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Behind the art

From photograph to car print

I draw the cars by hand in Photoshop. These guides explain the work behind the preview and the choices around it: supplying photographs, deciding whether an existing drawing fits, and choosing how the finished picture will be printed and displayed.

Start here

  1. 01Nineteen hours for one carA photograph shows you the day you took it. A drawing shows you the car you remember. Here is what actually happens between those two things, and why the paint can change afterwards.
  2. 02Four useful car photographs beat forty impressive onesStart with three or four photographs: the whole car square-on in daylight, the angle to draw, the wheels, and any changed details. A phone is enough. The useful part is the viewpoint, not the camera.
  3. 03Digital file, printed portrait or framed car print?Choose a digital car portrait if you will arrange the printing, an unframed print if you want to choose the frame, or a framed print if you want both supplied together. The drawing is the starting point; the format decides which work remains yours.
  4. 04Choose a car print size on the wall, not in your headA4, A3 and A2 names are hard to picture from a product menu. Compare the actual catalogue dimensions, then mark the chosen rectangle on the wall and view it from the room.

More guides

  1. 01A personal car print begins with the exact face, not just the badgeTo identify a car for a personalised print, confirm its make, model, generation, body, build or model year and visible facelift. Then photograph the front square-on, both front corners, paint in neutral daylight, registration, wheels, badges and modifications. Compare the lamps, grille, bumper and bonnet with the live preview. Use the catalogue only when that body matches. Choose custom work when the drawing or important visible changes are missing.
  2. 02One car drawing can support several engine specificationsA personalised car print can use one accurate body drawing and still offer more than one engine, but only when the visible car remains the same and every statistics block is checked independently. My Mazda MX-5 NB shows the rule in practice: the early 1.8 and later 1.8 VVT share the approved front view, while their power, torque, weight and performance figures never get mixed.
  3. 03A wheel is a proportion check disguised as a dark shapeWheels look repetitive, but they tie together track width, ride height, arch shape, steering angle, tyre profile, rim design, brake detail and perspective. In a front-view portrait most of the wheel face may be hidden, so a few visible tyre shoulders carry the car’s entire stance. I draw and check those relationships before reducing them to the fixed dark shapes used by the live renderer.
  4. 04Two different BMWs can share one drawing without sharing factsMy BMW F87 M2 and F22 2 Series Coupe M Sport use the same reviewed front-view artwork because that drawing cannot honestly distinguish their shared geometry. They remain two catalogue models. The 2 Series hides the M2 grille badge, prints its own title and figures, and carries its own approval.
  5. 05Choose a car-print background by separation, not a colour ruleA useful car-print background separates the body, tyres, lamps and darkest shading without competing with them. There is no universal best colour. Start with the car's lightness, test warm or cool neutrals, then judge the complete preview in the room where it will hang. The live tool accepts exact hex codes for both car and ground.
  6. 06A car drawing is checked on its own background so colour does not hide the faultBackground colour changes the contrast around every edge and translucent detail. To judge whether prepared artwork matches the original, both are compared on the original ground and in the paint colour the car was drawn in.
  7. 07A headlight needs an outline, glass and internal shapes before it looks like the right carA car headlight is separated into the visible shapes the reference supports: its outer boundary, glass, dark housing, reflectors and coloured sections. Fixed lamp detail stays outside the body-paint recolour.
  8. 08A path can hold a car edge without making the whole drawing vector artRaster artwork stores colour in pixels, while vector artwork stores shapes as points and curves. These car drawings begin as layered Photoshop artwork, then reviewed shapes are traced into SVG paths for the live renderer.
  9. 09More pixels can enlarge a photograph without revealing the missing car detailImage resolution describes the number and density of pixels, not whether the camera captured the right evidence. Upsampling adds estimated pixels, so it cannot recover a cropped wheel, hidden badge, missed focus or unseen side of a car.
  10. 10Paint changes cleanly because the shading was never flattened into itA recolourable car drawing keeps body paint, highlights, shadows and fixed details in separate Photoshop layers. Changing the base colour can then preserve the light and panel shape that make the car look drawn rather than filling it as one flat silhouette.
  11. 11Your registration belongs to your build, not the reusable car drawingA catalogue car drawing contains an empty plate position, not a customer registration. The plate text enters through an individual build, stays with that configuration through basket and order, and is drawn into the final output by the same renderer. It is never copied into the reusable car artwork.
  12. 12The specification block is checked one car at a timeA car poster specification is checked against the exact model year, market and engine drawn. The finished portrait sets the house wording, but an impossible figure is stopped, corrected and documented before the car goes on sale.
  13. 13From a layered Photoshop car drawing to one print fileA Greasemonkey Prints car begins as layered Photoshop artwork, is converted into reviewed shape data, then combines with the customer’s paint, plate and specification in one renderer. The preview and print file use that same composition.
  14. 14A facelift changes the drawing, not just the model yearA facelift needs a separate car drawing when it changes visible bodywork, lights or trim. A specification variant can change the numbers under one drawing, but it cannot turn a pre-facelift picture into the later car.
  15. 15A custom car drawing request begins with a reference checkA custom request is an enquiry, not a booking. Jonathan checks the car and photographs first, returns a rough within 2 to 3 days when he accepts the work, finishes the drawing within 7 to 10 days, then dispatches an approved print within 5 to 7 working days.
  16. 16Badges, flags and plates are small details with expensive consequencesA wrong badge, flag or registration can make an otherwise accurate portrait belong to another car. These details must come from photographs, documents or a written house rule, and an unresolved detail should be omitted rather than guessed.
  17. 17A photo filter changes pixels. A car drawing rebuilds decisionsA photo filter transforms the pixels already in one photograph. A layered car illustration redraws edges, panels, lights and shading so paint, registration and print elements can change without pretending hidden detail was visible.
  18. 18What makes your car recognisable is usually five ordinary factsA car portrait becomes specific through the correct generation and facelift, wheels and stance, paint identity, registration and visible modifications. A dramatic background cannot repair one of those facts being wrong.
  19. 19A custom car drawing has three different clocksThe current process puts the rough within 2 to 3 days and the finished drawing within 7 to 10 days. After approval, the commissioned print dispatches within 5 to 7 working days. These are separate stages, and dispatch is not carrier delivery.
  20. 20A useful car reference photo answers a specific questionA useful reference shows the whole car without perspective hiding its proportions, keeps edges readable in ordinary light and supplies close-ups for wheels and changed parts. It does not need to be a polished photograph.
  21. 21Does your car need a catalogue print or a custom drawing?Use the catalogue when its exact model, year range and body drawing match the car. Choose a custom commission when the drawing is missing or visible changes need to be recorded from photographs.