Car design is harder than I had thought... help please

that's very cool ....do you work full time in the film / special effects type work?

 

No, I am a freelance automotive designer that specializes in 3D data creation. I had quite a few posts earlier in this thread with info about what type of work I do. This helicopter was my first big movie work.

 

Sometimes I think the majority of people I meet have majored in deriding anyone who dares go a different way or reach for something unexpected. That perspective, however, is its own punishment.

Best of luck, garnet.

 

+1000 !!

 

i did see those, that is very work! i'm definitely going to have to check for that now, even if the movie turns out as bad as the last one

have you got pics of some other work you can share ...it'd be very interested to see some

wow, thanks guys ....john is right, to just get designing!

 

here's another decent book ...i use to copy thom's style by seeing his drawings in hotrod magazines, not really even knowing who he was
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hopefully not embarrass myself here (ha!), but i was cleaning up stuff (late spring cleaning) and found a large folder with old art & design work in it ....these date way back to 1998-2000 , what a crazy kid!
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great book for beginners.
excellent choice!

 

cool stuff.
love the extended bus/GMC motorhome !

 

Knew Thom at Art Center. He was a few semester behind me. He was with J. Mays.

Jeff

 

Start drawing big. Do things that make you flow from the shoulder not the wrist.

Jeff

 

+1

 

John,

Are there any cars that are being used as examples for the students to understand transitioning form development? I remember in our ancient history Harry Bradley pointing to the C pillar of the mid '70s A body GMs (like the GrandAm) to see how the profile of the shape looked like it was doing one thing but when viewed from the rear the shape was far more complex to get the reflections right.

For some specific examples for detailing look at the first half 1970s Masers like the Kyalami. Some interesting ways they handled the body side hotizontal line, In some of the cars the line travels into the wheel open and in some of the others it was behind the front wheel opening but nothing forward.

Harry used to also give stories about the 1960s Buick with the big "W" front ends were originally modeled wider than the car should be for the big management presentation but then post review resectioned back to the "real" size. Even hear anything about this?

Jeff

 

Not even close.The students really don't look to any history for surface/form development.Most of the design language being used today is so complex,I'm always trying to get them to edit,and refine,rather than get more complex.But I believe they need to be who they are.The Toyota showcar in Detroit this last Jan. broke all the traditional form/highlight/surfacing rules that you are referring to.But that car was outstanding IMO,because it broke most of the form development rules that were from past eras.I had the greatest respect for Harry,and his unbelieveable skills.I loved his class!

Dave Holls used to talk about those W front end Buicks.IIRC,it was the Pontiac front end that was too wide,and the plan views almost grew larger as the surfaces got closer to the front.I'll ask Bill Porter about that Buick story.If anyone knows.....he will.Dave told me some great stories about getting cars ready for shows for Earl and Mitchell.Tales for another time......

 

I was going to upload some images but apparently I have reached my quota. Anyone know how to delete previous attachments?

 

+1!

 

I subscribed, so no more attachment issues!

Here is an image of the Lexus Showcar that John is referring to, I worked extensively on this car but I did not do the body. The motorcycle is an award winning electric race bike which is (or was) the fastest electric circuit bike in the world. I developed all the bodywork with a freelance motorcycle designer that I knew from school and from working at Honda. This bike came out great, it really looks good. The last image is a press release photo of next years Nascar Camry. Next year the different Nascar manufacturers (Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota) will finally be aloud to have their cars look different from the others.
This is an ongoing project that I am on. Although I have no interest in Nascar, it has been a very interesting experience.

Interestingly, I can show photos of things I worked on but can not show any images I have made or any images of the data I have made. I also can rarely talk about any of the projects.
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thanks John, that motorhome design once had a full set of drawings of the chassis structure detail (interlocking aluminum extrudes), interior layout, a front mount transverse diesel engine powering 6 in-wheel electric motors, a low floor height inside, with rear slide out ...use to get dragged to those motorhome/trailer exhibitions with grandparents, i think that's where it came from?

the blue car was a contest entry, was a kit car design for a subaru ej22 turbo donor drivetrain, with rear mount radiator....that too is the only drawing left over ...it got an honorable mention, as 1 of 3 panels went missing

the first was a response to a ferrari rebody i saw in automobile(?) magazine, which was rebodied in italy, but was uphorridly ugly, looked like they had used siding to build it, and it had rear wheel skirts ....so i drew how i would have made it ...not gorgeous exactly, but miles over the magazine one, it was based on a testarossa chassis

agreed, these are pretty laughable ....they are 12-14 years old, with basic drawing materials at hand, just a few i saved & had forgotten about

today i find my ideas run far ahead of my illustraton skills!
finding the time to now has been difficult, been head-down-ass-up working for 12-14 years

the other problem in short term to overcome is space
...once i finish moving (end of july) i'll have a dedicated space to set up drawing tables and spread out, and work

i guess it's like working on cars, you 'can' do it in the back yard, but nothing compared to have a large dedicated space with all the right tools at hand

 

John, that's cool! i can completely understand the discression necessary in the work that you, Jeff and othes do ...it's too bad to not be able and see more, i can just imagine the great work

it's funny, honda just recently released pics of an all electric bike (cafe style racer) which is expected to enter production

it certainly will be nice to see differences in the nascar bodies again, i'm not a follower, but i do recall when they were at least distinguishable from the stands

 

that was a fabulous looking car, the lexus lf-lc concept

i'm really intersted when you guys say "broke all the rules"

i'm learning about evaluating sight lines, taking a more critical eye as Jeff wisely suggests

looking at images of it;
i like how the recessed hood lines form up into the a-pillars, which themselves have a varying thickness
i like that it doesn't rely on a hard shoulder or waist 'line' running front-to-back, and the sides have a gradual curve, instead of flat
i like how the bottom grill opening overlaps the bottom airdam
i like that the c-pillar isn't forced to come up to the roof line
not sure about the "cuts" into just ahead of the headlights, but they do break up the distance to the grills edge
i know the back follows the LFA somwhat, nice that it echos the front grill in the shape of the bumper area
the taillights extending down gives it a nice vertical feel, maybe what helps keep the back end looking to wide/large?
lastly, chrome 'should' be used on cars
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This was available on Amazon yesterday, it's temporarily out of stock today . . .

 

the one i have is older ...but the library i find is a great resource, 4 of the books John pictured earlier in this thread, i had read before because ....i also sent in a suggestion online that they buy a couple of the Tony Lewin books, which i got a reply saying they were added to purchasing list

i was never a book reader gowing up (didn't get encouraged to really) so now i find myself doing a lot, perhaps to make up for the past?

 

Sorry,of course it was the Lexus & not a Toyota!! I think Kevin Hunter & his team at Calty did an outstanding job with the design of that car.Pure sex !!

The bike is very cool,nice job!

 

John,

Anyone still sketch like Jerry Palmer did? I remember that he used Indigo Blue Prismacolor on Vincent Vellom with black marker for the tires and shadow. Fast, highly effective in communicating the idea. Didn't get all bogged down in making fancy backgrounds and pigeon **** highlights.

Jeff

 

John asked about my looking at sites and design, etc. ...yes i do, it's a great resource online now that we have, i search out as many as i can find, and look at all the galleries and profiles (which have students works, etc) ....there are some amazing illustrations and concepts to be found out there
for my own personal use (so doesn't infringe on others rights) i have a word doc. in which i copy & paste these images, sketches, etc...also i can copy/paste interviews, and my own comments and ideas ....it's nearly 500 pages now, but i can access it anytime, instead of having to search the same info online, or worse that image/info disappears from online

here a few;
http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/home/
http://www.cardesign.tv/
http://www.carbodydesign.com/
http://www.cardesignonline.com/

i particularily like finding sketch work done by significant industry people, like these (below) done by Gordon Murray and Flavio Mazoni
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