How to Make a Custom Sticker Decal as a Hobby on the PC
Often on models, cars, and other flat surfaces, you can find decals and stickers giving that object a little more personality. With a little artistic flair and some specialized paper, you can make your own custom stickers or decals. You only have to make a handful of these decals, so a short print run is easy. The only thing between you and the custom design is some design time on your favorite image editor.
Things You'll Need
- Pen and paper
- Image editing program (see Resources)
- Decal paper (see Resources)
- Scissors or utility knife
Instructions
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1
Sketch the decal on a piece of paper. Brainstorm and come up with the design you want to make. You can skip this step, but it helps to have a final vision in mind before you start editing.
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2
Install or run your preferred image manipulation program. MS Paint is a very simple one, and will accomplish the task, but is not very powerful. Adobe Photoshop, or GIMP (see Resources) are two much more powerful editors. If you think there is a better program, use that instead.
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3
Scan in the design, or recreate the decal in the image editor.
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4
Color and add effects to the decal. Decals are typically two or three basic colors, and don't have a lot of blending or other artistic effects. Add in any text that you want on the decal. Make the decal look the way you want it to, so that it captures your vision completely.
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5
Insert the decal paper into your printer. Place the decal side so that it gets printed on--if you don't know which side it is, the worst you can do is end up wasting some ink. You can find some decal paper under Resources
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6
Print the image out on the decal paper.
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7
Cut the decal out of the paper.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit safety decal image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
