The final Figma prototype
Figma is a new favourite tool of user interface and experience designers. It's essentially a vector drawing application used for prototyping. Think of PowerPoint with Axure, Sketch, and Adobe XD rolled into one.
Ah. PowerPoint, where my vector drawing journey started. So, can I sketch stuff in Figma? I had an afternoon spare to find out and to grow confidence in my Figma graphic skills.
My first use of Figma's Pen tool and its curve handles when tracing a boot
I'd tried the Figma Pen tool one time before and traced a boot for no reason. The Pencil tool was too flaky when using a mouse and I was too lazy to set up my tablet. Anyway, I was familiar with what the Pen tool is and how to move its curve handles.
Tracing the basic outline and adding the first landmarks
I traced over a photo of an Aston Martin DB5. I'd watched the latest Bond movie over the weekend that revived the DB9 as The Bond Car.
Learning to use the Figma Pen tool, I hacked out the wheel arches. That's something PowerPoint didn't allow me to do. It is familiar to Adobe Illustrator though, which is my favourite vector application.
Adding the wheels and headlamps exposed a shortcoming of Figma. It has no native "skew". There are plug-ins and why would I want to faff around with a plug in?
Testing out the creation of body shine and shade to suggest the DB5's subtle and iconic shaping
Experimenting gave a moderate level of detail early on and tested Figma's limits. I learned some hacks like adding blur and drop shadow effects. The radial and angle fills are pretty useful, too. These are a shorthand to subtle highlights, shades, and shadows.
The Pen tool was the tool of choice as without a native skew, manipulating shapes is limited to scaling.
The exercise wasn't meant to be a high-fidelity artwork. As I adapted to working in Figma, a moderate level of detail grew from the stage.
Quickly working up on the body details and resisting the push for a higher fidelity of the chassis and wheels
There'd be a great deal more work to a satisfactory completion. Given the intention however, I'm happy with the result. Sure, the chromium bumper isn't aced and could be so much easier in Adobe Illustrator. Likewise many other dubious details. That under-chassis! Hey, it's only a doodle.
The final flourish was to nip and tuck a presentation to distract from the rough bits.
As far as this DB5 needs to go
Did you notice the high-beam on the title image? It added a little drama and its radial fade helped blend in the bonnet shapes. Time to stop.
The outcome? Yeah, I'm happier with creating graphics in Figma and happiest sketching in Adobe Illustrator.
Source photo by Max Earey as featured in Forbes' July 2020 article, "James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Is Now A Brand New Car".
