The Letterville BullBoard: "Embossed Metal" effect.. kinda

This is topic "Embossed Metal" effect.. kinda in forum The Portfolio Table at The Letterville BullBoard.

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Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

Well I finally broke down and actually put some graphics on my own vehicle for once.. =)

Since there isnt a vinyl to match my truck's paint, I actually used CLEAR vinyl and airbrushed it with the highlights and shadows. Lemme tell ya, I was workin' a little "blind" sprayin the highlights on clear vinyl on a white liner.. hehehe.

I think it turned out OK... I've already noticed it grabbing some attention at stoplights.

Here's the effect I was going for, as generated by photoshop:

And here's what I ended up with, after a slight design change.. the shadows didnt show up so well in this pic, I'll have to snap a new shot tomorrow in different lighting...

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

Posted by Shane French (Member # 2098) on :

Mike,

That Rocks! How in the world did you see where to paint on that clear vinyl?

Did you use the vinyl inks for that one?

-shane

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Halo Graphics
Clearlake Oaks, CA
http://www.halographics.com
ntshane@halographics.com

Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

Shane,

Well I could see the cut lines while airbrushing because the lines showed up with the lighting behind me.. had to kinda bob-n-weave to make the reflection hit the right spots so I could see it.. hehe.

The hardest part was knowing how much white to spray on.. didnt wanna go too heavy but needed enough to cover a dark surface. I had no way to guage it (clear on white liner) so I was pretty tickled with the result after I pulled the transfer paper off.

I used vinyl ink for the white, and black createx (the regular stuff, not AutoAir) for the shading. Cleared over it with Dupli-Color clearcoat. There's no particular reason I used this combo of paints, it's just what I had handy already.. it was all thinned, in glass jars.. ready to go and the clearcoat was within arm's reach..

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

Posted by Shane French (Member # 2098) on :

Well, looks killer,

What is that, a Mazda?

How about a close-up?

-shane

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Halo Graphics
Clearlake Oaks, CA
http://www.halographics.com
ntshane@halographics.com

Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

Thanks!

Yep, it's a mazda.. it's nice of mazda to use decals for their logos instead of plastic badges like Ford... otherwise I woulda had to fill some holes and repaint the tailgate to get a nice smooth look.

Here's a close-up shot.. actually two of 'em combined in one image.. just realized I missed a hightlight on part of the "G"..

http://stickerpimp.com/sketchbook/tailgate-closeup.jpg

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

Posted by Shane French (Member # 2098) on :

So what do you do, do you take your photoshop printout, and use it as a guide for where to paint the highlights? Or do you just know where to paint.

I gotta try that.....when i get a truck

-shane

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Halo Graphics
Clearlake Oaks, CA
http://www.halographics.com
ntshane@halographics.com

Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

I just use the photoshop pic to get ideas and help get the shading in the right spot, but when I actually do the work, I work from memory and a little physics know-how to place the light. =)

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :

Mike I LOVE that effect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya finally gave me an idea for our car!

I love "subtle" and that is "subtle"

Thanks buddy!

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Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley

Posted by Stevo Chartrand (Member # 2094) on :

Looks awesome Mike!! What plug ins did you use in photoshop? Eye Candy? Kais power tools?

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Stevo Chartrand
Commercial Signs
Edmonton, AB
stevo_c@powersurfr.com

Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

Stevo, I used the "Bevel and Emboss" Layer Effect which is standard with photoshop. In Photoshop 6.0 they enhanced the bevel/emboss tool. Instead of being able to adjust the location of the light source around a flat circle, you can now adjust the "height" of the light source.. basically if you imagine a 3D Sphere around your artwork, you can place the light source ANYWHERE on that sphere.. it's pretty handy.

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

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