Sager NP5796

So I'm waiting for my m15x refund to clear so I can order a shiny new Sager NP5786. As bored as I've been, without a proper gaming machine, I couldn't help but pop open a couple shots of the 5796 in Photoshop and start playing around. Before I knew it, I was on a grand adventure: my first attempt at a custom laptop skin. With any luck, it'll be finished, ordered, and shipped here by the time my laptop gets here. At $30 a pop, I might try my hand at a couple different styles.

Most of my art is usually very cold, digital, precise, and techy. The 5796's orange highlights tempted me to try something a little different. I had some fun with grunge textures, and I got to play with orange, which, I must admit, was quite exciting. I'll have to schedule another secret rendezvous with orange in my near future. Tantalizing seductress.



I'm currently working at 16"x13", 300dpi in Photoshop 7 (ugh, this computer doesn't have CS3!). I've spent about 35 minutes on this so far, and am trying to decide on a keystone object/symbol to appear in the foreground: diagonally between the top-left pinstripes and the bottom-right model number. I'm tempted to play with "fex" and see what sort of fun I can have with it, but then I'd also like to try out some actual symbols/images. Maybe a sword or a rifle, something funky.

I'm a little wary about those pinstripes. I'm worried they might be a little too clean for the rest of the image, and I'll probably mix 'em with an asphalt texture to give them the appearance of road stripes in the morning. I'll probably go snag a paint rim texture to replace the black arc in the top right corner, too. I'm also still playing with that model number. I tried artificially enlarging the dissolve blend, but I just couldn't get it to look as chunky as I wanted it. [By the way, that's what she said.]

All in all, not bad for a half hour's fun. Shame I still need to kill a lot more time until the laptop actually gets here.

 

Looks nice Good work. I like the crackle and diffuse glow on the lettering looks very nice and spray painted

 

I disagree and i really like the clean pin stripe highlighting the computers manufacturer. In a picture so chaotic the splash of order igves it a very distinct image. And i think the image for your skin is perfect just as it is.

Its quite a good picture.

The laptop itself is all business with just a touch of flare (the blacks with just the hint of orange to reveal its a gaming rig) and your picture is the stark contrast. All flare with a touch of business.

Its very zen.

 

I really dig that. I wouldn't mind having a cover like that!

 

I upgraded the pinstripes to something just a bit more textured, and I didn't find any paint rim impressions that I liked online, so I played with paint today.



Anyway, this is just about where I'd like to be. As soon as the refund clears, I'll place the order. Anyone have any particular recommendations where I should buy the skin from?

 

nice design but i always thought black brushed aluminum finish on NP5796 was one of its best features.

 

I've heard great things from SkinIt.com.

 

I was a little underwhelmed by the photos I've seen of the 5796 so far, but I've also heard a few people say that it looks much, much better in reality than it does in the pictures. Either way, for $20-30, I wouldn't mind being able to switch between the sleek, tanky look of brushed metal and something a little more colorful and hi-energy for LAN parties and such. Also, personal identification does a little bit to prevent theft, and it's a great lead-in to conversations about graphic design. Given that I'll be on the job search very soon, that's a good thing. ;}

 

I like the second one with your name put in... but i still like the clean pin stripes better. It gives a solidness to a very flowing graphic.

But either one would be a very nice skin

 

Indeed!

Although that is a nice looking design, it just doesn’t work for me. It makes the beast look…too pretty?

 

The first one is better IMO. The yellowish color is very distracting from the rest of the image.

 

i would have to agree. the yellow kind of throws off the whole cleaness of the design. i would go with the first one and maybe integrate "fex" somehow into yur pin striping? instead of a solid white line. make it "fexfexfexfex" but make it look like a pin strip maybe?
either way its a very nice design =)

 

i agree the yellowish color just adds the "why do that?" question imo, 3 colors is enough for me, plus wit the orange trim, it all fits in nicely.

 

I, also, like the first one best. You do great work!

 

Awww, I like the yellow! :[

After noticing a terrific deal on a [barely] used 5793, I've decided to go with that, and save a ton of money versus buying a 5796 brand new.

Unfortunately, the 5793 is silver.

Fortunately, I can use the money I'm saving to get an all-over paint job.

As soon as I can get my hands on some orthographic images of the 5793, I'm going to start working on an all-over design based on this skin.

 

Hey fex, see what happens when you change the colors around to match the silver. Instead of orange use silver, instead of the white use black.

 

I played around with a couple B/W color shifts to see how I liked 'em, and I also tried keep a couple splashes of blue/orange. I came up with a few that I liked, but with the money I'm saving, I figure I might as well give the whole chassis a proper paint job, anyway.

Of course, I'm now left with a huge array of options. By the time I decide on a color scheme, I'll probably be ready to buy a new machine.

 

that is so sexy, i really wish i got a sager, tho my m15x looks sexy too. but nowhere near as good as that.

 

Lol, one of the first times I've seen someone admit that a sager looks sexier then an alienware.

 

Hey Fex, have you looked at Bwhxeon's Sager? Hell of a steal...

 

Yeah, that's the one I'm planning on buying. I've been working it out with him via PM, just waiting for my m15x refund to clear (or my new credit line to open) so I can place the order.

 

Awesome, glad someone is picking it up! I debated purchasing his with the wife, but she insists clearing some of my other laptops out.



Women just don't understand...

 

I will be happy to take that Gateway off you hands.
You can have your new laptop and you wife would be happy

 

That's an awesome design. Can you please post the sizes you're working with? I'd like to start working on my own, I would very much appreciate that.

Loving yours so far though

 

Also, I just got my hands on some orthographic vectors for the NP57xx line from Laptop Design USA: they might come in handy for you, too.

I've been talking with the folks over at LD USA, and they have been phenomenal. They've been very quick to respond to all of my questions, and have been very thorough. It's obvious to me that they work very closely with their customers to get the job done exactly how you want it done.

Hopefully, I'll have a full-chassis design finished just in time for my machine to be ready to send in. I'll keep you all up to date.

 

Right, how did I miss that?
Silly me, thanks! Really looking forward to see your design in real-life photos

 

I've been doing some palette shifts, and I've found one I really like, on the opposite end of the spectrum. It retains the artsy, grungy goodness of the orange version, but it's a lot darker and sleeker, and uses a color scheme I'm much more comfortable slapping on an expensive machine. Orange may be a dazzling temptress, but good ol' black and blue have never let me down!

Still trying a couple different ideas out, and I'll most likely end up playing with a lot of palette shifts before I make any final decisions, but I'm liking this one, so far. I'm not ruling anything out yet, including orange.

Some simulated images of questionable veracity:





And now for the fun part: your feedback.

First, I'm not really sure what to think about the back of the monitor lid. I'm tempted to leave the top and bottom strips a nice jet black, giving the back the cinematic "widescreen" look that the original design features. On the other hand, if the full-lid design looks alright, then it would certainly be nice to use it. I guess it's just a matter of how I should expect the back of the lid to look if I paint the design across the whole thing. Thoughts?

Next up, I'm considering using either a bright white or chrome for the base, instead of jet black, to give the machine a little bling. Thoughts?

And does anyone know anything about painting keyboards? Can it be done?

I know it probably sounds a little silly, but I think it'd be awesome to paint the whole damn keyboard jet black, bright white, or chrome [see above... *drool*], with the ASDW keys a different color, for contrast. Heck, maybe orange. Who really looks at the keyboard for reference, anyway? Nobody, that's who. But having your keyboard wiped a solid color with your ASDW keys highlighted says "I'm badass," "I'm a gamer," and "Don't even think about touching my computer, noob" all at once. Thoughts?

Oh, and I dropped those pin stripes. I couldn't stand them. :[

I did add scan lines, as seen in the simulation images above. I'm still on the fence about them. Thoughts?

 

No offense but it looks like a gang of pigeons vandalized your laptop! I'm sure lots of you will like it but that's all I see when I look at white smudges like that on a dark color.

 

lol, those must be some hefty pigeons!

 

>.> well that wasn't what I was thinking, but when I read wassups post I can't stop looking at it that way now. What if you used more black and instead of white use blue?

 

Wow... WASD buttons painted orange on an otherwise all black keyboard. HAHA I LOVE IT! That would be so damn awesome.

 

how'd you get a refund from alienware? nice design though, great job.

 

It was actually surprisingly easy, with some help from Alienware-James. I sent a short and to-the-point letter showing them the original damage to the machine, and the damage after the "repairs." I told them I wasn't satisfied with the repairs, and I wanted a refund, so I got it.

I get the feeling they made it easy to shut me up, but hey- I'm all about results.

Aaaanyway, right now, I'm deciding between the simulated blue/black scheme above, and its polar opposite: an orange/white design.

Either way, I'm definitely curious about painting the keyboard, too, either jet black with white ASDW keys on the blue scheme, or bright white with orange ASDW keys on the orange scheme.

I'll try to whip up some simulations of the orange scheme tonight.

 

I've got it narrowed down to four palette schemes. None of these designs are anywhere close to final: I just whipped up a handful of quick pitches before I modify the full version to whichever scheme I decide on.

Have at it. I think I've picked a favorite, but I'll look at them all again with fresh eyes in the morning.

 

I like the blue design, the orange is my second pic and the white, is well, just to much white lol.

 

They ALL rock man

 

Love them all!

If you'd ask me to pick, I'd pick the blue one for the silver trim, and obviously the orange one for the orange trim.

Awesome job mate!

edit: So you're painting your keyboard all white?

 

blue and white looks best!

 

Wow.

In a cruelly timed turn of events that scientists are calling "really gay," my webhost exploded all over itself about 15 minutes before I got home from work, preventing me from using my freshly acquired paycheck to pay my invoice in time to make the cutoff. In addition to the billing and login servers, the helpdesk servers were also casualties.

In other words, my images and other hosted files will all be broken links/images until I get this taken care of, and any e-mails I receive until then will either be lost or delayed.

Fun.

On the other hand, I've been tweaking some more, and I'm starting to lean towards a happy amalgamation of the blue, orange, and white schemes, with a touch of chrome on the bottom face and keyboard.



Concerns and notes:

• Yes, the bottom is chrome, too, as crudely shown on the left-hand image. I got really lazy with the right-hand image. ;D
• I'm still uncertain about the upper and lower sections of the back of the monitor lid. I'm tempted to wipe them both over with chrome, to avoid "stepping" the design across the uneven surfaces.
• I need to talk with Laptop Design USA and see how they handle the edges of the monitor lid (Faces A and B, on their diagram), where the front and back meet. It'd be fine with me if the edges just lined up with each other, since the front and back panels are the same image, mirrored. Even sexier, though, would be a tiny pinstripe of chrome around the edge, right along the seam, maybe a few centimers wide.

Anyway, I'm still just playing around trying to make a final decision while I'm waiting for my money to hit my account so I can give bwhxeon his money.

I'm sure there will be more palette shifting between now and when I send in the computer. I really like this blended pitch, but I also really liked the black pitch from my last post.

 

blend the colors between the blue orange and white where they touch so it does not look so strait.

 

It's getting too crowded for my taste, but good job!

 

Fresh eyes agree with you. It's starting to look like an ultra-cheesy tuner.

Fortunately, here are a couple of simpler designs, returning much closer to the very first design I posted:



Initial instincts are right, apparently.

Now that I see them side by side, I like the interior of the orange one better, and the lid of the black one better. I also checked out a solid glossy black interior, chrome keyboard and bottom panel, and the design only on the back of the lid. It was pretty nifty. I won't rule it out, yet. I do think I like having a design on the inside, though. Gives me something enjoyable to see while I'm actually using the laptop, and I get to match my desktop for a seamless look. :]

EDIT: Woah, I need to go back and give the orange paint on the black one some pizazz. It's a lot less saturated than I want it, and it also needs more yellow tone, less red.

 

Can you make the orange dark blue and the black eather orange or gray or yellow or white?

 

Oh man that would look even more awesome on the orange-trim.

But the second one looks better IMHO. More sleek.

 

Who is going to do the chrome? Is it a paint or plating. I would love to to a chrome/piano black job on my XPS M1710, but I'm a trucker and we like shiny stuff.

 

I'm still working out details with Laptop Design USA, where I'm having this all done. So far, I've had a "we might be able to paint your keyboard, for the right price," and a "yes, we can do chrome paint and vinyls."\

I also considered a chrome + piano black job on mine, with just a touch of white, but I figured that if I'm going to shell out for a custom paint job, I should probably do something a little more artsy, that I wouldn't feel comfortable DIY'ing.

 

The second one is awesome!!

 

So, is it coming along?

 

I'm pretty certain I'm going to go with the black lid and the orange interior. The machine is scheduled to arrive on Monday ( sigh), and I'll probably use it for a week or so to make sure everything's in ship shape before I send it in for paint. :]

 

Hope it turns out the best.