Motocal First Time Designer User Guide
If this is your first time using Motocal, the Editor can take a little getting used to. There are plenty of tools available, but you do not need to learn everything straight away.
A few simple habits will make designing much easier and help you avoid the most common mistakes.
We’ll walk you through the basics of creating your first Motocal Design, including how to:
• Choose the correct Vehicle and Template
• Save your Design so you can come back to it later
• Add and edit graphics, logos and text
• Use simple tools to keep your Design organized
• Make sure your images and colors are ready for printing
• Review your Design properly before placing your Order
Get Set Up Properly
Use a Larger Screen
The Motocal website and initial stages of the Platform are accessible on a large or small screen device. But the Motocal Platform Editor needs a larger screen such as a desktop, laptop or tablet. This is especially true when you are working with logos, text and smaller Design details. A larger screen gives you more room to work and makes it easier to position everything accurately.
Make Sure You Select The Right Vehicle
When you start your Design, take a moment to check that you have selected the correct Make, Model and Year of your Vehicle.
This is important because Motocal Templates are made for specific Vehicle shapes. If the wrong Vehicle is selected, the finished Decals may not fit correctly.
If your Vehicle has aftermarket plastics, such as Acerbis or Polisport, check that you are designing for the correct shapes before ordering.
Choose the Appropriate Theme
A Theme is a pre-designed starting point for a Design. It provides you with a professional, ready-to-go Design that you can select to begin your design journey, rather than starting with a blank canvas. Once you have completed the Discovery stage (specifying exact Vehicle and key user details) and clicked ‘Build Kit’, Motocal presents Theme Options to select a starting Design from (for some vehicles there may not be Theme options at the moment).
Save Your Design Early
It is a good idea to save your Design once you have started working on it.
You can do this through the Save Your Design window by entering your email address, or by selecting Save from the Settings menu.
Once you save for the first time, Motocal will send you a unique link to your Design. After that, your changes are saved automatically as you work.
Keep the email with your Design Link. You can use it whenever you want to come back and continue designing.
Understanding the Editor
Once you have reviewed your overall kit layout in the Selector, you can dive into the Editor by selecting an individual decal position (such as a shroud or front number plate). While the Selector gives you a bird’s-eye view of your entire graphics kit, the Editor is your focused workspace for customizing specific, individual parts.
The Editor provides all the tools you need to personalize your graphics. Here is a breakdown of the core features you will use:
The Main Canvas:
The center of your screen displays a large, interactive view of the specific decal you are working on. This is where you can click, drag, and position elements precisely within the cut lines of that specific part.
The Top Toolbar:
Back to Kit: This button saves your current progress on the decal and returns you to the main Selector view so you can choose the next part to design.
Quick Actions: Use the toolbar options to quickly add new text, insert graphics from the library, delete selected items, or use the Undo/Redo functions to experiment freely with your design without losing your work.
The Customization Panel:
Whenever you click on any text, shape, or graphic on your canvas, a dedicated settings panel will appear to give you total control over that specific element:
Adjust: Fine-tune your selected element using controls to scale (resize) or rotate it. You will also find quick-action options for flipping or aligning the item.
Color: Change the primary fill color or the border of the selected shape or graphic. You can choose from standard color swatches or access the full color library to match your exact brand or plastic colors.
Replace & Upload: Easily swap out a current logo with suggested alternatives from the Motocal library, or upload your own custom sponsor logos and graphics directly from your device.
Precision Controls: To help you perfect your layout, the Editor includes toggles to turn on a background grid (which is highly recommended for accurate alignment) alongside zoom controls so you can get a closer look at the edges of your design.
Take your Time with your First Design
Design One Side First
For matching parts, such as left and right shrouds or number plates, it usually makes sense to finish one side first.
You can then copy or mirror that Design to the opposite side instead of building it again from scratch.
Depending on the shape of the Decals, you may still need to make a few small adjustments afterwards.
Use Undo and Redo
Do not worry about experimenting.
If you move something into the wrong place, change a color you do not like, or resize something too much, use the Undo and Redo buttons to move backwards or forwards through your recent changes.
Adding Graphics and Logos
You can use graphics already available inside Motocal or upload your own.
Using Motocal Graphics
Open the Decal you want to work on and click Add Graphic.
You can search the Motocal graphic library, choose the graphic you want and then move, resize, rotate or recolor it to suit your Design.
Uploading Your Own Graphics
To add your own logo or image:
1. Open the Decal you want to edit.
2. Click Add Graphic.
3. Scroll down to Upload Graphic.
4. Choose the file from your device.
5. Position and resize it on the Decal.
Once uploaded, you can move, resize, rotate or flip the graphic using the Editor controls.
Use the Best Quality Image you Have
Try to upload clear, high-resolution images and logos. Around 300 DPI is recommended where possible.
If an image already looks blurry or pixelated in the Editor, it is likely to look blurry when printed as well.
Motocal supports common formats including JPEG, PNG and SVG.
Be particularly careful with transparent images, as the color behind the image can affect how it appears in the final print.
Adding Text
To add text, open the Decal you want to edit and click Add Text.
Enter your text, click OK, and then use the controls in the Editor to adjust its size, position, spacing and rotation.
Choosing a Font
Select the text and open the Font options to choose a different style.
If you cannot see a character you have typed, such as a #, try changing the font. Some fonts do not support every special character.
Changing the Color
Select the text, graphic or other feature you want to change and open the color options.
From there, you can browse or search for the color you want to use.
Keeping your Design Organized
As your Design gets more detailed, a few of the Editor tools become particularly useful.
Use the Grid
The grid can help when you are trying to line up text, logos or other graphics.
You can turn it on using the grid icon in the bottom-right corner of the Editor and turn it off again using the plain square icon.
Use Layers
If you have several elements on the same Decal, layers decide which ones appear in front and which sit behind.
You can use:
• Send to Back
• Send Backwards
• Bring Forwards
• Bring to Front
A simple way to think about it is to keep backgrounds towards the back, supporting graphics in the middle, and important things such as numbers, names and main logos towards the front.
Clone Something Instead of Recreating it
If you want the same logo, graphic or piece of text more than once, select it and use Clone Feature.
You can then move or adjust the copy separately.
Copy a Design to Another Decal
If two Decals should have a similar Design, you can copy one to the other.
For example, once you have finished the Right Shroud, hover over the Left Shroud in the Graphics Kit view. Where available, you will see an option such as Copy from Right Shroud.
This is much quicker than rebuilding the same Design manually.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind for Printing
What you create in the Editor is used to produce your final Graphics Kit, so it is worth checking the small details as best practice.
Try to keep important text, logos and graphics comfortably within the Decal shape rather than placing them too close to the edges.
Also remember that colors can look slightly different once printed.
Screens display colors using RGB, while printing uses CMYK, so a small difference between the color on your screen and the finished print is normal. Check here on how to share your design.
Check your Design before Ordering
Before you go to Check Out, have one final look over the complete Graphics Kit.
Check:
• You selected the correct Vehicle
• Your spelling and numbers are correct
• Your logos and images are clear
• Everything is positioned where you want it
• Nothing important is hidden behind another layer
• You are happy with the colors and overall layout
• You have selected the Decals you actually want to order
It is much easier to spot and fix something while you are still in the Editor.
What Does Motocal Check?
Every Order goes through a Design Check before production.
We check the Design from a technical and print-readiness point of view and can make minor production-related corrections where needed.
However, the Design Check is not a creative redesign service. Things such as your wording, spelling, chosen logos, colors and overall Design are ultimately your responsibility, so make sure you are happy with everything before ordering.
Stuck on Something?
There are plenty of tutorials available if you need help with a particular part of the Editor.
Take a look through the Self Help and Tutorial Video sections on the Motocal Website, or visit the Motocal YouTube channel.
You do not need to know every feature before starting. The easiest way to learn Motocal is simply to start designing, try the different tools and build your Graphics Kit one part at a time. You could also check our advanced tips for a better grasp of the platform.
However, if you need some professional to assist you with your design, you could check this Design Help program.
ORDER NOW & SHIP FREE TODAY
Design your graphics online today and Motocal will ship them for free today to you.