Renault Elf Racing Car

Posted on October 3, 2009 by rbirkey

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 by the illustrator using a scale model as a reference. The right front and rear tires were shown transparently to reveal the brake systems. The top body panel was rendered transparent to reveal the driver cockpit area. The top rear body panels were also shown transparently to reveal engine intake and exhaust components.

Randal went on to finish this illustration in color and it was used on a number of his self-promotion ads during the 1980′s and early 1990′s.

Renault Elf Racing Car - line art

Renault Elf Racing Car - Color

Ameritech “Signals” Magazine

Posted on August 5, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal did this vector digital illustration in Adobe Illustrator for Ameritech’s “Signals” magazine in the 1980′s. It demonstrates how their wireless technology can penetrate walls and windows in buildings giving customers better cell signal reception.

Ameritech Signals Magazine - Diagram

PVD Remediation System Diagram

Posted on August 5, 2009 by rbirkey

This diagram was created by Randal in Adobe Illustrator as vector art for an engineering client who manufactures prefabricated vertical drain remediation systems. It has a cutaway section showing how the system looks and works below ground, as well as how it is laid out above ground. These systems help prevent groundwater contamination, as well as help clean up contamination when it does occur. Unlike bitmapped or “raster art,” vector art can be scaled to any size without losing any resolution.

Prefabricated Vertical Drain Remediation System

1972 Datsun 240Z Cutaway

Posted on July 26, 2009 by rbirkey

1972 Datsun 240Z - Technical Cutaway Illustration

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 of the original series made by Datsun, which later changed its name to Nissan.

Randal's '72 Datsun 240Z

4 Cylinder Engine Cutaway

Posted on July 21, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal created this cutaway technical illustration of a 4-cylinder automotive engine as a self promotion piece for use in advertising his technical illustration skills in the 1980′s. This illustration was done by hand with Rapidograph ink pens on smooth illustration board.

4 Cylinder Engine Cutaway Illustration

Cutaway House

Posted on July 19, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal illustrated a typical house shown partially cutaway to reveal how Dale Industries/Incor steel framing products can be used in residential construction. The base line work was done in a 3D wireframe software, then transferred to Adobe Illustrator in a 2D format for adding color fills, line weights, captions and border framing.

Castle Keep Cutaway

Posted on July 17, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal has been asked to provide illustrations in many textbooks. This one was done for an elementary textbook on the Castle Keep. It is a cutaway diagram showing the floors and various typical activities inside the Keep.

Castle Keep - Cutaway Diagram

This illustration was hand done in Corel Painter software on a Macintosh computer using a Wacom Tablet.

This is Amsted

Posted on July 16, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal Birkey was asked to create a series of illustrations for a corporate communication piece called “This is Amsted.” The illustrations depicted the main activities of each division of a large manufacturing company located in Chicago, named Amsted Industries. At the time, the divisions were named:

American Steel Foundries
Baltimore Aircoil Company
Burgess-Norton Mfg. Co.
Diamond Chain Company
Griffin Pipe Products Company
Griffin Wheel Company

Randal created a world-globe for use on the cover. He illustrated two men working on an underground pipe for Griffin Pipe. A large factory with air coolers next to it was used for BAC. A close-up of a railroad car “truck” was used for ASF and Griffin Wheel. Later a close -up of a drive chain used in a road grader was added for Diamond Chain. These were pre-digital illustrations in Randal’s career, done in pen and ink, and color pencil.

: Cooling Towers

: Workers with an underground pipe

: Cover for This is Amsted

How Gold Is Made

Posted on July 16, 2009 by rbirkey

Randal Birkey was commissioned by a Denver, Colorado graphic design firm in the 1980′s to prepare a series of illustrations on “How Gold is Made.” The illustration series was to be used by their client, Santa Fe Pacific, (now Newmont Gold), in printed corporate communication brochures, posters and other tools. The series was modified several times over the years to reflect changes in company ownership and name, as well as changes and enhancements to the gold mining process.

: 1. Exploration

: 2. Drilling

: 3. Mining

: 4. Blasting

: 5. Shaft Mining

: 6. Hauling

: 7. Processing

: 8. Milling

: 9. Autoclave

: 10. Roaster

: 11. Leaching Tanks

: 12. Stripping

: 13. Electro-Winning

: 14. Pouring

: 15. Doré Bars

: 16. Refinery

: 17. Reclamation

Manufacturing Conveyor System

Posted on July 11, 2009 by rbirkey

This is one of the earliest line illustrations Randal did after starting his freelance career in 1980. A client needed a simple line diagram of a manufacturing process to use in a printed company communication brochure. Randal worked from photo references to create this line art illustration. He worked with Rapidograph ink pens on smooth 20 x 30 illustration board. These were the same tools that he learned to use working as a engineering and architectural draftsman beginning in 1970 as a high school student.

The final line art was photo stat copied down to reproduction size and positioned on the designer art boards for final photo transfer to film and then a printing plate.

Manufacturing Process - Conveyor System Diagram

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Randal Birkey Illustration Portfolio

Category Archives: Technical Illustration