Going to make my own overlays

[subzero1970]

...but I cant find any images of overlays on t'internet!!!

[darrin9999]

Here is the originals www.steverd.com/overvec/vecover.htm

[subzero1970]

thanks for that, does anyone know how long acetate takes to dry??

[subzero1970]

hmmm on looking on those ones the quality is too poor for printing

[VectorX]

Jun 10, 2013 8:47:25 GMT -5 subzero1970 said:

thanks for that, does anyone know how long acetate takes to dry??

Give it about 24 hours:

wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_does_sodium_acetate_take_to_dry

[hcmffm]

DYI overlays are a good idea, just be aware that the backside of the overlay needs white, opaque "ink". Apart from other more or less minor issues this is the hardest part, I guess. There are videos available in the web which show the production of DYI overlays. E.g.:
circuit-board.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=750 (German)


FAIK, there's no single website with all the overlay graphics, but various single sites. Two sources for overlay graphics:
- computer-classics.de/cah_blog2/test-resource-post/vectrex/
- www.atarihq.com/vectrex/emu.htm#Games

[gliptitude]

In addition to the challenge involved in making the appropriate areas opaque, another essential issue will be to maintain the transparent qualities of your material. In most non-screenprinted methods there is going to be a tendency of "fogging" which is very undesirable for vector graphics. If you look at Kristoff's overlays they are both super saturated AND very clear. It will be extremely difficult to duplicate these qualities with modern DIY materials.

If you can't find overlays of high enough resolution, you can take the low res scans and import them into Photoshop, and manually trace them on a layer, in a higher resolution file. This will be tedious but it will work well.

[subzero1970]

I asked kristof about his overlays and his are screen printed, hence the superb quality!

just waiting on printer ink to arrive then im gonna give it a go.

[subzero1970]

printed out scramble last night, letting it dry ALL day before i even touch it, let alone add paint to where its needed!

[subzero1970]

front of my overlay, left it to dry for 24 hours, then painted the back, laminating tonight

[VectorX]

Wow, that looks great! Nice and vibrant!

[hcmffm]

From what I can see the result is quite good. Would be cool to have a short description of your process afterwards (printer, foil thickness, ...).

[subzero1970]

well, its been laminated, particle of paint moved onto the overlay during the lamination but nothing major, now I need to cut and test it!

[gamezone]

Nice job.

[subzero1970]

its not perfect but it works

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