Arcade Artwork Vectoring Services
What are vectors? What is vectorizing?
Taken from Wikipedia.org –
Vector graphics (also called geometric modeling or object-oriented graphics) is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons, which are all based upon mathematical equations to represent images in computer graphics.
Vector graphics is an alternative to raster graphics, which is the representation of images as an array of pixels, as it is typically used for the representation of photographic images.[1]
Vector art is key for printing. Since the art is made from a series of mathematical curves it will print very crisp even when resized. For instance one can take the same vector logo and print it on a business card, and then enlarge it to billboard size and keep the same crisp quality. A low-resolution raster graphic would blur incredibly if it were enlarged from business card size to billboard size.
Why do I need to have vectoring done?
You don’t necessarily need to have vectoring done. You do need to have a piece of original artwork to start with. You may not need to have any vectorization done, it is based on your original scan. Please see “How do I get started?” to learn a little bit more.
The vectorization that I do will prep your artwork to be screen printed. If you feel like you would like to go the route of ink jet printed artwork, Mamemarquees.com provides an excellent custom service for this. If you don’t know the difference between screen and inkjet printed artwork, please ask Rich at This Old Game. He will be more than happy to explain that to you.
How does it work?
You contact me to see if you need vectorization of your artwork done. I will need your permission to write about the progress on my blog at Rotheblog.com. I will keep you posted through those posts and through email at least once a week on where your project status is.
If I can take on your project, I will give you a price and will need 2/3 payment up front.
Once the artwork has been fully vectorized, you will pay me the final 1/3 of the project estimate. At that point I will submit it to Rich and all communication will turn over to him until job completion.
How much is it?
I take on projects that are interesting to me so that I don’t have to worry about vectorizing arcade artwork being a pure profit driven venture. I take on most projects, but it all depends on time. I am in the process of working on my MBA, so I have limited time. Count on the process to cost $50 at the bare minimum for the most simple projects and price will go up on complexity from there. I expect 2/3 of the cost for the work up front, and the final 1/3 on completion of the artwork when I send it off to This Old Game.
How long does it take?
Project duration is based on my available time only. I can’t give a good idea here, it could take as little as hours, and it could take up to weeks to finish the artwork. Please look at “How do I get started” to start the communication process to see how long the vectorization may take.
How do I get started? / What do I need?
You need to have a piece of NOS artwork that can be scanned in pieces, or ideally drum scanned as one piece to prevent distortion. If you don’t have a piece of NOS artwork, do not despair, but you still need a file to start with. You will need to either scan the artwork from an existing machine yourself, or you will need to contact another collector who has the artwork you need and see if they can scan the artwork for you.
We will consider stitching services based on a per project basis and based on available time. We have access to a limited number of arcade games to scan artwork locally. Beyond those, we can not help you with the artwork procurement process. This will have to be something you will have to handle yourself.
Once you have this artwork, submit a copy of it to us so we can evaluate whether we need to vectorize the image, or if the scan is good enough that we can reproduce the artwork from the scan. To send me a copy of the scan, there are a number of different routes.
If you have an AOL or MSN email, we can transfer the file via messenger. It’s easy and reliable, if you would like to go this route, just contact me at the button below and I can provide my screen names. If your file is under 500MB, there are free uploading storage websites that we can use. Otherwise, make a copy of the arcade artwork file you have and send it to me on disk in the mail. Make sure you have a copy because I will not be able to return any disks sent to me. Contact me with the button below and I can send you my address.
Get other arcade collectors involved
The other thing you might think about doing is starting to feel out other collectors who might like a set of your artwork to help with your costs. Start asking around on RGVAC (groups.google.com/collecting/) and the Klov forums (forums.webmagic.com). You will need to get an idea of quantity soon after the ball starts rolling.
