Creating An Angel

Wrapped with Respect: The 9/11 Angel Cars Collaboration

By Dallas Fowler

Let me start by expressing how honored I feel to be included in a project that I know has a much greater impact than I can ever imagine. The interesting part was when I was asked to be a part of this. I knew it was going to be cool, but how it intertwined with so many other events in my life ended up making it one of the greatest things I've been a part of. I remember Ruggs approaching me after "Meet the Masters" and telling me he thought he had a cool project lined up for us. It was something for 9/11, and we were going to do a collaboration of five different artists. Without him even being able to finish, I said, "I'm in."

First, let me say that I felt stoked to be asked to be one of the five artists, some of whom I look up to and now will be able to share a platform with. The interesting part is that I knew I would have to bring my A-game, and that already excited me. By the nature of the project, I knew we would push each other to level up and give our best. A few weeks after the show was over and I was back to the normal grind, I remember Ruggs reaching out to me and saying, "Okay, are you ready? I've got all the details, and here's what they are." He explained that he had five artists for this project: Dallas Fowler - Digital EFX Wraps, Casey Folk - PDX Wraps, Ryan "Glarb” Sandoval - Glarb Designs, Jamie "Mully” Mullican - The Wrap Artist, and Kevin Kempf - PG Nola. We were going to be designing five Camaros for an organization called Fueled by the Fallen.

Fueled by the Fallen is a non-profit that pays tribute to military members, first responders and their families. This basically means that five different Camaros represent the five angels of 9/11. At the time, we had no idea what each car represented, and each artist had not been assigned to a car just yet. After several Zoom meetings and coming together as a group, we were able to each pick a car that we felt we could do the best job on in terms of artistic vision and what car subject matter excited us the most.

I want to talk about two other important parts of my life that really impacted my art and what I would create for this project. The ironic part about this project was that earlier that year, in February to be exact, I got to go to New York because my stepdaughter, Addyson, had been asked to participate in Fashion Week. It made for an awesome family trip to see Addy on the billboard in Times Square and watch her go on the runway, but the best part was that we got to visit the 9/11 tribute at Ground Zero. Little did I know how much impact this would have on the artwork I created for Angel #3.

So, you can guess how hard I pushed to work on Angel #3. The special part about this project, outside of being able to give back and touch somebody's heart, was doing something great and showing my love for America. I wanted to express how patriotic I am and give back to all the people who make it possible for us to walk around safely every day—from policemen and firefighters to our military. Another super important influence lingering in the back of my mind was how I could make my brother proud of being part of such an amazing project that shows my respect for America and everybody who has helped us. I couldn't wait until this project was done so I could present it to my brother. My brother, Ricky Fowler, Chief Warrant Officer 3, retired U.S. Army Special Forces out of Colorado Springs, CO, 10th Special Forces Group Airborne, served for 28 and a half years. I hope that one day he gets to see the cars live in person—not just my car, but all the cars.

After our first or second Zoom meeting, I remember quickly realizing how this was a large order in a short time frame. It was funny to think that we had time, and one might say, "Welcome to the Wrap Game." When I say tight, I mean super tight—like one week for the first draft, the second week to have it done, and the third week we’re printing and shipping to Vegas. Meanwhile, the cars were going to be shipped to Vegas, stripped, ready for print, and then ready to ship for an event in California for a homecoming event for our troops.

Like any good design or logo, I began to research and compile my recent trip to New York with tons of videos and facts about Tower Two. As my ideas began to come together and my visions of what I wanted to create started to become clearer, I want to share with you some of the facts that helped me create this awesome piece.

I was going to base my hood piece on the pools located in the 9/11 memorial. The focal point of the memorial is two pools, nearly an acre in size, that sit exactly where the North and South Towers were located. The pools contain the largest man-made waterfalls in Nort America. Each has a waterfall that flows thirty feet into a square basin, and then each pool drops another twenty feet until it disappears into a void. The architect, Michael Arad, says the pools represent absence made visible. Although the water flows, it can never be filled, but the sound makes the pools a calm place of contemplation right in the middle of all the noise of the city.

Some other interesting facts I learned through my research of videos and articles: there are more than 400 swamp white oak trees filling the plaza around the pools. This species is native to the areas of all three 9/11 crash sites—New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania. I thought that was a pretty cool and amazing fact.

Although I didn't include it in my art, another amazing fact is that recovery workers at the site found a damaged tree at Ground Zero. Members of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department removed it from the site and nursed it back to health. Having survived the events of 9/11, the tree became known as the Survivor Tree. It was returned to the plaza site in 2010 and now stands in the plaza as a symbol of resilience and perseverance.

So, my hood piece would be of the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, featuring firefighters raising the flag and an angel wing encompassing them. You probably have seen the picture of the flag raising at Ground Zero this is a photo by Thomas E. Franklin. These were Brooklyn-based firefighters George Johnson, Dan McWilliams (both from Ladder 157), and Billy Eisengrei of Rescue 2... The importance or symbolism of the angel wing is special as it represents purity, courage, love, harmony, and protection. Angels provide us with happiness, hope, and faith.

With only two weeks to complete this project, it was time to draw. Good thing wrap designers are built for this and we're used to tight deadlines. With time being one of the main challenges, the second challenge I quickly realized was how to organize over 1,400 names on this Camaro and do it with class, taste, and respect for the names that were going to be placed on this car.

When I was designing, I realized that it would be too difficult to have 1,400 names on one side of the car. So, I began to divide the names evenly throughout the car's sides and trunk. Not only was I dividing the names evenly across three different sides of the car, but I also wanted them to flow along the body line. I knew this was going to be special, and along the way throughout my process, I took small videos of sketching, coloring, and designing the hood piece.

The tools that I used were my Wacom Cintiq 27" using the program Clip Studio Paint, and I finalized the final art in Photoshop. I think I clocked somewhere around 40-plus hours of design time. I know we were all under the gun, trying to create some badass artwork. Ryan was trying to finish his art and was also tasked with the beautiful curse of templating the Camaro for all of us. How cool is that to get to throw down and design and see the mastermind thinking and execution behind Ryan's awesome templating skills.

After everyone finished their designs we sent them off for client approval to Fueled By The Fallen’s founder and head-advocate, Kevyn Major Howard “Rafterman”, from the Stanley Kubrick classic Full Metal Jacket. He

sent back an amazing review of how unique each Camaro design was and how excited he was to share these designs across America.

Now, let's get to the other important ingredients of this project. We were super thankful that 3M stepped up and was able to provide us with printable silver wrap film, which gave each one of our prints an amazing candy-like look. Each designer chose a different finish, and for me, I was able to pull off amazing print quality with my Roland VG2 and Kala laminator.

In the meantime, while all of us were designing, the cars were being shipped to none other than Elliott Nail at 5150 Wraps, who was tasked with the difficult obstacle of removing not only ten-year-old vinyl but also ten-year-old vinyl cut names that were baked into the car's paint. Each designer printed and shipped their kits to Las Vegas. Let me just say how difficult it must have been for Elliott and his team to not only do his everyday work but now also slide in five Camaros with a super tight deadline. I would imagine he had to put some of his other jobs aside to be able to pull it off. I do think he was kind of like a kid in a candy store. As each kit from each designer showed up at his shop, he was excited to open it up and see what awesome prints and designs were presented by each of us.

I’m sure the excitement wore out quickly as I believe some of our designs were super complicated and very difficult to install, with such precision points needing to match. Thanks again 5150 Wraps! Thanks to Ryan's great templating, I believe 5150 Wraps was able to pull this off with an A+ rating.

After each kit arrived at 5150 Wraps in Las Vegas, we waited patiently, anticipating pictures from Elliot as he finished each car one by one. If you've ever installed wraps then you can imagine that these wraps are more like super complicated, intricate puzzles of life-sized artwork. In the words of my business partner Matt Richart, we created “custom-fitted suits for Camaros.” I'm sure after many late nights, Elliot and his team at 5150 were happy to see the hard work they endured during the wrap come to fruition and the victory of seeing a cool piece leave their shop.

In a matter of a month or so, we were able to see them revealed at the WWWRAP party at SEMA. And while it seemed cool for everybody, all I could think about was seeing all the cars lined up and being able to enjoy the wrap designs that I had only seen on a computer screen. Now, we get to see them in real life. It was super cool, and I was honored to be a part of something so amazing.

As the event drew closer, I was super pumped about reuniting with my wrap family and being able to showcase our cool car wrap designs. It had been hush-hush the entire time working on the project. Each one of us received a special limited-edition coin and badge from Kevyn Major Howard. We got to hear heartfelt stories about how the car names and the impact they've had on families and friends over the past ten years. Now, with a brand-new facelift for each one of the Angels, it was inspiring to think about how the unique artwork would impact young kids to adults with these cool new wrap designs on the Camaros.

The second cool part about being presented with the medal was that I spent most of my childhood watching Full Metal Jacket with my brothers, and now getting to meet one of the actors in person was so cool. Like a great team leader who knew what this vision and project was going turn out to be, I want to say thanks again to Ruggs for not only believing in me but including me in this project and knowing how great of a team all of us would make.

In closing, if somebody were to ask me if I'd do it again, without hesitation, I would say yes. This project was not just about designing car wraps; it was about honoring the memory of those we lost and creating something that touched the hearts of many. The camaraderie, the stories, the late nights, and the immense pride I felt in contributing to such a meaningful tribute made it all worthwhile. If I'm ever asked what was one of the coolest projects, I've ever been a part of, I would say the Fueled by the Fallen 9/11 Camaro Angel Cars. It wasn't just cool; it was deeply moving and profoundly impactful, a reminder of the power of art to bring people together and keep memories alive.

Dallas Fowler

Dallas@digitalefxwraps.com

Co-Owner, Digital EFX Wraps LLC Creator, WrapToons