1980 Datsun 280zx Drawing

I’m super grateful for commission pieces – drawing is therapy for me, and it’s fun and rewarding to see a car come together. It’s challenging and causes me to have to think and plan ahead, and seeing the finished product is enormously satisfying. On top of that, when someone else finds satisfaction in my creative work and is willing to give their hard-earned money for it – that is very humbling. Here’s my latest commission piece – a Special Edition 1980 Datsun 280zx drawing .

This car was built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Z, and it’s pretty rare – they only made 3,000.

I started the drawing by roughing out the wheels first, and then the body in pencil. I use circle templates for the wheels and ship curves for the body.

After I was satisfied with the proportions, I started the line work with Micron 01 pen. Matching the curves up to the rough outline can sometimes be a challenge.

Next, I re-traced over some parts with thicker Micron 02 & 03 pens to add some atmospheric perspective. For example, lining the bumpers with thicker line weights makes your brain think they’re sticking out from the body.

Next, I started in with the markers. I used light tan skin tones for the gold paint, and darker grays for the black trim.

Finally, for the white reflections, I used a combination of white charcoal pencil and Posca white paint.

I buttoned this 1980 Datsun 280zx drawing up in an 11×14 matted frame centered and mounted with T-hinges.

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