The CarArt Design Studio is the first and only web-based design tool that lets you create, buy, and sell custom vinyl vehicle graphics in a virtual studio featuring 5 different views of your car as the design canvas.

In the Design Studio, what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG), and our point-and-click interface makes it easy for you to change the color, size, rotation, and positioning of thousands of digital images and fonts (lettering) to come up with a graphics look that’s all your own. You can also upload your own vector (.eps) images to the Image Marketplace – which allows you to order custom vinyl graphics based on your own images, and to earn royalties each time other users purchase graphics that utilize your images.

You can publish the designs you create as public CarArt Kits and earn royalties (cash) each time others purchase your kits. You can open public kits that have been created by others and alter those kits to fit your car and your unique sense of style – then save those changes for later viewing or purchase.

Once you have created a look that you like, simply click the red “Add to Cart” button at the top right-hand corner of the Design Studio, and you will be able to verify the size of your decals and purchase them - having CarArt custom-make them to fit the design you have created.

The Image Marketplace is the companion to the Design Studio. It contains tens of thousands of high quality digital images and fonts that you can customize in the Design Studio. The Image Marketplace is constantly growing as Artists continue to publish their digital images for use by the CarArt community.

Simply click on an image or a kit in the Image Marketplace to send it to the Design Studio for point-and-click customization.

You can publish your own vector (.eps) images to the Image Marketplace to use to create your own custom graphics and to generate royalties. When you publish images, you retain ownership of the image, but you earn money (royalties) each time other users purchase vinyl graphics that utilize your images. Artists should focus their efforts on creating and publishing images and kits that fill gaps in the Image Marketplace for art that is in demand in today’s pop-culture.

Here are some common terms, and their meanings, as used throughout the CarArt.com website.

Images are the digital pictures or illustrations that are found in the Image Marketplace. Each individual image can be customized in the Design Studio and ordered as a separate vinyl graphic (or decal).

Graphics are high quality vinyl decals. Stickers, essentially. We prefer to call them CarArt Graphics or vinyl vehicle graphics due to the professional-grade vinyl and manufacturing process that we use to create them. Many internet sites sell stickers and decals for your car, but most of these are made from cheap calendared vinyl that usually lasts no longer than a year. CarArt graphics, on the other hand, are made from 3M’s top of the line laminated vehicle vinyl (used in professional car wraps) – which is designed for easy installation and many years of durability (they’ll probably look good for much longer than you’ll own your car). CarArt graphics can be used on your cars body, window (solid or view through), bumper, etc. Enough with the sales pitch, we know ... but, you asked.

Decals are individual vinyl graphics. The term graphic and decal can be used interchangeably.

Designs are snapshots of your graphic creations, set over a photo of your car. Email your designs to friends or to yourself (for posting on your blog or MySpace page from within the Design Studio.

CarArt Kits (or just “kits”) are arrangements of images on a car in the Design Studio, often using many or all of the 5 views of your car, that work together to create a coordinated look for your car. The most successful kits create a theme or a consistent look around the car that helps the driver to expresses who they. Anyone can create and publish a kit using the Design Studio and the many thousands of images and fonts available in the Image Marketplace. Artist that can create vector (.eps) images have additional opportunities to create images and kits that meet the needs of under-served members of the community.

Not yet, but soon. As of now, you can publish your vector (.eps) images to the Image Marketplace as an artist, and earn royalties when other users purchase graphics from CarArt that utilize your images.

We’ll soon launch CarArt Shops, where high-end vinyl graphic vendors will be able to showcase their graphics for sale on their own CarArt Shopkeeper Page, allow users to drag-n-drop their graphics onto cars & envision how they’ll look in our Design Studio, and sell and ship their graphics to CarArt shoppers who purchase them through the CarArt website.

CarArt graphics are made from 3M’s top of the line laminated vehicle vinyl (3M 180c – as used in professional car wraps) – which is designed for easy installation and many years of durability (they’ll probably look good for much longer than you’ll own your car).

Yes. The highly durable 3M vinyl that we use to create CarArt graphics can be used on boats, personal watercraft, trailers/RVs, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, and other motor vehicles. In fact, CarArt will work well on most painted surfaces of any object – whether it’s a motor vehicle or not (motorcycle helmets, for example). Surfaces you should not try to install CarArt vinyl graphics onto include rubber, plastic, Teflon, and rough surfaces.

CarArt graphics are made from 3Ms 180c professional grade 7 year vinyl. However, depending on the care of your graphics and weather conditions, your graphics are designed to look good 5-7+ years. (Note: This is only a rating by 3M, who is the manufacturer of the vinyl – it is NOT a warranty offered by either 3M or CarArt.com.)

No. We guarantee that the graphics will be in good condition upon shipment of your order. Since the installation and care of your graphics is out of our control, we don’t offer a guarantee.

No. In fact, while the graphic remains in place, it actually protects your paint from minor abrasions and from some UV exposure. When you’re ready to remove your graphic, simply peel off your graphics as you would peel off a sticker. Graphics that have been installed for a long period of time may need to be heated with a hair dryer or heat gun to aid removal.

Yes. There are 2 ways to get professional installation of your CarArt graphics. You can order professional installation as an option on the checkout page of our shopping cart (pricing depends on the amount of graphics you are buying). OR – you can contact a local sign shop or window tinting service and arrange professional installation on your own. Keep in mind that, if you hire your own installer, and he/she messes up your graphics or installs them improperly, you have to live with the results. If you pay CarArt (at checkout) for installation, we’ll replace the graphics if our installer happens to damage them or install them improperly. Still, it is up to you to keep the graphics from getting damaged from the time you receive them to the time the installer begins to install them.

Of course. However, it is your responsibility to comply with local vehicle safety laws regarding window visibility etc. Regular CarArt graphics are solid colors (you won’t be able to see through them). However, if you would like your graphics printed on 3M’s perforated view-through vinyl (with tiny holes in it to allow the driver to see out the window through the graphic), simply select this option in the shopping cart. Perforated window vinyl typically has a shorter life than non-perforated vinyl (one to two years).

Its free and takes less than a minute. Simply click on the Sign In link at the top right-hand corner of any page (not found in the flash Design Studio and Image Marketplace), then click “Register Now” and fill out and submit our user registration form. You must be a registered user to purchase graphics, save or publish images and kits, earn royalties, email your designs to yourself or friends.

Click on the Sign In link at the top-right hand corner of any page. Click “Forgot Password?”. Type in your email address (which is your username), and click Submit. Your CarArt password will be emailed to you.

Not usually. Most of our users install their own vinyl graphics. However, we recommend using a professional installer (or a friend who has lots of experience) when working with very large graphics or with delicate/intricate designs. We also recommend using a professional when graphics are intended to be installed on curved/rounded areas of your car, or when they will need to be cut to fit into car panels that are smaller than the graphics. All CarArt is made from special 3M vinyl that utilizes channels and repositionable adhesive. This means that you can literally expose the adhesive, stick the graphic (lightly) onto your car, then remove & reposition it, then apply pressure (via your squeegee or credit card) to permanently install it once you are satisfied with its positioning. We chose this 3M vinyl because of its easy-to-install features. Still, as with any vinyl decal or sticker, CarArt can be torn, wrinkled, or otherwise damaged. So be sure you follow our Installation Instructions carefully to ensure a long-lasting, good looking graphic.

Yes, and yes. First – when installing your CarArt, if you haven’t squeegee’d your CarArt in place (and haven’t applied pressure to activate the adhesive), then you can peel up your CarArt, reposition it, and then press/squeegee it in place. This pressure activates the aggressive adhesive. Once pressed/squeegee’d in place, you may remove it, but doing so will destroy it. So, leave it on for as long as you like it. Then, if you decide to remove it, peel it off as you would with any sticker. CarArt that has been in place for a long period of time may need heat applied to assist with its removal (a hair dryer should do the trick).

No. In fact, while the graphic remains in place, it actually protects your paint from minor abrasions and from some UV exposure. When you’re ready to remove your graphic, simply peel off your graphics as you would peel off a sticker. Graphics that have been installed for a long period of time may need to be heated with a hair dryer or heat gun to aid removal.

Turn your .eps images into cash by publishing them to the CarArt Image Marketplace. You retain ownership of your images, but you earn royalties each time your images are used by others to create and order custom CarArt.

Your vector (.eps) images must have no open paths, no overlaps, no crossed lines, no intersecting objects, and no gradients. Search the Image Marketplace to discover gaps that other users haven’t filled, then fill those gaps with images that will be popular with a particular sub-culture of car enthusiasts.

Even if you’re not a graphic artist, or if you’ve never heard of a vector (.eps) image, you can earn royalties with CarArt. Use the CarArt Design Studio and any combination of images found in the Image Marketplace to assemble unique graphics packages (Kits) for specific car models. Save and publish your Kits and earn royalties each time other users purchase your Kits.

Click on the Publish Images & Earn Cash link on the red bar at the top of any page, then fill out the form, set your royalty amount, & upload your image. If your image is accepted, it will be made available in the Image Marketplace shortly.

Although CarArt has thousands of high-quality digital images, we obviously don’t have every image a customer may want to utilize to create custom graphics. If you can find a vector (.eps) version of the image you’d like to use that is in the Public Domain, you may publish it to the Image Marketplace. If you are a graphic artist, you can create and publish the images that you’d like to use in the Design Studio.

1. images which you have created and own (and which do not violate copyrights of other similar images)
2. images for which you own the rights of distribution
3. images that are in the Public Domain. These are images to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain copyright (for example, the Yin-Yang symbol - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Yin_yang.svg).

Yes – you can earn royalties from public domain images that you publish to the Image Marketplace. You’re welcome.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domainto learn more about the Public Domain.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrightto learn more about the Public Domain.

Image names are not visible while seen as a part of a kit. This ensures that kit creators will earn the royalties they set (unless they’ve assigned an unusually high royalty amount to a simple kit, in which case buyers will be motivated to re-create a similar design in order to avoid paying the kit royalty).

Royalties are money (cash) that you earn each time other users purchase CarArt graphics that feature your published images or kits. Each time you publish an image or a kit, you will be asked to set a royalty amount. Make sure to set your royalty prices competitively to maximize your earnings.

All residents of the United States age 13 or older. Just register with CarArt (its free), then publish an image, or create and publish a graphics kit.

When your unpaid royalties have reached $25, we will send you a check at the end of the following month. We’ll also send you a check on January 31st of each year for all unpaid royalties in your royalty account for the previous calendar year. Paypal users may be paid using PayPal instead of by check.

If you earn over $600 in any calendar year, we will file form 1099 with the IRS naming you the payee/contractor and declaring the amount we’ve paid you in royalties during that calendar year.

Every CarArt order is an on-demand, custom graphics order, standard orders should be received within 2-4 weeks from date of order. You can select to have us rush your order, which costs extra, in which case you can expect to receive your order within 4-7 business days.

This is your unique order number which is assigned when you complete payment for your CarArt order. We use this number to track your order through our on-demand production and shipping processes. Be sure to include this number in any purchase-related emails that you send to our customer service department.

Due to the custom nature of all CarArt purchases, your graphics are unique and are made on-demand just for you. All orders are final. There are no returns or refunds.

When you have completed your order, you will see a confirmation page and you will receive a confirmation email which contains the details of your order and the amount that is being charged to your credit card. We will contact you if there is a credit card problem, or a problem creating or delivering your CarArt order.

Each order is built on-demand to the custom specifications you submitted with your order. The shopping cart requires customers to confirm the size of each graphic/decal that is ordered. Your individual vinyl graphics (decals) will be the width and height that you confirmed in the shopping cart before placing your order. This may or may not fit a specific panel of your actual car. In several places throughout the website, we have informed customers that the car dimensions may or may not be correct – and that the car photos in the Design Studio are only provided as helps for you to design your graphics. Before finalizing any order, you should always measure, then re-measure, the place on your actual car where you desire to install your graphic. Be sure to go back to the Design Studio and re-size your graphics until they are precisely the size you need. Then place your order.

If you have accidentally ordered graphics that are too large for the space you would like to install them on your car, you can cut them to fit. This should be done after installing the graphic, and smoothing it from the center out, then carefully cutting the graphic wherever it overlaps areas of your car not intended for coverage (be extra careful not to scratch your car’s paint whenever cutting the graphic while it is on the car). See our Installation Instructions for more info.

PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express

Not yet. We are working to establish partnerships that would enable us to accept and fulfill orders from many countries throughout the world.

At CarArt.com, our top priority is to make sure you have a secure, safe and satisfying experience. The CarArt Safe & Secure Shopping Guarantee: Your purchase transactions with us are 100% safe. Our secure server software (SSL) is the standard in the eCommerce industry - it encrypts your payment information whenever you make a purchase on our website. This encryption means that no one will ever gain access to your private information.

Click the My Account link at the top right-hand corner of any page, then click on the Email Preferences on the left-hand side of the My Account page.