This post was brought to you by Cardiacs brilliant live album Special Garage Concerts Vol I & II. I don’t know the details of the recordings but it’s later in their career and the closest album to this brilliant track on Youtube that I love to listen to time and again.
The Sketch
I spent a rainy afternoon in front of the TV doodling these automobiles in the sketchbook. This is a careful compliation of them in Photoshop, I like to try and organise them into a Social Media friendly square.
This is very much the first in the series, I intend to make them far more “unlikely” than these. I started stretching the realism with my “X1 Fireball”. I should also involve the human element and actually include some drivers, that makes the whole thing a little more endearing I think.
The Artwork
I inked this on my new lightpad. They’ve come on leaps and bounds since my first one. This time I’ve opted for a smaller A4 unit that is wireless. My last one’s weak point was the micro-usb power cable, it was the first thing to fail – but I did get a good 3-4 years usage from it.
The colour was first applied with a Christmas present, Derwent Inktense Paint. It’ll take a bit of getting used to, but the application is very different to watercolour. Quick drying and extremely intense when it hits the paper so you can really spread a little of it around a large area, but you have to be quick before it drys or stains the paper. You don’t have the flexibility you have with watercolour, no second chances to re-moisten and work a little more.
I finished it off with watercolour and the Derwent Inktense pencils which are fantastic for highights and adding more intense depth to the finished piece.
I need to throw caution to the wind and get a little more fantastical with these machines, oh and add some humans or some other beings actually driving them.