TVR GRIFFITH V8
This is a project to show how I used to create technical illustrations traditionally, over 35 years ago!
This was pre-computer, and all drawn entirely by hand. We used vintage tools called pencils, pens and brushes. In the profession of a technical illustrator, we also used gadgets called rulers, proportional dividers, ellipse guides, scalpel blades and a sticky sided film called frisket – used for masking.
The first process (shown below) was to work out how everything fitted together. I taped a sheet of tracing paper over the photograph, and created a perspective grid for use as a guide. Using a technical pencil, a ruler and ellipse guides I started the process of looking through the reference pics to figure out how it all fitted together. This is the photograph the illustration was actually based on.
Here I have overlaid the pencil drawing on top of the photograph to show how it registers, and below this is the completed pencil drawing, and a detail of the pencil stage.
The next stage in the process was to ‘push through’ the drawing onto CS10 illustration board. I coated the back of the tracing paper with powdered pencil lead, and traced over the drawing with a metal pointed pen, thus pushing through an impression of the line drawing on the CS10 board. The next stage was to start masking off different areas with frisk with a scalpel, spraying appropriate acrylic colours on the exposed area with an airbrush, repeating the process again and again until completion. All the details, lo-light, hi-lights and coloured line work were then applied with an extremely fine pointed brush using acrylic and gouache.
These are my elipse guides, still with evidence of airbrush spray paint on them...
Sedco air compressor kit and my two all-time favourite airbrushes.
My ‘workhorse’ airbrush, the Japanese Iwata CM-B.
My cherished American Paasche Turbo. The finest airbrush in the world – you could spray details as fine as a pencil point with this. It looks more like a museum piece now!
A TVR Griffith signed print (59cm wide x 42cm height, signed and numbered) is still available to purchase at the original price of £20 plus postage. If you are interested in buying one please email: kirstie@mylestalbot.com
