How do you come up with an inlay design? (2 Viewers)

JustDave

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I'm thinking about a CPC set, and I could use the same kind of inlay I've had before, just a pretty generic "Dave's" but I feel like this is the time to have some fun. I think I've got a good grasp of color and spots and I know my first custom set probably won't come out perfect and that's okay. What I don't know though is what inlay to do.

I see some of the amazing inlays that are an homage of a casino:
img_20201208_161248-jpg.589427

Or locations:
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Or themes:
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Or even seasons:
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And they are all so great.

I've thought maybe a few books/movies that I love as inspiration, but nothing is really jumping out at me for a good inlay idea.

How do you find a good idea and build off of it to make a great chip?

Dave
 
You gotta find the idea/theme you want and build from there.

Do you have a name you want to use on your chips? Like "Dave's Poker Club" or something?

Is there an icon/logo that you connect with? Like a fleur de lis, a skull, any animal, city flag, iconic landmark (like Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, etc.).

I know a lot of people have used things like family history, the street or neighborhood they live in, or an inside joke/personal story to come up with a design.
 
For me, it started with the name. I saw a photo of someone's house that had a pool room or something along those lines with a sick view of Mt. Rainier. So I thought to myself, man it would be sick to have a space like this for a poker room - and thus the idea for a set called The Rainier Room was born. That was maybe some time in 2019? I knew I wanted a custom set at some point, but didn't really have chips nailed down or anything like that.

I did the inlay myself with 0 graphic design experience, but it was at the start of covid so I had a lot of time to iterate it into a more polished direction. Here is the very first mockup I came up with:

rainierroom1.png


So my advice is pretty much to wait for name/theme inspiration to strike and then take your time letting it marinate. I want to say it was somewhere around a month and a half trying all different kinds of variations and styles before I came up with something I really liked a lot.
 
Inspiration doesn't come on demand (just like erection).:)
No need to make something extremely personal either (like your name or initials, unless the latter are NY, like mine:LOL: :laugh:), cause the set could never be re-sold.
The Statue of Liberty or the American Eagle (or in my case, as a Greek, the Athenian Owl) are symbols more people can associate with.
If you don't have an inspiration (not bad at all) and you still want beautiful chips to play poker with, use the brand as inlay:
CPC.png
 
I like copying retro casino inlays as much as the next guy:
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And my name is Light, and I love the Paris $1, so my Lighthouse label is perfect for me:

4D928B4D-787C-4A9E-96EA-657FACBAB2CB.jpeg

For some of my other sets, I went with things I like. I like Batman, so:
3387D2F0-B7C8-447F-9AEE-4DD189B76B24.jpeg

I like monkeys on tricycles, so:
3591B21B-8F6F-4B91-BF5D-F70BF2E49B6B.jpeg

and I like Jack Rabbit Slim’s from Pulp Fiction so:
FA30C737-9D37-480E-AE5A-AA8B4FC684FD.jpeg

For me, it’s matching an idea I like with an inlay style I like. And then it’s getting amazing artists on here to work their magic to bring the concept to execution.
 
As far as favorite movies and or books, are there locations in said movies/books that could become a location for a poker room?

In the Movie Uncle Buck, he bowls at "Galaxy Bowl" which I thought might be a cool idea for an inlay at some point.
 
Thanks for bringing this topic up. I'm working through this right now and here's my approach. I hope this helps you work through your process. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on your method and anything I may be overlooking.

I think, at the end of the day, I'm looking to come to terms with the following items:
1 - Name
2 - Theme

For inspiration, I've been pouring over all the awesome sets here on PCF as well as the myriad of designs in the Chip Guide. When I find a design I like, I save it on a mood board (Mural has been good for me. It's free and easy to use: https://www.mural.co/). I've also been looking over fonts on Creative Market (https://creativemarket.com/) and liking them so I can refer back to them at a later time. This helps me get a sense of what is possible and helps me broaden my imagination.

With all that in mind, I've been working through a name I like. Does the name have any significance? Should it have any significance? Would it still 'make sense' to a complete stranger? For me, one of the the keys here is to visualize what it'd look in a circular format. I've been using Inkscape (it's free and there are a lot of helpful YouTube videos to learn from: https://inkscape.org/) to see what and how the name would look in a round shape.

The theme is what will unify all these things together so I've been trying to discern what I like about the things I've been collecting in my mood board as well as the fonts I've been focusing on. This helps me see how all those components could tell a story in some way. Overall I've been asking myself "what do I want the player to feel / think about when they see my design/play with the chips?" Do I want them to feel festive, strong, cheerful?

This is probably a lot of overthinking on my part but it helps me say yes or no designs in an easy manner as I process a lot of material in a short amount of time.

I'm super excited to see what you come up with!
 
1) Think about symbols or themes which have some personal meaning to you.

2) Look at lots of chips that you like, and make notes about what appeals to you.

Idea: What if you did a set which featured famous people named Dave?
 
As far as favorite movies and or books, are there locations in said movies/books that could become a location for a poker room?
This is a great suggestion indeed - will be a theme that you can relate with making it a personal set. I'm currently thinking of some ideas for my tourney set.

I built a mixed RHC cash set last summer and created labels for 3 denom's linked to some favourite movies / shows with a poker theme. Tourney set will be a single theme / full relabel.

IMG_9604.jpg
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The best inlays have three important elements.

1. Name
2. Design/art element
3. Denomination

pick something special to you and draw out some ideas the get with a designer to flesh them out.

Fonts are very important! Don’t skip over that part of the process. Both for the text and the denomination. The right fonts can take a design to the next level.
 
So much good feedback in the thread so far, I really appreciate it.

Interests outside of poker chips are things like Formula 1, soccer, and rugby, but I don't think I'd want poker chips themed around those. I didn't really grow up in one area or have a special attachment to a place like a lot of people. Also I live where I live because it's convenient for work and for my wife's family, so like no real special affinity for a place.

I am a big movie fan and really do love the Godfather so that may be a great idea.
 
This is a great suggestion indeed - will be a theme that you can relate with making it a personal set. I'm currently thinking of some ideas for my tourney set.

I built a mixed RHC cash set last summer and created labels for 3 denom's linked to some favourite movies / shows with a poker theme. Tourney set will be a single theme / full relabel.

View attachment 658545
That nickel!!!!

and I like Jack Rabbit Slim’s from Pulp Fiction so:
View attachment 658489
For me, it’s matching an idea I like with an inlay style I like. And then it’s getting amazing artists on here to work their magic to bring the concept to execution.
This set on the CARDS mold is something I'd love to see.

Excellent work!
 

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