Since this will be kind of a semi-rendering I prefer to have most of the design nailed before I start. I begin by making a very fast, 10 minutes at the most, ink sketch with a Copic Multi Liner Brush-M. With this first sketch I try to get the lines and proportions that I want. I also make fast lines to indicate where the reflections will be falling, just as a guide for the coming rendering.

Before we begin tracing the initial sketch let's look at the materials we will be using. I will sketch on normal Xerox Colortech+, a very nice copy-paper.
I will be using three types of pencils. A black Verithin (king of sketch pens), a black Prismacolor, for adding lineweight and shading, and my favourite ball-point, a black Pilot Super Grip, Fine (awesome on vellum)

The next step is to trace and refine the original quickie. This is just matter either turn on the lightbox or….like most, just try to get Superman's x-ray vision and see through the paper. For those of you that use Vellum, this won't be a problem.
The tracing part can be a bit cumbersome, and some you just might skip it and sketch out the design straight away. When doing car design, it's all about the right curves, the right proportions. Therefore I usually sketch very rough sketches in the beginning, just to find the right tension between curves, folds, feature-lines etc. These roughs can then be made “readable” by overlaying and refinement. That's the process I will take your through now.

By the way, this sketch comes from a real project. For this project, I choose not to sketch in a very dramatic car-like way, with a lot of perspective distortion, and extreme angles, not a traditional car sketch in other words. This will be a very honest sketch. It's not made to be eye-candy or to persuade the design-boss. It's made to tell the client about a design proposal.

When I trace I'm very light on the hand, just indicating the linework. I try not to work the lines to much, instead I do the lines with as few strokes as possible.
When the main curves are set, I use shipcurves to give them some really beautiful lineweight.
It not necessary to do all the curves at once, I usually do this bit by bit.

Next step is to start indicating reflections and thereby describing the material and form. At first, this is done very light, so I can take a step backward in case it doesn't look right.
When I'm happy with the reflection pattern I begin to work the lines and do some tight 45 degree lines. This is pure practise. Doing parallel lines I mean. The lines are instead of marker work, and have the same purpose, to add value and readability.
How do I know where to draw the reflections, and how to arrange them next to each other?
The answer is simple but still not. Observe reality - recreate – mimic - understand - observe more - interpretate – render more.
This takes time to learn, and shouldn't be rushed. Don't just copy other sketches. They might not have done it right, and you won't really know why to put lines and value in certain places. It's much better to work from photos and memory.

To create depth in the image, the darkest value should be closest to the “camera” and the further away the less contrast. To achieve this, I fill the air-intake with black, give the headlamp a lot of contrast, scribble some value into the tire area, just beginning to work the front and putting less effort into the rear.
One area in particular that is very important is the greenhouse, the glassed area (windscreen, side windows). The glass acts like sort of a mirror. In the reflective areas you usually see right into the car interior. Remember, that on transparent surfaces, the shade above the horizon usually is close to opaque and what's beneath more transparent.

How about door panel/car body reflections? Let's begin by shading the whole area lightly. Then we can draw some “templates” for how we want the different reflections to play on the surface. This can be a bit difficult to do. You need to “feel” the reflections, and there is no template for how to do this.

I continue to work the sketch with more reflections until I fell OK with it. Sketching cars in kind of different. You need to understand the car to sketch it, cause there is so many details that makes it a car.

MIKAEL LUGNEGÅRD
TRADITIONAL SKETCH RENDERING

Hi all designers!

I will begin by introducing myself. My name is Mikael Lugnegård and I'm a Swedish designer, currently working towards the automotive industry. I'm 27 years old and I love my work. Design is my passion, no doubt. If you feel like reading more about me, my journey and my take on design, please read this article. After that you can also take a look at my new web site, www.daylightproduction.se

When Allan approached me about writing a tutorial for his website, we both agreed that it would be nice with something that wasn't completely focused around a digital technique. There's a lot of great tutorials on how to use Photoshop in a successful way, so that won't be my focus. I will however do some digital touch-up on the final sketch in CS, but 95% of the work will be old school.

In my opinion, to communicate ideas, you need to master a few different skills. One of these is to draw, with pen and paper. This is a fundamental skill you need to master. REALLY. Consider one of the following scenarios. You're in a client meeting, and you need to sketch down an idea to show your client what you're thinking. The sketch you looks like something a 5-year old has done. This doesn't evoke trust, the most important thing in a business relationship.

You're on a internship at a studio on the other side of the planet. You didn't bring your Wacom tablet. They have none to spare for you…..your computer breaks down in the middle of a project, and you're colleagues are to busy too help you out. You get my point. Imagine how satisfying is would be to nail that fast and dynamic sketch in front of your client with only a ballpoint pen!!!

At most design schools they teach you how to use a single wooden pencil to create an entire rendering, sometimes referred to as a “Prisma-rendering” due to the type of pencil usually used (Prismacolor wood pencils).
These are fast and very pretty looking techniques, and they are fairly easy to master.
This will be more of a walkthrough then a tutorial in the sense that I won't describe every pen stroke, more the basic steps and thoughts behind.

Ok, let's go!