JETOPTIMUS Africa Twin – SKUNKWORKS 04
Unveiling the Nemesis Prime African Twin: A Design Marvel https://www.instagram.com/p/CtqKOeyN_YB/
Complete story of our flagship project, where ingenuity and craftsmanship merge to redefine the boundaries of vehicle graphic kit design. Our friend Shawn from Mumbai came to us with the unique challenge of making a hyper realistic and detailed OPTIMUS PRIME theme.
Inspired by the infamous Nemesis Prime version of Optimus from Transformers: The Last Knight, we embarked on a journey that pushed our design skills to their limits, unlocking a whole new dimension in motorcycle decal kits. Days were spent in finding the right source material as images and video that were clear enough for us to be able to see all the details. Josh Nizzi’s original concept art sketches helped a lot in the initial process. Then it was looking at our canvas which came as an AFRICA TWIN. This motorcycle had a front end that was ideal for a character like Optimus or any other Japanese mecha like GUNDAMs. These robot faces and the motorcycle face had similar silhouettes which was an exciting starting point. Then came the part where we check sizes for the graphic kit to see if all pieces align well and to understand how much of the vehicle surface is actually covered. We spent some time developing sizes for panels that we had not considered with our existing template.
When it came to the actual design, our team drew upon our automotive design background, blending car design elements, rendering techniques, and graphic design expertise. Above all this, it was the utilization of concept art techniques that truly set this project apart. We meticulously studied Optimus Prime’s intricate details, analysing each component to determine how it would seamlessly merge with the motorcycle’s form. After some rough sketches and doodles, different part’s of Optimus Prime were selected for different parts of the motorcycle in a way the it becomes the whole body.
We started with the face and head and right away, realized this was a scarily long and tedious undertaking. Using images from google was not an option since we wanted to make every tiny inch of the mechanical details. Doing it in Photoshop was going to be long but the owner of the motorcycle was understanding and willing to be patient for that level of detail. It eventually took us 6 months to complete is while finding time from regular schedules and finishing it once piece at a time. From scratch, we painstakingly recreated these elements with an unwavering commitment to precision and attention to detail. The end result? The motorcycle metamorphosed into the formidable Nemesis Prime, exuding an undeniable aura of power and dominance.
Then came the Panniers which were equally challenging. The panniers were based on the JETPOWERED OPTIMUS mode from Transformers 2. This mode has Optimus combining with Jetfire who happens to be an SR71 BLACKBIRD. The reference images had extremely detailed jet engines and aircraft panels. Once again, the whole thing had to be created from scratch. As a bonus we added some more of our signature elements that we use in our aviation and scifi mecha themes. ADV moto panniers have always seen a trend of some small stickers, so we added some WWII fighter plane pinup girls, a tribute to maverick and some badass text. There is also a little PETERBILT and SKUNKWORKS logo as a tribute to the original movie Optimus truck and 2nd movie plane. In the end we kind of loved the panniers a little more that the main theme itself.
Next came the application process. Our trusted ally and friend Siddhart Kulkarni from WRAPSHOP Mumbai takes over the project by doing a complete black wrap for the motorcycle as a base. The full blackout job helps make a more ideal platform for the decal kit since the gaps that tend to happen between pieces become negligible. Once the black wrap was done, it was two days of getting the graphic kit on the vehicle and panniers. Most of the parts and motorcycle accessories that were disassembled prior to application, were later put back together to finish our JETOPTIMUS AFRICA TWIN.
This journey of innovation and exploration truly pushed our creative boundaries, inviting us to blend our passions for automotive design, everyday graphic wizardry, and the transformative world of concept art. Having seen all of the motorcycle and car graphic/wrap trends and projects on the internet over half a decade, we believe that this level of detail in a character based graphic kit design has never been done nor attempted globally. This was truly an experience of literally creating a work of art. We discovered our hidden potential and crossed new creative boundaries while attempting to redefine what is possible with graphic kits.
