1978 VW Westfalia

This bus is owned by my friend Derek – he fully restored it and uses it to tour the country. This project started with the intent to be a quick side-view sketch, but as I got in to it, it ended up with increasing detail.

I picked toned tan paper to start on because I knew there were some white accents on the bus, and toned tan really makes the white pop.

I started off with a light rough sketch in #2 pencil. I used a circle template for the wheels – I think they’re 3/4″- and french curves for the body lines.

After I figured out where I wanted my lines to fall, I went over the full sketch in 005 Micron fine pen.

I added some weight and depth with 01 and 03 Micron here. At this point, the line work was complete.

Then I added in the white accents. Look how much it pops!

Then three shades of yellow Copic – Y13, Y15, Y19.

And finally all the grays. The curtain in the window is E15 tan. There’s a little white graphite in the side of the bus and on the spare tire for light reflection, as well as a border to pop the whole vehicle off the page.

And finally, framed in 8×10.