Driving Stick Shift

This past week, I sketched my car, just outside of my apartment. Cars are fun to draw – their features give them such personality. For my first sketch, I spent a good amount of time trying to get the proportions right – which worked out for the most part. Then, sitting in the driver’s seat for the second sketch, I adopted a slightly looser style, quickly eyeballing the layout of the interior. I took a few wrong turns though – whoops! I will have to return to this subject in the future. As I sketched my car, I was reminded of Florian Afflerbach’s amazing artwork. After seeing his drawings years ago, I was inspired to try some extreme close-up perspectives too … in my own way. His clean, architectural style is elusive to me. The cars I draw suddenly develop dents, scrapes, and misattached or misaligned parts. Sure is fun though. I filled a third page with some really loose doodles of my car from all sides.

Anyway, this is my car. My first car. A manual transmission hatchback that is so bright red it’s almost embarrassing. I love it though. Over a few months, I learned how to drive stick, a skill that I have always wanted to learn. It has taken me a bit to hone those hill starts, but I ain’t goin’ back! Driving is much more enjoyable and engaging with a stick shift.

Happy sketching!