the metallic rider

Andreas Gillmeister

in 2006 when i created the first bmx-figure for my friend’s racing team, i was just a little rookie into digital graphic design. the job was quickly done, my friend happy and i’ m very grateful to him, ’cause it opened some doors to me. but while i extend my skills into photoshop over the years, i started to dislike my first creation. i were just unhappy with the result at all. so it came one day in last october, i told my friend that time has come to make something new out of it.
my first idea was just a portrait of my friend in bmx-action, with partly ripped out racewear in kind of rambo-style with scars, much dirt and some tattoos. i finished my first pencilsketch

• it looks o.k. but was’nt very effective. so i had some more brainstorming over it. another idea

was a human skeleton on a bike but i had some doubts. people could reminded too much to v.c. johnson’s art for powell peralta, a classic californian skateboard company. so i was thinking more about the technical aspect of a modern bmx-bike and what kind of user i would like to see on it- and bingo, my final choice was the hi-shine, dark-blue-metallic endo-skeleton of an android in the style of the terminator movies.
now, after many weeks of broken pencils, computer brake-downs and much sweat i have
finally finished my baby.
and when i look back on it, i’m a happy man. but who knows?!- perhabs in about 5 years
i will start think about it… again!