Pickup Process

Well, I intended to do this post a bit sooner, but life sometimes gets in the way. Sorry to anyone that's been waiting.

As I mentioned last time, many of my project go through a variety of iterations, from start to finish. Revisions are a huge part of the illustration and design process, and virtually every assignment I get goes through many stages to get the end result. I sometimes have to revisit an image up to 15 to 20 times! In this particular case, there were probably about twelve, but I'm going to just post a sample, for the sake of clarity. Some of the revisions were so slight, it's tough to even detect the change. So, here are the truck images:

I began with a pretty straightforward shot of a 1956 Ford pickup, above.

My client thought it was a good start, but wanted something a bit more cartoony. I added a warp to the drawing to give it a soft roundness, and made the grill a bit more "friendly" with the upturned look to it. Picture it as an abstract smile.

The client was happy with the warp, but wanted me to show a bit more of the side of the truck. She asked me to turn it just a little. Also, she wanted to carry the split on the hood up to the windshield, and change the grill. So, I got a chance to customize the truck a little, and suddenly my '56 Ford transformed into a '53 Chevy!

Next, I was asked to shorten the height of the windshield a bit. It's subtle, but if you look at the previous version, you can see the change.

Another minor change: I was asked to lengthen the hood, just a bit; stretch it a little. Again, a subtle change.

Finally, the sketch was approved, and I inked the final rendering. Here is the end result!

The illustration was used in an interactive kiosk at a children's museum in Texas. I'm not sure exactly where it is, so if anyone out there has seen this work, please let me know! Sometimes, work gets sent out into the ether, and I never know where it ends up!

Thanks for checking this out. tune in next time, when I go to the dogs!

Best,
Rich