Software/Images for making semi-realistic looking circuits?

Question

I'm a design newbie trying to make a logo for a video game I wrote. The game is centred around robots, so I wanted to make the logo a circuit board.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend either software, or a library of images, which can aid in making this? Something that would have a good selection of plugs, chips, jacks, wires/lines, etc.

I'm sure it's possible to design something like this using vector art in Inkscape, but I was hoping that there was an easier way to get something quasi-realistic looking.

EDIT: Some more details.

I'm looking for something more like this as opposed to a curcuit diagram.

i.e. I want the green plastic board with the lines of circuits running through, with places to plug in stuff and the black chips with legs for integrated circuits.

I've tried using Fritzing, which exported to SVG, but was more for generating schematics rather than nice-looking images. The images it does use are CC licensed with an attribution requirement I'd like to avoid in my main logo (though if I'm desparate I might use them). I've searched wikimedia commons, but haven't found much.

I am definitely extremely new and inexperienced and ignorant, so advice for where to start would be nice.

Answer 1

Oh, there are so many ways to attack this, I hardly know where to start.

However, I think that because you are going to make a logo, you want a stylised circuit board, and an actual photo will just make it muddy. You need to decide the general idea of your logo first, scribble some sketches, find some ideas, and preferably show us. A "real" circuit board will NOT make a good logo: it is way too many murky fiddly bits. Consider what elements the logo will consists of (text? initials? web address? letters?) and how a circuit can be combined. Maybe the title/name can be the circuit itself? Rather than starting with a PCB, start with the name. I urge you: keep it simple.

There are free-use vector and bitmap circuit board images out there, the searches might benefit from variations on "circuit board", pcb, "mother board" etc. This site collects vectors from all over, and you need to check for licensing for each one, but I some free-beer-free ones. Check the tag-cloud at the bottom, and note that if you follow some of the links to their origin, you might find more.

And there are tutorials too: Here is one that makes RAM chipset in Illustrator:

Here is one that makes "letters" on a circuit board:

If you want to make it yourself from the bottom, my best suggestion is that you find/take a large photo of a circuit board, take it into Illustrator, and play with the live trace settings.

If you are willing to pay for vector files, the options increase a good deal.