Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Pardon my Dust...

Well folks, I just finished it, and it looks cool.

There's a lot of black celicas with the action package running around in the world, and I wanted mine to look a little different from all the others out there. So, I've seen similar things like this on other cars, so, I thought I'd give it a whirl, seeing that I am also a commercial artist.

It was a pain, but it turned out great. Check the pics, I did chrome veilside-esque stripes with the TRD logo.

The graphics were done with Rocker Chrome material, which is similar to doing graphics in vinyl, only it's made with mylar, which cannot conform to compound curves as easily, but for my purposes, it would work out perfectly:

Pardon the dust, I need to let the adhesive backing set-up for 24 hours before I can wash-wax the car, but when it's clean, it'll look nice.

I WILL NOT be offering kits (or my templates) for you guys; It's unique, and I don't want to see everybody and their mom with this sort of thing, but I will offer a how-to in the near future for those that want to add a chrome element to their graphics layout.

As I said, If you have curves all over the place, this may not work out too well for you, but if you have some simple, uni-directional curves, it's a nice option.

Enjoy the pics, I'll be sure to post better ones (as soon as the car is clean, and my other mods are done )

Pic #2 closeup of the TRD logo...

BTW, the pics don't do it justice, It looks way better in person.
Hopefully my next pics will be better.

sweet, but you can keep it...dont think it'll look good on a silver celica...yeah and you can bet someones gonna copy you...

look good

wow that does kick a large amount of ass great job. it tunred out awsoem adn will deff make you stand out

Probably, but they'll have their work cut out for them.

I usually only see chrome graphics on dark-colored cars anyways, or as accents in a multi-color graphic.

Looks great on black, that's for sure.

Took me about 9 hours to lay out and cut the graphics, each section was applied individually, using tape lines to align everything. the drivers-side is identical, BTW.

And BTW, trimming on the car is not reccommended, you can cut the paint if you're not careful, if you must trim them after application (like, around the door seams), I suggest applying a strip of drafting tape to the area to be cut, this way, there is less of a chance of cutting too deep on accident. Also, the mylar cannot be cut and wrapped in, like you can do with vinyl, you must trim it off at a point BEFORE it curves under the lip. Use a sharp blade, and a gentle touch and you'll be okay.

nice truck

^^^

I like it . I like the little fender thing that the Veilside has, but yours is cool for being custom.

[b] Drop it like its Hot!!!

Very hot man, props. It gives a techy look to the car. Black is a pretty popular color for Celicas and I personally think they look hot. Since the focus is off because of the dark color, you can get away with having body kits that would seem overboard in brighter colored cars. Just my theory anyways.

looking good

The strip looks a little too thick, still look very good tho!

looks cool dude

dont get all butt hurt guys, the mans car is hot. all i said was he needed a drop Geez

Looks pretty good..i think you need something else shiney on your car to match with it..maybe rims..

graphics arent my thing but it looks good, props on being custom

Yea, I've gotten lots of feedback on them, they are straight-cut, and don't follow the body lines that much, that's been the majority of the negative feedback, but, as I said, I wanted a unique look, and I think I achieved it.

The material itself isn't thick though, it's actually thinner than most vinyl graphics sheets

I just recievd my TRD rear strut brace, and more is on the way; I'll be posting an update on my project in the near future.

I do plan on dropping the car on sport springs, and rims will most likely end up being 17s, black with a chrome lip, undecided on spoke pattern as of yet.

When it's done, it'll look killer.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone

thats cool. it is original, but if anyone wants this type of look, you can go to a local graphics or sign shop and show them a pic or copy of this or any other design and they will make it. they should have a book with tons of different vinyls and other 3m type graphics available in almost any color imagineable. including chrome, carbon fiber, chameleon and reflector (like road signs). the special graphics (3m) are a little more expensive, but worth it cause they look awesome. i live in the middle of nowhere and the graphics place in town had everything i've described, so you shouldn't have a problem.

yeah man a 2 inch drop would make it look sexyier!

for being a commercial artist its not very creative sorry.

car looks good... all you need is a drop & some rims

that needs a drop, tint, and some clear corners like right NOW!!!

meh

lol, sorry to burst your bubble man, but most commercial artists aren't very creative to begin with. You're thinking about fine artists, you know; the kind that are always starving ^_^

Fine artists create art for the sake of art, it could be a blank canvas with some abstract blotches of paint on it that symbolize the unyeilding struggle of man Vs. his desires, but they live off ramen noodles because their livelyhood depends upon others seeing something in their art that makes it worth purchasing. not a steady source of income by any means.

Commercial artists are just the opposite; create art under contract for others, based upon their needs; If they want a picture of a shoe for a magazine ad, that's what you draw for them. It's art for the sake of getting paid. It's not unusual to render images from existing source material (I.E. paint a picture of something from a photograph, not something off the top of your head.)

I have plenty of friends that are Fine artists, their ego and artwork come first. As a side effect, they rarely meet deadlines or take on commercial contracts. Don't get me wrong, they are all talented people, they just can't get the job done when it comes down to a deadline.

Therefore, commercial art is rarely creative, it's done out of necessity. If I were a creative, fine artist, my car would still be solid black, and I'd be eyeballing a blank canvas thinking about what to paint.

So, no need for apologies. Your comment actually affirms my trade, it doesn't discredit it.