If you are interested in a softail illustration, we create Fatboys, Heritages, Breakouts and more, into detailed custom Harley Davidson softail artwork. Explore the reference photos, drawing process and finished pieces created for prints, shirts, signs and more.
West Coast Hogs - Lemvig
This custom Harley Davidson softail artwork started as a club logo commission for West Coast Hogs, a newly formed motorcycle club out of Lemvig, Denmark. The club wanted a design that matched their vibe, calm, family-oriented guys who ride for the good times, not the trouble, so instead of an aggressive mascot, the direction called for a wild boar with personality: rolled-up shirt sleeves, a family heart tattoo on the arm, and an expression that reads friendly rather than mean.
For the bike, the club asked for something low, wide and blacked out, in the spirit of a Street Bob or Fat Bob. No reference photos were provided for this one, just a written description of the look they were after, so a few outside references were used to nail down the Street Bob’s proportions and details before the final illustration came together. Since the artwork was headed for both a patch and a screen-printed design, a clean vector version was built alongside the illustration, giving the club a logo that holds up at patch size as well as it does printed large.
This one came together from two separate photos, a side-view shot of the customer’s Harley Davidson Deluxe and a separate photo of him, combined into a single custom softail artwork. It’s a common approach and one worth knowing about if you’re considering a commission: action shots of a rider on the move rarely capture clean detail, so working from a clear bike photo alongside a good photo of the rider usually gets better results than trying to use one imperfect action shot. The customer had the finished piece printed as a poster for his man cave.
This custom Harley Davidson softail artwork was created for a customer in Hamburg, Germany, who gave full creative freedom on the design after seeing other customer drawings shared on social media. It’s a good example of how much time actually goes into a piece like this, a 30-second time-lapse video can make the process look quick, but this illustration took about 4 hours to complete. More involved pieces with added characters, backgrounds or animation elements can take up to 12 hours from start to finish.
Whether it’s a Fatboy, Heritage, Streetbob, or your own custom build, a custom softail design is a great way to show-off your bike or create something unique for your shop. If you have any questions or not sure where to begin, visit the “Artwork Estimates page” for more information.