RECORDING ORIGINAL ART WORK

The tools required to document original art work are simple.  A camera (preferably digital) and camera rest, a ruler, pencil and a note book.  Armed with these few items, virtually all pertinent information pertaining to the bicycle's art location, style and size can be investigated and documented.

Start with a bare frame.  Paint a bicycle frame set that still has components attached is a difficult task.  Everything, bottom bracket, head set, axle adjusting screws and even the headbadge must be removed from the frame set before painting preparation can begin.

Take lots of pictures from all sides of the bicycle.  Try to shoot pictures that are square to and level with the frame set.  Try for the best quality possible pictures that you can get with the equipment at hand.  Best quality will include using a camera base to reduce or eliminate camera shake while shooting pictures.  Any camera movement at all will diminish the quality and clarity of the picture.  Use a tripod, if you have access to one.  If not, ensure that the camera is resting on something solid, square to and level with the item you are photographing.

Assuming that there is enough art work remaining on the frame set to record, start by taking a few pictures of the full frame set from both sides and from each end.  Do your best to ensure that the pictures are clear and complete.  These full side shots will be invaluable later when trying to relocate the art work.  With the full sides recorded, turn your attention to the detail of the art work itself.

With each art detail picture, target area of the bicycle frame and fork set-up to match the camera's elevation and angle of view, and take pictures of each and every single decal, transfer or sticker attached to the bicycle.  Take several pictures of each just to be sure that you come up with at least one good shot of each instance of art work.  Needless to say, this means repositioning the frame or fork frequently to get proper shots of each decal.  But the improved quality of doing it this way will show in the finished results.

An example of the procedure for taking good photographs of a down tube decal would include positioning the bicycle so that the down tube was level with and square to the camera.  Work in good lighting and try to eliminate camera shake.  Take several pictures.  Move to the top tube decal, ensuring that it is level with and square to the camera.  Continue for each decal, and do not forget to take lots of pictures of each, choosing the best of the best when the time to work the pictures comes.

Check the results of your photography efforts.  If you end up with at least one good quality picture of each decal, and one of each full side and full ends, then the picture taking task is done.  If not, go back to the picture taking board and try again.  Keep at it until there is one good set of original photographs to refer to when it comes time to fabricate, repair and position art.

Next, get out the ruler and begin to measure where each decal is located.  Find a reference point, and measure from that point to the closest end of the decal.  Record the information and repeat for every other decal on the frame and fork set.  Next, try to determine where the decal is located with respect to the circumference of the each tube.  These measurements will help to define exact location when it comes time to install new decals.

With locations defined and recorded, turn your attention to the size of each decal.  Measure height and width for each letter or image presented is good information to have on hand in the event that the decals have to be fabricated from scratch.  Measure character spacing where text is concerned, ensuring the you check each space and then average the distance between all letters.

Chrome plated fork blades and stays present a little location recording problem of their own.  Ensure that you record the amount of chrome plating left exposed before you destroy the old paint job.  Though this is not art work in the strictest sense, it is none-the-less important information that one cannot find after the paint has been removed.

About the only information left that needs to be recorded is the circumference of each of the frame tubes that will be receiving a decal.  From time to time a decal must wrap all the way around a frame tube.  With this in mind, the size of the decal must be pretty close to exact to avoid decal ends overlap.  Precise measurements will help to prevent the overlap and help also to ensure that any gap left between ends will be minimal.  I should add that a small even gap is preferable to decal overlap.  This is not as great an issue if the entire frame set is to be clear coated once all the art work has been applied.

With all of the information recorded, it is time for the builder to turn his or her attention to acquiring art work.  And there are, as you might now expect, several ways and combinations of all to get good art work.

NEXT - ACQUIRING VINTAGE BICYCLE ART WORK