I thought that this week, I would take you through the steps that I go through, as I create the artwork for a print. I’ll start with my current motorcycle project, a Suzuki Intruder owned by Vic Jordan. Here is the original image we will be working with.
As you can see, it’s just an average shot, taken in the parking lot where the Shady Grove Cruise-in takes place every Sunday morning. My challange this week is to take this image and create something worth hanging on the wall. The first step is to mask out and remove all background. This is the most painstaking step and can take anywhere from 1-4 hours, depending on the bike, whether it has a windwshield and/or spoke wheels, etc. Once completed, the image now looks a bit easier to work with. 
Now, we get rid of as many unwanted reflections as possible and clean up the photo. Once this is complete we are ready to start doing the artwork which is the fun part. First on the agenda is deciding what type of background to use. What color will work best with the bike to show it off? For the initial run, I chose a light blue. I also a bit of shadow to give some depth. Here is what the image now looks like. 
As you can see, the image is starting to take shape. The image looks nice, but it is missing something. This is where I usually start playing (artistically speaking of course )
I think what we need is a mat to set things off. I chose a darker blue and gave it a canvas texture and we end up with the following image.It’s a bit off center because of the way WordPress handles images but the actual image mat is centered.
Ok, it’s time for a break from the serious work. I’ll get back to it tomorrow. In the mean time, I’ll create a fantasy image using this photo 
Ok, nice image but how can I put the motorcycle in it and make it look ‘natural?’ The motorcycle was photographed on a bright sunny day and this image is obviously a night shot. Mmmm, let’s see, if we had a street light, shining down on the motorcyle, that should work. We want the motorcycle up front so it can be easily seen and the street light would need to match the overhead direction of midday sun. Here we go. Check back to watch me continue to transform this one image into many.
