Wrapping around bed to tailgate or fender to hood.

[altereddezignz]

So i know this is a no no when designing but i want to ask about it anyways.

Lets say you a design or a line that wraps from the fender to the hood or the bed to the tailgate. What is the best way to accomplish this.

I have tried it on a couple wraps but it doesnt line up good. I know the tailgate will have to be its own piece ad the hood will have to be its own. I am just having issues getting it to all match in design and print.

 

[Makproductions06]

Unless you have tons of bleed on your print, you are going to have to lay the side first, then measure the hood to make sure the line will line up when installed.

 

[altereddezignz]

I dont normally design where things carry over in the main print from fender to hood and so on for the most part but i would like to figure it out. I think it would be an added benifit if it was seamless from the transition from hood to fender and so one. Think ill do some testing.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

It's not a no-no but it is harder to accomplish. When done properly, it looks awesome.
You do need to allow for registration in your print (plenty of bleed) and possibly do the logo or graphics other than background as a separate piece so that you have the freedom to adjust the front and back pieces to match the side corners.
Design & install need to be on the same page.

 

[grafixemporium]

Option 1 - Don't do it. Don't design yourself into that situation. On tailgates, you can often use the tail lights to your advantage in hiding imperfect transitions. Hoods are more difficult. There is nowhere to hide. Save yourself tons of time and don't create a design that requires things to line up perfectly from both fenders to hood.

Option 2 - Use overlay graphics. For example, wrap the hood a solid color then overlay spot graphics to line up perfectly with whatever is on the fenders.

Options 3 - Build a template. Wrap the both sides of the vehicle. Then use low tack transfer tape to wrap the hood. Draw where your graphics need to line up. Clearly mark a reference measurement. Flatten it out on a wall and take a straight on picture. Bring pic into PS, scale up and design.

I attached a few pics of a trickier project we did. The designs came from an ad agency. Of course, outside designers have no clue HOW you do it... as long as it gets done. On the hood we used overlays to line up the yellow pieces. On the roof, we built a template so the stripes ran diagonally across and lined up with the stripes on the other side. I don't have a good pic of the roof, but the stripes do line up from both sides.

Good luck!

Andrew
GFX Wraps