Hey everyone! So I created some fan art to hopefully grace the walls of the Giant Bomb offices and I just wanted to share the process on how I created it! After a recent road trip that my family went on, I listened to a lot of the GB interviews Josiah Renaudin and The 1099 Podcast did and was really inspired to do something cool for the folks at Giant Bomb. I sincerely appreciate all of the work they do, I always watch their videos and think they are absolutely hilarious! I love the fact that they are extremely genuine and down to earth people who play videogames!
The first step was what did I want to create?
After a rigorous brainstorming session, I came to the conclusion that since I do a lot of graphic design and photography at work, and have also done signs in the past, I figured this would be the coolest thing to create for them with the skills I have. (I also saw the one sign that the west coast guys have on the table and thought something similar like that would be awesome!)
Where to start?!
So the same with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4SYJ7AY2s&feature=youtu.be&t=97 version of the GB logo, I had to recreate the logo from scratch because I don't have a vector file that I can manipulate how I want. I found a good copy of the logo online and used Adobe Illustrator to redo the linework. Once the linework was completed then I transferred the files over to another computer the use an engraver to cut the materials!
Cutting:
I use a laser engraver to cut 1/8-1/4 inch pieces of wood for this sign. You can do basically any custom designs you really want on it ( I really want to get one in the future, but they are very expensive machines). The maximum area for any material you want to put in the laser is 24 inches by 24 inches on this specific engraver. From the linework I did in illustrator, the machine knows exactly where I want the laser to go and cut. The first thing I needed to cut was the black backing. It will be in all one big piece, with lines engraved on the top, so when I do get the other pieces cut and the black piece is painted, I'll be able to see where the other pieces go! It works like a big puzzle. Once the big piece is cut, then I'll cut the other smaller pieces that will go on the top (so the red, white, grey, yellow and pink pieces)
Painting and assembling:
After they are all cut, I will lay everything out and paint the individual pieces the colors they need to be. The large bottom piece will have large inch thick studs on the back so that when it is mounted to a wall it will appear as if it is floating and cast a nice shadow for the sign (Bonus: if you do this right you can put some sweet neons on the back and light it up). Also, my son helped me out with the painting! He is the most adorable and cutest little helper ever amirite?
Gluing!
After my son went to sleep and the pieces are all painted and dried (and I play a few spicy rounds of PUBG), then I will take every piece and super glue them to the black wood backing. I use loc-tite glue and it seems to hold very well for the material I used.
Finish!
Once everything is glued on, I'll then put a nice clear coat over the top of the paint. And Viola! Next thing I have to do is find a way to get it in one piece to the fine folks at Giant Bomb from Sunny San Diego! Let me know what you think!
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