Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

[bonzelite]

al, hello, sir.

yes, this is for the visual homage company. it is originally inspired by an idea between a buddy of mine and i to present to the (former) owner of Guess jeans. he has a 612. we will give him a copy of it; but i have plans for it thereafter.

insofar as tracing, my word on it is this: tracing is cheating if the artist never overcomes it and uses it as a crutch -- tracing is using the grid method. tracing is putting paper over a photo and drawing the outlines. or using a projector. i do this sometimes to save time for a deadline's sake. i can labor for hours to get as perfect as possible the proportions and outlines, and it will look like i traced it. but why wait if i want to get the drawing out the door soon? a matter of course in any commercial illustrator's trick bag it to get the job done by whatever means is possible.

if you can already draw, or, rather, if you can "eyeball" a photo or a still life, drawing it pretty much as it appears in front of you, then you are still tracing the object as it is already provided for you. however, you are not *directly* tracing it by mechanical means. but you are *still tracing it* because you must establish a sort of mental "grid" to align areas with others to maintain proper proportion. the "art" or "craft" in this case is to impart a unique style and choice in *how* the established object or scene is seen --how it is *rendered.* most automotive artists fall into this category; at times, myself included. a specific car must look like that specific car, or it becomes a fanstasy or concept. or, at worst, a bad attempt.

the only way to elude "tracing" is to completely use the imagination with minimal references that do not provide the view or angle that is being envisioned. like when drawing concepts that do not exist in physical reality. in my case, i often combine tracing with concept. like in this 612 Ferrari drawing.

[bonzelite]

my point is that if you are not skilled at what you do, tracing alone will not save you. it will just come off as a lame attempt to trace, and the image will look wrong anyway. and tracing alone will not, in and of itself, "make you" into a conceptual artist.