Graphic designer for fabric printed foam sword cover

  • Status: Closed
  • Prize: $100
  • Entries Received: 6
  • Winner: andreolwage

Contest Brief

I am looking for a graphic designer/illustrator to generate a partially-scaling graphic which will be printed on a sheet of fabric. The fabric will wrap around a rectangular foam padded "sword" as a cover. The purpose of the graphic is to give a relatively thick object a fabric cover which conveys a more narrow and realistic appearance. In other words, I'm looking to visually shape something that is similar to a 3D rectangle into something more similar to a "2-dimensional" medieval sword using shading, contouring, or other visual techniques. The fabric area covers the "blade" only. The fabric will likely be sewn down one major edge seam instead of two or more seams. Some allowance will be required for the seams. Color should be RBG/Adobe RBG and pure metallic colors should be avoided as unfeasible. File should ultimately be producible in a PNG, JPG, or flattened TIFF file.

For the most part, the blade width and depths(flat) will not change. Only the blade length will change. Prototype blade is 30 inches long, blade flat 3 inches wide, and blade edge approximately 1.5-1.6 inches wide.

Please see attached graphics. As you can see from the attached graphics, the current state of my hobby is rather crude and should be easy to improve upon. The ultimate goal is to convert some of the thousands of swords currently used in my hobby to look a little more realistic than merely having a blue or black cover.

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Public Clarification Board

  • andreolwage
    andreolwage
    • 5 years ago

    I seemed to have mixed up the calculations with the edges and seams. The one edge needed to be half the actual edge width with some extra bits for the sewable seam. Try the new artwork submission and see if that works. I think both previous blades will be wrong as I used the same template

    • 5 years ago
    1. KennethKON
      Contest Holder
      • 5 years ago

      Yes. I think you have fixed the tip issue. Fantastic! I left some comments on your entry too.

      • 5 years ago
  • andreolwage
    andreolwage
    • 5 years ago

    Hi. OK I see the problem with the tip. Does the foam taper or is it even thickness throughout. The design is based on even thickness on the blade so folding it in half won't work as there is a 1.5 inch thickness throughout on the design. If the blade tapers I will need exact measurements to solve the problem or a die drawing from the manufacturers printing the material otherwise its a hit and miss on my side.

    • 5 years ago
    1. KennethKON
      Contest Holder
      • 5 years ago

      The blade does not really taper. Its basically a foam rectangle bent around a stick.

      I think the issue is that the blade graphic in between the two edges needs to be reversed or shifted down. The white part should go where the black part is. I'm not convinced that is the issue because I am not very good at graphics, but my mockup appears to have the "dark" part of the blade in the correct spot, and the "white" part of the blade offset. It might be fixable without exact measurements. I've printed up and cut several copies and its always one side matches and the other side does not line up.

      I'm still not sure I'm describing the issue properly, but if you print the picture, fold it in half, and cut the semi-circle. - one side ends up more or less correct. But the other side always looks like it is off even with just a piece of paper.

      Just to be clear, it is only one of the blades which is wrong, not both.

      • 5 years ago
  • andreolwage
    andreolwage
    • 5 years ago

    The gradients can be eliminated if necessary and changed to flat colours with black outline (almost comic style) and any other adjustments made to suit the printing process. Thank you for the feedback

    • 5 years ago
    1. KennethKON
      Contest Holder
      • 5 years ago

      Okay. Thank you for the information. The gradients issue is not too high on my priority list. I'm primarily focused on the proof of concept and construction issues. Once those have been solved, I think the "cool" factor can be worked on but the primary focus of the project is the construction itself.

      • 5 years ago
  • KennethKON
    Contest Holder
    • 5 years ago

    Entry #2 by Andre O. is a very good entry. It needs a 1.5 inch margin near the hilt to fold over and fit the draw string that holds the cover on.

    Also, I don't think the website I am planning on using (www.contrado.com) charges me based on what colors I print. Thank you very much for thinking of the cost-saving aspect but it appears to be a one price fabric no matter if I print it in a rainbow or a steel grey. (Please no rainbow swords, though slightly more fantasy/Tolkien swords are also acceptable).

    The only other issues I can find are:
    (1) If you print the design out and fold it in half. (See Sword construction diagram). When you cut out the semi-circle, you end up with something where one side of the graphical sword tip is offset from the physical sword tip. I have attached two pictures of the issue as Tip Problem 1 and Tip Problem 2.

    • 5 years ago
    1. KennethKON
      Contest Holder
      • 5 years ago

      (2) This will be printed on fabric so the accuracy might be a little off in terms of gradients. When I printed the "edge" out, the black gradient might be a little too strong relative to the white? I will have to print out final copies, but please be aware that there might be a printing-gradient issue and so the edge distinction should be a little more clear.

      Overall, thank you for the entry. It is a great start!

      • 5 years ago

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