tarting up thomas...

Thomas was looking very unloved, so we thought to give him some constant companionship.

Sooty gets in on the action...

Thats bewtiful. Interested in doing a flame job on an oval beetle.

That's great!!! How did you get that done? Where? How much etc etc etc ?

Thomas and his Brother

Side Door of Thomas again

Thomas Alone

Sooty bribed me to paint it (she has 4 kids, so her particular brand of threats and cajolery is **very** effective).

I am not a professional car artist, but have a history in art & design, and have taken some awards over the years. If after reading this you don't want to try it yourself (I reccommend that you do give it a go as it is serious fun), I charge like a wounded bull to do original or sourced paintings, approx $60 per hour plus materials/expenses (eg photocopying).

I am also willing to consider interior design/decoration for the Kombis - Sooty's new bus is currently heading down an organic industrial fusion with tribal markings.
Internal design sheets and material estimates cost about $30 per hour (average $150) - post back if you are interested.

For anyone who wants to try using my methods, here is the basics.

This particular piece was completed on a series of very cold winter nights using standard house enamels. Due to the fumes it had to be an open air project and I just about froze - the things we do!

Total time to complete was about 30 hours.

The pictures were sourced from copyright free pictures from the internet, resized and composited into the final grouping. I would reccomend line drawings in preference to coloured ones, where you have the option. In this picture there is a dragon representing each member of the family, making it a very personal piece.

On an A4 size copy of the composite, Sooty & I worked to get the colours that she wanted & that worked for the piece. This forms a colour template to refer to.

Once the composite is set, the line art was enlarged to finished size on a photocopier (I ended up sticking sheets together to get the size I needed, but some photocopy shops will enlarge to poster size).

The surface was cleaned and keyed (to accept the paint). In this instance, the bus did not have a coating on varnish and the surface (old paint) was slightly powdery. This actually formed a great key, but if you had a high gloss varnish you would need to chemically key the surface.

The line art design was transferred using dressmakers carbon (which comes in many colours and very large sheets.

The painting was done using a reverse variant of 'paint and trace' animation methods.

1. the outline was confirmed using indellible niko pen in black.

2. the basic fill colour was applied flat - this is easy to do, just paint within the lines! Refer to your Colour template and use colours strait from the tin.

3. fill in the shadows on the characters by tinting the base colour several shades darker and apply by eye. If you unsure about this, practice first on a colour A4 copy. Trial and error, and experience, will tell you how many shadow shades you need to do to get the look you want.

4. fill in the lighter areas on the characters by tinting the base colour several shades lighter and apply by eye. If you unsure about this, practice first on a colour A4 copy. Trial and error, and experience will tell you how many light shades you need to do to get the look you want.

5. With a steady hand, **very** fluid paint and long strokes, outline your characters in black or dark brown.

6. Using a very light colour, apply highlights to the finished pieces.

7. Seal the work using automotive varnish.

My thoughts are that house enamel will not work if you are going to do a baked enamel finish.

Good Luck & please post your results
Lady D

And of course.... :sandrine

Naturally Lady D is thoroughly looking forward to spicing up Sooty's new to be Kombi with all over designs....:thumb

I believe it is to be scheduled mid-winter again just give it the feel of authenticity for her
:cry

:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce

Geez is that all you have to do? I might be able to whip up something in the next two years or so!! Again well done on the job , perhaps I'll have a crack at it one day.

... and start small. It is so worth having a go at.

If the hand painted art is a bit ambitious, try doing some flat colour stencils using cans of automotive touch up paint. Try using spray adhesive on the back of the stencils to prevent colour bleed.

or make friends with the local graffitti artist (not tagger) and let them have a go.

In answer to sooty's helpful comments above, winter is often not a bad time. Most paints have a preferred temperature (somewhere between 15 & 25 degrees) so that they dry correctly. Check out the details on the can.

And as for you sooty, I'm not catching pneumonia for any vehicle, nor for the love of your horde. At least make it a daytime this time, ok?
:kiss

OK Vee Dubbers note point number 5 "a steady hand" so limit the liquid amber until the job is done. Maybe one or two to settle the nerves and get that steady hand:beer

Mind you I'm definitely no artist and will not even be trying this, so good luck out there:sandrine

Sweet dragons

im gettin some amazing art done oin my kombi when i can get down to melbourne!!! its going gangsta them airbrush all over!!!!!! cant wait!
cheers
rhys

Did anyone see Thomas in the flesh (so to speak) last sunday at Dubs by the Pub?

Hmmm, hate to miss a cruise but this one just too damn far

p.s. hope you enjoyed it and going to do more

[Edited on 13-2-2003 by jenz58]

I DID!!!!!
and wow!
But unfortunately they were leaving when I finally seen it...

But hope to see it in the flease at kluvVW fest!

Yes I saw Thomas in the flesh, VERY cool.
I don't know if I could bear to d oit to Andy though!!

I met Thomas - and Sooty. Hi Sooty!!!! :bounce

Poor Thomas is getting a little bubbly around the gills. But he's very cute! Love the dragons, and the velveteen interior. A lovely dark hippy den if ever I've seen one!

Angela.

Beautiful work, well done.
I dont think I would be able to do likewise , unfortunately.