June 11th, 2026 | by Roy Schmidt
In April, we held our very first artist design competition and received so many amazing submissions! The prize? A cash prize as well as a batch of custom Bivo bottles to display the winning artwork. We had such a hard time choosing our winner but ultimately, one took the prize.
Congratulations to Roy Schmidt from Michigan for winning our artist competition with his design: Something Fishy is Going on Here. This unique bottle design is intriguing and playful, with a touch of spooky. In honor of the bottle launching today, we asked Roy to share a bit about himself and the inspiration behind his artwork.
In April, we held our very first artist design competition and received so many amazing submissions! The prize? A cash prize as well as a batch of custom Bivo bottles to display the winning artwork. We had such a hard time choosing our winner but ultimately, one took the prize.
Congratulations to Roy Schmidt from Michigan for winning our artist competition with his design: Something Fishy is Going on Here. This unique bottle design is intriguing and playful, with a touch of spooky. In honor of the bottle launching today, we asked Roy to share a bit about himself and the inspiration behind his artwork.
My name is Roy Schmidt, I am an artist & designer living and working out of Ann Arbor, MI. I do graphic design full-time, but in my free time I really enjoy more fine art hobbies like acrylic painting and illustration. As a consumer I really enjoy getting into creative work of almost any kind, whether it’s a good graphic novel or a new album from a musician I like. I’ve also spent a lot of time around outdoor sport communities - I ran cross country through high school, and still enjoy distance running, I worked for 2 years at a company called Primal helping design and produce cycling kits, and I’m currently putting a lot of time into indoor bouldering!
My name is Roy Schmidt, I am an artist & designer living and working out of Ann Arbor, MI. I do graphic design full-time, but in my free time I really enjoy more fine art hobbies like acrylic painting and illustration. As a consumer I really enjoy getting into creative work of almost any kind, whether it’s a good graphic novel or a new album from a musician I like. I’ve also spent a lot of time around outdoor sport communities - I ran cross country through high school, and still enjoy distance running, I worked for 2 years at a company called Primal helping design and produce cycling kits, and I’m currently putting a lot of time into indoor bouldering!
I started drawing as early on as I can remember, I know that my dad showed us a lot of comic books growing up which I’m sure had an impact on me. I always really loved the hobby, and I was lucky enough to have a few very impactful teachers as I went through grade school that supported me covering my homework in drawings. In high school I had two art teachers that really showed me that I could pursue this as a career if I wanted, and once the option was there I latched onto it pretty fast.
I started drawing as early on as I can remember, I know that my dad showed us a lot of comic books growing up which I’m sure had an impact on me. I always really loved the hobby, and I was lucky enough to have a few very impactful teachers as I went through grade school that supported me covering my homework in drawings. In high school I had two art teachers that really showed me that I could pursue this as a career if I wanted, and once the option was there I latched onto it pretty fast.
I loved working at Primal! As my first full time position out of college, it taught me a lot about design. The biggest lesson I took away was how helpful it is to have your base product in mind from the first step of your creative process. My favorite cycling kits were designed with the rider in mind, like giving you tattoo sleeves on a long sleeve jersey or wings on the shoulder blades. The designs that popped the most were ones that worked uniquely on cycling gear in ways they wouldn’t on, say, a poster.
I loved working at Primal! As my first full time position out of college, it taught me a lot about design. The biggest lesson I took away was how helpful it is to have your base product in mind from the first step of your creative process. My favorite cycling kits were designed with the rider in mind, like giving you tattoo sleeves on a long sleeve jersey or wings on the shoulder blades. The designs that popped the most were ones that worked uniquely on cycling gear in ways they wouldn’t on, say, a poster.
Pictured above: Chalk artwork made by Roy at Primal
Pictured above: Chalk artwork made by Roy at Primal
I’ve learned that art and design is always surprising, because the place your ideas start is never the place that they end. The fun part is letting the process take over and getting excited about where that takes you. It has taught me how important it is to step out of the way sometimes, instead of getting too attached to one specific result.
Any time I get to design something that will only be one color, I get inspired by linocut prints! It’s a medium that often uses only black and white, and it makes for interesting use of contrast and negative space. You can usually see very cool printmaking work locally in any area, since once the print is made it can be repeated perfectly as many times as the artist would want.
The main challenge with this kind of object is knowing that there really aren’t edges on the right or left side. You don’t want anything to misalign when it’s on the bottle and create an obvious seam where the design ended on paper. In the same way though, it’s exciting to try to make something that can be interesting from any angle. Knowing that it can be looked at from 360 degrees, it was fun to try to make sure there was something to see from every perspective.
I’ve learned that art and design is always surprising, because the place your ideas start is never the place that they end. The fun part is letting the process take over and getting excited about where that takes you. It has taught me how important it is to step out of the way sometimes, instead of getting too attached to one specific result.
Any time I get to design something that will only be one color, I get inspired by linocut prints! It’s a medium that often uses only black and white, and it makes for interesting use of contrast and negative space. You can usually see very cool printmaking work locally in any area, since once the print is made it can be repeated perfectly as many times as the artist would want.
The main challenge with this kind of object is knowing that there really aren’t edges on the right or left side. You don’t want anything to misalign when it’s on the bottle and create an obvious seam where the design ended on paper. In the same way though, it’s exciting to try to make something that can be interesting from any angle. Knowing that it can be looked at from 360 degrees, it was fun to try to make sure there was something to see from every perspective.
I have many answers to this, but one I will mention is Eva Helene Pade. She is a painter that currently is making some of my favorite work out there, I love anything that plays with human figure, surreal tone, and rich, dark colors. She’s really incredible.
I have many answers to this, but one I will mention is Eva Helene Pade. She is a painter that currently is making some of my favorite work out there, I love anything that plays with human figure, surreal tone, and rich, dark colors. She’s really incredible.
Pictured above: Other artists Roy is inspired by, Mike Mignola, Anthony Hurd, and Ryan Gajda
Pictured above: Other artists Roy is inspired by, Mike Mignola, Anthony Hurd, and Ryan Gajda
Absolutely! I have a lot of great memories camping and swimming on the shores of the Great Lakes, especially in the Upper Peninsula which has a lot of woods & wildlife. I’ve also always loved a lot of the fables and folktales that come from this state, I’m a sucker for cryptid legends and the idea that there are mystic things deep in the unexplored woods.
I think I’ve always just enjoyed the kind of art that is a little uncomfortable, like horror movies, Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark, or Hieronymus Bosch. I think people have a more naturally vivid imagination when it comes to the things we’re scared of, because our mind starts running whether we want it to or not. Erik Svetoft is an artist who appeals to me a lot in this way.
Absolutely! I have a lot of great memories camping and swimming on the shores of the Great Lakes, especially in the Upper Peninsula which has a lot of woods & wildlife. I’ve also always loved a lot of the fables and folktales that come from this state, I’m a sucker for cryptid legends and the idea that there are mystic things deep in the unexplored woods.
I think I’ve always just enjoyed the kind of art that is a little uncomfortable, like horror movies, Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark, or Hieronymus Bosch. I think people have a more naturally vivid imagination when it comes to the things we’re scared of, because our mind starts running whether we want it to or not. Erik Svetoft is an artist who appeals to me a lot in this way.
Roy's artwork features two spooky skeletons out for a fish with their Bivo in hand :)
Roy's artwork features two spooky skeletons out for a fish with their Bivo in hand :)
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