From the category archives:

Automotive

1960’s Chevy

1960's Chevy Watercolor Painting

I took a watercolor class in the 1980’s at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and Irving Shapiro was the instructor. I did this watercolor painting for that class. I had the honor of having it featured in his book on Watercolor.

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1997 Black Book Ad

1997-Chicago-Creative-Sourcebook

Randal Birkey put together this self-promotional ad for the 1997 Black Book.
It features:

Pharmaceutical Product Logo
Globe – Product Illustration
Retouched and digitally altered 5 dollar bill with 2 Abe Lincoln’s
Close-up diagram of a chain product used in a road grader
Watercolor boot
Watercolor tractor
Nascar line drawing sketch
How to measure for a swimsuit diagram
3D clock tower projecting from a [...]

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1998 Black Book Ad

1998 Black Book Ad

Randal Birkey put together this self-promotional ad for the 1998 Black Book.
It features:

A series of vector line art icons
A Nuclear Fission Reactor Core Vessel
An Atomic Level Fission Nuclear Reaction Diagram
A Medical Doctor Digital Vector Illustration
Youth Science Fair Project
Automotive Engine Turbocharger See-Through Cutaway
A Harris Branch Bank Architectural Line Illustration

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Oil Filter Diagram

Oil Filter Diagram

An automotive aftermarket manufacturer required a diagram illustration to show how a new type of cellulose fiber could filter automotive oil better than previous competitive products. This is a sepia line art drawing on D’Arches watercolor paper, with Windsor & Newton watercolor washes added by hand.

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Engine Piston Pin Sketch

Automotive Piston Pin

Randal Birkey created this quick felt tip ink line sketch showing the location of a “piston pin” in the layout of an automotive V-8 engine.

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Aiwa Car Stereo

Aiwa Car Stereo

Randal Birkey illustrated this Aiwa car stereo unit for an ad agency in the early 1980’s.

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Renault Elf Racing Car

Renault Elf Racing Car

As a part of developing a technical illustration business in the 1980’s, Randal Birkey did many illustrations as “self-promotion.” These projects were designed to push skills and abilities further, and to show prospective customers what could be done.
This pen and ink line art illustration of a Renault Elf Formula One racing car was carefully constructed [...]

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Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper © Randal Birkey

Randal created this automobile illustration of a Dodge Viper as a self promotion portfolio piece, mainly because he really likes that design of this automobile. It is reminiscent of the AC Cobra design by Carroll Shelby, another car favorite of Randal’s. It was done in Adobe Illustrator.

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1972 Datsun 240Z Cutaway

1972 Datsun 240Z Cutaway © Randal Birkey

Randal once owned a car like this (see photo below) and used his personal knowledge of the car along with his technical illustration skills to create the “transparent” style cutaway line art illustration, focused on the engine and front suspension details. The 1972 Z-car is regarded by many as the best classic year of any [...]

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Concept Car

Concept Car © Randal Birkey

Randal created this concept car illustration in Adobe Illustrator using a Apple Macintosh and Wacom tablet. It is what it is.

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