ArtBike Posters
Artbike is a fundraiser that supports the Copper Harbor Trails Club in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Around 15 posters are created each year and each represents a trail that the club maintains. The club supports the mountain biking trails in the Keweenaw Peninsula and holds races, camps, and events throughout the summer.
Case Study – The Flow ArtBike Poster
There is a small town in the northernmost point of the Upper Peninsula, home to a system of mountain biking trails that wind, climb and race down the vast landscape of the UP, Copper Harbor, MI. The Copper Harbor Trails Club takes care of these trails and has expanded them within the last couple years. Throughout the summer one of their main fundraisers is selling ArtBike posters which are created by artist volunteers who create a poster that features a trail in their system. This was my second year as an ArtBike artist and I was excited to be chosen for The Flow! A trail I have ridden and loved!
The Flow is a flow track trail going down the face of
Brockway Mountain leading all the way back into town.
It offers expansive views of Lake Superior, the town and
you get glimpses of the other trails nearby.
To start this project, I looked through videos that other
bikers had posted to YouTube, my own photos from the
trail and I thought back to some of the most iconic parts
of the trail. After thinking about the berms, the Overflow
(the expert trail that rides over The Flow) jump that Flow
riders go under and the overlook that looks over the lake,
I decided to get started. I first experimented with some
variations of the Overflow jump. Nathan the director of
the trails club, always offers for artists to bounce ideas
off of him so I wanted to see what he thought of this idea. I sent him my list of ideas and sketches and he liked the Overflow jump idea but was worried it would focus on the Overflow trail more than The Flow. I agreed and I switched gears to my other ideas.
Next I turned to my favorite spot on the trail: the DWD Overlook. It has a nice bench to rest and has endless views of the lake. I also thought of how I could incorporate a sunset into the design as Copper Harbor has the best sunsets! My vision was set: a view from behind of bikers taking a break looking out to Lake Superior with the vibrant sunset in the sky. I decided I wanted a limited color palette with only 5-7 colors. Next I brought the idea into Illustrator. I created the lake in the background, playing with some sunset illustration types and I found the “wispy” type design which the simplicity fit the project perfectly. Then I created the trees and the trail basing it on my own image I took the year before while riding the trail.
Next was the bikers. This was a challenge because between the trees and the lake, it was hard to get enough contrast with the limited color palette to be able to see the bikers. I played around with so many different variations of the colors of the other elements.
After a lot of variations, I found the right combination and was able keep the focus on the sunset while also having some of the focus on the biker and the landscape. Once I had the elements set where they looked best, I added the title and chose a laid-back cursive to match the meaning of the title and the mood of Copper Harbor (laid-back and good times). This poster was so much fun to create, and I love how it turned out! It was one of the first to sell out at the first event of the season and at the end of the summer long was sold out completely. ArtBike is one of my favorite yearly projects and I am so excited to create a new poster this year!
