Creating a sign for the GB Crew!

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!

Looks fantastic, nice work!

Holy crap, it's so crisp-looking! Good stuff!

Love it!

You only have 4 posts to your name and this is one of them. Jaw dropping. Amazing work duder. I think this easily qualifies for a moderator seal of approval

This is one explosive sign. Great job on putting it together duder.

...my word that is amazing. I've dabbled in woodworking design in the past, but I could only dream of something like this. Bravo duder.

Thumps up!

That's super rad! You should make one for the GBeast guys too, would be so cool. ;)

This is extremely impressive work.

Looks perfect! Hopefully they can use it to mark their territory or something.

Looks excellent! Very nice work!

My god that's amazing!

Looks great! Nice work duder!

Super cool. Amazing work!

Think about it. You just cut a Giant Bomb with LASERS!

Duder, that's awesome!

Looking goood!

I'm sorry but that looks too professional for Giant Bomb. Like something they should use during PAX or E3.

@longevitous: LMAO! I did!

Thanks all for the positive vibes! I'm thinking of wrapping it in a ton of bubble wrap and boxing it up next week then shipping it to the east coast crew, its a little fragile, but hopefully if I do it right it'll get there in one piece. I have a second one I still have to paint and am gonna try to do a Beastcast one at some point!

Hell yeah. If they ever buy their own giant office building, that's excellent enough to be hanging above the front door. Well done, duder.

Can we talk briefly about the fact that your name is "hateeveryone" but you appear to be a very positive family man who makes magnificent gestures towards the people he admires?

Fantastic work! Glad to hear it's going to the East guys, they're lacking something like this and it would go nice on their studio wall. West already has that one sign in the podcast room.

Good idea sending it to the east. I was thinking if it went to San Fran you would prob see it in the background of a mail bag video halfway out of a box covered in random junk and wires.

@bigsocrates: hahahahahaha! I chuck up the name to playing a lot of Call of Duty and Halo a few years back, then trying to create a name that accurately described me Vs. everyone, back against the wall, y'all are going down in a Free-for-all match type deal. I'm really an alright dude lol married for 5 years (my wife is also an awesome gamer!), just hit 10 years in the military and have two kids. But honestly just a guy who loves to play videogames in his spare time!

Dude that looks amazing! Kudos!

This is awesome. Can't wait for that mailbag!

Incredible work! I'm sure the guys will cherish it.

Laser engraving machine looks like a lot of fun. Great work!