Creating New Concepts

Creating New Vehicle Concepts

Lesson 23: Idea Generation Through Soldier Sketches

Now that we've learned the essentials of drawing vehicles, it's time to learn how to develop new, innovative vehicle concepts. Soldier Sketches are the method I use most often to generate new ideas, shapes and forms. Soldier Sketches are quick, loose, rapid-fire side views that explore new silhouettes, character lines, and gestures. As you get in the zone, your hand begins to work faster than your mind. Coming back the next day, you'll discover new opportunities to create amazing, futuristic vehicle concepts.

Assignment: 10-20 pages of side view soldier sketches. Try to develop a variety of original, futuristic designs for each drawing.

Lesson 24: Developing a Complete Vehicle Concept

In this tutorial I develop a sporty, battery electric CUV concept from one of the earlier soldier sketches that really spoke to me. From there, you'll see how I sketch out a complete vehicle concept from the side, front, and rear on a single page, as if the viewer is walking around the vehicle. This is how I get to know the vehicle on a deeper level, and gain confidence in the direction I intend to pursue. The ability to sketch the same vehicle from your mind, from multiple points of view, is the next essential skill car designers must develop.

Assignment: 10 pages of sketches, based on selected soldier sketches. Each page should walk the viewer around a complete vehicle design in multiple views.

Lesson 25: Sport CUV Final Sketch

Building on the previous tutorials in which we found an exciting silhouette through soldier sketches, and then walking around the vehicle in multiple perspective views, we now focus on the front 3/4 view in a more detailed, full page Prismacolor sketch. From here we have a full roadmap to developing full color renderings, and eventually a 3D model. This is the next stage in developing a new, battery electric sport CUV design concept from the initial idea.

Assignment: Select your best concept, and develop 3 final sketches in front ¾, side and rear ¾ views. The 3 views should maintain consistency of a single design theme.

Bonus Tutorial: Designing a Future Porsche 911

In this video, I'm sketching out an initial exploration for a future Porsche 911. The first step is to brainstorm the future of the 911 silhouette, giving it more of a mid-engined proportion. Walking around around the car in multiple views, I try to emphasize the cabin set deep into the body with an extreme, aircraft canopy sweep to the windscreen. The body side is carved away of all unnecessary visual mass in order to channel airflow and minimize weight. The lamps remain the dominant element on the front end, with a high-tech yet humanistic expression.