What are some tricks and tips for making a coin collage?

WingedLiberty1957

This is my first cut attempt ... how could I make this better? Kudos to Phil Arnold for the superb out-of-the-slab coin photography!

Lets see some of your examples if you have made any yourself.

mrpotatoheadd

ctf_error_coins

Stef with Coinsarefun by far makes the best ones.

lordmarcovan

Looks pretty nice. The colorful Lincolns make it pop.

SmEagle1795

I try to stagger them to avoid making them overly linear. I also try to keep all sides touching with no blank space between them. One personal distinction that I use which most don't is that I make all of the coins the same size, mostly to just show some normalization in displaying them:

BryceM

A lot of it comes down to preference. I have some with no background showing, some with lots of dead space, some with historical backdrops, some random.....

One thing that really made a huge difference is to add shadows to create a sense of depth and reality. I also go to great lengths to make sure each coin is displayed at the correct scale relative to the others.

Check out the difference the shadows can make:





The shadows really make this coin pop out from the background:



I also keep the master Photoshop file very high-res so that I can print them later at poster size. It's a great way to enjoy coins which actually live in a cold, dark SDB across town. This one will be printed when I feel the set is as good as I can get it:

WingedLiberty1957

Great examples posted!!

Interesting thought about normalizing the coin sizes. I struggled with that vs. accurate relative size and ended up going with the latter to make it look more real/accurate.

Also I love the drop shadow effect -- great example showing with and without.

BryceM

WingedLiberty,

The coins in your collage are phenomenal and the photography does them justice! One suggestion you might consider:

The overall color of the coins shown is a bright burgundy-orange. you might pick a dark shade of the color opposite this on the color wheel for the background. It will place more visual emphasis on the coins and they'll be easier to see on the background.

SmEagle1795

<< <i>
I also keep the master Photoshop file very high-res so that I can print them later at poster size. It's a great way to enjoy coins which actually live in a cold, dark SDB across town. This one will be printed when I feel the set is as good as I can get it:
>>



That is also a great point - I keep mine at the maximum resolution as well, which keeps my graphics card busy manipulating a 25,600 x 16,000 pixel image!

sparky64

I remember that Type set, BryceM. Still love it.

Goldbully

Wait until Stefanie checks in on this thread.....great coin collages!!!

Staircoins

This one is mostly currency, but a few coins as well. Built entirely by hand, on a scanner - which accounts for the brown reflections in the coin surfaces. At the time I thought this might work as a website background shot, but it turned out to be a bit too busy.

CuKevin

You're off to a great start! I don't make photo collages, but these would be my suggestions

Less linearity
Try not to cover too much of any coin, especially not the main design elements (front or top of head for example)
Randomly bring some of the coins (maybe your favorite) to the front (i.e. NOT like 50 Lincoln cents would lay one on top of the previous if pushed out of a roll into a line)


You made some beautiful coin selections too!

MarkInDavis

Choose a good background and don't be afraid to let small bits of it show between the coins occasionally. Avoid any sort of regular pattern or spacing of coins.

Swampboy

Nice work crew!

LotsoLuck

I love coin collages. Where's Stefanie

illini420

I did this one and have it printed out 24" x 36" poster size which is pretty cool!

WingedLiberty1957

Nice coinboard Illini!!

Love the paper money and coin collage too!! Superb job on that.

LindeDad

Using the size chart from the air-tite web site helps get the sizing.

coinsarefun

I love all the collages posted and WL....yours looks great.

I think about the only few tips I can add is symmetry & balance usually works best. When using or showing actual coin
sizes in relationship to others it usually looks better in with some sort organization or cascading display where a good majority of the background shows.
Otherwise its better to keep them all the same size and overlap as much as possible, this makes for a nice presentation of design and color.

I can post some of mine but the majority have probably seen them numerous times and are bored of them.


Here is an example I am currently undecided over. The majority are similar in size with a few pieces large and smaller......yet I am still struggling with the looks.
Do I keep a plain format......or mix up the layout


I think I like this one the best and it leaves room for text and more coins.











But these next two mix it up and lends itself more to a desktop wallpaper size.

EastonCollection

WOW! these pictures are absolutely great!!! I love them. How do you do this? I love love to do this.

WingedLiberty1957

CoinsAreFun, those are fantastic looking!

EastonCOllection, you would need a graphics package of some kind. I use Adobe Photoshop
You simply cut out coin photos and layer them on top of each other.
Then put a drop shadow on each coin.
It's not hard but can be time consuming.

EastonCollection

I gotta try this - this looks great - I will give it a try and report back to you guys. thanks