So, this is what led me to this site. Thought I'd share...

wiggyx

wiggyx

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I found this site while searching for some images to create box art/covers for some of my collection. Many I did because I have games with no case (and with CD/DVD titles that can be a PITA), some may have had damaged artwork, etc.

I thought I'd share them, since the Saturn cover project thread was the one that I stumbled upon while searching (and seems to be dead, unfortunately). I've found myself sort of engrossed in this project lately. Enough talk, here’s what I’ve got so far.

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I’ve got 15 or so titles done so far, and a huge stack to go…

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I’ve been itching to get around to Rakugaki Showtime, but there’s pretty limited artwork available on the web for the game, making it a tougher project. So, I did what I told myself I wasn’t gonna do at the beginning of this project, and that is create original artwork. Yeah, I spent WAY too much time on this, but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy doing it. Here’s the process:

Rough sketches

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Final drawings for scanning:

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Raw scan:

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Color added:

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Shading:

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Finished renderings:

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Now on to the vector stuff…

Laying out type and planning the backdrop:

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Playing with placement and whatnot:

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Done!

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I’m pretty happy with the results. If you guys want, I can post the other stuff I’ve done so far and provide the files if you wanna use ‘em for yourself.
 
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Welcome to CAG.

That's really good work. Although I don't have a need for artwork (I buy all my games new and make sure to take fantastic care of them) I'm sure many people would benefit from you sharing.

Do you have a website?
 
Thanks!

I worked at a used CD/game store for about 7 years from about 96-03, so I ended up with lots of not-so-perfect condition games. Some were too good to pass up for the price ;) That, and I don't always want to pay 150+ for a rare, used title on eBay or something like that, as much as I'd like to have original copies of everything. Also, some games like Jumping Flash are a PITA because of the old longbox (which I still have, but just tossed into storage), and stuff like the sleeved Saturn games on the top of the middle pile. There's not much I could do about those. So, this is my solution :D

I have a site for a product that I produce (see my avatar), but not for anything like this.
 
That's pretty cool! Silhouette Mirage, hope that comes out on the PSN. I'd so like to see Jumping Flash remade for the PS3. Welcome to CAG.
 
jumping flash is the game that really made me wow 3D games in general for the first time. the portrayal of height in that game
 
[quote name='BigPopov']jumping flash is the game that really made me wow 3D games in general for the first time. the portrayal of height in that game[/QUOTE]

Yup. Super Mario 64 did the whole 3d platformer genre well enough to make it popular, but I remember playing Jumping Flash shortly after its release (before the launch of the N64) and being blown away. Especially once you get the (I think) triple jump. Too bad it, like many PSOne games that rely on polygons and non-dual shock controls, is probably nigh unplayable nowadays.
 
Custom cases are a waste of time IMO (originals or bust!) but you are one talented artist.:applause:

[quote name='wiggyx']a few are, um, not SOPA compliant :whistle2:$[/QUOTE]

CAG doesn't look kindly on this topic, be careful there.
 
^^^ yeah, I know it's a touchy subject. Thanks for the tip.

Like I said, I didn't have the option for the original cases for many of these. For instance, while working at said used game store, a long time customer brought in a giant CD wallet for of PS1, PS2, and Saturn imports to trade in. He literally bought the games, put the discs into the wallet, and threw out the cases. I was like WTF?! But, it meant that I got a whole lot of import games for dirt cheap. I wasn't gonna complain. So, 10 years later I got sick of looking at blank CD cases with some really awesome (legitimate) games inside, And I figured that I owe it to those games to give them a proper place on my shelves :)
 
That's some great work!

If you don't have a site where you're distributing these, you may be able to upload them to cdcovers.cc. I've seen some nice custom cases up there, and these would be great for anyone who's sitting on a disc-only copy of one of these titles.

I always try to get my games complete, but occasionally I just have to jump on a dirt cheap incomplete game, and I still want it to look nice on the shelf. I've even made some custom Sega Genesis spines for presentation purposes on my cart-only games.
 
Thank you!

I could pretty easily assemble a site for them, but it's definitely easier to just upload them to one or more of the existing cover sites. Maybe I'll do that this coming week.

I am seriously considering doing the whole plastic case and insert thing for my SNES games. I've got like 100 though, so I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle them just yet. I'd prolly just go with what's already up on coverproject.net for them. Would take forever to make 100+ designs on my own O_O
 
I always favor the original cases, HOWEVER, some of the custom stuff (like Dreamcast games in DVD cases) are just awesome. Plus, the time/effort/creativity that goes into some of these are just amazing.
 
There's nothing wrong with custom cases. If I had the talent/patience to make them I would.

Especially if I had a bunch of disc only games like from Gamestop's Buy 2 Get 2 free sale awhile back. I got a CD wallet's worth of discs during that sale.
 
[quote name='sdragon']I always favor the original cases, HOWEVER, some of the custom stuff (like Dreamcast games in DVD cases) are just awesome. Plus, the time/effort/creativity that goes into some of these are just amazing.[/QUOTE]

I just ordered the crazy universal game cases. I think I'm gonna tackle the cartridge collection next!

[quote name='needler420']You're just wasting time with custom cases.[/QUOTE]

Cool story.

[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']There's nothing wrong with custom cases. If I had the talent/patience to make them I would.

Especially if I had a bunch of disc only games like from Gamestop's Buy 2 Get 2 free sale awhile back. I got a CD wallet's worth of discs during that sale.[/QUOTE]

And that's pretty much why I decided to do this. There's not a really good resource for Japanese box/case art (at least, I can't fond one). So games like Rakugaki Showtime, CoCo Curry House, etc. pretty much require that I either a) use the crummy, low res stuff that's out there (not even scans, but just pics of the cases), or b) take those pics and painstakingly recreate the original art, or c) just make something new.

I figure if I'm gonna spend all that time just to make the art from scratch, then why not make something that's something totally custom.
 
Welcome and I really like the ones you made and appreciate everyone that makes custom art for games/music/videos. I never make any but use custom art a lot of the time.
 
[quote name='needler420']You're just wasting time with custom cases.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='wiggyx']Cool story.[/QUOTE]

Eh, what do you expect from someone with 420 in their username?

Personally, I really enjoyed the design and layout you came up with. I have absolutely zero talent for things like that so I tend to really appreciate well done work. If you enjoy doing it, keep at it. It's not like you suck at it. :)
 
I keep clicking into this thread but I still haven't posted. Basically all I want to say is "good job. Looks pretty cool. Good luck on the SNES collection!"
 
LOL, thanks! I just realized those cases are gonna take about twice as much real estate on my already cramped shelves. My wife's gonna be super happy about that...
 
PS1 Jumping Flash (longbox= huge PITA)

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PS1 FF Tactics (case lost by friend, who will NEVER borrow a game again)

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PS2 CoCo Curry House (trade in with no case)

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Saturn Parodius "Collection" (wanted to make a boxed set of games)

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Saturn Salamander Collection (picked up with no case)

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PS2 SVC Chaos (Don't care for original art)

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PS2 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (picked up for dirt cheap with no case since I already owned JAP and US Dreamcast versions, so I couldn't see spending a fortune on yet another copy)

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Wii Metroid Prime Collection (hate original cover art and will be giving a similar treatment to the copy of Other M that I picked up today in all it's hideous box art glory)

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These are some of my favs for now. Not all get as much attention (based on my level of interest in the game itself and what artwork is available on the web). I'll keep posting as I crank 'em out. Thanks again for the kind words!
 
My degree is in Industrial Design with a minor in Graphic Design ;)

I own a small business that I operate out of my house. Just getting started at this point. I do some freelance, some custom automotive stuff, and other sorts of specialized, custom items.
 
While I prefer the original art/cases like most of the others have said, your custom work on that PS1 game in the OP looks legit. Good job.
 
[quote name='needler420']You're just wasting time with custom cases.[/QUOTE]
You're wasting your time posting.

I was very impressed with your work on the case in the OP.

Haters, going to hate. Keep up the good work and welcome to CAG.
 
Thanks again for all the nice words!

I use Adobe Illustrator for all the vector work such as the type and art (like the Curry house kid and the Parodius pig). Photoshop takes care of the rest, which includes any rendering/painting that needs to be done, manipulation of existing artwork, and assembling the layout.
 
So, I've got 200 universal game cases on the way. I think I'm gonna have my hands full for a LONG time getting the N64 and SNES games all done up :)
 
The only thing that would bug me about converting many of my cases to prettier/sturdier ones would be that I would still keep the old ones and have to store them, now empty, somewhere.

That and I'd make cases more unique by region because I don't have (for example) a PS2 that can play both Japanese and US games (SVC Chaos and MvC2)

...but yeah, very sexy stuff there. I have a manual-less copy of FFT that I'd love to have a nicer case for.
 
Tossing the empty Jumping Flash case into a bin of game items felt sorta strange. Now I'll be dumping all my empty N64 and SNES boxes in storage as well. But the bright side is that I'll actually know what N64 cart I'm grabbing off the shelf LOL!

With the DVD case games, I just keep the original art behind the new designs (if I have the original art). That saves some headache ;)
 
Well, I can email the file to ya or I'd gladly print one out for you (I use archival matte photo paper with a pretty decent Canon printer). The latter would obviously cost a couple of bucks, but you'd definitely get a really nice copy ;)
 
I did everything but the painting on the front. I haven't done anything NEARLY that intricate yet for these covers.

I'm fairly certain that I found that on deviantart.

edit: here's the guy's site.

http://www.geocities.jp/masateru_ik/placebo/Pictures_1.html

He does some really nice work, no doubt. When it's so easy to find work of this caliber, it's hard to convince myself to spend hours and hours creating my own :/
 
I've been tempted to change my Saturn game cases since the originals are so f'n brittle and fragile. Those things break if you look at them wrong! And like others I also have Jumping Flash 1 and hate it for being the only longbox in my collection.
 
LOL, it's the ONLY longbox game that I still have too. Everything else that I once owned in longbox format is either not worth owning or has since been re-released in the jewel case format (thank goodness!). I had made one that was essentially the original artwork, just reformatted to fit in a jewel case. I just don't dig the ancient CGI artwork smeared across the entire cover. It looks sooooo dated at this point.

I can't believe nobody ever produced replacement cases for the Saturn. I've literally looked for them since about 1997. I used to have a stash of extras that I nabbed from crummy, worthless sports titles when I worked at a used CD/game store, but I guess I must have used them or sold/given them to fellow gamer friends.

Of course, it's so tough to even find Saturn games in B&M stores anymore, let alone games with intact cases.
 
[quote name='wiggyx']Now I'll be dumping all my empty N64 and SNES boxes in storage as well.[/QUOTE]

Sell me your SNES boxes!!
 
Awesome work. I am a huge fan of custom covers, I have no use for expensive old cardboard, but I do love to read the cover art and have all my games nice and neat.

 
That looks excellent! That's what I want MY collection to look like :)

We share a VERY similar SNES collection by the way ;)
 
Woo-hoo!

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Already had a head start on the covers too ;)

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10 down, about 2 dozen to go.

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Damn dude, between the modded PSOne and these, you are killing it. Keep the work up and posting it. It is really cool to see some of my favorite games with these incredible new visions for cover art.
 
[quote name='Yanksfan']Damn dude, between the modded PSOne and these, you are killing it. Keep the work up and posting it. It is really cool to see some of my favorite games with these incredible new visions for cover art.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I just wrapped up the N64 games and started on the SNES titles. I'm working on the titles that are way easy to find artwork for 1st (Final Fantasy, Zelda, Mario, etc.). I'm hoping I don't have to do gobs of work for more oddball titles like Aerobiz and whatnot :/

[quote name='catabarez']Where did you order the UGCs from?[/QUOTE]

I must have bought the last box that they had on hand :(

http://www.mediashelving.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=W&Product_Code=USCG

I could actually use another 100 myself, so I guess I'll have to wait for a restock too...
 
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