Car Drawings, etc.

comics

2011-12-22T00:54:00.001-05:00

I discovered a cool sketch program (Autodesk SketchBook Pro) a while ago, and I started drawing comics with it. I'll be posting those on this blog. Here's the most recent and my favorite so far.

I have a blog?

2011-12-22T00:44:00.000-05:00

oh, right... I forgot. Here's a few more sketches.

2010-12-13T21:01:00.002-05:00

well it's been a few months...~~almost~~ forgot I had a blog.

I got a new camera a month or two ago. It's a Nikon D7000.

car sketches:

This one doesn't look right.

Car Drawing

2010-09-03T21:00:00.000-04:00

car drawing

2010-08-05T02:43:00.000-04:00

open-wheel convertible

car drawing

2010-06-26T00:56:00.001-04:00

Wow, second post this month. It's like I'm keeping up to date or something.

car drawings

2010-06-10T23:52:00.001-04:00

nothing particularly interesting here. the middle car is open wheel (like the Plymouth Prowler)

blog blog car drawing blog blog

2010-06-02T22:31:00.001-04:00

blog blog blog

I don't really like these. The top one is just not very good (except maybe for the front half). The bottom one is interesting, but it's kinda weird.

RX-8

2010-03-01T22:46:00.003-05:00

Well so much for keeping my blog up to date. I bought this 2009 Mazda RX-8 back in December.
As always, click the images to enlarge.

I need to get some better pics of the interior. I really like the seats.

car drawing

2009-12-12T22:17:00.002-05:00

looks like it could be a hot-wheels car

Strat finished!

2009-12-08T23:24:00.004-05:00

Remember this?

It's the Squire Strat I bought (used of course) for the purpose of modifying. When I first posted about it (http://cardrawingsetc.blogspot.com/2009/01/long-time-no-blog-new-guitars-again.html), I showed an image of what I planned to do:

Well, here's how it turned out:

Not too bad, I guess. I made the mistake of painting it in a dusty basement used for wood work so the paint is far from perfect, but it turned out alright. I finished it this past spring (2009), but just now got around to posting about it.

Here's a close up a little switch I added to work the lights....

Yes, I said lights. I embedded a red LED light between each fret.

They are powered by a couple AA batteries mounted in the guitar between the neck and middle

pickups. One wire goes along the length of the neck from the first fret light to the end of the neck, where it ends (so I can remove the neck) and contacts a wire going to the batteries.

Each LED is soldered to the neck wire and to a fret.

A ground wire goes from the batteries to the bridge. Whenever a string touches a fret, it closes the circuit and the light comes on. (Well technically, two lights come on since the strings always touch two frets - except the on the first .)

Eventually I'll post a video, but for now here's a photo.

Car Drawing

2009-12-08T21:18:00.003-05:00

Car Drawing

2009-11-24T02:22:00.007-05:00

I think it looks like a bug of some kind, but I like it.

Car Drawing

2009-11-20T23:00:00.008-05:00

A sketch...

...and a Photoshop rendering based on it. (click to enlarge)

Car Drawing

2009-11-16T16:14:00.005-05:00

Car Drawing

2009-10-17T01:12:00.010-04:00

This sketch led to my entry to a Peugot design contest several years ago (2005 or 2006 I think). Here's an amateurish Photoshop comp and a few single renders.

Car Drawing

2009-09-30T00:24:00.009-04:00

It's been a while, so here's 3.

Car Drawing

2009-07-07T12:41:00.003-04:00

rear wheel too small, rear end too short.

oh well.

Car Drawing

2009-06-24T17:27:00.007-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted.

The rear wheel is messed up.

Air Box

2009-06-04T01:13:00.006-04:00

I built an air box for my RX-7. An aftermarket intake is pointless without one - at least on a rotary. Hot air = power loss, probably just a few horsepower in this case but hey, it's cheap, functional, and looks good. I got the design from a guy on the RX-7 Club forum. (I had to modify it since his car is a turbo and mine is not.)

I had a Mazda emblem sitting in my room, so I decided to use it for this.

I used some sort of foam insulation tape to help seal the box.

I had removed the windshield washer reservoir, leaving a hole just below the intake. I used some heater hose to make an air scoop from the bumper up through the hole. It looks like it should help quite a bit, but I have no way of testing it.

car drawing

2009-06-04T01:10:00.004-04:00

Car Drawing

2009-05-26T15:01:00.004-04:00

Car Drawing

2009-05-11T14:45:00.001-04:00

Car Drawing

2009-05-01T22:16:00.002-04:00

Something "new" + more photos of the 7.

2009-04-21T18:58:00.012-04:00

What is it?

Could it be...?

I think I know!

Yes, new wheels! Well, not really new. I painted them about a month ago. Not that I didn't like the original color (silver with chrome lip and center). I just don't like silver and white together. I prefer darker colored wheels, especially on lighter cars. I think it looks more aggressive.

It looks like it has a 4x4 lift kit because the car had been on jackstands for a week or so and the suspension had not settled when I took this photo.

I used the only wheel paint I know of: Dupli-color wheel coating along with their wheel clear coat. The color is Graphite. It turned out darker than I expected, but it's still nice. I'm not sure about long term durability, but no real problems so far other than a few chips in the lug nut holes while I was installing them on the car.

More photos I took a couple days ago:

It had just rained when I took these, the little bumps are water drops. The photos are so small it's hard to tell.

My favorite. I like this one so much I uploaded it in a bigger size. Click the photo to see.

Car Drawing

2009-04-20T18:26:00.002-04:00

ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

2009-04-08T18:42:00.010-04:00

Scion iQ Concept

just...no...

Where's my e-paper?!

2009-04-04T13:25:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's the year 2009 and we still have to lick envelopes to seal them. Then again it's 2009, why are we still using paper envelopes?

(Yes, I Photoshopped it.)

¿ʇɐɥʍ

2009-04-03T01:27:00.001-04:00

ǝɹǝɥ 'ooʇ uɐɔ noʎ ¡op uɐɔ ı ʇɐɥʍ ʞooן

Car Drawing

2009-03-25T21:38:00.005-04:00

It's been a while...

my rx-7

2009-03-13T02:50:00.006-04:00

I realized I haven't put up any pics of my car, a 1991 Mazda RX-7. Here it is. Please click on the images to see much larger and better versions.

I took the first three photos on the same evening in late summer/early fall 2008. For some reason, I think these photos look like they could have been actually taken in '91. I'm not sure if it's the grain or the color, or lighting or what. If not for the wheels and exhaust, I could use these photos to make a "retro" brochure or something.

The interior:

Car Drawing

2009-03-10T14:14:00.004-04:00

Car Drawing

2009-03-06T02:51:00.002-05:00

unfinished, obviously.

Car Drawing

2009-03-02T12:49:00.001-05:00

a very sketchy sketch.

Illogical English

2009-02-28T14:40:00.018-05:00

Here's a few words with annoying and overly complex spellings:

thought
though
through
tongue
design
eight
insight
could
would
should
..and many more, I'm sure.

What's with all the silent "g"s and "h"s? What's wrong with "thot" and "thru"?

Other observations:
Why use "ph" when "f" is a perfectly capable letter? I guess it doesn't look as nice, but it's much more efficient. Besides "ch" sound, the letter "c" is pointless because we already have "s" and "k". So drop the "h" and make "c" always be pronounced as "ch".

The letter "g" has a similar problem. Why make it sound like a "j" when we have a "j" already?

Other unnecessary letters :
Q ("kw"; or just "k" in words with a silent "u", like "baroque".)
X ("-ks" as in "fix" or "z" in "xenophobia")

However, I do think that both "q" and "x" are much better looking than their respective alternatives.

And I don't get double letters, at least at the end of words. Why does "grass" need two "s"s and "kill" need two "l"s? We wouldn't pronounce them any differently with just one of the letters.

Anyway, that's enough ranting for today. The images are from a project I did at college. This one is my favorite:

Car Drawing

2009-02-27T01:38:00.003-05:00

Car Drawing

2009-02-18T01:33:00.003-05:00

Car Drawing

2009-02-10T00:48:00.002-05:00

Car Drawing

2009-02-05T22:33:00.003-05:00

The front wheel is too big, but I like this one.

snow

2009-01-29T00:00:00.007-05:00

It snowed a bit today. (Click the picture to see it in full size.)

I guess I won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

2009-01-25T23:00:00.004-05:00

The Koa Strat is finished. It looks much better now, and has all the correct pickups. Click the picture to see a bit more detail.

The squire is coming along nicely and painting should be complete sometime this week. Then I can start the real mod...

Car Drawing

2009-01-22T00:59:00.001-05:00

I like this one.

Car Drawing

2009-01-16T19:03:00.004-05:00

Long time no blog - New guitars! (again)

2009-01-08T13:29:00.031-05:00

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

In today's post: Les Paul updates and the story of how I went to get rid of one guitar and ended up with two, one of which was an unexpected good deal.

Warning: This is a long post.
(With lots of parentheses... I like parentheses.)

I'll start with the updated Les Paul.
It now has black hardware and new pickups:

Now on to the new stuff...
When I was 17 or 18 (or maybe 16), I bought a Jackson SL3 like this, except in black:

For various reasons, I decided to let it go and trade it in to the aptly named Music-Go-Round (where I bought it), a store that buys and sells used music gear and instruments. I wanted a Fender Stratocaster to compliment the Les Paul, and saw this as a good opportunity to get one for cheap (or "free"). I wanted a cheap one that I could modify without the worry of messing up a good guitar. (Yes, I modified the Les Paul, but those were relatively simple, nondestructive mods that can easily be undone, unlike painting it or something.)

There was a cheap $99 Squire (Squire is to Fender what Plymouth is/was to Chrysler), which played ok and looked like it had seen better days. It had stickers, scratches, dents, and chips all over, and part of the headstock had been broken and repaired. It was exactly what I needed, but me being me, I wanted an actual Fender...

There was a decent white one I liked, but it was left-handed (so close, yet so far). There was also a really nice one with some sort of transparent finish. It was priced well, but was actually too nice. It wasn't one I would want to modify. I also didn't like that it had a humbucker pickup (Strats are supposed to have single coils!). However, it was a good guitar for a good price.

I couldn't decide which one to get, so I got both. The Squire for modding, and the Fender for playing. (Yes, that's one for two.) Together, they cost a bit more than my trade-in, but it was still a decent deal. (Turned out to be a way better deal than I knew at the time - more about that later.)

First, a pic of the fixer-upper Squire (post sticker removal - yay for vinegar)...

...and planned mods:
I know it looks a little crazy-wacky, but that's kind of the point.
I've sanded down the body. It was supposed to be flat black, but it's actually more of a charcoal color. I covered the fretboard with black electrical tape because paint will just scratch off. (The red stripe will be paint, though.) I also took the white covers off the pickups. Right now, it's masked off and ready to paint. I'll post pics when it's finished.

Here is the Fender:

I didn't do any research and didn't know much about Fenders (still don't), so I had no idea what to look for. I thought it was just a nice, but low-end (based on the price) Stratocaster.

I got it home and looking a little closer, I started to wonder if it was a fake or copy. It was still really nice, but the logo was not typical Fender. I posted pictures on an internet forum, and a few people agreed it was a probably a copy or had had the neck replaced or something. I was a little disappointed. Then someone made my day and identified it as a Special Edition Koa Stratocaster with a different pickguard and bridge pickup.

It uses Hawaiian koa wood, which Fender says is "exotic and highly sought-after". The neck is made with birds-eye maple (not sure if that's special or not, but it looks cool). It's not a high-end, made-in-USA Fender ($1000-$5000+) but it is a nicer import with a list price of $1000 ($700 online). My price: $200. They probably could have sold it for $400-$500. Lucky me!

It's in nearly perfect condition except for the pickguard and pickup.
The next step is to restore it to stock with a correct pickguard (it's supposed to be pearl) and pickup so it will look like this:

I might put the humbucker in the Squire or possibly even the Les Paul depending on what it is (I need to take apart the Fender to find out).

I guess that's all for now.

Car Drawing

2008-12-20T01:39:00.004-05:00

some sort of future race car

Car Drawing

2008-12-14T20:57:00.005-05:00

I know I said I didn't want to group these, but I want to finish up the black paper drawings and these two are the same car anyway.

Car Drawing

2008-12-11T22:33:00.002-05:00

A little city buggy car

car drawing

2008-12-08T12:58:00.002-05:00

kinda weird looking...

new guitar

2008-12-03T23:35:00.024-05:00

I am now the proud owner of an Epiphone Les Paul Standard in Transparent Blue. Choosing a color would have been difficult, but I found a good deal available only in this color, making it an easy choice. Here are a few photos I took. Click the photos to see full size.

car drawing

2008-12-03T23:34:00.003-05:00

car drawing

2008-11-30T13:10:00.006-05:00

Pencil on black paper. I have several of these, so I hope you like it because the next few posts will similar. I thought about grouping them together, but if I start putting things in groups, I'll run out of drawings too quickly.

car drawing

2008-11-24T13:59:00.003-05:00

red and black pen

The new Mazda Happy Face...I mean 3.

2008-11-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

I don't think it's ugly, but it made me laugh the first time I saw it. It looks like a puppy that's happy to see you and wants to run around in circles aimlessly. Not really my type of car, but interesting nonetheless.

(photo from motortrend.com)

car drawing

2008-11-17T23:10:00.002-05:00

car drawing

2008-11-11T13:03:00.002-05:00

HAMILTON DID IT!!! (barely)

2008-11-04T00:28:00.000-05:00

(Yes, this post is a day late, but I just watched the race.)

It was a very exciting and tense final race of the 2008 Formula One season at the Brazilian Grand Prix. With his championship rival Felipe Massa comfortably in the lead, Hamilton only needed to finish fifth to take the title, by virture of a seven point lead in the championship. He only managed fourth in qualifying, but was able to hold on for much of the race. In the last few laps, it began to rain, and many cars pitted for wet tires. Lewis was barely holding on to the crucial fifth place with three laps to go. At the end of the lap he ran wide and Sebastian Vettel got ahead of him. It looked be all over. Timo Glock had opted not to pit for wet tires and managed to jump from eighth up to fourth, fifteen seconds ahead of Hamilton. On the last lap, the rain began to fall harder and Glock began to struggle for grip. In the last few corners, he couldn't hold on any longer and had to slow down as Vettel and Hamilton passed by. Hamilton therefore crossed the finish line in a much needed fifth place, becoming the youngest ever Formula One World Champion by just one point.

car drawing

2008-10-31T23:08:00.001-04:00

This turned out a bit cartoony.

007

2008-10-22T01:01:00.001-04:00

006

2008-10-16T16:32:00.001-04:00

005

2008-10-08T23:17:00.001-04:00

2008 Louisville Concours d'Elegance

2008-10-07T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the first annual Louisville Concours d'Elegance. I have too many pictures to post them all, but these should give you an idea of what it was like (with a bit of sports car bias). It was a great event and I can't wait till next year!

cars004

2008-10-02T21:38:00.001-04:00

cars002

2008-10-01T22:16:00.001-04:00

Post #1

2008-10-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

Hey look, I've got a blog!