1970 Chevy Nova Drawing

A few weeks ago, our power went out on a Friday night. In the middle of winter. In Michigan. For twelve hours! It got pretty cold in here, and the TV wasn’t very useful, so I drew a picture. Usually, I’ll use a photo on my computer for reference, but that wasn’t happening, either. So, I got out the stack of old Hot Rod Magazines and flipped through to find a car to draw. I ended up with this 1970 Chevy Nova drawing.

This is one of my favorite perspectives – the car is mostly facing the viewer from the front but tilted slightly to the side, which gives a three-dimensional effect. I intended this to just be a quick doodle while waiting for the power to return, but I’m actually really proud of this drawing.

I started with a rough sketch on white printer paper, and then lined the drawing with Micron pens. I thought the line work turned out pretty clean, though the roof had a wonky bulge in it. I was able to correct this a little bit with the marker work.

Next, I added a few tones of green with Copic markers. I really kind of like that yellow-green olive-y color from the 1960s and I think it suits this car. To give a little artistic flair, I added a neon green rectangle behind the car to push it off the page.

The features of this 1970 Chevy Nova drawing that I’m most proud of are the blackout grille, and headlights. I think the grille looks sinister and the headlights look real. I made the rear tires extra wide and nearly stick out from the fenders to give an aggressive stance. Also, the side wall roll of the tires gives the indication that they are extra wide!