Designing Custom Artwork for Snare Drum (suggestions please)!

johnbarnesiii

Senior Member
Hey guys,

I recently had the idea to design some custom graphics for a snare drum, similar to in the examples attached below.

I think the easiest way to do it is probably have the graphics printed on a wrap, then have the wrap applied to the shell (rather than point a hand-painted job on the shell itself).

Wondering if anyone has experience with this, and if you guys have suggestions on how I can get started?

What details do I need? I'll need a template to work off, of course. But what are the 'nuts & bolts' of putting this together?

Thanks!

EXAMPLE:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/308567011941694330/
 
I have done similar projects. If you are at all handy in Photoshop, Illustrator, or a similar graphics program, that's the way to go. You can design the image on your computer and send it to a wrap company to print. I recommend Bum Wrap; their wrap quality is excellent and they do not charge extra for custom printing.

I recommend working in a high resolution (at least 300px) and sending the image scaled to the size of wrap and/or the drum you're wrapping.

If you don't have the experience or technical ability to create the artwork on your own, you could do an internet search for similar graphics done by someone else (deviantart is a great place to look, but you could just do a Google Images search) and use Photoshop to scale it appropriately.

If all of this is gibberish to you, consider hiring on someone to assist with the design. For example, I would do this sort of project for a small fee with an image you provide, or a rather larger fee if you wanted me to create the image.
 
Hey Al, thanks for the reply and suggestion!

Yes I forgot to mention I am a graphics & Photoshop expert, so I'll be designing the graphics myself :)

I guess my next question would be regarding templates:
obviously the template will vary according to the exact snare drum I use, being that the lugs and hardware are all different. So that way I can factor the lug placement into the equation when I design the artwork?

So if I have Bum Wrap do the job, will they provide a specific template based on the specific drum I have in mind?

Oh, also one last question:
do I start with a raw shell here, or take an existing used snare drum, maybe one with a natural wood finish to do the wrap?
 
Back
Top