How to Design Your Own Skateboard Wall Art: A Practical Guide

Last updated: July 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin · 13 min read

Most of what goes wrong with a custom deck is decided before you order, in the choice of image and the file you send. So this guide spends its time there rather than on the ordering steps, which take a couple of minutes.

Step 1: does your image survive the crop

Start here, before anything else. A single deck is 85 × 20 cm — a ratio of roughly 4.25:1, which is far narrower than any standard photograph.

The test takes ten seconds. Open the image on your phone, go to crop, and drag it to a tall narrow strip about four times taller than it is wide. Look at what is left.

If the picture you wanted is still there, it will work. If the crop has cut away the thing that made the photo matter, then this image is not a single-deck image — and no amount of print quality will fix that.

This one check prevents the most common disappointment, which is a wide photograph crammed into a narrow field where the subject ends up either sliced in half or shrunk to nothing.

Step 2: choose the format

Multi-deck sets hang as a horizontal run — boards end to end with a 5 cm gap, the image spread across them. This is worth understanding properly, because it changes which images are usable.

A wide photograph that fails as a single deck often works as a diptych or triptych, since the run is genuinely wide rather than narrow. A panorama that would be destroyed by a 4.25:1 crop sits naturally across three boards.

Note the actual widths before ordering: a triptych is 256 cm, wider than most sofas. Our sizing guide covers measuring the wall.

Step 3: get the file right

The print is around 85 cm tall, which is roughly five times the size of a phone screen. Detail that is invisible on the screen becomes obvious on the wall.

Send the original, not a copy. This is the single most important instruction, and the one most often missed. A photo taken on a modern phone is usually more than good enough. That same photo after being sent through a messaging app, posted to social media and saved back down, or screenshotted, often is not — each of those steps compresses the file and discards resolution permanently.

Find the original in your camera roll or photo library and send that.

Use vector files for anything drawn. Logos, lettering, illustration and graphic design should be supplied as PDF, AI, EPS or SVG where possible, since vectors scale to any size with no loss whatsoever.

Check the things that enlarge badly. Slight camera shake, focus that is fractionally off, digital noise from a dim room, and heavy phone-camera smoothing on skin all become visible at 85 cm. A sharp, well-lit image prints well; a soft one prints softly.

What works and what does not

Works well. Anything with a vertical axis: a standing figure, a full-length portrait, a tree, a tower, a lighthouse, a waterfall. Tight crops of a single element — a face, an eye, a hand, one flower. Lettering and typography, which sit naturally in a long narrow field. Patterns and textures, which have no composition to break and so cannot be cropped wrongly.

Works badly on a single deck. Group photographs, wide landscapes, panoramas, and anything where the meaning is spread horizontally across the frame. These are diptych and triptych material.

A note on bold versus subtle. High-contrast images hold their own on a wall seen from across a room. Very pale, low-contrast or heavily detailed images can read as indistinct at viewing distance, even when they print accurately — the issue is legibility rather than print quality.

Images you cannot use

Worth knowing before you settle on something, to avoid disappointment at the order stage.

Fine: your own photographs, your own artwork and designs, paintings in the public domain, and images you hold a licence for.

Not fine: photographs taken by someone else, including professional portraits and wedding photographs you have paid for but do not own the copyright in; copyrighted characters from film, television, games and comics; band and film artwork; sports club badges; and brand logos belonging to companies other than your own.

If you have commissioned a photographer, ask them — many are happy to grant permission for a personal print, but the permission has to exist.

Ordering and lead time

Ordering itself is quick: upload the file, confirm the format, and place the order through the custom service.

The thing to plan around is that a custom piece involves a preparation step before printing that a catalogue deck does not. If it is a gift for a specific date, order well ahead rather than close to it — this is the most common practical mistake, and unlike the others it cannot be fixed afterwards.

Hanging it

A custom deck hangs exactly like any other: recessed hangers, a single screw or hook, or a damage-free adhesive strip rated for the weight if you are renting.

Centre it at roughly 145–150 cm from the floor, and leave 15–25 cm between the top of any furniture and the bottom of the deck. For a diptych or triptych, lay the boards out on the floor first to fix an even gap before transferring measurements to the wall. Full detail in the mounting guide.

The five common mistakes

1. Sending a compressed copy. The file from the messaging app rather than the original from the camera roll. Prints soft, and cannot be recovered.

2. Choosing a wide image for a single deck. Run the crop test first.

3. Not measuring for a multi-deck set. A triptych needs 256 cm of clear wall.

4. Picking an image with no clear subject. Busy, low-contrast images lose legibility at viewing distance.

5. Ordering a gift too late. Custom needs preparation time before printing.

FAQ

How do I design my own skateboard wall art?

Choose an image, check that it suits the deck's shape, supply a high-resolution file, pick a format, and order through the custom service. The step that decides the outcome is the first one, because a single deck is 85 × 20 cm, a ratio of roughly 4.25:1, which is far narrower than any standard photograph. Test your image by opening it on your phone, cropping it to a tall narrow strip about four times taller than it is wide, and seeing whether the picture you wanted is still there. If the crop removes what made the image matter, it is not a single-deck image, though it may work well as a diptych or triptych, where the boards hang end to end as a wide horizontal run. Then send the highest-resolution original you have rather than a version that has been through a messaging app or social media, since those compress the file and discard resolution permanently.

What file do I need for a custom deck?

The highest-resolution original you have. The print is around 85 cm tall, roughly five times the size of a phone screen, so detail that is invisible on the screen becomes obvious on the wall. A photo taken on a modern phone is usually more than good enough, but the same photo after being sent through a messaging app, posted to social media and saved back down, or screenshotted, often is not — each of those steps compresses the file permanently. Find the original in your camera roll and send that. For anything drawn, such as logos, lettering, illustration or graphic design, supply vector files like PDF, AI, EPS or SVG, since vectors scale to any size with no loss at all. Also check for the things that enlarge badly: slight camera shake, focus that is fractionally off, digital noise from a dim room, and heavy phone-camera skin smoothing all become visible at 85 cm.

Which photos work best on a skateboard deck?

Anything with a vertical axis works naturally: a standing figure, a full-length portrait, a tree, a tower, a lighthouse, a waterfall. Tight crops of a single element also work well — a face, an eye, a hand, one flower — as does lettering and typography, which sits comfortably in a long narrow field, and patterns or textures, which have no composition to break and therefore cannot be cropped wrongly. What works badly on a single deck is anything whose meaning is spread horizontally: group photographs, wide landscapes and panoramas. Those are diptych and triptych material, since multi-deck sets hang as a wide horizontal run with the image spread across the boards. Separately from shape, favour higher-contrast images, since very pale or busy low-contrast pictures can read as indistinct from across a room even when printed accurately.

Can I use any image I like for a custom deck?

You need the right to use it. Your own photographs, your own artwork and designs, paintings in the public domain, and images you hold a licence for are all fine. What is not fine is photographs taken by someone else — including professional portraits and wedding photographs you have paid for but do not hold the copyright in — along with copyrighted characters from film, television, games and comics, band and film artwork, sports club badges, and brand logos belonging to companies other than your own. This is the same rule any print shop works under. If a photographer took the image, it is worth asking them directly, since many are happy to grant permission for a personal print, but the permission needs to actually exist rather than be assumed.

Article summary

Designing a custom deck comes down to two decisions made before you order: whether the image survives the crop, and whether the file is large enough to print at 85 cm. A single deck is 85 × 20 cm, a ratio of roughly 4.25:1, so test any image by cropping it on your phone to a tall narrow strip and checking whether what mattered is still there. Vertical subjects, tight crops, lettering and patterns work; group photographs, wide landscapes and panoramas do not, though they often work as a diptych at 171 × 20 cm or a triptych at 256 × 20 cm, which hang as a wide horizontal run with the image spread across the boards. Send the original file from your camera roll rather than a copy that has been through a messaging app or social media, since those compress permanently, and use vector formats for logos and lettering. Slight blur, digital noise and phone-camera skin smoothing all become visible at print size. You also need the right to use the image, which excludes photographs taken by others, copyrighted characters and brand logos. Order well ahead of any deadline, since custom involves a preparation step before printing.

About the author

Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of deckarts, a graphic designer and print specialist originally from Ukraine, now based in Berlin, where he personally designs and prepares every deck.

Related guides

• Design your own deck — the custom service
• Classic or custom — which to choose
• Sizes and formats — measuring the wall
• Mounting guide — fixings and spacing
• Materials and quality — how a deck is built
• Gift guide — buying for someone else