How-To Create Arcade Machine Artwork for your DIY Arcade Cabinet
Arcade Marquee, Controller and Side Panel Art Information
Hey all! I have been taking a brief break with the birth of my friend’s son. I have had a bunch of stuff to do around the house so I have been playing handy man for the past week or so.
Coming back to my DIY Arcade Machine project we are going to be taking a look at how to handle the Artwork for the Arcade Cabinet.
When working on Arcade Machine Artwork there are several paths you can take.
- Commercial Artwork
- Digital Artwork
- Hand Crafted Artwork
Each of these methods has its Pros and Cons so whichever method you decide on will be dependant on factors like time, budget, materials, patience, & talent. These are generalizations but they are good to keep in mind as you approach this side of your Home Built Arcade Machine project.
Let’s take a look at each one and discuss how they might apply to your project along with the Pros and Cons of each. I have not implemented any of these methods into my DIY Arcade Machine yet, so at the moment I am just discussing considerations I have made regarding each one.
Commercial Artwork for a Home Built MAME Arcade Machine
The first common option a lot of people use as an approach is Commercial Arcade Machine artwork.
There are many companies online that specialize in crafting and printing original and custom Marquee Artwork, Side Panel Artwork, Controller Artwork and more.
The benefit of using a company like this is because they specialize in what they do they understand the nature of your project and are able to work with you to get the exact artwork you want for your home built Arcade Machine.
Another benefit of going this route is the companies can save you time and energy since you do not need to produce the artwork yourself. For a general MAME Arcade Machine they usually have several sample templates to choose from and in many cases you can provide your own artwork.
The one drawback of using a service like this is the cost. If you are building an Arcade Machine on budget using a commercial service might not be the best option as it will add on additional costs to your Arcade Machine.
Overall this is a good method that yields professional quality results, but requires a larger budget for your project.
Digital Artwork for a DIY MAME Arcade Cabinet
Creating Digital Artwork for your MAME Arcade Machine is another option some people choose. It usually involves the use of a graphics or photo editing software.
This is a pretty common method people use at some point during the planning and design of the Artwork for their Arcade Machine. Even in cases where people are planning to purchase commercial Artwork for their Arcade Machine, they may custom design the Artwork in a digital editing program first.
The benefits of using this method are that you have a lot of control over the Artwork for the project itself. I am a control freak, and like to have a lot of control over the projects I do so it is hard to leave something in someone elses hands.
Another benefit is this method tends to be more cost effective than having Arcade Machine Artwork professionally printed by a company. If you are working on a budget this can be a good alternative that yields a good look for your Arcade Cabinet.
The draw backs to using this method are that you need good digital editing software to achieve high quality results. If you already have this software you are good to go, but if you do not the cost of the software itself may outweigh having the artwork printed by a company. (Unless you can get it at a discount or from a friend.)
Another factor to consider is the time involved. Custom designing your own artwork gives your Arcade Machine a more unique feel but at the same time takes a lot of time, especially if you are unfamiliar with digital editing software.
Overall this is a good method that generally saves you money, and yields quality results if you are patient and know how to work with digital editing software. This method also requires you to have access to some type of digital editing software.
Hand Crafted Artwork for a Build it Yourself Arcade Machine
The last common method for Arcade Artwork is what I would refer to as “hand crafted” meaning any type of artwork that is done primarily by hand. This can consist of spray painting, hand painting, drawing, and even digitizing hand drawn artwork.
This is probably the most time consuming method that has the highest level of skill associated with it. The reason I say this is because some people are really good at producing hand made artwork, and I would consider that a talent that not everyone has. A person’s level of skill will directly affect the quality of the Arcade Artwork and the amount of time involved with this method.
The benefit of Hand Crafted Arcade Machine Artwork is it can be one of the cheapest methods possible for decorating your Arcade System. It also offers a good sense of satisfaction when you have created something entirely from scratch.
At the same time this can be one of the most difficult methods of doing Artwork for an Arcade Machine. This is mainly because this method requires the highest amount of skill and usually requires more time then the other two methods we have already discussed.
Overall I feel that Hand Crafted Artwork can be a good alternative if you have the skills to do it and are working on a budget. The supplies needed for most hand drawn or hand painted artwork are relatively cheap so you can save money on the overall project. The thing to keep in mind is that it requires artistic talent to create the type of results most people are shooting for with their Arcade Machine. It also requires the most time of all the methods I have discussed.
Arcade Machine Artwork Considerations Summary
So now that we have covered all of the common methods people use to create Artwork for their Arcade Machine we need to evaluate our project, our budget and our skill-set to determine which method/s will work best for our individual projects.
Since I am interested in exploring many different angels for building an Arcade Machine I am planning to incorporate each of these methods into the Artwork for my DIY MAME Arcade Machine.
At the moment I am thinking I will be creating Digital Artwork for the Marquee and Side Panels of my Arcade Machine and approaching two different companies to get the Artwork produced.
For the Arcade Controls I am going to try and use a combination of Digital Artwork and Hand Crafted Artwork to create the look I am going for.
This will allow me to experiment with each method to see what I like the best, and it will also allow me to provide readers with information on things I learn about each method.
Thanks for checking out the site. In the next several articles I will focus on each of the individual Arcade Machine Artwork methods we have discussed here and go into greater detail on each one. Keep checking back for the latest news on my DIY MAME Arcade Machine Project. ^-^
DIY MAME Arcade Machine Construction Images – Part 5
Building Your Own Arcade System at Home
Hey guys! If you have been following my “Build Your Own Arcade Machine” project, you will see that we are progressing nicely. I think in some ways this has become more of a fun thing to do on Friday nights than a rush to complete a Home Built Arcade Machine. For future projects I will be building on more of a consistent timeline, but for now I am using this as an opportunity to learn a lot from my friend about wood working, and carpentry.
This past Friday we got a lot done on the system. We started out by working on the Arcade Controls. A week or so ago we cut out our controller piece and fit it into the system, but this week we added the Arcade Joystick and Buttons to dry fit the pieces and establish the layout.
We also did some cosmetic work to the Arcade Cabinet like filling tack holes, using Bondo on some gaps, & sanding and smoothing some surfaces to get it ready for Priming.
I took apart the Trackball Mouse and Logitech Controller to get a look inside of them so we could get an idea for how we are going to wire them up, and how they will fit in the layout of our Arcade Controls.
Once that was done I installed Kubuntu Linux on the system. The Arcade Machine is now dual boot between Windows XP Home and Kubuntu Linux KDE 4. Working with Linux is mainly for my own personal learning experience on this project.
The next day we removed all the PC Hardware from the system and started filling, sanding and priming the Arcade Machine to get it ready for when we can finally paint it. We also installed the Trackball Mouse into the Arcade Controls.
I hope you enjoy the latest pictures. I will try to include a detailed summary of what is happening in each one along with any "Building Tips" I learned during the process. As always you can see the complete series of photos along with additional descriptions on my Flickr account here.
Home Built Arcade Machine DIY Pictures
The first thing we decided to work on this week was the Arcade Controls for the system. We wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to work on the layout and to dry-fit the Arcade Joystick and Buttons onto the panel. As mentioned in previous posts I am using a Arcade Joystick and Button layout from SlagCoin.com.
Here is a closer shot of the Arcade Button layout. Because we are working with limited space on the Arcade Controls I am using the “Sega layout for player 2” from SlagCoin’s “Panel Layout” page. I will be removing the last set of buttons on the right for a total of 6 buttons on my small profile Arcade Machine.
We had to mount cleats and standoffs to the bottom of the Arcade Control panel so we could mount it into the system. We have designed the Controls so they can be removed from the Arcade Cabinet for upgrades or repairs down the road. The standoffs slide into our Controller area on the Arcade Machine and can then be screwed into place by two screws that go in through the sides of the Arcade System.
I started filling in the tack holes and doing some surface filling on the Arcade Machine to get it ready for painting and priming. We are going to be using a method someone mentioned on the Arcade Controls Forums for using an auto-body primer / filler and Bondo to get a very smooth surface prior to painting.
We checked out the layout for our Arcade Joystick and Buttons so we could get the placement and spacing perfect. We need to save space for the trackball mouse that will be mounted into the system. Here we have come up with an ideal placement for the controller and buttons that will still leave space for the mouse.
I took apart the Trackball Mouse so we could see what we are working with inside it. Because we will be mounting the mouse through the bottom of the Arcade Control panel we needed to create as much clearance over the top as possible. We will also be wiring in two buttons to the mouse so we wanted to make sure we had access to everything.
I also took apart the USB Gamepad we will be using to wire up the Arcade Controls. This one is slightly different than the original one I was doing tests with. The contacts are much closer together so it looks like we may need to solder directly onto the traces that are running off each of the button areas on the circuit board.
We dry fit the Arcade Joystick and Buttons into the Arcade Controls and I also laid the Trackball Mouse onto top of the controls to get an idea for layout and placement. When the mouse is actually installed it will be underneath the controller and you will barely see it except for the ball.
Here is a shot of the Arcade Machine with the Control Panel mounted into place. We are just fitting parts and doing layout so it will get removed later. In the background you can see Kubuntu Linux KDE 4 running. I installed Linux on the Arcade Machine to dual boot with Windows XP Home. This way I can learn a little about working with Emulators and ROMs on Linux.
We also applied Bondo to fill a large gap below the Arcade Controls. We had extra Bondo mixed up so we applied it to the front panel of the Arcade Machine to test using it as surface filler. It worked really well!
The next step was removing all the PC Hardware from inside the Arcade Machine. As you can see we were working on it during the day on Saturday so we could do some painting and priming outside, without it being so cold. You need temperatures above 45 degrees (ideally) for paints and primers to work good. Also when working with paints, primers and fillers like Bondo it is crucial that you have plenty of ventilation and do not work in a closed garage or workshop.
Here we have removed the Arcade Joystick and Buttons from the Arcade Controls. You can see where we have traced the spot where we will be mounting the Trackball Mouse to the Arcade Controls. We pretty much figured out how we were going to do it on the fly so it took a little bit of brainstorming.
We added wood standoffs to the existing screw holes on the mouse so that we could screw it into the bottom on the Arcade Control panel. We also used a drill to router out some of the wood on the bottom of the Control Panel so we could get the mouse as far up through the controls as possible. This was important because a trackball does not rise up that much and we were working with ½ inch MDF.
In this picture we have mounted the Trackball Mouse into the Arcade Controls. The ball is perfectly accessible and sticks up just enough so that it is easy to access for game play. I am using the Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse in the Arcade Machine.
We also created a top plate for the Roller Ball out of some of the extra plexi glass we had from the display and marquee. It was cut out, the edges were sanded to give them a beveled look and feel, and then we taped off the front and spray painted the back of the plexiglass black.
This gave the top plate a really nice shiny black look. I am really happy with the way it came out, it looks great!
Next we had to get the Arcade Cabinet ready for Priming and Painting. The first thing we did was sand down all the wood filler we used to fill holes from the tacks. Once that was done we sanded down the sides entirely with an electric sander to get them as smooth as possible prior to filling, priming, and painting.
Before we started applying primer we used a dry cloth to wipe away any residue (and sawdust) from sanding down the existing primer. This is important because you don’t want anything that will keep the Paint and Primer from adhering to the surface of your Arcade Machine.
Here is a shot of the Arcade Machine with a light coat of Krylon Primer applied to the side. After doing some test runs with Primer and Filler on some of the scrap MDF we had lying around we decided to try a few of the different methods we had come up with.
For the first side we are just applying Krylon Primer to the side we used wood filler on and then sanded down.
Then we tested the Krylon Primer on the front panel where we had applied Bondo the night before.
We sanded down the area where we applied the Bondo and then applied the Krylon Primer in thicker coats than on the first side of the Arcade Machine. We wanted to see what the result would be when we applied the Primer in thicker coats.
(The gap underneath the controls was filled with Bondo to level it out. Here it stills needs a little more applied to totally smooth it out. We did this but you can't see it in this picture.)
Building a DIY Arcade Machine “Part 5” Summary
Overall we have got a lot done on the Arcade Machine in the past two weeks. I think our biggest improvement has been making “TO DO” lists each time we finish working on the Arcade Machine. Once we have completed a large part of the construction we sit down, take a look at the Arcade Machine and say “hmm, what do we need to do next week.”
Having these To Do lists really helps because it keeps us on track and minimizes the time we spend trying to figure out what the next step is. If I had one bit of advice to offer this week it would be:
- Make “TO DO” lists to keep your project on track!
We are getting closer and closer to being finished with the construction of the Arcade Machine. Once that is done there will still be a lot of work that still needs to be done setting up software, transferring ROMs, configuring controls etc. But I am happy to see my DIY Arcade Machine finally taking shape.
As always, thanks so much for checking out the site! I have noticed the site is getting more and more hits every day. If you have any questions or comments about the project please leave them below and I would happy to respond.
Also note the “Shout Box” and “Polls” widget on the sidebar. Please feel free to contribute your feedback to the site through any of these methods. I love to hear other people’s ideas and suggestions and will incorporate them into the site in any way I can.
Thanks!
Build Your Own Arcade Machine Construction Images – Part 4
Pictures of my DIY Arcade Machine Project
Hey all! We got a lot of work done on the Arcade Machine this weekend. We came up with a “To Do” list last week so we knew exactly what we needed to get started with this time around. This helped keep us on track and we got a lot of misc. additions installed.
During the construction we cut out the Arcade Controller panel piece, and created a nice beveled edge for it. We also did the modified wiring for the Power LEDs and Power Switch in the system. In addition to that we installed the plexiglass for the monitor and the Arcade Marquee, and also mounted the White Cold Cathode for the marquee into place.
Once all that was complete we installed the modified wiring, hooked up the light kit, uncovered the LCD display and POST tested the system for the first time. Everything went great with the exception of me forgetting to plug in the data cable for the SATA hard drive, and some problems with an inconsistent power supply (PSU).
So overall we got a lot done and we got the first look at the POST screen on the system. It was late but we wanted to see some semblance of an OS running on the system so we booted it with a Linux Live disk of Kubuntu Linux KDE 4. I will be installing Windows XP Home as the primary OS on the system, but I have set aside a 10gb partition for Kubuntu Linux so I can write up some articles on using Emulators in Linux and add them to the site.
As always, all of the pictures for the construction can be found on my Flickr account but I have featured the highlights of the construction here with details and tips for Building your own Arcade Machine.
Home Built Arcade Machine Images - Part 4
Here is a picture of where we finished up last time. As you can see we have most of the external parts of the Arcade Machine complete with the exception of Arcade Controller.
The first thing we did was cut out the Arcade Control Panel piece according to the PDF Arcade Machine Plans I have posted on the site.
Once we had the Arcade Control panel cut out we mounted it into the Arcade Machine to make sure everything fit correctly. It was a perfect fit. We went ahead and added a 45 degree cut sloping towards the monitor for aesthetics and so we would have access to the controls on the LCD monitor if needed.
Once we knew the Arcade Controller piece would fit into the system properly we added a second layer of MDF along the bottom so we could create a beveled front edge for the Control Panel. I traced a line along the bottom of where the Arcade Controller rested on the system so we would know where our second piece of MDF needed to stop.
We traced out the shapes we needed and got them as close to the right size as possible. You want a little bit of overlap on your original piece and then you can use a router to even up the edges.
Once this was done we used a beveled edge bit on the router to round the top and bottom edge on the front of the Arcade Control Panel. This gave the piece a very nice rounded look and feel.
Here is a close up shot of the beveled edge on the bottom of the Arcade Control panel. Once we were finished, both the top and the bottom of Arcade Controls had a nice beveled edge like this.
Next I prepped the wiring for the Arcade Cabinet. Because we are running the power switch to the top of the Arcade Machine (like you would find in many Commercial Arcade Machines) I needed to use the wiring from another power switch to create an extra long one.
I also needed to splice together two Red Power LEDs to illuminate the coin plate I will be crafting for the system. The red LEDs will provide the glow from behind the coin clot that is so trademark of most modern Arcade Machines.
Here you can see the dual red LEDs I have wired up. I spliced the two LEDs into one set of wires so both lights will be powered by the Power LED lead on the motherboard. This way I will have two constant red LEDs glowing in the system. I just need to solder the points where I connected the wires and they will be good to go.
Next we had to cut the plexiglass for our Arcade Machine. There are a lot of suggestions online on the proper way to do this. After reading some forum posts to get a little background we decided using the back of our razor blade (the dull side) to score the plexiglass was the best way to go.
Once this line had been scored into the plexi we used the sharp side of the blade to create a nice line where we would break to the plexi-glass. After that was done you just give it a light whack and it should break perfectly along the line you have made. Worked like a charm!
Next I got the White Cold Cathode light kit ready to be installed into the Arcade Machine. This will be mounted behind the plexiglass for the marquee to provide illumination for the Arcade Marquee.
Here we have installed the plexiglass for the Display and Marquee in the Arcade Machine. We tacked in cleats on the side of the LCD monitor so we would have a place to attach the plexiglass.
In the top you can see the Marquee piece still has the protective film on it. If you look closely you can see the White Cold Cathode mounted inside the system behind the Marquee plexiglass.
Once we had the additional wiring in place we fired up the system to make sure everything was working properly.
Here you can see the White Cold Cathode behind the Marquee is turned on and working properly along with a faint POST screen that can be made out from behind the protective cover for the LCD Monitor in the Arcade Machine.
Since I opted not to install a CD/DVD ROM drive into the system (to save on space and budget) I am using an external DVD-RW drive that I borrowed from work to install Windows XP Home and Kubuntu Linux KDE 4 onto the system.
This way I can just plug the drive into the USB ports on the motherboard, set the BIOS to boot from a USB device and I am ready to go.
This is the final shot from this week’s construction. It was about 1:30am and we had just POST tested the system for the first time. All the hardware worked great with the exception of the power supply which is experiencing an inconsistent POST on hard reboots (Shutdowns).
We used a Micro ATX 200w Power Supply to test the system and rule out problems with the one we had installed. (An AGI 350w PSU). This cleared up the problems with the inconsistent POST so I will need to exchange the PSU before next Friday so we can get this bad boy up and running.
Building Your Own Arcade Machine Follow-Up
Overall I am very happy with the way things are progressing. We have been taking our time and thinking things through while we construct the system. I think this is one of the most important pieces of advice I could offer to people who want to build their own Arcade Machine.
“Take your time. Plan things out. Have fun, and be Creative!”
After all that's what makes a project like this worth doing. If you're not having fun, or don't like the way things are turning out, take a breather and come back with a fresh perspective on your project.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. I will respond to any and all comments people leave on the site regarding the project.
As always thanks for visiting my site and keep coming back to check for updates! Next week we will be working on the construction of the Arcade Controller so be sure to check back and see how things turn out!