Following comments on my cabinet my mate felt sorry for me and designed this. Much better I think. Not finished yet, but it's getting there:

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The shadow behind the creature does not make sense as it contradicts the direction of light suggested by the red highlights on the fur.

Looks retrolicious though.

There could be two light sources.

True but given that shadow, the front side would be almost fully lit instead of being pitch black like a back-lit silhouette.

TBH I liked the previous better (IIRC ) I think you will get problems with balancing out the opposite panel esthetically.

*gives an evil look at Dennis and Weapon_S*

I think this new design is awesome! I like the font choice, the placement, and the fact that the beast in the middle has this sort of effect to make it look like it's leaping off of the machine itself.

For those confused about the shadow/lighting, sure, the highlights may SEEM like they're coming from the wrong direction, but you're trying to draw highlights on something BLACK in order to make it feel like more than just a flat drawing. Visually, the way it is now works better than trying to make the lighting accurate to the shadow or vice versa. If you don't agree then I challenge you to go load up a paint program, copy a screenshot of the monster into it, "fix" it the way you feel would be right, compare to what Neil's got, then see for yourself.

There were a few more examples to choose from, he's also vectorised some metal slug (my favourite game) but I haven't seen them yet:

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*looks over those ones*

...still like the one at the top of the thread best.

Well, I had already sprayed the sides yellow so even if I had a choice I could only mask it for painting using 1 or 2.

I'll post a pic when my mate sends me them as we used his camera. Unfortunately the masking tape didn't take in some places so needs touching up in places. The font will probably be white as the yellow vinyl I have doesn't match the yellow paint.

The real problem here isn't the shading anyway. The root cause of making it look awkward is that the given silhouette does not suggest any believable volume. Even changing the lighting does not manage to fix that and it stays mostly flat. Lack of a distinguishable type of foot or hoof on the front leg is another issue.

If you look at the legs, they both seem to be bent convex towards the viewer, creating a stance which if imagined from the side looks silly but not threatening or menacing (which is what it's probably supposed to look like).

Here's a sloppy edit, illustrating the volume problems by an attempt at lighting without changing the silhouette:
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Interesting.and quite scary.

You do know that image is as it is on the original space invaders cabinet?

*quickly looks up pictures of Space Invaders machines*

...that makes it even more awesome than it already was!

Here's another one (Metal Slug inspired)

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Not bad, though I still prefer the Space Invaders one.

I kinda like Dennis' version.

Hello,
Here's the actual painted sides, just needs touching up where the masking tape failed:
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A bit more work has been done on the images:
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{"name":"cabfinal1.jpg","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/2\/e\/2ee0a144ef8f1f1e189655d0e78b7f94.jpg","w":352,"h":864,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/2\/e\/2ee0a144ef8f1f1e189655d0e78b7f94"}

If anyone is interested, the source for the tank is here:
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/275/6/2/metal_slug__reload_by_sho_n_d_by_uro_boro-d4bn26x.jpg

My mate converted it to vectors.

Here is a mock-up with the art and the real photo:
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I <3 the tank. This is the first design from this thread that I really really like

Seconded, the Tank really stands out.

I did not know. That fact does not make it any better though because the errors are still there.

That Metal Slug art on the other hand looks great and does a really good job at suggesting believable volume.

I would try (maybe better, maybe not) adding a little bit of shading (similar to the barrel) just next to the girl/woman to help balance the level of detail between her and the tank. Even if you don't, it's pretty sweet.

Those look a lot better IMHO.
I'd only flip the tank or cut the antenna off. Now it's just a bit awkward element in the corner IMHO.

I love the tank panel. The treads even make it look like it could roll right off the panel and go up any surface. Definitely awesome.

... and it's got boobies

You could cut'n'paste some boobies on the monster, ya know!

Nah, the tank would have been kick ass even if it had a guy on it.

Hey! Guys can have boobies too.

Yeah, The Blob from X-Men and idiots that take bets to get implants.

It's always fun seeing these updates. Your arcade cab is looking mighty sharp.

If I had your experience, I'd be tempted to tackle a tall cabinet project... Arcade games have always been so short. A guy can only hunch over for so long.

I'm 6'2 so I made it usable by both me and little people.

It is just over 6 foot tall and the control panel is about 1m (just over 3 foot) from the ground, so I would say that constitutes a tall cabinet

[Edit]
besides if you'd been following my blog (http://negnegneg.blogspot.com) you'd see that there is no need to stand when you have these bad boys, which should allow me to have an 8 hour Metal Slug session with ease

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