The art of classic cars

[Wilko220]

I can't remember who it was but I recall there was someone on here who was trying to make some cash out of artistic depictions of old cars.

 

This might provide some inspiration...

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/10276455/The-art-of-classic-cars.html

 

 

 

[trigger]

Austin Allegro Painting 1986 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

[vulgalour]

I do car art.  It's not as good as the stuff above by a long stroke but then I work in ink and watercolour rather than crisp digital.  I'm also a bit rubbish.

[Wilko220]

Did you paint that, Trigger?

[trigger]

I wish I could say yes, but my artist skills are consistent of that of a 3 year old. 

[michael t]

I do car art.  It's not as good as the stuff above by a long stroke but then I work in ink and watercolour rather than crisp digital.  I'm also a bit rubbish.

 

Please show us 

[vulgalour]

Most recent thing I did with any seriousness was the Zaphorzhets picture.  Could have been better I guess, cars are fairly uncompromising things to draw because everyone knows what they look like and are less forgiving of interpretation and less-than-perfect proportions.  I can have a rummage through the computer and find any older examples, I've drawn a fair few different cars with varying degrees of success.

[vulgalour]

There's this VW bus too.  It was a commission but the person it was for backed out and changed their mind.  This is the reason I always take payment up front these days, saves me wasting time, effort and materials.  I ought to finish this one off as it's one of my better efforts but as you can see it still needs things like round wheels and some finer details putting in.  I'll get round to it one day, might even put a pineapple on the roof.

[Wilko220]

Good stuff Vulgs. MOAR would indeed be welcome if you can find it...

[vulgalour]

I've had a good old rummage through the files.  I'm missing a chunk of early stuff but never mind.  Earliest thing I can find is an old furry commission from 2007.  The owner of the tiger character had the Volvo limousine pictured as his daily driver for quite some time, we lost contact a few years ago, but he'd've been a good fit on here I think.  I used to name all my commissions back then, but more recently I've stopped doing this as I'm usually completing a piece a week so you quickly run out of titles to give them.  This wasn't a bad attempt, really but there's plenty of things wrong with it.

 

 

[vulgalour]

A friend of mine rallys at clubman level.  The ex-vicar Sierra 4x4 is a car that shouldn't be able to beat the stuff he's racing against but a lot of the folk out on the track seem to have the money:skill ratio the wrong way around.  The Metro was a car owned by the garage he works at, if memory serves, and he managed to get first in class so that picture was commissioned to celebrate that fact.  Proportions are off on both, again but this was back in 2008.

 

 

[Tayne]

I thought that was Shep Shepperd with the Volvo at first glance.

[vulgalour]

A more successful piece from 2008 was this "Escape From Steel City" which was an attempt at steampunk dystopia for a local art show.  A lot of people didn't get it, and asked why it wasn't a nice picture... some people liked it just for what it is.  I gave the original to a friend of mine and she really likes it so that's all that matters to me.  Including this as it has a passable attempt at the nose end of a Riley featured.

 

 

[vulgalour]

Some of these were scanned on my old scanner that hates watercolour and the colour blue so they do look a bit overexposed.  I'm very critical of my own stuff and I'm well aware of the shortcomings in it, especially when compared to the original content.

 

So... there's this Japanese thing called Bosozoku and it's ludicrous and that's why I like it.  Standard Atlas vans are also ludicrous and I like them.  This is what happens when you smash one of those things into the other.  Sorry (I'm not sorry).

 

Oh, worth noting as well that stoneorchid.co.uk no longer exists, that's a defunct website that used to host my work but wasn't generating new commissions so I shut it down in favour of more profitable services.

[vulgalour]

This next one is a bit poignant given the recent, horrible events that befell hairymel and his friends when their workshop burned down.  Originally, I had hoped to do another piece on the car when it was fully restored and on the road, but sadly that's not to be so we only have this of the car before he'd de-grasstracked it.  An epic tragedy that particular build thread.  We're in 2011 with this peice and my sense of proportion is somewhat improved.

 

 

[vulgalour]

This piece I liked creating a lot.  Indeed, I still have it and it's available to purchase should you so desire.  It's a small watercolour but that combined with the blue palette means it has scanned very badly.  Hopefully nobody needs to be told it's a Ford Anglebox.

 

I'm nearly done now too...

[vulgalour]

Another modified car and yet again one that's blue and done in watercolour and scanned on that woeful scanner I had.  It's a Fester with some modifications, based on a photograph.  I never did figure out exactly which proportion was a bit off on this so I assume all the proportions are wrong.

 

 

[vulgalour]

And finally...  You lot inspired this particular piece last April.  Seems fitting that it's the last picture I could find on the PC.  Maestro Clubman D.  Pure, unadulterated misery.

 

I wish I knew what had happened to my digital copy of the Nash Ambassador LeMans and the Morris Ital estate as they were two I was quite pleased with.  So go on then, what should I draw next?

[garbaldy]

do you do that for a living then?

[vulgalour]

Yeah.  It's a rubbish living.  But I'd rather this than the office drudge.

[ShiteRider]

Shouldn't be so down on yourself vulg' , i like how they are ever so slightly out of proportion.

Shows they've been created by someone, not just scanned/traced, they have a human touch to them if you will.

[phil_lihp]

They're very good, you should definitely keep sharing these.

 

I used to dabble in it a bit years ago but cars in 3D are so hard to get right with regards to perspective, I usually ended up cheating and tracing the outline because it just turned out a total dogs dinner otherwise.  Mind you, animals are even harder!

[vulgalour]

Animals are easier to draw... but then I would say that, I draw furry crap most of the time so I have more practice.  Certainly, drawing a kitten is easier than drawing a Reliant Kitten.

[phil_lihp]

I did a bit of a double-take when scrolling through them originally, seeing the last drawing labelled as 'Aston Martin Clubman D'.  It's been a long day but did make me smile.

 

Last time I did any drawing was a few attempts at dog life portraits, nothing turned out remotely decent and I got fed up with it, it does make me appreciate artistic skill in others though.

[garbaldy]

yes they are good I like the weird escape from steel one I think I am a bit twisted that way

go on im intrigued now what do you charge then?

[vulgalour]

CHEAP CHEAP YOU BUY NOW ALL FUNDS RESCUE PRINCESSES!

 

£10 sketch

£20 ink

£40 ink and colour

£50 just watercolour, no ink.  Takes a bit longer to define edges and whatnot.

 

 

BID BID BID BUY BUY MOCHI MOCHI WASHING MACHINE

[garbaldy]

forgive me for being artless but what are the pics you have posted done with

[vulgalour]

Primarily, acrylic inks and watercolour pencils.  For full colour I tend to use Bristol Board, but if it's sketches and ink only stuff I tend to use cartridge paper.  Occasionally, for very fine details, I'll use a variety of coloured ink pens and acrylic paint but it's not often that I need to do that.  I'd like to say it's more complicated than that, but it's really not.

 

I've not been to art school or anything, I've sort of picked things up as I've gone along.  I'm not entirely sure what got me into art in the first place, in all honesty.

[inconsistant]

 cars are fairly uncompromising things to draw because everyone knows what they look like and are less forgiving of interpretation and less-than-perfect proportions.  

 

Hi Vulgalour,

You can tell me to piss of if you like, but yours are way better than the stuff at the top of the thread. Those are anodine, lifeless and are so close to photographic to be pointless... they do no more than a photo does in depicting a lifelike proportionally correct image of the car.

Anyone can put a picture of a car into photoshop, trace over it, and use some funky filters to create derivative unimaginitive 'artwork'.

 

Yours have spirit, and it's the fact that they're not 100% accurate that makes them engaging and gives them character. They are your personal interpretation of the car in question, and that's why they're unique. 

 

Keep doing more, but watermark them or something before you post them here, as they can easily be duplicated and reposted or printed. Don't finish the VW van though, it looks good like that. 

[garbaldy]

 

 

£10 sketch

£20 ink

£40 ink and colour

£50 just watercolour, no ink.  Takes a bit longer to define edges and whatnot.

 

 

 

 

so the pics you listed are number 3 above?   do you have one of each methods to look at