Mercury Kustom Drawing

I’ve done a few Mercury kustom drawings now – one of them I had to keep because it’s super rad, one I sold last Christmas, and just now I’ve finished this new Mercury kustom drawing.

I like this drawing because it’s reminiscent of the more simplistic and slightly cartoonish hot rod drawings from the 1960s, yet I’ve added some of my personal flare in the rendering.

First, I started with a rough sketch on gray paper.

Next, I tried filling in the body shading with graphite and white charcoal.

I wasn’t satisfied with the rendering, so I used Copic neutral grays to add some depth to the shading in the body. This Merc is pretty heavily chopped, so just for fun I added the “Chop” sign in the background.

The drawing still didn’t have enough contrast for me, so I added some ink in the outline.

This was a big improvement, but it still needed some more. I added some additional depth in line weights around the body lines to really emphasize them.

Finally, I used a wide gray marker to add some texture behind the car.

I was excited to see the evolution of this car. At first, I really hated it, but after I added the contrast it really popped for me. This Mercury kustom drawing just goes to show how much of a difference little additions can make! It also reminds me to be patient and confident in trying new things without being timid – you never know what you might get!