Professionally I’ve been creating art for over 35 years and the process never seems to change.
For the most part the ideas come fast and easily. That’s good since I’m in the idea business. But the finishing of a drawing or design is what takes the time and the discipline to keep at it, to keep refining the work.
Drawing is easy. Editing is difficult.
I’ve posted a series of images on this page to demonstrate part of the process I go through with every Cycling Print I create. Many times the first drawing is a pen and ink “idea” drawing. I sell many of these original cycling art drawings on the website. You can see more here.
But once I have a drawing, then what.
My usual approach is to take the drawing and paste it into my digital art file. I do all my cycling art drawing with Adobe Illustrator and a mouse, not a stylist. It works for me.
Then I start recreating the drawing with very rough shapes and colors to get a feeling for the graphic shapes I want on the page. This process can go on for days with versions and revisits to the drawing. Some people have told me digital art isn’t really art because it’s not from the hand of the artist. I would disagree, it’s very much from my hand.
Version after version the final product begins to take shape as I test colors, sizes and continue to look for additional ideas to add to the art. For example in this case, the idea of the helmet becoming the Guards Bearskin came late in the process. I was feeling good about the overall image but something was missing.
London was missing.
This UCI Track Cycling World Championship was taking place in London. I needed to add London to the picture. That’s when the Bearskin happened. After that I knew I was close to finishing. I had found the idea and edited the art to it’s simplest elements. For me that’s what makes a great poster, smart, simple and graphic. The kind of cycling art that has some staying power this year, and for years to come.
If you want to see more images of this print or Purchase the Print go here.
