What 007 should be driving. . .

Aston's finished. . .

I noticed a serious difference between the saturation & contrast levels between home and work (higher at work). I adjusted for home by over saturating the image while I was working on it (after hours, of course). Let me know if this looks better than the in progress images below in term of saturation.

I also sharpened the horizon reflection; the softness of the in progress image below was really bugging me.

And added some bad@$$ red spoked wheels. I saw one in this color combo and fell in love. Maybe I'll play around and do a real James Bond version some time (silver/chrome).

Aston in Progress

So I was in Monterey this weekend for the Historics (vintage car races). I saw a few Aston martin DB4s and was reminded of just how beautiful they are. Here's my attempt to do a retro-modern version. I know it isn't as sporty as the current Astons, but man, wouldn't it be great to have a more stately Aston available?

I didn't finish, so instead decided to show a few 'in progress' images (not so much a tutorial as a mere progress report).
The first is my initial line drawing; it's rough I know, but for some reason I'm having real trouble with my Cintiq pressure sensitivity (I just can't get it where I want right now and I'm waiting for my new computer before going gangbusters on the paint portion of Alias StudioTools).
The second is with key body lines pathed and stroked (okay, so I made up pathed as a verb).
The third has some core shading done on the body side. . . a long way from done, but I was finished for the day (about 65 minutes so far, slow I know, but I wasn't rushing).

Automotive Nostalgia

Loose and Grey. . .

Old School Fencing!

This is terrible, but I'm showing it anyway! They can't all be perfect. Another Digital canson, but this one was meant to look old school. This is another one I spent some time and only then did I mirror it. Should have spent more time on the sketch (you'll hear that alot with me). Looking at the thumbnail I did, maybe I should have scanned that in because I like it better than this, Maybe I'll just stick to sketching for awhile!?
And one I did on real paper a few months ago. . .The cars are nothing special. They are about 3.5" long and just really quick and dirty. They have that toy quality to them (i.e. they look way to extreme to be real). And, yes, I know the top one has a SERIOUS rear wheel camber issue!

BMX is in the Olymics!

I'm hoping this is the first in a series of ideas for sporting equipment for the Olympics. Just a quick Carbon BMX bike to equip our athletes in the newest Olympic sport! It has a built-in seatpost/seat and a carbon fork with integrated fender. Silly, loose, and not all that unique. . .