First try - vehicle graphic

[wwpro 1]

Hi there

Before attempting anything crazy, I wanted to stop by and ask for advice.

I have a full size van that I use on my full time job, it already has graphics that I bought before I had my cutter, now I want to make it look better, keep what's already there but add something else.

I was reading about this and got a link to a tutorial that showed how to take a pic of the vehicle with an object attached to it that you know the size of.

I did that and I'd like a little more advice on that, since I've tried increasing the size of the pic until you reach the real size of the reference object, but I'm not sure how to proceed.

My pic might not be the best since is on a slight angle, is not really level and I'd like to follow some of the van lines for the design, which makes it a little harder, specially when you don't know anything  :-

I have SBE or Flexi available, so if someone has some time to give me some advice or walk me through it that'll be awesome.

Thanks & Happy Father's Day !

[capross 1]

Could you post the link to the tutorial?  It'll help to know what the steps are, that you're following.

  Also, Depending on what you are having trouble with, you can try to rotate the picture(through a photo editing program) until the vehicle is level, or post it here and ask someone to rotate it for you, if that's what you really need.

[wwpro 1]

Here's the link

http://clipartandfonts.com/TUTORIALS_scale_to_size.html

I know how to rotate the pic, that's not big deal, I was hoping to get some help on the whole process, general tips mostly.

[JoeBlow 5]

I use 2 Adhesive Measuring Tapes, one horizontal & one vertical and size both ways in CorelDRAW. Or use a couple of magnets to hold any tape in position will do.  As long as you take your photo square on, and have no distortion, it works fine.  I've tried commercial templates and found a lot of variation, misplaced doorhandles etc.

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11159

[wwpro 1]

Joe Blow, those seem to be really useful.

Right now I have no problem setting the reference, using a 12x18 magnet that I had laying around.

Problem is how to bring the picture up to size .... should I just try resizing the picture until I get where I need it or is there a other method ?

Keep in mind that I've never done nothing like this before.

[JoeBlow 5]

WWPro,

I don't use SBE or Flexi, I do all my work in CorelDRAW.  What I do is make the page larger than the size of the portion of the photo I want work on, for example: a car door panel measures 3' wide and 2'-6" high, I then place guide lines on the page at 3' x 2'-6" and stretch and pull the photo to those guide lines.  That gives you the correct size, then just place & work your graphic on the photo to suit how you want it to look on the door.  It's also a great way to be able to email your design off for approval.  I then save that as a reference, and then delete the photo and leave the design for cutting.  I hope that all makes sense.

[Jay2703 704]

SignBlazer has a measure tool. You can measure the width of your magnetic sign in the picture you imported to SignBlazer then scale accordingly.

For example, if your magnetic sign measures 2 inches horizontally in the picture in SignBlazer you need to increase your total picture size 9 time to make it full size. (18" divided by 2" measure = 9)

Select your picture and SignBlazer will tell the size in the bottom center. If the Horizontal value of your picture is 6.6" you would multiply that by 9 and change the horizontal value to 59.4".

This will change the magnetic sign in your picture to 18" long.

Verify by measuring again. It should be very close.

[wwpro 1]

I'll work on that tonight and I'll come back tomorrow with question (Probably)

Thanks for the help

[jeremySI 18]

why would you need to take a pic of your van and size everything. i thought people only did that for wraps or really big graphics. if you are just putting text and reg cut vinyl just use a ruler to measure the area you want to put it and cut it to that size

[Jay2703 704]

why would you need to take a pic of your van and size everything. i thought people only did that for wraps or really big graphics. if you are just putting text and reg cut vinyl just use a ruler to measure the area you want to put it and cut it to that size

It lets you design around things like wheel wells, roof pillars and other things to get a more custom look. An example is in another thread where they asked about the Hockey Sticks for trucks that run along below the side windows and curve down the front fender between the wheel well and front bumper. You really need to have the image of the truck to make it fit. Threre was another thread where there were hood scoops on a truck. It is a lot easier than measuring everything.

[JoeBlow 5]

As Jay says, You might need to place or design your graphic around a fuel cap or a door handle etc.  That is the reason for a real picture of the vehicle and not just a commercial vehicle outline program which are quite often not that accurate with their placement of door handles & fuel caps.