?

Not that I have a problem with it of course, it's just that some do.

cheers, Mark.

dave.king1
07-11-2018, 12:07 PM
Surely the dog's head and Merle's signature are trademarks just as much as the Fender is?

Not that I have a problem with it of course, it's just that some do.

cheers, Mark.

Possibly so Mark but that is the tribute part of the build

Sonic Mountain
07-11-2018, 12:24 PM
Yeah I think that should be doable, I’ll have to have a better look on the computer. Regarding trademark, because it’s a hobby/tribute build and I’m not charging for the artwork I think this would fall under fair use. I will check into that though.

king casey
07-11-2018, 12:25 PM
Phew! Thanks for that. Now I can sleep soundly with the knowledge I won't be prosecuted for my 'tribute' Fender. :)

cheers, Mark.

Sonic Mountain
07-11-2018, 02:24 PM
Had a quick go here. How are you planning to print this?

The dogs head looks like it's actually an inlay of some kind. I have to go do some other stuff this evening but I'll set up a dropbox folder for grabbing vector art pdfs out of.

https://i.imgur.com/9GQD0fO.jpg

dave.king1
07-11-2018, 02:34 PM
Brilliant stuff, thanks.

I'll print water slide with my Epson XP640 that really does nice fine stuff.

And you're right the dogs head is a MOP inlay

Sonic Mountain
07-11-2018, 03:40 PM
Brilliant stuff, thanks.

I'll print water slide with my Epson XP640 that really does nice fine stuff.

And you're right the dogs head is a MOP inlay

Ah OK. Well leave it with me and I'll have a go at making it look a bit more MOP-like. With the colour printer that should work well. Being maple it should still look right as a water slide.

Sonic Mountain
07-11-2018, 03:50 PM
Oh also, I've just been reading up on 'fair use' and I think we are fine here. The most important thing is we are not doing this for profit and you are not seeking to produce a 'counterfeit' but rather a 'tribute'. If it came to a legal argument, it would hinge on your intent. I don't think a real guitar guy would be mislead by the dog being a decal rather than an inlay either. So you could argue that it couldn't reasonably be confused for the real item.

Still, I probably would prefer to be doing original stuff here rather than replication of existing artwork.

dave.king1
07-11-2018, 05:32 PM
I'm hearing ya SM, for my others I will be looking for something unique.

My tribute Tele could never be passed off as the Custom Shop original or even an Aliexpress knockoff, it has a bolt on rather than through neck and the wrong tuners.

I also sign, date and name the guitar on the neck heel and in the neck pocket of all my builds.

Sonic Mountain
08-11-2018, 12:39 PM
Here's another go, there is a second option here for the dogs head with a mother of pearl style texture. It looks like the maple shows through on the stripe and eyebrows so I have left them clear.

https://i.imgur.com/LCm7ifP.jpg

Theoretically speaking you should be able to click on this link to get it in PDF form here - this will allow better scaling than the j.pg as its all vector.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2bitt3fz54zrh9/TUFFDOG.pdf?dl=0

Cheers.

dave.king1
08-11-2018, 02:09 PM
Very cool, thanks Sonic I owe you a beer or three next time I'm in your part of the eorld

I’ll give it a go
21-05-2019, 04:51 AM
Yes please sonic, I would like to take up your offer. My headstock is virtually done and I’ve been trying to create my own but I’m really struggling as I do not have the software or know how.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll give it a go
21-05-2019, 05:14 AM
This is what I’ve got so farhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190520/551f0a24c5f1938a9e96c24037ad8a45.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190520/fc29e39037fe844bb051174d8c0fe41e.jpg

I like the brush script MT writing, I’ve been trying to get it following the curve but failing.

Also on the napkin I like the little music notes either side.
My GJB would be encased in a circle ⭕️ (black circle).

That’s it really,

Thank you in advance.

Glynn


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sonic Mountain
21-05-2019, 06:05 AM
Sure, that's pretty straight forward. If you PM me with an email address I'll send through a pdf with it at a couple of different sizes so you can find the best fit. Also, I don't suppose I can talk you out of brush script? It's one of those fonts like papyrus/comic sans/calibri that is a default font and very over used. I've done a second one here in a different script.

Completely up to you.

https://i.imgur.com/xlvX3xD.jpg

I’ll give it a go
21-05-2019, 12:33 PM
Thanks Sonic, that looks awesome. And yes mate, I can be talked out of brush script. Im open to all ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sonic Mountain
21-05-2019, 12:45 PM
Ok no probs. I've just sent an A4 page with both of these at various sizes. I recommend just printing it out on some plain paper and working out which is best fit before printing on decal paper.

I’ll give it a go
21-05-2019, 03:17 PM
Got it. Big thank you mate [emoji1303]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll give it a go
22-05-2019, 06:01 PM
So I did a test today on the graphics that Sonic did for me [emoji1303].

I used packing tape and the inkjet printer from work and the printer at home I bought from woollies.

Printer from woollies failed miserably as the ink came off the tape when soaking in the water.

The printer from work worked the best. I used an old bunk bed rail to practice on.
The first one you can see white opaque around some edges, that’s because I left it in the water too long and the water has softened the adhesive too much.

The second one above has worked perfectly. Glad I had some practice runs at it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190522/6676d9bb9d3849293d605ac20c198d4d.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

dave.king1
23-05-2019, 02:59 PM
So I did a test today on the graphics that Sonic did for me [emoji1303].

I used packing tape and the inkjet printer from work and the printer at home I bought from woollies.

Printer from woollies failed miserably as the ink came off the tape when soaking in the water.

The printer from work worked the best. I used an old bunk bed rail to practice on.
The first one you can see white opaque around some edges, that’s because I left it in the water too long and the water has softened the adhesive too much.

The second one above has worked perfectly. Glad I had some practice runs at it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190522/6676d9bb9d3849293d605ac20c198d4d.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Like that a lot, well done

I’ll give it a go
23-05-2019, 04:56 PM
Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll give it a go
24-05-2019, 03:56 PM
Oh dear, on applying the clear coat it looks like I have over cooked it in one area, this was the 3rd coat.

Would the recommendation be leave for 24-36 hours and sand that portion back and just re do that area or will I have to sand that whole side back? https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190524/957b5c2d3807b87c052c0e18a31acdfc.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sonic Mountain
24-05-2019, 04:02 PM
That should be ok. Just give it a good chance to dry and carefully sand with a flat block. Just be careful not to break through the clear and it'll be fine.

I’ll give it a go
24-05-2019, 04:06 PM
That should be ok. Just give it a good chance to dry and carefully sand with a flat block. Just be careful not to break through the clear and it'll be fine.

Thanks Sonic, initially I was thinking ah she’ll be right it will be covered by the pick guard. But I guess I’m rushing again.

On a brighter note my decals look cool, I’m very pleased. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190524/c6322d2aa27ea56b46efa2c49ddd834d.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sonic Mountain
24-05-2019, 04:14 PM
Nice one, very neat.

neverwas
27-10-2019, 10:50 AM
Hi Sonic
If you are still offering this service I could use a bit of help.
On my JMA-1 I have decided to do an onlay to mimic the switch plates on the body. Have worked out a shape but need to come up with a font for the lettering. Just want the word Barnes in a f3nder-y style font that can be printed instead of my sketched lettering.
Current (today's) thinking is to have the lettering done in vinyl.
Scan of the reversed headstock with low E string for reference and ruler for scale.
32589
The three circles are approx placements of mounting screws.
Any thoughts/guidance will be greatfully appreciated, just could use a push in the right direction.
Cheers
Grant

Sonic Mountain
27-10-2019, 01:43 PM
Yep no probs. Is it a reverse headstock? That is, is the pic you've attached the right way up?

Edit: Lol.. read your post properly... yep its reversed.

Sonic Mountain
27-10-2019, 01:49 PM
https://i.imgur.com/IJbeYvw.jpg

neverwas
28-10-2019, 01:07 PM
Thanks Sonic, that was quick.
The first one with solid black lettering will work best, it'll be going on a chrome-like background. Thinking I might try to rotate the B clockwise so its back is the same angle as the side where the two screws will be.
Now I need to find a sign place to print up a few. Is this a common font they will recognise or should I give them that as well?
Thanks again, really appreciated.

Grant

Sonic Mountain
28-10-2019, 04:01 PM
Yep too easy regarding rotating the 'B'. Can you PM me your email address? Then I can send appropriate files to you.

That font is a Fender rip off that I've fiddled with, better to just give them the file. It's scaled to that ruler so should fit fine. I'll give you a couple of sizes up and down anyway. It shouldn't be dear at a sign place to get an A4 page of them cut.

Sonic Mountain
28-10-2019, 04:06 PM
https://i.imgur.com/8fq0VYP.jpg

Hardcoretroubadour
28-10-2019, 08:03 PM
You have much good karma coming your way Phil, nice work.
Just for your interest, it was $25 to get two 62mm x 25mm vinyl cut logos done at a local Brissie place

Sonic Mountain
29-10-2019, 06:10 AM
Yeah, usually they have a minimum charge. Generally price is based on the area of the vinyl cut. I got an A3 sheet cut locally for my flying v project and it was $30. I loaded up all the unused area with logos.

A plotter is fairly high on my workshop wishlist. So handy.

neverwas
29-10-2019, 02:06 PM
Yep, that last one is what I was thinking of.
PM sent and thanks again for this and also what to expect for the price of the job.

Grant

vh2580
09-05-2022, 11:28 AM
Hi Sonic, are you still doing logos? sent a message but your inbox is full.

Rabbit
09-05-2022, 05:00 PM
A plotter is fairly high on my workshop wishlist. So handy.

And it's surprising how much detail you can get them to cut. I managed to get a good deal on a new cricut maker since the maker 3 came out a while ago and the difference between the two isn't enough to warrant spending the extra on the 3.

bassdude
11-05-2022, 05:11 AM
I have an idea, Sonic, that could use some tidying up or finishing. I'm building The Hobbit & arrived at name/logo that embodies the theme - Hobbitone, where the "H" is a stylised bass clef. The image I made an attempt at uses the Music Magic & Music Elements fonts. Without graphic tools, some of my touch ups are a little rough. I'd like the final result to be 65-70mm.

43083

Peter

bassdude
11-05-2022, 06:55 AM
I actually quite like the flow with the capital "T" (but with the clef-stylised "H").

43084

Peter

bassdude
15-05-2022, 06:14 AM
I think I'll be happy with this:

43107

Peter

Sonic Mountain
15-05-2022, 06:34 AM
Hey man,

Sorry for the delay in replying, I don't actually surf the forums much any more now that I'm not working from home. So are you sorted or would you like me to vectorise and scale that for you?

If people are chasing stuff best bet is to PM me as I get a notification then. I usually get a bit of time on the weekends to mess around.

Cheers,
Phil

bassdude
15-05-2022, 10:50 AM
Hey man,

Sorry for the delay in replying, I don't actually surf the forums much any more now that I'm not working from home. So are you sorted or would you like me to vectorise and scale that for you?

If people are chasing stuff best bet is to PM me as I get a notification then. I usually get a bit of time on the weekends to mess around.

Cheers,
Phil

Thanks for getting back to me, Phil. I don't have next gen tools, but I was actually able to print a mashup to pdf which appears to be vectorised as it remained smooth as I zoomed in. All I needed was Paint to erase bits (upside down clef dots) & to copy from part of the second "o" over the conjunction of the upside down clef's tail/dot with the first "o". Did all that at about page width (8" or 20cm) scale. Happy to receive input from the graphical design perspective if you think there's clearly room for improvement :)

Peter

Rabbit
16-05-2022, 06:55 PM
I don't have next gen tools,

A useful open source for creating and editing vectors is inkscape. I first got into it to create decals for my cars on Gran Turismo Sport, and it's turned out to be a useful tool in the physical world to create actual vinyl decals, air brush masks.. even guitar plans.

Simon Barden
16-05-2022, 09:07 PM
I think I'll be happy with this:

43107

Peter

I find the text a bit confusing myself and at first glance, to me it reads 'Cabbytone' after a bass clef. I think the 'I' would be clearer if there was a small break in the crosspiece of the T, so it also acted as the dot for the 'I'.

Quick example here, but I'm sure you could round the ends over a bit to smooth things out.

43113

But it's your design, so it's 100% your choice.

bassdude
17-05-2022, 06:38 PM
I find the text a bit confusing myself and at first glance, to me it reads 'Cabbytone' after a bass clef. I think the 'I' would be clearer if there was a small break in the crosspiece of the T, so it also acted as the dot for the 'I'.

Quick example here, but I'm sure you could round the ends over a bit to smooth things out.

43113

But it's your design, so it's 100% your choice.

Thanks for the input, Simon. Here's another attempt to incorporate your suggestions.

43124

Peter