Picture This

It can be very helpful to use a photo reference when cartooning cars, especially when you’re drawing more realistic interpretations of them. Even if you’re conjuring up an outrageous and totally unrealistic car, it can help to use a photo reference as a guide for drawing the body and basic elements. As an artist, you have the right to change or alter the photo reference in any way (called “artistic license”), so you should never be a “slave” to your photograph. But if you’re creating a more realistic drawing and want to copy the car exactly as it appears in the photo, you may want to use one of two simple methods: the grid method (used for this illustration of a Saleen S7) or tracing and transferring a drawing (see the sidebar on ...

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