A colleague of mine recently hired me to draw a 1969 Chevy Chevelle for him. He had an assignment to do a movie poster, to be featured within an actual movie, and it required a car drawing. Now, my friend is an incredible artist, but really hates drawing cars. Anyone who knows me, knows that not only is drawing cars a specialty of mine, it's also one of the things I love doing. I was thrilled to work on this project, and am very happy with the result:
Immediately following this project, I was hired by Starbridge Media,the company doing NASCAR comic books to draw a short backup story about the inaugural Daytona 500. This was really cool on a few fronts. First, this is the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500, and this comic will be available at the actual race. Second, the race itself was unbelievable, ending with an incredible photo finish! I won't reveal the results here, but it was one of the most exciting finishes in all of NASCAR's history. Third, not only was I able to draw the actual cars involved, but the story also required me to draw the drivers as well, so I got to do something else that is both a passion and a specialty, portrait illustrations. Last, as I was finishing the story it occurred to me that in my fifteen years working in comics, this was the first story I'd actually drawn (from layouts by John Gallagher), rather than inked. So, now that you've read this far, here are some of the images:
There's a pretty good chance that there will be more of these "History of NASCAR" stories, so hopefully, I'll have another opportunity for this type of work soon!
As always, I'll try to post some new art soon! Thanks for reading!
Best,
Rich
11 comments:
Oh, man
Those are just awesome.
That car looks great!
(I'm one of those guys that hates to draw cars.)
SWEET! Please let me know if you're ever gonna draw a 67' Firebird! I just may have some reference laying around...!
Great work, Rich!
Thanks, Emilio, Bobby (always draw what you hate to draw, and you'll be a better artist for it. The challenge is the thing.), and Dan.
Dan, you know, I DO take commissions... ;-) Actually, as I might have mentioned to you before, my Dad had a '68 Firebird, so I'd probably draw that one first. However, feel free to email me pics of your car anytime. I can always use the reference, and I enjoy looking at cars anyway!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, guys!
Best,
Rich
I have a bunch of matchbox cars that I use for reference.
Bobby,
Matchbox Cars are toys. And I love them, or at least did as a kid. However, if you really want to use some good little cars as reference, get detailed 1/12 or 1/18 scale models. That's one of the things I do, when I don't have enough photo reference. You can find almost any car you need to reference in a large scale, and a lot of the larger models are well-detailed enough to draw. Accurate too. Much more than a tiny Matchbox Car! You can get many of them for about $20 each. Let me know if you need any sources for buying them. I actually have quite a collection, and have bookmarked a number of retail sites from which I buy.
Best,
Rich
Sorry, Bobby, that should have read 1/24 scale, not 1/12. The 1/12 scale models are great, but cost prohibitive.
Best,
Rich
I looked around on ebay, and got a great deal on some models of Ford Model Ts from the 20's that are great. I've got two different styles of model T and a Ford flatbed truck.
Since my comic is set in the 20's, these things will come in handy.
Cool, Bobby! Can't wait to see the art!
Best,
Rich
Wow Rich,
Those pages are fantastic!
Nice to see you posting again.
Gannon
Thanks, Gannon!
Actually, I don't think I've ever stopped posting. I just sometimes do it sporadically! The Portfolio Showcase feature I'm doing now should keep me posting regularly though, so I hope you'll check back often.
Best,
Rich
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