In the next week or two I’m going to throw up a  video showing a few of these. (If I have enough time Ill clean one up and add some detail) Keep your eyes peeled!

I love apple products, always have. I was surprised to see this morning that apple has announced a product that brings me one step closer to my dream of encapsulating and sharing knowledge with you guys in the form of a book. iBooks author is Apple’s new FREE, yes FREE, tool for authoring rich content eBooks that can then be distributed on their platform. Granted, the format would be limited to iOS users, but the idea of having a rich content eBook for sketching has gotten me really excited.

So with that, I’m taking the first step on my path to composing a sketching reference book. I can’t promise constant updates on the project, but as I do make progress and have something I like, I’ll be happy to share. I’m really excited about how this really puts a powerful publishing tool in the average man’s hands.

It’s already funded, but check How to Draw Cars – Marker Rendering and Digital Painting by Arvind Ramkrishna. How to Draw Cars – Marker Rendering and Digital Painting is a 2 Disc DVD set for those interested in getting into car design sketching and car design in general. Let’s face it, most of us have tried to sketch a car at least once, or maybe you once dreamed of being a car designer. Either way, How to Draw Cars – Marker Rendering and Digital Painting, seems to be a good deal and a good starting point for anyone looking to sharpen up their design sketching skills.

Not only does the kickstarter deal come with the awesome dvd’s, but Arvind is also throwing in a 20 page reference book for quick tips on proportion, lines, and value shading.

Arvind is no stranger to the car design industry in Michigan. Be sure to check out the following links for more info and support this educational product!

Kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1459036307/how-to-draw-cars-now-two-disc-special-edition

HTDCN Website:

www.howtodrawcarsnow.com

My blog:

www.drivenmavens.com

Anyway, here are few sketches I’ve done over the month or so. Hopefully you find them useful…and inspirational. If not let me know.

(More will come. I didn’t have time to scan and post everything.)

The other session I’m in charge of is called “Sketch to Death”, and you can expect just that, people dying from sheer excitement and hysteria. Okay, not really, but this is where I promise to bring out the big guns and go out with a bang.

In between session, you can find me in the lounge here at the Venetian in one of the many creative sketch pods for ONE ON ONE sessions.

So if you happen to be around Vegas at Autodesk University, pop on by and visit me. I’d love to meet you!

Spencer Out. Check out this link for more information about the Creativity Lounge at Autodesk University 2011

http://www.sketchbooknews.com/news/creative-studio-calendar.html

Edit:Well, Elton made his goal and wanted to thank all those who contributed.

Last week we received a new stylus from a Elton @ GreenBulb. He is an independent designer who asked us to do a review and get the word out about his new stylus. Obviously we gladly accepted.

I have spent some time with the Xstylus and I have to say it’s very well made. I’ve always struggled with all the cheap stylus’ out there and this is definitely not one of them. The pen is made using the standard stylus tip (the squishy rubber ball…eh.) and a combo plastic/metal body (yea!). The body of the stylus has a very solid weight and feel, and when you combine the weight with the expandability of the stylus you get a very comfortable experience. It feels like you’re holding a normal pen and the flexing plastic provides a nice finger rest. This really helps out when you’re using it for long periods of time. The Xstylus also comes with a magnetic Ipad dock that is suprisingly secure and useful.

My only complaint is the squishy tip; it doesn’t provide an accurate sketching experience. I mentioned this to Elton and he did mention he already made the change to a firmer tip. Overall, it’s enjoyable to use and if you like sketching on your tablet then I would highly recommend looking into the XStylus.

Being on your own and getting one of your ideas into production is very tough.  If you are interested in the Xstylus and want one, or just want to help out an independent designer, go and check out his IndieGogo page and contribute. http://www.indiegogo.com/XStylus-Touch

The book has been broken up into 4 sections. The first section covers everything from diagrams and terms used in the car design industry to a list of car manufactures and inspiring/helpful websites. From there you get into the nitty gritty of car design.

Proportion, perspective, and advanced perspective. In these sections the authors do a wonderful job about giving you the building blocks of a good car sketch. They show you the different proportions for each basic type of vechile and then you can actually sketch right in the book. This can be very helpful as it will give you a direct comparison with the sketch on the previous page.

This same format is followed in the next chapters with the added benefit of having your wheel base drawn for you so you can become more aquainted with correct perspective and proportion. Most of this information can be found on the net but you do have to dig a bit and this is a nice one stop shop for all your basic car design information.

Overall it’s a well-crafted and contains some very useful information. I would recommend this book to beginners and intermediates who are looking to get their feet wet in car design, but you might struggle a bit with the price of the book when compared to the content your getting.

So, if your a student working on your own and need an example or your just curious go check him out.

All credit goes to Donn Koh, Tracy Subisak, & Herlinda for the above Renew project.

]]> http://www.idsketching.com/all/design-process-donn-koh/feed/ 3