EARLY memories of playing in the shed “while dad worked fervently on his project cars” have factored significantly in Samantha Rogers’ working life with her having applied her artistry to prestigious car brands now for several years, wrapping them in colourful designs.

She had a solo exhibition in 2014 with wearable art textile pieces at the Hamilton Art Gallery titled ‘Heirloom’ and also explored a combination of talents with cars using her creative abilities to contribute to her father’s racing.

“I wanted to show off his amazing builds with a unique wrap,” Samantha said.

“I’ve always been a creative person, and having a background in illustration and textile work, (it) gave me the patience and creativity needed to work in the vehicle wrapping industry.

“The first vehicle I wrapped was Dad’s Ford Capri and I have since wrapped his Big Block Chev dragster and race trailer.”

Her father’s passion and work ethic has rubbed off on her and, now living in Melbourne and a co-director of Drive Creative, she has for the past four years “been working with BMW and MINI Australia; assisting with campaign activations and creating PPF (Paint Protection Film) solutions for the track cars”.

The most recent work is especially impressive, with the late model BMW M4 Competition, part of the ‘BMW M Driving Experience’, getting a spectacular blue, red, black and white design that will be sure to turn heads.

“We are qualifying ourselves to our clients who are also after a premium service and product,” Samantha said.

“To add more substance to the project, we wanted to put a German film onto a German vehicle.

“We have been working closely with Orafol Australia over the last couple of years, sharing ideas and collaborating on projects.”

Samantha also gets flown around Australia to assist with their training courses and is very happy with the quality of the vinyl.

“The film is very durable for the Autralian conditions and the Oracal 970 series offer a wide gamut of colours which means your creativity is not limited by a limited colour choice,” she said.

“All the films we used on the BMW M4 are from the Oracal 970 series, a lot of pre-coloured films from other manufactures on the market don’t have the qualities of being printable, but this series does because of its topcoat.

“We were able to print onto the pearlescent white and create our own unique colour with it.”

There were some significant challenges with the project, with a tight deadline being just one.

“We needed to have the car completed so it could go on tour,” Samantha said.

It took roughly two weeks to finalise the design with “a fair bit of templating, trailing of installation techniques and time spent preparing the printed and cut graphics”.

Then it took six 12+ hour days to complete the job, which “wasn’t a straightforward wrap”.

“Most of the exterior hardware had to be taken off the car to smoothly carry out the install,” Samantha said.

“We have an inhouse mechanic who was able to remove everything from door handles to headlights, and then skilfully assemble it all back together without breaking a clip or losing a screw.”

With a photoshoot, filming for Orafol and their own marketing still to get through, Samantha said the car was then taken “straight up to Sydney … for the official launch party in Orafol Australia’s head office”.

“Regarding design challenges for a vehicle in general, is you must remember that it’s a not a flat surface so you have to make sure your design works for the bodylines of the vehicle,” she said

“It can be a challenge to make sure the design is aesthetically pleasing as well as being practical for installation. As a designer, having installation knowledge is key to designing a successful wrap.”

Samantha said Drive Creative had “always been a fan of the BMW Art Cars” and pointed out historically “famous artists were invited to use a BMW as a canvas for their art” and was obviously inspired by the connection.

“Perhaps one of the most popular cars in the series was the M1 painted by Andy Warhol,” she said.

“But my personal favourite is the CSL by Alexander Calder which was the very first Art Car created back in 1975. With BMW’s rich ties to the arts, this is something we wanted to lean into and something that made the project very personal for me too.”

 She admitted the M4 wasn’t an official art car but said “we wanted to create a wrap that showcased the artistic capabilities of our shop” and thanked BMW for allowing them freedom in the asymmetrical design.

“I was fortunate that they trusted us so much, as the concept looked quite flat on screen, but I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and I knew that material choice would play a big role in adding another dimension to the design,” Samantha said.

“I made some of my lines go with the design language of the car; like the coloured bands that funnel into the front intakes, and some of the design goes completely against the design lines of the car like the melting elements.”

As for remaining connected to Hamilton, Samantha said that was easy for her, with her parents, Murray and Yolanda still in town.

“I try to get home at least every 3 months to visit them as my sister Athena and brother Aaron,” she said.

“The Hamilton connection runs strong through the business as my business partner’s wife, Bree Sharples is originally from Hamilton and went to High School with me. The landlord of our workshops, Tony is also originally a Hamilton man.

“I’m very grateful to have grown up in Hamilton, I was a part of a few supportive communities in sport and in friendship groups, and it’s given me the ‘country sensibility’ I apply to my work now.”