Page

niques are sometimes different. It is the most commonly used software therefore the commands and tools highlighted refer specifically to Photoshop but are not exclusive to that program.

About the author

Miles graduated from Coventry Universitys Transport Design course in 1999 and has since worked as an automotive and product designer for companies such as Pininfarina, Volvo and SAIC, as well as Movado watches, product design consultancies and as a freelance product designer.

the early stages of your automotive design career especially you will be judged most strongly by your abilities in this area when being selected to study design or work professionally in this highly competitive field. Good luck and happy sketching,

The power of insight means that you will hopefully start your next sketch with new ideas and fresh inspiration that will inject a big advancement into your work. If you are a student or hoping to become a student of automotive design then, in my opinion, the faster you can gain this knowledge the better in order to gain a competitive advantage. Remember the last time you made a big improvement in one drawing and realised you could suddenly work at a higher level than before? Those eureka moments are what its all about. One of the reasons I have produced these as e-books is so that the images are on your screen without the need for scanning. All the images used in this pdf are included as jpegs that you can open in your favourite software and work over if you wish. In fact I highly recommend working over the top of these images if you are trying to duplicate them. You can even make a slideshow out of them to use as a screensaver to remind you of the process. By all means try and re-create the illustration if it inspires you (and I sincerely hope it does). I have received many sketches that people have produced after following my tutorials and they are sometimes very similar, sometimes more of an interpretation in their own work. Either way they express inspiration and usually demonstrate an understanding and advance which has enocuraged me to continue producing more tutorials. Above all read and familiarise yourself with the narrative and how it relates to the sketch at each stage, then try to use it in parallel with your own work and have it alongside you as a reference. You need to work hard to improve your sketching and there is no substitute for practice but it is what you learn and apply to your practice that will make the difference. Remember - sketching and rendering is a tool and is only part of the design process. It is however the first creative visual step and sets the tone for the quality of the finished product. It is also the skill which best illustrates your ability to visualise ideas. It shows whether or not you understand and can evaluate form, which follows function and completes a successful design. At

Miles Waterhouse BA (hons) - Transport Design

Knowledge is Power - How to use Insight Tutorials

The purpose of these tutorials is to explain not only what is being done but why during the process of a sketch. The aim is that you can either apply these ideas to your own work or modify them to your liking. Everybody works in a different way and it is not my intention here to produce a software user guide with a series of commands that can be followed to produce exactly the same illustration. This would not only be impossible but would not in my opinion achieve the best long-term results. Every part of the process is not explained in every tutorial so that repetition is kept to a minimum and each tutorial can be used to analyse slightly different aspects more deeply, giving maximum value and efficiency. These tutorials focus on explaining honestly the thought and action process I go through using my normal working methods, with high resolution visuals and highlighted areas to eliminate confusion as to what part of the sketch is being described; simply hover the mouse over the highlighted words and a halo will appear over the relevant area on the sketch. This will hopefully give you the power and understanding to improve your own work in your own way by introducing methods, tips and a few tricks that you can apply to digital sketches in whichever way you feel most comfortable. Almost all of the principles also apply to analogue sketching but the tech-

Page 

When you look at the first page of this tutorial you will see a series of brush strokes which have a directional, almost calligraphic character. This is down to the use of certain brush settings within Photoshop or whichever software you are using. These settings allow you to mimic the behaviour in real life of a large marker or flat tipped brush which will give varying stroke thickness when applied with the tip held at the same angle throughout. The pressure sensitivity of the tablet will give you control over colour opacity. The size of the brush stroke should be changed before use to get the desired weight by increasing or decreasing the tip size. The video below shows the brush in use.

For those who prefer to work manually you can get close to this effect using flat headed brushes or markers and for larger strokes in marker ink using a square of lint folded around a piece of cardboard then soaked in ink from marker refills.

so there is no need to be cautious in the beginning stages. This sketch should show you that you can capitalise on that freedom to take the loose and energetic brushstrokes and refine them into a convincing design sketch. As with the Case Tractor tutorial the colour is known from the beginning because red is the signature colour of Ferrari. It would be possible to sketch this in black and white then colour it later but in that case there is always a slight chance that the design wont look as good when post-coloured. Also, post-coloured black and white may not quite communicate the design as well as if the colour was used from the start. Strong and bright colours such as red are less easy to achieve if theyre not used at the beginning. The finished sketch in this case is a cleanly outlined vehicle with no background or environment shadow. The composition is a dramatic and dynamic one which doesnt necessarily benefit from a background to help it jump off the page. I wanted to show that sometimes it is sufficient to purely feature the vehicle in renderings because it is basically a communication tool for designing a product and can be presented simply.

play video

This brushstroke characteristic is crucial to the technique used in this tutorial. It is the source of many of the forms that are created because single brushstokes are not only capable of portraying colour but also surfaces. The ribbon-like quality of the strokes create a 3 dimensional illusion that can be interpreted as a surface. A perfect example of this is on page 12 where a light coloured brushstoke is made under the main air intake and forms a upward facing surface. One of the main things I want to achieve with this tutorial is the value of a dynamic brush setting such as this in sculpting form fluidly and easily. The brush used is included with this and other tutorials so try it out if you have Photoshop and try and replicate it if you use other software.

example brush settings to achieve the effect in Photoshop

The basis for this sketch could be a photograph of an existing car or a pre-developed underlaid design. The important thing to understand is that the main bulk of the sketching and rendering is done using blocks of colour working as reflections, shadows and material changes without complete control. They are dependant on the accuracy of your hands movement and if they are not to you liking they can be modified later on. Working digitally allows an infinite amount of correction if necessary

Page 

Using a photograph of an existing car as an underlay, fast and bold brushstrokes are made using the base colour of the bodywork. There is enough information just from these few marks to show the character of the car and some people would be able to guess already that it is a Ferrari. When you doing this type of brushwork dont worry about making a mistake. There are lines in the

sketch above that I know are not exactly what I want at this stage and most of it will need modification or correction. The key is that it doesnt matter because it can be worked over to adjust or fix any bad strokes. Make sure you are completing the form with the strokes. This means make sure you are defining enough

of the outline to make the form of the car easy to see. It doesnt take a great deal and as you can see on the roofline and far wing it is sufficient just to show where sillhouette of the vehicle is. Use a big wide brush when necessary and rely on it to form the solid colour rather than forming an outline then filling it in.
Page 

Using a large airbrush a light sweep of the same body colour is made down the length of the vehicle. You may need to have a few attempts at this to get it in the best position. The initial brushstrokes of solid colour now become reflections of the environment and the open areas with no reflections must be smooth surfaces. Notice how the airbrushing disappears to white before it

reaches the edge of the car. This will be the tonal range and dictates that highlights will be white. Making white the limit of the light tone means you create the most contrasting image.

Page 

Using the same brush some dark shadowed areas are blocked in for the tyres and grille, again boldly and roughly. Getting the wheels wrong initialy should not be feared because although having odd looking wheels will ruin a finished sketch they are not difficult to define and get right once their basic position is decided on. Using a photo for the basis of this sketch meant the wheels could

be traced and simply cleaned up later on using elliptical masks. The main thing is to get some form of wheel in there at this stage so that all the main elements of the design are present early on.

Page 

A quick mask is used to experiment with window/DLO graphics. The outline of the glass is sharp but slightly uneven because of the use of the lasso quick mask tool. This doesnt matter however because it can be sharpened up later using a small brush and a few lines and highlights. The design opted for is a pillarless wraparound visor which is the cleanest solution possible.

The intention is to be adventurous with the bodywork surfacing so where the grpahics can remain simple I want to keep them that way. A bit of wheel detail is added including some tyre tread marks. Ferraris always have 5 spoke wheels so this feature is added relitively early so that the identity of the

design is reinforced. An elliptical mask is used to achieve a crisp shape to the wheel.

Page 

The first illustration of headlamps emerges. The same brush is used to make a couple of directional sweeps which meet at the very front edge of the car. This is an aggressive graphic and immediately felt to be suitable for the car so a quick mask is created to complete the headlamp which is shaded with white to grey airbrush. A suggestion of the same design is added on the far side of

the car with a couple more strokes in a less contrasting grey, rather than black, for the sake of depth. One of the lines coming from the grille aperture is seen to have potential for creating some form to the sill area. A quick stroke of lighter colour makes the beginnings of an upward facing surface formed around the line. This is

an example of making small touches when ideas occur to you which can be picked up and developed later on.

Page 

The next thing I like to do is create an overlay layer or transparency layer that allows a dark brush to be used to increase colour intensity and contrast in areas where I can see forms emerging. Using the same flat directional brush simple outlines are drawn around contours and surface edges. By concentrating this work in the nearest corner of the car two of the important things of a sketch

with high impact are achieved; 1. contrast is increased due to the tonal range changing from red to white up to dark red to white; 2. the form is enhanced and communicated in this focal area. It is a characteristic of an efficient technique when you dont worry about getting every detail in the sketch. A

lot of time and effort could be put into making sure all the wheels are beautifully and equally detailed and that the headlamps are both represented accurately. As long as you can tell the design is not asymmetrical and the wheels are supposed to be all the same, there is nothing more to communicate from duplicating detail manually at the expense of time and effort.
Page 

It might seem like more of a finishing touch but sometimes I add badges and small details at an early stage if they are going to make a big difference to the feel of the illustration. These finishing touches seem like they should be added to an almost completed sketch. This might be true when working analogue on real paper but working digitally, applying a badge that takes seconds

and which can be put on a separate layer that can be hidden, you can do it whever you feel like it. At this stage a very fine brush is used for a door shutline in high and low body tones (red and pink) apart from over the DLO where black and white are used. White is painted over the roof line to confirm the backward sloping roofline and the lower headlamp line is carried through to the

wheelarch producing an interesting bumper splitline. It was realised then that a feature could be made out of this splitline running through the lamp and the prominent corner could be separated visually. The front sill surface discussed previously is defined more with a masked off ground shadow and also shows a protruding grille area to give a three-volume character to the DRG.
Page 10

In order to continue sculpting the front and most important corner of the car, the contrast needed to be reduced slightly in this area. Another application of light airbrush is made over the front wing and it immediately becomes more understandable and easy to work with. The threevolume front has been accepted as a good direction and the broad single grille no longer makes sense. Conse

quently the grille is split into three and two smaller, angled apertures are blocked-in between the end of the headlamp and the main grille aperture. The realism level of rendering has just moved up a notch because the care now being taken is greater than before, especially around the new grille apertures and the

reduction in contrast is more realistic than the red/white poster art reflections that existed before.

Page 11

Another overlay layer is made and black airbrush is swept again over the near corner to increase the intesity through the centre of the initial red airbrush sweep. Some moulded grooves are made on the headlamp lens by creating a black area which is painted over with white stripes. A highlight is added to the bumper splitline which makes it clear that it is a split and not just

a graphic line. More highlights are added to the crease running through the headlamp as this is the most prominent feature line on this view. Grille slats are added in the form of pale grey lines (in Photoshop hold down shift and click in two places for a straight line) that fade out into the shadows of this sunken aperture.

The sill below the grille needs a definite shape so a bold brushstroke in light tone is made to create a dynamic V form corresponding to the centreline on the car. The form of this sill now matches the forms to either side of it. It protrudes slightly further to preserve the thrusting theme of the hood volume pushing through between the headlamps.
Page 12

The flat surface on the near corner is an ideal place for a plastic panel which works as a complimentary graphic to the air-intake apertures and as a protective bumper. This is created by using the quick mask lasso tool again and then enhanced with a fine brush. A thin black line is drawn around it to show the split, and a slightly larger brush is then used to paint a light grey chamfer to the

top edge, which becomes dark as it moves round the form into shadow. Small touches like this and the gradient used to shade it show that light is hitting it in different ways and give it a feeling of volume and form. The rear haunch blister is mirrored across, then cleaned up by bringing the white background into the surface.

This is an example of how messy brushstrokes can be fixed easily later on. An environment reflection is made down the far edge of the main volume to bring out the line of the hood as it runs along the far headlamp. The rear wheel position is felt to be too inboard so is tweaked slightly, and the front tyre gains an airbrushed highlight on top.
Page 13

The shoulder line is felt to be a bit low so the environment reflection that is being used to define it is raised up and leads forward into the headlamp form rather than the bumper. This increases the weight and presence of the car and simplifies the surface that the wheelarches need to cut into. This simpler and flatter bodyside means the sill could do with some interest and a flared

out surface leading into the front wheelarch is added. The main tension is running through the waistline so it is felt the car could tolerate a more shapely sill with maybe a plastic panel detail to echo the front bumper treatment and maybe contain a logo or form an integration with the bodywork and underbody panels.

Its decided to complete the link between headlamp and grille with a prominent, wide split housing the indicator lamp. The sill splitline is enhanced and thickened to match the character of the bumper split and provide continuity round the car. The wheels are detailed further with a hub and badge and the wheelarch shadow is made more definite.
Page 14

The far front wing is not felt to be showing enough form and is painted over in a light (distant) colour with a much more prominent crown and muscular line over the wheelarch. More rough brushwork is made to the roof and rear to play with the possibility of some roof blisters over the

occupants heads which echo the muscularity of the wings. The addition of more colour is made on an overlay layer. Yellow is airbrushed in the foreground and blue toward the background. This warms up the near corner and increases depth. It also compliments the yellow badges

and orange indicator.

Page 15

More definition is given to the far headlamp now that it can be placed on a more definite volume. It is decided that extra roof features are unnecessary and that the reason for the simple glasshouse graphic is to keep averything above the main bodywork clean looking. Therefore another quick masked glass engine cover/rear

window is created. You can see that the top line of this is incorrect which is a result of it being drawn quickly and freehand. The main thing is that the lines within the roof are correct and showing a tapered rail sweeping around it; the outline can be cleaned up later. A little extra rear tyre shadow is brushed in to carry on

the re-positioning of the rear wheel which is now felt to have definitely been an improvement.

Page 16

One of the ways in which I like to refine the outline is to paint the negative space behind it. The blue overlaid airbrush is sampled and a textured brush is used to paint in a quick background colour that encroaches on the bodywork in certain areas to define the shape. The blue that then remains on the edge as the outline is cleaned up will match the overlaid blue applied earlier (page 15).

The same thing is done on the ground shadow area with a dark textured brush.

Page 17

The windscreen and bonnet are not on the same surface and this is now made clear with an environment reflection made over them which changes direction at the join of the two surfaces. The windscreen is now clearly more upright than the bonnet/hood. The front wheel is cut and pasted onto the rear wheel

position with the appropriate transformations made. This process is made easy with the use of an elliptical mask which is easily manipulated to fit the area needed to be copied. A dark gradient is applied vertically with the gradient tool in an attempt to place the car in a more brightly lit area

although this is just a quick experiment to see how effective this is. As mentioned on page 10 there is no reason not to play around with quick effects and additions on a new layer as they can be deleted later.

Page 18

The rear haunch bulge/blister that was made on page 10 is painted on again and the roofline in cleaned up further by applying more background colour. The most pressing issue now is that the far front corner of the car isnt sufficiently fomed to match the near corner and explain more how much sculpture there is.

Care is taken to understand the forms and portray what they would look like on the sillhouette. This attention to the outline is very important for a credible looking design and forms much of the character of the car. More crown is given to the hood by painting a curved line on the far wing.

A fine line is brushed on the rear so that it is understood that the section there is quite curved and to complete the outline.

Page 19

The outline of the car is dramatic and very descriptive so the decision is made to show it most strongly by entirely trimming out any background. This also means the car really jumps off the page and has greater impact in itself. Cleaning up and refinement is done on the rear blister and pillar area together with the front wing. This is car

ried out with masked off areas being airbrushed with a similar gradient to that found on the hood surface. Small reflections and highlights are then brushed on to indicate surface changes. The front sill surface is reduced from a V shape to have a flat bottom which is felt to be more refined and to work

better with the surface at the front of the hood. Finally the shoulder reflection is cleaned up slightly in order to strengthen the continuous plan curve between the front and rear wheelarches.

Page 20