Maserati Gran Turismo

Today, we are taking a look at the Maserati GranTurismo coupe. The Maserati, a magnificent blend of power and elegance. 

To begin, find your reference picture. Believe it or not, I usually cannot draw pictures of cars out of my head unless they are prototypes. I used the one above. Start by looking at the angle of the line that matches up with the bottom of each tire, and draw a baseline. Then draw the tires (ALWAYS START OFF LIGHTLY!), which will almost almost be an oval shape, not circular. The back tire will also be smaller than the front one in most cases, because of perspective, and for most cars, the space between tires should be about 4 "back-tire-lengths"(See basic tutorial - in making) 

After that, draw the line that will connect the tires that will be parallel to your baseline. Next, draw your fenders (the part that sticks out somewhat over the tires) and notice that there is space between the fender and the tire in some places (this will be shaded completely black later). After essentially creating the bottom half of the car, using the reference picture, figure out how far the bottom of the window is from the bottom of the car, and draw a parallel line. Don't worry about the side-view mirrors yet unless you really want to. 

Next, draw the line that represents the bottom of the windshield, which, in this case, is parallel to the horizontal side of the page, maybe with a very slight angle above it. This line should also be about 4 "back-tire-lengths". From this line, you can create the shape of the top of the car. For most cars, the line from the far side of the windshield to the trunk will be one smooth curve. Then you can draw the top of the windshield, which should be a somewhat shorter line that is parallel to the bottom of the windshield. the right end of this line should line up with the top of the driver's window.

Now the only part that is left of the outline is the hood (yay!). Start with the bottom of your front fender, and draw a line that is parallel to the horizontal part of the page. At the end of that line, there will be a slight curve upward. That curve will then go up at a slight angle to the vertical, and slowly curve as it goes toward the line that follows the hood opening. Then, a separate line is drawn between there and the bottom of the windshield.

Once you have the basic outline, filling in the details (side-view mirrors, headlights, door outline, etc.) isn't too hard. Always consider angles because the shape of the car is determined by the angles, and the shape defines the brand of vehicle. Window shape, in particular, is unique for most manufacturers. For shading, always start out lightly! Be prepared to make mistakes and have to erase. For windshields, a good technique to make them look good is to shade the upper right corner of the driver's side the darkest, then gradually get lighter across. Then using an eraser, do side swipes to create a smearing effect (you can see it in my last picture).

That's all I have for today, next time, I will upload a picture-by-picture tutorial, so the steps are easy to follow. Until next time!