Custom skateboard wall art is your own image printed onto a real skateboard deck and hung on the wall. At deckarts you upload a photo, a drawing, a logo or your own artwork, and it is UV-printed directly onto a genuine 7-ply Grade-A Canadian maple deck measuring 85 × 20 cm, finished matte and glassless. Single decks from €140, two-panel diptychs from around €230, three-panel triptychs from around €310. deckarts is an independent studio in Berlin, Germany, and ships across the EU, the US and worldwide. Start a custom deck.
The one thing that decides the result
A single deck is 85 × 20 cm, a ratio of roughly 4.25:1. That is far narrower than any photograph a camera or phone produces, and it is the reason a custom deck either looks excellent or disappoints.
Test your image in ten seconds. Open it 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 removed the thing that made the image matter, it is not a single-deck image.
That does not mean the image is unusable. A wide photograph often works well spread across a diptych or triptych, which hang as a horizontal run rather than a narrow column.
What works and what does not
| Works well | Standing figures, full-length portraits, trees, towers, waterfalls, lighthouses. Tight crops of one element: a face, an eye, a hand, a single flower. Lettering and typography. Patterns and textures. |
| Works badly on a single deck | Group photographs, wide landscapes, panoramas, anything where the meaning is spread horizontally across the frame. |
| Fix for wide images | A diptych (171 × 20 cm) or triptych (256 × 20 cm), where one image spreads across the boards with a 5 cm gap between them. |
Beyond shape, favour contrast. High-contrast images hold up across a room. Very pale, busy or low-contrast pictures can read as indistinct at viewing distance even when printed accurately.
The file you send
The print runs around 85 cm tall, 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. A photo taken on a modern phone is usually more than good enough. 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 and discards resolution permanently.
- 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.
- Scan paper artwork rather than photographing it. A flatbed scan at 600 dpi avoids the shadow, colour cast and keystone distortion a phone photo introduces. Save as PNG or TIFF rather than JPEG.
- Check what enlarges badly. Slight camera shake, focus that landed fractionally off, digital noise from a dim room, and heavy phone-camera skin smoothing all become visible at 85 cm.
Images you can and cannot use
Custom printing requires an image you hold the rights to. This is the same rule any print shop works under.
| Fine to send | Your own photographs. Your own artwork and designs. Paintings in the public domain. Images you have licensed. Your own company logo. |
| Not possible | Photographs taken by someone else, including professional portraits and wedding photographs you paid for but do not hold copyright in. Copyrighted characters from film, television, games and comics. Band and film artwork. Sports club badges. Brand logos belonging to other companies. |
If a photographer took the image, ask them. Many are happy to grant permission for a personal print, and will often supply the full-resolution original at the same time, which is a better file than a gallery download.
Formats
| Single deck | 85 × 20 cm. From €140. Vertical subjects, portraits, tight crops, lettering. |
| Diptych | 171 × 20 cm total, two boards with a 5 cm gap. Around €230. Wide images, two subjects side by side. |
| Triptych | 256 × 20 cm total, three boards. Around €310. Panoramas and sweeping scenes. |
Multi-deck sets hang as a horizontal run, boards laid end to end, not stacked side by side. A triptych at 256 cm is wider than most sofas, so measure the wall before ordering rather than estimating from photographs.
How it works
- Choose your image and run the crop test.
- Pick a format: single, diptych or triptych.
- Upload the highest-resolution original you have through the custom deck page.
- The file is prepared for print by hand: colour management, positioning on the deck shape, and a check that it holds up at 85 cm.
- It is UV-printed onto sealed maple, finished matte, and shipped ready to hang.
Because of the preparation step, a custom deck takes longer than a catalogue piece. If it is a gift for a specific date, order well ahead rather than close to it. This is the most common practical mistake with custom orders and the only one that cannot be fixed afterwards.
What people order
- Pet portraits — the most requested subject, and the one where photo choice matters most
- Children's drawings — scan rather than photograph, and keep the signature
- Wedding and anniversary — vertical shots and details work; group photos need a diptych
- Coordinates and places — a location rather than a photograph
- Quotes and typography — a long narrow field suits text better than most images
- Corporate and branded decks — your own logo, for offices and gifts
Materials and finish
| Material | Grade-A Canadian maple, 7-ply pressed skateboard deck |
| Size per deck | 85 × 20 cm (33.5 × 7.9 in) |
| Printing | High-resolution UV printing applied directly to the sealed deck |
| Finish | Matte and glare-free. No glass, no frame |
| Mounting | Ready to hang. Wall mount sold separately |
| Made by | deckarts, Berlin, Germany |
Because there is no glazing, the surface wipes clean with a dry cloth, shows no glare from any angle, and has nothing that can crack. As with any printed artwork, keep it out of direct all-day sunlight.
Frequently asked questions
Can I print my own photo on a skateboard deck?
Yes. Upload the image through the custom deck page and it is printed directly onto sealed Grade-A Canadian maple. The main thing to check first is shape: a single deck is 85 × 20 cm, a ratio of roughly 4.25:1, so the image has to survive a tall narrow crop. Vertical subjects, tight crops and lettering work naturally, while wide landscapes and group photographs do not, though those often work spread across a diptych or triptych.
What resolution does my image need to be?
Send the highest-resolution original you have rather than a copy. The print runs around 85 cm tall, so detail invisible on a phone screen becomes obvious on the wall. A photo from a modern phone camera is usually more than good enough, but the same photo after a messaging app, a social media upload or a screenshot often is not, because each step compresses the file and discards resolution permanently. For logos, lettering and illustration, vector files such as PDF, AI, EPS or SVG are ideal since they scale with no loss.
How much does a custom skateboard deck cost?
A single custom deck starts at €140, the same as a catalogue piece. A two-panel diptych is around €230 and a three-panel triptych around €310. There is no surcharge for supplying your own image.
Can I use any image I like?
You need the right to use it. Your own photographs, your own artwork, public-domain paintings, licensed images and your own company logo are all fine. Photographs taken by someone else are not, including professional portraits and wedding photographs you paid for but do not hold the copyright in, and neither are copyrighted characters, band and film artwork, sports club badges or other companies' brand logos. If a photographer took the image, it is worth asking them directly, since many will grant permission for a personal print and often supply a better file at the same time.
How do I get a child's drawing onto a deck?
Scan it rather than photographing it. A flatbed scanner lights the paper evenly, holds it flat and captures it square. Scan at 600 dpi where possible and save as PNG or TIFF rather than JPEG. A phone photograph introduces four problems that cannot be corrected afterwards: your own shadow across the paper, a colour cast from indoor lighting, keystone distortion that bends straight edges, and raking light that picks up every crease. If you have no scanner, a phone scanning app is the next best option, since it flattens perspective and evens out lighting automatically.
My photo is wide. What can I do?
Use a diptych or triptych. These hang as a horizontal run with the boards laid end to end and a 5 cm gap between them, with one image spread across them, so a wide photograph sits naturally where it would be destroyed by a single deck's narrow crop. A diptych covers 171 cm of wall and a triptych 256 cm, both far wider than people expect, so measure the wall first.
How long does a custom deck take?
Longer than a catalogue piece, because the file is prepared for print by hand before anything is printed. If it is a gift for a specific date, order well ahead rather than close to it, since this is the one practical mistake that cannot be fixed afterwards.
Do you ship custom decks internationally?
Yes. deckarts is based in Berlin and ships throughout Germany and the European Union, as well as to the United States and internationally. Fulfilment is handled by specialised partners in Europe and the US.
Start a custom deck
Upload your image and order, or read the full guide to designing your own deck. Not sure whether custom or a catalogue piece suits you better? See classic or custom. For the format in general, see skateboard wall art. Questions? Get in touch.
