Anime and comic fans are pimping their cars and it’s out of this world
Itasha fans are wrapping to commemorate their creative anime and comic idols
How are Itasha cars decorated?
Dixon explained:
Prices range anywhere from $800 for smaller decals to $10,000 for elaborately designed full wraps.
Dixon notes that whilethe wrapsare designed to last about seven to ten years, up to five years is more realistic. His most recent Itasha is a Tesla Model 3 wrapped with My Hero Academia fan art.
He believes these projects can’t be impulsive — and need to be inspired by their original designs unless you get explicit permission from the artist or company. Smallercompanies are more likely to give permission, as they are happy for the promotion.
This seems to be something the community feels strongly about. Take Daniel Frison (pictured below). At Houston Comicpalooza 2021, Frison met one of his favorite comic book artists, Ryan Stegman.He showed the creative his faithful and beautiful Dodge Charger, that’s a custom American Itasha car tribute to Spider-Man.
For people wanting to get their first wrap, Dixon advises:
What’s next for this meeting of art and tech?
Dixon explained that some people use QR codes in their designs to communicate with fellow enthusiasts. This made me think about what might be possible in the future.
Recently at CES, we saw car innovations such asBMW’s concept iX Flow, a car made covered with an a car covered with an e-ink display (yep, like your Kindle).
Image a car covered with digital anime that changes according to the weather? Or vehicles that show movies on top of the roof? Or ona digital billboard?? Or in the windows???
The options are endless, especially when the car is stationary to avoid driving distractions. Check out this example:
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart ci(show all)Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin. She focuses on all things mobility: ebikes, autonomous vehicles, VTOL, smart cities, and the future of alternative energy sources like electric batteries, solar, and hydrogen.
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