Some info on itasha process for those wanting to do it.

The second half of my itasha project is a little longer than I expected. So, I'm writing this to cover some information about the itasha process I learned in the past couple of months. What kick started my search was the foundation Danny laid out for us.

At first, I contacted GenConcepts with some questions about their services. Those dudes were really nice. They answered everything I asked. Even down to what material they used and what laminate goes ontop of their vinyls. At the time, I wasn't close to being ready to give my Celica some Mirai lovin', but they asked if I could take measurements of the sides I want used so they can aleady have scaled templates archived for the future. Everything was going swell. Until I decided (about a month later) that I was ready to have the stickers shipped to me. I e-mailed them. Waited about a week or so, and mailed them again. Was polite everytime, and didn't want to make it seem like I was being pushy about it. They're based in Indonesia (their international corp is anyway), so I figured they were just busy with domestic customers. I mailed them every week for two months, and kinda stopped since I never heard from them. I'm not saying they're a bad company, as SS jong and Mr. Nelson have apologized before for not answering (weeks apart sometimes) sooner. So, like I said, I wasn't mad about it or anything.. just assumed they were busy with domestic customers.

I turned to Google around mid October to see if there were any companies in California that do this sort of stuff. First company I looked into is called Wolf Printing Company. I e-mailed them about getting this done to my car, and they asked for a phone number, or that I call. I think, "Okay, cool. I'll call tomorrow morning. :o" I call, and this guy picks up. The moment I asked about the material used for these types of things, he went from being a cool guy, to a total asswipe. lol I worked at Wal-Mart for 3 years, and I never treated a customer rudely, even if they get an attitude with me. Literally. I've dealt with a ton of people that would get super angry for no reason, or demand the store manager to get some ridiculous discount 'cuz I would be "rude." lol That's a whole 'nother story though. The point is, this guy was a complete douschebag when I had zero aggression towards him. I was merely curious, and wanted to know what I was gonna drop my money on, you know? So, I started to type our convo down the second I detected a change in tone:

Me: Also, what kind of material is used for the stickers? Is it a vehicle grade? Just curious. :O

Him: Well. It's printed, and we stick it on the car. Pretty simple.

Me: I see, but you don't know what type, exactly? Or uh..

Him: What is there to know, guy? We print it, and put it on the dang car.

Me: Quite the sells pitch there, sir.

He tried to belittle me after that. I threw some fire back his way, and he didn't like it. :3 But, it entertained me. lol I'm not the type of guy that talks down to others. I wasn't raised to do that, but if you sit there, and try to talk smack on me; I make it my mission to make you regret it by firing back some of your own medicine (I'm a real smartass in person. Any of my friends would vouch rofl). :D

After going through a few more bad eggs. I came across Iconography. These guys have been nothing but helpful to me. They're based in Long Beach, but serve other areas of Southern California.

Once I got my car painted black. I got the ball rolling. Already approved the proof a few days ago. Mirai itasha is a go for the 14th. :D Can't wait to see it then.

For those of you that want to give your car an ita treatment. One thing you need to do is research. If you want to know something, ask. If they're too far away from your location. Ask if you can send pics of your car with measurements. Ask what exactly they need measured. Make sure the artwork you provide is a high enough resolution to merit a good print out. If you know how to use Photoshop/Illustrator, use it. Whore it out to make the edits you want; 'cuz any edits done by them (3 companies, including icon, avaraged the same amount) costs about 80 USD. Yes, 80 bucks. Even something like cropping is considered an edit. lol <.<; Your car can't have any wax/polish on the areas that are gonna have the stickers put on. If you do, they charge an arm and three legs to properly clean it. I'm gonna clean my windows/side/hood with rubbing alcohol Tuesday before I leave in the morning to have it done. So, lots and lots of research on your part. :x

Hope this was useful to you guys. Danny covered a ton of information on this, but I thought I'd provide some from my experience. Plus, I've only seen one other car in the States with an itasha. It was a Civic that had Miku as the theme. Aside from the Cube/Celica at AX this year, that was it. lol

Since itashas are a little rare here, figured talking about what I have done so far would give you guys a clearer view to this sort of thing, and maybe even ecouraging some people to. XD