Thinking about making your own bike graphics?

Victor Templa wrote:

Hey guys🙂,I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me...

Hey guys🙂,

I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me a lot of time when I started.

First it’s not as simple as it looks.
Design itself is one thing, but getting proportions right on real panels is where most beginners struggle.

Second don’t try to do everything from scratch right away.
It sounds cool, but in reality you’ll spend hours just trying to match shapes and alignment.

Third software matters less than workflow.
Whether it’s Illustrator or Corel the key is how you structure your files and layers.
One thing that helped me a lot early on was working with templates instead of guessing proportions.
It makes the whole process way more predictable and less frustrating.
If anyone here is just starting- feel free to ask questions, I’ll try to help where I can.🤝

Victor Templa wrote:

Hey guys🙂,I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me...

Hey guys🙂,

I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me a lot of time when I started.

First it’s not as simple as it looks.
Design itself is one thing, but getting proportions right on real panels is where most beginners struggle.

Second don’t try to do everything from scratch right away.
It sounds cool, but in reality you’ll spend hours just trying to match shapes and alignment.

Third software matters less than workflow.
Whether it’s Illustrator or Corel the key is how you structure your files and layers.
One thing that helped me a lot early on was working with templates instead of guessing proportions.
It makes the whole process way more predictable and less frustrating.
If anyone here is just starting- feel free to ask questions, I’ll try to help where I can.🤝

ToolMaker wrote:

When you say making, are you meaning designing, printing, and cutting? Or just designing for one of the graphics company to produce the physical stick on.

Victor Templa wrote:

Mainly the design part.
Once the artwork fits the bike correctly, printing and cutting is usually the easier part to outsource. 👍

Victor Templa wrote:

Hey guys🙂,I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me...

Hey guys🙂,

I see quite a few people asking about getting into graphics design for bikes, so thought I’d share a few things that would’ve saved me a lot of time when I started.

First it’s not as simple as it looks.
Design itself is one thing, but getting proportions right on real panels is where most beginners struggle.

Second don’t try to do everything from scratch right away.
It sounds cool, but in reality you’ll spend hours just trying to match shapes and alignment.

Third software matters less than workflow.
Whether it’s Illustrator or Corel the key is how you structure your files and layers.
One thing that helped me a lot early on was working with templates instead of guessing proportions.
It makes the whole process way more predictable and less frustrating.
If anyone here is just starting- feel free to ask questions, I’ll try to help where I can.🤝

ToolMaker wrote:

When you say making, are you meaning designing, printing, and cutting? Or just designing for one of the graphics company to produce the physical stick on.

Victor Templa wrote:

Mainly the design part.
Once the artwork fits the bike correctly, printing and cutting is usually the easier part to outsource. 👍

bonseff wrote:

I feel you on matching shapes and alignment. I did my own for my 96 Hondas. But I bought templates at first and cut out a...

I feel you on matching shapes and alignment. I did my own for my 96 Hondas. But I bought templates at first and cut out a test run on paper, the fit was horrible so I made my own. Took me three rounds to get them to cover and line up properly. Especially the shrouds and side panels. But holy shit it was satisfying once installed. I had a buddy in New Mexico print and cut them. 

Victor Templa wrote:

That's still a great learning experience.Sometimes the issue isn't your design at all it can be something as simple as the template not matching the exact...

That's still a great learning experience.Sometimes the issue isn't your design at all it can be something as simple as the template not matching the exact year or model.