jhatch wrote:Here is a combo pencil with some ink work on Illustration board. I cut up a real battery with a hack saw in a parking lot. This was eventually airbrushed to final and ran in Motorcyclist Magazine.

That's awesome. Hacking stuff apart sounds way more fun than messing with assemblies in solidworks.

Great stuff Jim. Did you really take the car apart???? That must have been fun. I've helped take Nissan cars apart but never a race car. I always assumed that motorcycle illustration was digital, that's awesome. Now, what we all want to know is, how much might one with skill such as yourself make of...

The 1-3 year non-specialized illustration is ridiculously low. Not even in the midwest where I grew up could you get by unless having another job. I recently bought the 13th edition of the Graphic Artist Guild Pricing and Ethical Guidelines and some of that information is helpful. James mentioned t...

That stuff is incredible, i'm going to be busy for a while on that link.

you are full of good questions. I haven't used a physical portfolio in years but if I did now I think I would do something nice like having a book put together through a site like smugmug or lulu or something. I used to just use a binder with those plastic sheets you slide your work into, simple. I'...

Good question on type, though I think it varies from project to project. When I worked in auto everything was already set in stone, Helvetica Nue. Where I'm at now I set the style. Hypatia Sans, Din Pro and variants of helvetica are usually where I land.

Mike, I checked both books on Amazon. I read that 'Design Drawing by Francis Ching' primarily focuses on architectural illustration. I am looking for one that deals on automotive/mechanical illustration. Do you know any? :) I am still looking for one. For now, I believe that 'The Complete Technical...

I would love to hear more about that. In my experience the only thing that comes close to doing that is Right Hemisphere and it's real damn expensive.

everything helps. I took painting classes for a while at the center for creative studies in detroit. Take things apart at home and figure out how to illustrate them the best way. Sketch things out, scan them into illustrator and practice the hell out of the pen tool. Books can teach you about perspe...

Nice! I'm looking to pick up a Cintiq in the new year. How do you like the 21? Did you try the 12 at all? I have a 21 at work and I like it for the most part. It's a must for shading, airbrush and sketching in photoshop. I don't find it that necessary for illustrator, I couldn't justify the expense...