Porsche 917 in the Rain

Work in Progress: Gulf-Porsche #20 - Detail study.

I was always a McQueen fan - that man was just too damn cool. Surprisingly, it took me forever to finally watch Le Mans - just three years ago. I've probably watched it a half-dozen times since. Nothing like the sounds of those engines at full song. This illustration is born from luck. I've just about got the layout figured out, and I'll be trying a few tests to determine level of detail. But there is more to this than just another car portrait...

Like I said, it's been three years since I saw Le Mans the movie. And that's just about how long ago I started a McQueen portrait. A few artist friends were participating in monthly themed illustration exercises - and that month the them was water. If you've seen the movie, you know the first thing that popped into my head: The night driving scenes from Le Mans...

I started this portrait in late 2009, but just couldn't bring myself to finish it. It always felt like it was 'missing' something. MEDIA: 100% Adobe Illustrator - vector.

It was both challenging and fun to create a scene they never really showed in the movie - Michael Delaney's (McQueen) facial expression while driving in the rain at night. I was able to find enough close ups and detailed photos to create some authenticity to the portrait - but it seemed a little flat and incomplete. Then idea number two popped into my head...

We're talking 1970's right? That decade practically invented double exposed imagery. Eureka! But, the more I played around with the composition, the more I got disappointed. It wasn't as exciting as the nail-bitting sequence from the movie.

Ok, great. Now I had an interesting idea, but a lousy layout. The only reference I could find of the Gulf-Porsche was a toy car. There was zero chance to see enough detail to create an effective illustration. I needed to know what a 40+ year old fictional race car looked like up-close.

Did I mention this illustration was born of luck? Earlier this year I went to the Rolex 24 in Daytona. As 'luck' would have it, on display were many of the past Rolex Champions. Yup - they had a Gulf-Porsche 917. The Gulf livery was a little different, and it must have been a slightly different model 917 - but I could actually see all the subtle details that sell a great illustration. Gentlemen, start your engines.

Work in Progress: Reconciling the Gulf livery from my source photos and the 'movie' car required moving the Gulf logos around a bit - sometimes logos take longer than anything else. These were easier to deal with than a Firestone or Goodyear logo. I've layered in some interior/driver lines, but still not certain how much will be shown of this area until we get to the light source. Same issue with the wheels - they are one of the things that sell motion - but given the light source, it seems like I've already overdone the detail for the wheels.

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