Honda Odyssey Drawing

Sometimes I get some unique requests. Not every commission piece is a hot rod, kustom, or muscle car, and that’s completely ok! I believe everyone has a car story or sentimental memory tied to a car, and sometimes it’s unconventional. This year, I was asked to make this 2005 Honda Odyssey drawing for a Christmas present.

I started with a different perspective, tilted more toward the front. I missed something in the rough sketch and the proportions were way off.

The far side of the van is taller than the near side, giving the car an overly cartoonish appearance. Interestingly, I was really quite happy with the line work and weighting. The shape was just too wonky. Just for grins, I rendered the drawing with Copic markers to see what I could get.

I actually only used two blue tones in the marker work. On the right side of this drawing, I’ve swatched varying weights of a single marker. I was really unhappy with the rendering on this drawing, too. Between the marker work and the perspective issues, I decided to scrap this one and start over.

Sometimes, that happens. As an artist, even after years of practice, sometimes the work doesn’t turn out right. It’s just part of the experience, and while it can be discouraging to put effort into a piece that turns out poorly, I’ve found that it’s important to quickly overcome that feeling and move forward. Try again!

I redrew the van, but this time tilted more toward the passenger side. I still captured part of the front, which gives a little more three-dimensional feel than a strict side view. The linework is even better on this drawing – I was very happy with the cleanliness of the lines. The reflectiveness of the tinted rear windows was also a point of pride for me. I rendered the windows, shadows, and tires with Copic neutral grays.

I rendered the body on this drawing with a single blue marker in varying weights. I was very proud of this drawing – I thought the linework, perspective, and rendering were all right on this Honda Odyssey drawing.