Graham Sharknose Sketch

One thing I love about classic cars is the boldness and diversity of designs, especially when compared to modern design. Designers were once bold and dared to stand out; you could tell makes and models apart by distinguished features- tall fins, aggressive faces, and dramatic curves. A great example is the aggressive face of the late-1930s Graham 97 Sharknose, which I’ve tried to capture in this Graham Sharknose sketch.

Graham-Paige was a pre-war American car manufacturer that was eventually absorbed by the Kaiser-Frazer empire after WWII. Prior to the war however, Graham built a variety of dramatic cars, including this late-’30s Model 97 Supercharged which featured art deco styling, curves, and brightwork. The Graham 97 was powered by a supercharged inline six, manual 3-speed transmission, and was most famous for its forward-pointing shark nose and square headlights.

I chose to make this Graham Sharknose sketch using the pencil and white charcoal method I’ve recently been experimenting with. It’s a much looser style than using ink. The strokes are much freer, and the shading requires a heavier stroke for the darker lines, mostly because I’m only using one weight of graphite.

This process is simpler, too because there are only two steps – pencil and white charcoal pencil. After the graphite is laid down, I accentuated the reflections with the white.

I like this car because of its aggressive art deco styling, quirky trunk fin, and sliding doors (yes, like a mini-van). However, despite the supercharger, it was pretty under-powered at on ly 116hp. If I had one, I’d probably have to hop it up a little more than that.

Be sure to check out the gallery here.