Computer Case Artwork

Elimination

I've been wanting a new case for my PC and i am pretty artistically inclined as a person. So the actual artwork is not an issue, i also did design for laser cutting machine so the measurements and such and the skill for me at a base level is totally there.

Now past that...how do i do it? What materials do people use to super-impose graphical images onto a steel computer case? I am also ok with painting it as well but i would rather use my custom artwork and put it on the case itself, but i dont know what materials they use for that stuff. I also have access to an industrial print shop (My friend owns a chain.) so i have the means to do that as well...i just need to know the materials really...

Does anyone here know or have experience with this? I've never done this kind of thing before but am extremely interested.

Also if you have any suggestions on a case that is relatively inexpensive but works well for this sort of project let me know.

see317

If looking at assorted case-mods has taught me anything, it's that there are no rules to how you do it.
So long as the worky bits get sufficient air flow to not over heat, you can use whatever you can buy barter or steal.

This guy for example, makes his cases out of small wooden blocks, and they are awesome.
Do a google search for extreme case mods and you'll be amazed at what's used.

I'm not sure what you want to put on your case, but I'd think that printing out some large sticker-like applications would probably work fairly well since you have access to a print shop. I'd imagine your friend (or someone working at the print shop) would be able to point you in the right direction.

If you want to provide some detail on your ideas and where you want to go with it, the H/A hivemind could probably provide more useful information.

Hypatia

This might not help because it involves painting, but when I painted my case here's what I used:

- used sandpaper to rough up the surface evenly
- sprayed on a fresh coat of auto paint primer (repeated the sanding and primer steps several times until I liked the surface)
- traced the shapes onto the case by hand and painted the lighter color things in with white because I was using watercolors for the airbrushing
- used an airbrush (using stenciling) to put the artwork on the case
- touched up all of the fine detail using a very fine tipped brush
- covered the airbrushed artwork with a stencil and used auto paint on the rest of the case in the color I wanted
- sanded from 400 grit to 600 grit, adding a fresh coat of paint each time until the final coat was to my satisfaction
- uncovered the airbrushed artwork and did several layers of clear coat onto the case

urahonky

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=137818

Check this guy's thread out. You could probably ask him for ideas.