Gears of War Themed Rubik's Cube

With the release of the new Gears of War just around the corner I decided to do my first ible with a GOW theme. 

Step 1: Materials

This is pretty straight forward and won't break the bank.  You'll need:

A rubik's cube (or other cube) 
Mod Podge or other glue and sealer 
Small brush
Pencil and ruler
Scissors
Printer
Printer paper

Step 2: Getting Started

If you don't have photoshop or just don't want to bother with it, I have attached a word document with the images I used on my cube as well as the Gears logo in six different colors if you would rather use them.

To get started choose 6 images that you would like put on your cube.  I chose 5 characters from Gears of War and the Gears logo.  I initially went to the local comic book store with the thought that I would pick up a few comics and cut panels out to use.  This will work, but doesn't allow you to manipulate the colors.  it also adds a little to the cost of the project.  Instead I went online and found the images that I wanted to use and downloaded them.  

I opened them in photoshop to play with the color a little.  Once the image is open in photoshop go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation

Make sure preview and colorize are checked.  At this point play with the hue, saturation, and lightness until you get the color that you want.

Next you need to crop the image into a square.  Again go to Image>Canvas Size

Here I adjusted the image to be around 8 inches by 8 inches.  This image was then adjusted by going to Image>Image Size
I adjusted the cropped image to 2 inches by 2 inches.  You may need to adjust this a little to compensate for the size of your cube.  My cube measured 2.25 inches.  These images were added to a word document and then printed.

Step 3: Making the Cut

Now that you have your images printed, it's time to cut them out.  After that you will need to turn them over and using your pencil and ruler divide them evenly into 9 squares. 

Don't cut them into the smaller squares yet as it can be a little difficult to keep them properly oriented.

Next you need to peel all of the stickers off of your old cube.  If there is any residue left you can clean it off with a wet cloth or alcohol.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

Before you start to glue things down it's a good idea to know how you want to lay things out.  Keep in mind the orientation of the images and what colors will be beside each other.  

I started with the logo first.  I cut it into the 9 squares and laid it out.  I then used a brush to put the glue on a few of the squares at a time.  Be careful not to use too much glue as it can run into the cube hindering free movement.  I used a second dry brush to mop up any excess glue.

Glue the squares down in the proper orientation.  Once the first side is complete, cut the next picture and repeat the steps until the remaining sides are done.

Let the cube dry following the recommendation of the glue you used.

Step 5: Sealing

At this point you're just about done.  I used the sealant to go over everything a couple of times to prevent the image corners from sticking up or picking up to much dirt.  I used the dry brush again to make sure that excess glue was taken care of.  

Once allowed to dry have fun mixing up the cube and solving it.