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| Great write up on Ride Apart on Classic Motorcycle art by Ugly Moto |
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"When my friend told me to check out Uglymoto.com I was curious to find out what the site is all about. After typing in the website address, I was welcomed by some tasty illustrations of racing bikes from a bygone era.
For me being a designer and a motorcycle enthusiast, I liked what I saw. The site is very clean and easy to navigate, and with the right subject matter it was alright in my book!
After admiring the welcome page for a bit, the next step then was to proceeded to explore what Ugly Moto had to offer.
Luckily you don’t have to be a vintage bike connoisseur to appreciate each one, as Ugly Moto has taken the liberty to thoroughly describe each bike’s accomplishments and their riders. One thing is for sure, you can waste a lot of time at work (err…during break) exploring this site.
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| Yamaha YZR 500 OW48, Kenny Roberts, 1980 World Grand Prix Championship. |
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| Ducati 750 Paul Smart, 1972 Imola 200 Race. |
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| Ducati 900SS, Mike Hailwood, 1978 Isle Of Man TT. |
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| Harley Davidson XR750, Cal Rayborn, 1972 Trans-Atlantic Match Race. |
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| Honda CB750 Racing Type, Dick Mann 1970 Daytona 200. |
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| Honda RC174, Mike Hailwood, 1967 FIM World Championship. |
To me each bike has a very unique art and style to them. It has an old school, almost hand drawn look of the past but also the precision line work of a technical drawing. It’s definitely the right style combination to bring the spirit of these machines to life.
Now, upon learning as much as I could about each bike I became even more curious to see what technique used used by the artist to paint in this style. Luckily, Ugly Moto had a “Video- The Making” tab where then entire process showcases the painstaking detail in an epic time lapse.
After watching the video, I am in awe at the amount of work needed to make one painting! The effort and details that are invested in working out the line work in digital format, and combining the sensitivity of human artistry makes me appreciate the passion the artist put into the subject matter.
Now to the Artist, I guess I should have clicked the ‘About’ link first, but I’m writing this article in the manner of how I went about exploring the site; bikes first, people second (you know, how we all do it).
Ugly Moto is created by Francis Ooi, a motorcycle enthusiast; who is based in Singapore as a creative director for an ad agency. In his spare time, however, he switches gears and becomes a digital artist painting various beloved mechanical thoroughbred steeds. Each illustration takes more than a month with 800 components and layers to finish.
On his page, it lists a 1994 Ducati 900SS and a 2010 MV Agusta F4 as part of his current stable. Francis is not only a man with talent but also wonderful taste!
The illustrations can be purchased for $65.00 each but prints are limited (100 per model) so you’d better snag one while you still can."
Ugly Moto Project from Francis Ooi on Vimeo.
