Have you ever got bored of your average guitar pick guard, and wish that you could spice it up a little with out costing you almost any thing? Well, then this instructable is for you. At the beginning of this process, I only had a simple black pick guard. I grew very tired of it fast. Then I had the idea to create my very own pick guard that suits me. To make your very own guitar pick guard cover, complete the following steps.

Note: For this project I made a SPYRO the Dragon pick guard cover. You do not have to make a SPYRO pick guard. I did this to show you the steps to create your own. I do NOT own SPYRO or Sparx, they were developed by Insomniac Games and published by Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment.
I only played "SPYRO the Dragon" and "SPYRO: Year of the Dragon", on the PlayStation 2, before he was ever introduced in "Skylanders". I don't know anything about "Skylander".

Step 1: Gather the Materials

First thing is first. Materials that will need on hand to complete this process.

You will need:
Your guitar (must have a pick guard)
A piece of paper
Scissors
Colour pencils ( I used my Fantasia Premium Colour Pencils )
A Regular pencil and a mechanical 0.7 pencil
An eraser (preferably a separate eraser then the on on the end of the pencils )
Clear packing tape
Pencil sharpener
Internet
Hands
Imagination
( Glue ( if you want to glue this to the pick guard))

Once you gather these materials you are ready to continue.

Step 2: Locate and Outline

First you will want to take the guitar and locate the guitar pick guard. This part may seem strange but you would be surprised to see who doesn't know where the pick guard is on the guitar. For those who don't know where the pick guard is on the guitar, it is the black tear drop shaped part next to the sound hole on the body of the guitar.
Once you have located the pick guard, take the piece of paper and place it on the guard. You may need to rip or cut the paper down to a size that is big enough to cover the pick guard but small enough to slip under the strings for an easier outline.
After you have the paper over the pick guard take the regular pencil and outline the pick guard on to the paper of paper. You may want to do this a few times so you have the exact shape and size of your pick guard.

Step 3: The Sketch Up

Once you have the outline of your pick guard, decide what you wish to have on your guitar from a video game you like or love.You can sketch on Master Chief, Mario or even Ezio. What ever you please. Now that you have your idea then sketch it up (in pencil)! You can use either the regular or the mechanical pencil to do this part. You may, also, need to use the internet to find a picture to base the sketch and colors off. Plus don't worry if you aren't the best artist in the world. Just try your best and believe that you can do this project.

Step 4: Outline in Black

Now that you have the sketch, outline all of the lines of your sketch in BLACK colour pencil.

Step 5: COLORING TIME!!!

Now for the best step, coloring. Color the main focus or objects in your sketch with the colour pencils. For the example, I colored in Spyro and Sparx because they are the main focus in the picture. For this step you may also need to use the internet to find the colors for the picture.

Step 6: Backgrounds

Once that the main focus or objects in the sketch are colored, color the background, very carefully! You may need to blend colors together on the paper. You can decide the best colors on the side of your paper outside of the sketch. You can also color outside of the lines just be care to not to color on the main focus or objects in the sketch.

Step 7: Cut It Out!

Carefully cut out the shape of the original pick guard outline. If you are a under 10 years old, ask an adult to help you.

Step 8:

Now I understand that this may seem a bit strange but take a roll of packing tape and carefully tape the paper cut out in a downward slope in the direction like the pink scissors in the photo below. Be sure to cover the entire thing. The direction of the tape is very important. If the tape is not in the correct direction then the person who plays the guitar will mess up the tape when they strum with a pick. Do not worry if the tape over shoots the piece of paper. After taping cut around the pick guard's shape again to get rid of the excess tape.

Step 9: Finishing Up!

Once all of the steps are completed you may tape or glue your pick guard cover to the pick guard. Just make sure that your pick guard cover fit over the guard. Then tape or glue the cover to the guard so no air is underneath and the player cannot remove or destroy the pick guard cover while playing. I hope you had fun making your pick guard cover and continue on playing!

~CookieMonsterEmilia

Introduction: Gamer Guitar Pick Guard