Tips for Making Stick Figure Families

May we suggest the following tips for making your stick figure families absolutely adorable:

1- Ensure that the crawling baby and animals face inward, if placed on the outside of the family. (photo design tip)

2- Position family members so that they slightly stagger the horizontal plane; they aren't meant to stand on a perfectly straight line. They also don't need to be placed the same distance apart. Position the snowmobile, four wheeler, and skiier families in staggering arches and fun horizontal planes. It makes them come alive.

3- Ensure that when you add glasses, facial hair, etc., that you "weld", or join, all your elements; there should be no cuts in the intersections of crossed lines. You should not have to use layers of vinyl.  Your stick figure family should peel off its vinyl backing like one big sticker.

4- Ensure that when you cut vinyl for car windows, that you use the proper exterior vinyl. (like the Oracal 751 Premium Cast Vinyl).  White, silver, and light gray are best for car windows.

5- Be creative in combining families.  Perhaps you could weld the father and mother holding hands, or a couple with the arms around each other.  Show their personalities.  You can "ungroup" or "unweld" the separated components of the faces and change facial expressions; place the eyes in the glasses to look upward, downward, or to the side.  Some bodies are interchangeable between genders.

6- Add a neck if the woman's hair is too long, if a child has a swimming suit, or if you want an animated head popping up.  Otherwise, necks aren't needed.

7- Use noses sparingly.  They take a lot of time to weed and often get lost.

8- When adding heads to the ATV, skiing, snowboarding, and motorcyle bodies, place the head just above the body (with no neck), or "weld" it to the body. Each gives a different and fun look.

9- Most of the bodies can be slightly squished or enlarged vertically to create thin and large framed-body options.

10- Keep a sheet of extra eyes nearby so that you won’t worry about losing some during the weeding process.  Just get the family weeded, then go back with the tweezers and replace each lost eye or mouth.

11- All of the elements like bags, hats, graduation hat, cane, crowns, lassos, and musical instruments, are meant more for you than for the customer.  You may not want to show customers, unless they ask, because it increases the decision and overall work time.  When a customer tells you this family member likes shopping, playing the flute, or is graduating, write it on the order form.  Then you know what elements to add later.  The halo can be placed on the heads of deceased family members.

12- The elements like the sun and snowflakes are also for you to add as needed.  There should be a charge for the extras, unless you want to use them as upsales and bonuses.

13- Ensure that you price accordingly; custom stick figure families can take time. Keep a separate file of family combinations nearby, so they're quick to copy and paste from when needed. Our website offer some general pricing guidelines for stick families.

14- Ensure that customers know that smaller isn't cheaper; depending on your vinyl cutter, you really shouldn't cut these stick figures under 2.5" - 3" high.  Adults are generally 5”-6” tall.  So run a tester beforehand.

15- Present the customer with the entire vinyl family, as a ready-to-hang-big-sticker layout, not as individual family member cutouts.  It will ensure that the family hangs in the easiest, cutest way possible, save time, and help the customer feel they're getting the most for their dollar.

16- Take a deep breath and have fun!  Once you get going and create that fingertip file of family combinations nearby, the process will go quickly.  Make your stick figure families absolutely adorable and alive with personality!