Disc/Disk/Cart Art Creative Direction

[Avar]

 

In an effort to provide clearer ongoing art direction, this thread will serve as a quick reference for best practices when it comes to the creation of disk/disc/cart artwork.

Media Type(s): Disc/Disk/Cart Artwork (2D/3D)

Minimum Width:

• >1080p: Depends on the system but ~400px for CD/DVD discs is a good starting point, with other cart types scaled relative to their irl size compared to a real CD/DVD. Ie. if the cart in real life is half as wide as as a CD/DVD, you'd want your art to be at least ~200px wide for 1080p. Recommend higher resolution for CD/DVD discs due to the amount of small font and fine detail prevalent on all of them.
• 4K: ~800px for a CD/DVD, other cart types scaled relative to their irl size compared to a real CD/DVD
• 8K: >~1600px, for a CD/DVD, other cart types scaled relative to their irl size compared to a real CD/DVD

Note: Height to be chosen so as to maintain correct aspect ratio.

Note: Ideally you'll wanna draw/redraw and touch these up at hella high resolution (the most your sanity or computer can handle) and downsample to the resolution required for a given format. This maximizes quality while minimizing the possibility that anyone will ever have to redo the work in the future. 8K is a good "future proof" minimum standard to hold yourself to as a general best practice. 

Best Practices and Standards:

• Drawing a template for the cart/disk/disc you're working on is helpful, but always check to make sure that template applies to the cart you're making. Virtually ever system has instances where different games have different cart/disk/disc styles. Eg. the golden Zelda cart on NES, or the Atari Lynx in general, which features thirteen very distinct cart styles. Eg. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/141573-the-definitive-lynx-cart-variation-list/ Always prioritize historical accuracy above all else, then quality.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help or take a break. Cart/disk/disc art is one of the most challenging assests to require and requires the greatest attention to detail, especially when working off of poor-quality scans or random photos found online.
• Unlike with wheels and system logos, leave (TM) logos, (R) logos, and all other corporate text in place so as to ensure an exact match with the real cart art.
• Both 2D and 3D sets are acceptable and encouraged.
• When working on CD/DVDs, make sure the plastic parts of the CD/DVD that are transparent in real life have an appropriate alpha transparency in the final product. @JSinn's Nintendo GameCube disc at the top of this post is a perfect example of this.
• If you choose to apply a reflection effect to the surface of the cart, please also make a set without the reflection. Reflections can add immersion within the FE environment but obfuscate details and make it more difficult to to work with the image in the future. Eg:

 

• For protos/Unl games, check to see if cart art exists. Many protos/Unl/homebrews do in fact have cart art. If no physical media for the proto/unl/homebrew exists, you may either skip it or take artistic license in creating cart art. If you do create original cart art, please keep note of it for historical accuracy (ie. we don't want people to start thinking cart art exists for a system if we took creative license to make it display better in the FE).
• Do your best to eliminate jaggies and ensure all cuts are clean. Cart/disc/disk/box art that's poorly cut is basically unusable. Eg:

 

 

If anyone has any additional points or feedback, please let me know in the thread and I'll amend the OP accordingly! Cheers!