Hey all,
Great discussion, and there are some really impressive designs so early on. I just wanted to share my ideas and advice on this subject, as I have been an avid skateboarder for many years, and have hand cut many grip tape graphics by hand.
I have found that grip tape is some of the stickiest stuff out there, and when designing graphics, don’t worry about small pieces of tape falling or rubbing off, because they won’t.
That said, this is much like cutting vinyl graphics, so the weeding is the hardest and most time consuming part. When designing any stencil like this, you should be conscious of how many pieces of material there are. If you can connect the different pieces grip tape with solid lines or amalgamate the pieces somehow, it really helps. But at the same time, don’t compromise the graphics just to make it easier to apply.
The expressed concern on how to apply the more complicated designs onto the long-board makes me wonder why to create a competition where the designs will be laser cut, as this has the distinct advantage of being able to easily cut intricate graphics. But anyways, I love the competition, and will be submitting many I hope. Thanks!
-Robot.Ink.