Mach 1 Drawing

My friends know I’m a big Mustang fan – I have two in my garage – and so it was exciting to have the opportunity to make this Mach 1 drawing for a friend in Germany.

Here’s the rough sketch in pencil. I worked out the proportions and used Alvin ship curves for the line work (I coincidentally have a 1:18 diecast version of this car).

Next, I lined the car with Micron pens and shaded it with Copic B24 and BG11 markers. The shiny reflections were added with Posca white. The Magnum 500 wheels look especially sharp on ’71-’73 Mustangs, and this car has a perfect forward raked stance. I added some light blue in the brighwork to reflect the sky. The reflective side stripes and Mach 1 decal were reinforced with Posca white. Ship curves helped with continuity in the stripes.

In the Black Forest region, the landscape is an important part of the art and culture, so I added a landscape behind the car featuring mountains and evergreen trees. Landscapes are challenging for me, but I liked the way this one turned out. The depth in the tree shading and the blues in the mountains compliment the Bright Blue fastback. Atmospheric perspective gives some depth to the mountains.

I first fell in love with this generation Mustang as a kid watching H.B. Halicki’s 1974 Gone in Sixty Seconds, which features a forty-minute car chase and a 1973 Mach 1 named Eleanor.

It’s a beautiful car in a beautiful area – I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to make this Mach 1 drawing.

Visit the gallery here.