This Common Problem will Destroy Your Layout Realism - These Tips will Fix It
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- Опубликовано: 13 июл 2024
- With today’s technology, it is very easy to create signs for your model railroad layout. And yet, many layouts have no signs at all, or more commonly every sign uses plain old fonts. The thinking seems to be, fire up the word processor, type in some letters, and print. And that’s a shame, because by using these 6 easy tips, your signs can be so much better!
In this video I share these easy ways to make better signs - even if you only have a word processing program. You don't need to be a designer, and you don't need to be a technical whiz!
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:05 - #0 - Add Signs to you Layout!
03:09 - #1 - Pick a Different Font!
05:26 - #2 - Mix and Match
07:40 - #3 - Use Different Sizes of Text
10:48 - #4 - Use Color
13:01 - #5 - Use a Logo
15:50 - #6 - Don't Get in a Rut!
16:55 - Wrapping Up
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#modelrailroading #modellayoutsigns #modelrailroad 
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OMG, this is one of my pet peeves. So often you see a beautifully made structure, you can tell the modeler put hours and hours into it, only to slap a printed sign on it, boldface Arial on a stark white background. Totally kills the believability.
Save those modern fonts for the fascia.
I almost had a section in the video with nearly these exact words! Put in hours on the building, then skimp on the sign.
A great topic for a video! I’d like to suggest something.
Consider the period in time that you’re modeling. Sign design goes through trends from decade to decade. Geometric shapes were popular in the 50’s, while teal and fuchsia were insanely popular in the 80’s. Fonts, colors, and design all trend for a period of time before something else becomes the new look. Research your modeling era and look to photos, advertising, movies and tv shows from that time for guidance and inspiration.
All great points. We can include those in the Sign Making 202 course. 😉
Having worked in the sign industry 20+ years, font choices really hit home for me🤣
Signage on buildings (and associated constructions).
Signage used in, on and around industrial structures can include beyond the business or corporate name.
1) Building numbers and or departments. Building numbers definitely apply to larger facilities using multiple buildings that may have been built over a number of years. These buildings may also employ different architectural styles and construction methods. And paint colors.
2) Door and dock numbers. Do not confuse the two. A structure, especially older ones can have multiple doors opening on to the same rail dock.
3) Safety related signage. Speed limits, right of way signage, pedestrian crossing, vehicle crossings are movement related. Safety signage relating to hazardous materials. Consider an automotive assembly plant. These typically will have in plant storage tanks for gasoline and or paint solvents delivered by tank cars. Various safety related signage would be posted on the surrounding chain link fencing. Also the identifying signage that be used on plant fire hydrants, valves relating to natural gas lines, overhead clearance.
4) Gate signage. Large facilities would typically have more than one truck or pedestrian entrances. Such gates also typically have a guard house.
5) Another type of signage that might be harder to do in smaller scales bordering on unreadable would be warning signs next to doors. Restricted Area, Authorized Personnel Only. Restricted or reserved parking used on in plant parking places. No ldling signs next to truck docks. Exit signs. Things of that nature.
6) Grafitti. Unfortunately in certain periods and areas graffiti is a fact of life. And it is a problem I see no solution to.
7) Murals. It may seem bizarre to think of an industrial concern having a mural painted on the outside of one of its buildings but consider this.
www.pinterest.com/pin/440226932297896544/
www.pinterest.com/firefly2012/kenosha/
The same bridge structure at different times. And corporate logos will show up all over the place
You deserve a thumbs up for "Death to Comic Sans" alone 👍 excellent video
It's also interesting to see how these styles of typesetting/signwriting have changed over the eras we might model... but that's a rabbithole a person may never find their way out of
Thanks! Oh, how I hate Comic Sans!
@@ThePixelDepotLLC Why?
@@dougs6460 I just don't like the way it looks. Something about it really rubs me the wrong way. It's too dumb looking to be taken seriously, but not dumb-enough looking to be a novelty font. Plus, I really don't like how ubiquitous it's become People use it for everything.
Cmon!!!!! Everyone that watches this will suddenly look at their layout and realize what was wrong. I can hear the word processors and printers all starting up. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, that no one saw!
If that's the case, I've done my job. Maybe I should have bought stock in printer ink?
@@ThePixelDepotLLC what's cheaper. Cartridges? Or a new printer?
Just found this and I enjoyed it. I enjoy some sign making to make the layout come alive. I am also guilty of using cheap jokes or "famous" fictitious products. I created a billboard for the Sugar Shack Coffee Shop ( from Jimmy Gilmer's song) on one layout and a favorite is Powdermilk Biscuits (from Prairie Home Companion). You are right that a good sign gives your industry an identity and helps visitors understand what you are trying to depict. One suggestion: add the topic of "Era" to your list. My current layout is set in 1969 in the west, so certain graphics or fonts don't look right.
Interestingly, I tend to shy away from "joke" names, but it made for a light moment in the video! Check out the follow-up for a discussion of era: ruclips.net/video/fpMaDol68Ek/видео.html.
Thanks for watching!
One of the things I wish I had done (didn't think of it at the time) was to get two fairly large buildings or large background flats and place them next to each other with a road in between. Print up two signs.
Spacely Sprockets and Cogswell Cogs.😁
A while back for the Model RR club I belonged to I built a layout that we raffled off and all the structures on it were named after things from TV shows. I had a Spacely Sprockets. No Cogswell Cogs, though.
Big fan. Thanks for including the Twitter link.
Thanks, Kevin! I'm glad you enjoy the videos. Anything you'd like to see?
Joe, this is all very useful information and I will try to remember it when I get to making signs for my layout. Thanks for sharing, David
The video will be here! You just have to remember where it is!
These are great ideas. I used the water labels, but my fingers aren’t what they used to be. I tried my first attempt with printers months ago. Your ideas will help me improve on future industries.
Glad to help!
The color printer is the greatest tech you could ever had. So is the snip tool and google docs/ slides
I couldn’t do without mine!
I really respect this video , I will watch it 5 or 6 more times , Thanks ! ☀☀☀☀☀
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for this invaluable video about one of the more under-appreciated aspects of model railroading. Signs are everywhere! Not just to identify commercial premises, but to further enhance our daily lives by providing "useful" information about a particular location: "Office," "Receiving," "Exit," etc. Signs are everywhere that there are people. Adding reasonably authentic signage significantly enhances the realism of any scene.
Couldn’t agree more!
Another great video about something most people don't even think about.
Thanks, John! Sometimes all it takes is pointing something out for people to say "Oh yeah!"
Great ideas. Sum it up as “remove the blah!”
Yes! Thank you!
I read a lot of railroad magazines and books, and I always look at the signage in older photos. I'm getting ready to start my layout and signage that appears contemporary is going to be a huge focus for me.
What era?
Great suggestions! I kept looking at the locomotive over your shoulder when you were talking about using a logo.... Chessie's Kitten logo identifies the railroad. But like GM, it takes years of exposure.
Love your stuff.
Wonderful points and a very relevant topic! I would add one more item: You can indicate the era of a sign by selecting the wording and abbreviations carefully. For example, in the first half of the 20th century (and even earlier) it was common to abbreviate "James" as "Jas", ""Josepf" as "Jos", "Brothers" as "Bros", "Charles" as "Chas", etc. Small businesses were rarely incorporated, so "& Co." was much more common than "Inc.", and "LLC" was nearly unheard of. A good source for company names is old city directories from the era you're modeling.
Excellent points. And very timely. I added this to the follow-up video that I'm putting together right now. Hope you don't mind!
Absolutely! Anachronistic font usage in modeling (of any kind) is a real immersion-breaker for me. Of course I am also an INFJ, so my perfectionist habits die hard. Do your research people! I am really wanting Jeff Wilson of Kalmbach to do a Railroad Fonts/Color Scheme throughout the Eras book.
Great video about one thing often overlooked while building a layout. For me it's always a lot of fun to create unique signs.
Thank you for the great tips.
I quite enjoy it myself. But I guess that's evident!
Just saw this video! Fantastic tips!
Glad it was helpful!
Very Helpful - many thanks for the support an sharing.. Thnx
Thank you for your support as well! Glad it helped.
I am new to your channel, just subbed so please dont be mad, but I am so adding a "Limp Biscuit Cracker Company" to my outdoor layout!
I'm honored!
Limp Biscuit Cracker Company is my newest favorite business!
I’m trying to start a trend. 😉
Very interesting information and great tips.
Thanks, Ted!
I just came up with a PERFECT application for Comic Sans! Say you're modeling a 1950s era advertising sign - either for a billboard or for a large building wall. The sign might have an attractive woman looking at an attractive man, thinking, "I wonder if HE uses Brylcreem?" Comic Sans would be great for the text inside the though bubble. So there!
Except Comic Sans wasn't created until 1994. 🙂
@@ThePixelDepotLLC True - but it was created specifically to mimic the font used in cartoons and comic books for decades...
Great tips joe.
Thanks! 👍
GREAT TIPS AS always
Thanks, Joe!
This is great information! I learned a ton. Any tips on fonts for the older style signs painted right onto brick?
That can be a tough one, since (obviously) they were painted and not printed, so if you use a font it can look a little too “perfect.” That said, I know there are some font bundles out there that specialize in old style lettering. Just search for “old tome sign fonts” and you should get a bunch of results. In many of those cases the fonts are not free, but it should be able to get you started looking for ones that are, or it might even be worth the money to you depending on how many signs you need.
Also, for painted on signs, my first thought might be to just try and search for some images you can print as decals or thin paper signs.
Hi Joe! Lots of good advice👍. I did a signage video on my channel too. I always try to use a photo of a real sign if I can. That way you know the font, spacing, etc is prototypical. I enhance and resize in a photo editor, and print on photo paper in max DPI. One thing I noticed on the short line that I model - their signage at grade crossings was very unique. I used these signs to super-detail my grade crossings. Thanks for the tips - Bill😎
A lot of times for real companies you can even find images of their signs already done up. I was thinking more along the lines of making custom signs for fictional industries on the layout.
Hi Joe, but why... Comic sans is one of the most flexible & creative fonts around, highly underestimated & underappreciated. Love it or hate it, let's just say the jury is still out on this one 😁
We can’t be friends anymore. 😉
@@ThePixelDepotLLC Only if you put that in comic sans 😉
@Rob Ot I almost used Comic Sans on the thumbnail image, but didn't want to give it any credibility. 😉
@@ThePixelDepotLLC 😆
@@ThePixelDepotLLC This is the 2nd video of yours that I have watched. What a bummer that we can't be friends. Oh well.
I think some printers do better than others. When I make signs using my Canon printer, the ink smudges and also turns pink when wettened for applying and weathering. I heard Epson does better. I spray hair spray or fixative right after printing, which helps.
Signs printed with inkjet printers will run if exposed to liquid (without a fixative). This is not a problem with laser printers.
I'm most drawn to the BRANCH truck parked at American Can Co. at the right side of the screen. I don't know, there's just something about BRANCH trucks... just something...
I've always loved them, too. But possibly for different reasons than you. 🙂
A lot of these example signs have a common style, something common when the designs were done by the same person. Also, logos on signs weren't common in the steam era for signs on a structure (just look at photos from the era you model). I did a clinic on signs for an NMRA affiliated group a while back for this very reason, I don't think it was recorded. I also had a letter to the editor published in RMC on that as well. I completed a commercial art course (1000 class hours) in the late 80s and that was back when you had to hand-render type. So, I have different perspective than most. Too many folks put massive signs on structures so aging modeler eyes can tell what the structure is from across the room. Sign painters were paid BY THE FOOT back in the day, so they rarely used large areas of blank space as most modelers use. And for the love of God, PLEASE NO MORE HELVETICA! That's the default typeface for most in the hobby, but it didn't exist until the end of the 1950s.
Subscribed for the fact you used Limp Bizcuit 😅
Just seemed appropriate (and funny) at the time. 🙂
Great video, Thank you. You included many great DOs and a couple of DON"Ts. I had hoped you would have included at least one more that I see periodically in the real world... spelling the company name in flourished caps... bad design and hard to read.
You might find those flourished caps on a storefront, but not likely on an industrial building. And even if you did IRL I’d never use it on the layout. Like you said, too hard to read, and the goal is to help your operators, not hinder them!
How about a comic book printing industry: San's Comics
Without Comics? 🙄
what size is ho scale for signs
Well, it really depends. For street signs that are in real life 24" x 36", you're looking at 0.275 x 0.413 (or roughly 9/32" x 13/32"). For larger building signs it can be just about anything and it's really whatever looks appropriate on the structure.
P.S.
I really wanted to write this in comic sans.... (That has to be the absolute worst font ever. EVER!)
Miller Recycling - "Corporation" is horribly kerned..... And I have seen Comic Sans used successfully - for a Daycare - which typically won't generate a lot of traffic.
Are use my friends and people a goat business as they go to business cards for billboards on my Railroad