Adrian Dewey - How to Illustrate and Design Concept Cars: New Edition

First printed in paperback format July 2009. First published in eBook format November 2011 by Veloce Publishing Limited, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 3AR, England. Fax 01305 250479/e-mail info@veloce.co.uk/web www.veloce.co.uk or www.velocebooks.com.

eBook edition ISBN: 978-1-845844-66-0
Paperback edition ISBN: 978-1-84584-220-8

Adrian Dewey and Veloce Publishing 2011. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be recorded, reproduced or transmitted by any means, including photocopying, without the written permission of Veloce Publishing Ltd. Throughout this book logos, model names and designations, etc, have been used for the purposes of identification, illustration and decoration. Such names are the property of the trademark holder as this is not an official publication.

Readers with ideas for automotive books, or books on other transport or related hobby subjects, are invited to write to the editorial director of Veloce Publishing at the above address.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Typesetting, design and page make-up all by Veloce Publishing Ltd on Apple Mac.

Foreword

Theres a rock song that has lyrics along the lines of Every little boy wants to learn to play guitar, but Im not sure thats true, as all I ever wanted to do as a little boy was play football or draw cars. In fact, I think thats still the case with most young boys, and a good number of girls, too.

In this environmentally aware age the motor car is still as popular as ever, maybe even more so, with Hollywood using automobiles to inject excitement and a certain degree of glamour into films. Movies such as The Fast and the Furious trilogy have focused on the sexiness and excitement of the modifying scene, where any kid with a driving licence and a certain amount of money can be a car designer. Films such as Disneys Cars, and all the merchandise that goes with it, have made young children want to play with their toy cars all over again.

Im in the fortunate position where I can sit and doodle cars all day and call it work. If I didnt do it for a living it would certainly be my hobby, so I definitely have my dream job.

I remember as a child sitting in my great-grandparents living room and sketching the cars in the street outside. The constant sketching carried on right through school, and filled many exercise books with my ideas of the next dream car. Perhaps I should have been listening to the teacher a little more, but the lure of the supercar got to me every time!

There are more cars on the planets roads than ever before. There are films about them, television shows about them, and websites dedicated to cars and car design. Therefore, sources of information could not be more numerous. Designers are again becoming well-known, just as they were in the 1970s with the likes of Bertone, Gandini, Guigaro and Pininfarina. Theres even a trend currently for car designers to appear in the television commercials and magazine adverts of the vehicles theyve designed.

I hope this book will inspire you to grab a sketchpad and pencil, or a computer mouse and graphics package, and learn some of the techniques professional car designers use. Further inspiration can be found by going down to your local car dealer or joining your local car club. It is also great to go along to car shows, from local classic car events, which will give you an idea of how the automobile has changed through the ages, to the large glamorous motor shows parading next years model or supercar.

Ive mentioned various materials and brand names thoughout this book. These are my personal preferences, and I recommend you experiment with different materials, ideas and techniques. Everyone has their own way of working and this book will set you on the right path. I cannot guarantee it will help you design the most beautiful car the world has ever seen, but I sincerely hope that it inspires you, and, most importantly, gives you as much enjoyment from drawing cars as it does me.

Adrian Dewey

Peterborough, United Kingdom

Introduction

Of all the advances in technology in the 20th century including landing a man on the moon, the birth of atomic power, and powered flight the most likely to stand at the forefront would be the evolution of the motor car. Karl Benz may have received his patent for a motorized carriage in 1886, and the distinction of being the inventor of the car, but in those early days of the automobile it was viewed simply as a more expensive alternative to the horse and carriage. However, the 20th century saw the horseless carriage become a phenomenon accessible to everyone: up until this point the automobile was still something for the well-to-do members of society. Cars were built in insignificant numbers, usually in small workshops.

In 1897 Ransom Eli Olds founded the Olds Motor Company, and two years later moved production of his experimental motor cars to Detroit Motor City. After a fire in 1901 destroyed nearly all of Olds blueprints a new design was hastily drawn up, which went into production as the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile went on to build 18,525 of these between 1901 and 1905, becoming the worlds largest motor manufacturer at that time.

By 1906 another American was taking over as the largest producer of the automobile. Henry Ford had introduced the Model A in 1905, which sold well but not as well as the car he introduced in 1908. Keeping with the letters as names theme, the Ford Model T was launched; Fords car for the masses. In a 19-year production run over 15 million examples of the Model T had been sold, and, by 1925 it retailed at just $290. The age of the motor vehicle had begun ...

The Model T ceased production in 1927, although that year was important for another reason also as Harley Earl formed the Art and Color section at General Motors. Two years earlier he had decided on the concept of model year changes to keep cars fresh and ensure consumer interest. The section started with fifty employees but eventually grew to fourteen hundred. It became the worlds first car design studio, making Harley Earl the first well-known car designer.

This idea of producing cars differently every year and more importantly making them look better, resulted in increased sales. The United States was entering a golden age after the Second World War: it was the jet era, new materials were being used, and the illusion of speed was incorporated into design. Earl picked up on this: having seen the beautiful P38 Lightning fighter plane in 1941, he took the shape of the tail fin and applied it to GMs 1948 Cadillacs; suddenly, cars in America began to look like four-wheeled fighter jets. Style had well and truly arrived and American cars quickly became more outrageous and extreme.

Meanwhile, in Europe, car design was heading in a different direction. Sure, there were the race cars of Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Aston Martin, amongst others, but the machines that really became synonymous with European design were two small peoples cars.