1:24 Decals-how to make them with PhotoShop CS?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Decaling
1

hey guys i’m planning to do custom decals for a 79 camaro by revell. i want to recreate the “bumblebee” racing stripes like it was shown on TF the movie…

question is what are the size settings i’ll have to keep in mind while making them? i’m doing the kit on a 1:24 scale. size like lenght,width etc. i was just mentioning Photoshop bcause that is the software i have available as of the moment…what do decal makers use for software?

any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Luis

2

You’re really better off using a vector-based draw program, like Adobe Illustrator, or Macromedia (now Adobe) Freehand, (which is now discontinued by the evil totalitarian devils at Adobe). With these programs, you can scale your artwork up or down, with no loss of image quality. It would appear to me that most decal companies use these programs, based on the quality of their artwork.

If you must use a raster-based program like Photoshop, make sure your canvas is set to at least 300 dpi @ 100% (your artwork’s final size) to insure that there’s no noticeable pixelation.

3

thanks for those software tips! i’ll be sure to look for those adobe programs… btw what are the size of the page to fit 1:24-25 scale cars? thanks

4

I’m not real clear on what you’re asking. Perhaps you are attempting to draw decal artwork, working from a photo or illustration of the actual vehicle, and are wondering how to scale it to fit your model? Is this what you are wondering? If so, can you post a photo/drawing of the vehicle? That would be a good place to begin.

5

hi i wanted to show you a picture but im having trouble “copy” and “pasting” the link… i havanother thread on this forum…its on the AUTO sub forum…its called the bumblebee out of a 1979 camaro revell.thats the model i wanted to make decals for…thanks for the help sir!

Luis

6

Ok, I saw the photo, it is a yellow Camaro with fancy writing (says “Z Street” on the sides). I’m assuming you want to reproduce the fancy writing. Your first step is to sketch out the logo, which can be scanned into your computer, then imported into your draw program and used as a template. Once the artwork is drawn, you will need to grab the model car body and measure the distance between the fenderwells. Now scale down your artwork slightly smaller than the dimension you just measured. Print out on regular paper, then cut out logo and tape to the model car body to check for proper fit. If it looks right, duplicate the logo, then print the artwork on decal paper.

7

thanks for the help! i’ll be sure to try it out!

8

I just print out decal shapes in adobe photoshop cs and test try them first and then keep resizing. There is a ruler so you can measure and adjust in photoshop. Click the eyedropper tool and hold it down, underneath it you can select the measuring ruler and measure point to point.