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On Paper: Infiniti G37 Coupe
Topic Started: Feb 19 2015, 06:41 PM (824 Views)
mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
Posted Image
Matchbox Infiniti G37 Coupe Watercolor

The Infiniti G37 was a strange inclusion to the Matchbox lineup for 2011. The replacement for the G35 Coupe was unveiled in 2007, but was quickly overshadowed by the release of the GT-R and 370Z by big sister brand Nissan. Infiniti's second venture into true sports car territory was an improvement over the popular G35 Coupe, but Godzilla swept away most of the onlookers.

Matchbox debuted their G37 casting 4 years removed from when it was first shown to the public, and even in the Matchbox line it was quickly forgotten when the Aston Martin DBS Volante arrived only several months later. The G37 Coupe was not an overly popular vehicle and just seemed like an odd choice at the time with all of the others sports cars Matchbox could have chosen. And, to top it all off, the G37 has only been used once in the Matchbox line. That's it. Once.

After all of its unfortunate circumstances, this Coupe certainly deserved some attention, so I brought out the watercolors and got to work.
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This was, by far, the most difficult Matchbox to paint. It did not start off very well. Sketching the model out proved to be tricky because the car has some obscure lines that were new to me, and it took longer than usual to get all the details right. When I did, I was very pleased with the final draft, but I made a mess with the paints right from the start and knew I would be better off starting from scratch again.

I am glad I did. The second draft was easier after I had spent hours tweaking the first one, so I was really able to focus on the proportions of the model, and I was soon thanking myself for making an error. I really wanted to make sure the drawing was as realistic as possible, because the 1M before looked a little too chubby.

Even with the issues I really enjoy painting Matchboxes. Mixing my two favorite hobbies together has been the best thing I have done in a while, and I hope you all enjoy my latest inclusion. This is my first piece using my new watercolors and much thicker watercolor paper. My old paints were over 5 years old and my other paper was not exactly suited for paints. Let me know what you think, and as always, I appreciate all of your suggestions and advice. I will try to work on colored pencil pieces in between watercolors to keep the series going strong.

Enjoy the well-deserved spotlight MB809!
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A comparison to illustrate the accuracy of the G37 casting:
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Photo: edmunds

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I also took a picture of the G37's final draft sketch (the one I used for the watercolor):
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I hope you enjoyed,

Nic


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Stampede
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Team Canada
Fantastic work on the watercolor, Nicolas! It looks very true to the model!

Hopefully we'll see this model reintroduced into the lineup soon, as it is simply stunning in every way. I was no doubt lucky when I found this model at a Hobbytown in Oregon!
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Douglas
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SUV
Such talent Nicolas, I'm always so impressed! :1:

Thanks for sharing these, I always enjoy the art, even the modern cars like this, which are models I might have passed on at the time... these often make me wish I had added it to my collection.
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bigcollector07
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Midsize
thanks for sharing your artwork, Nicolas. It seems that your skills getting better every time. Referring to the Infiniti G37 Coupe, I"m glad have that only one after reviewing my own catalog spreadsheet. Hurray!
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carcollector
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That's an awesome work Nicolas :1: , I'm impressed, thank's also for the pics and good informations :thumbup:
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Badge109
Compact
Amazing work! Would you consider taking requests? I would love to buy one or two off of you for my office.
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b2young
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Sad firefighter
Feels like I'm standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon.......hearing my own echo of all the compliments on this illustration. I have no idea if I have this model in my collection....but after seeing your artwork and photos of the model, I hope it returns to the line soon so I can add it.
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funeralxempire
SUV
Great painting and this is definitely an MBX I wish I had of gotten.
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mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
Thanks everyone. :) I am pleased to read that you enjoyed the artwork and that many of you are fortunate enough to have this model in your collection or have now put it on the diecast-radar.

Badge109
 
Amazing work! Would you consider taking requests? I would love to buy one or two off of you for my office.


Yes, I would love to work on some pieces for you, and thanks for the compliment! Just let me know what models you would like me to paint and I will get started on them as soon as possible.
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Buddhaa1
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Wow Nic! Just wow! I may have to commission you in the future as well!!
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mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
Buddhaa1
Feb 21 2015, 12:50 PM
Wow Nic! Just wow! I may have to commission you in the future as well!!
Thanks! I love to hear that, just send me a message if you do. :)
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JustMatt
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Passenger
Nice, Nicholas! BTW, this car was/is simply a rebadged Nissan Skyline.
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Deaken002
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Microcar
Awesome art work! and really nice photos too!
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Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
Nicolas,

I'm having a tough time looking for new ways to chellenge you as you go along. I liked seeing the pencil piece that shows what you're working from as well. Because a painter who can't draw is going to look onscure when dealing with something as precicly lined as cars. You've come a long way in this area as well. I recall your early work had some wheel elipses that were off and the lines were not as precise. I, for one, would enjoy hearing about the tools and techniques you're using now as apposed to then.

The painting is coming along fine. You're getting more of the tiny, subtle highlights and shading down nicely. The paper may be making some of the difference...and the new paints. Which is why I suggested experimenting. That may be my only suggestion here, as usual. Once you get used to the rougher paper, go back to trying a painting on a smooth grade of paper. Or a different type of rough texture. There's Letramax illustration board that is as thick as a heavy cardboard box with different textures, there's Strathmore bristol board that's a good quality and a small pad of 20 sheets is about $15. Avoid some of the cheaper bristol and poster boards that may warp, bleed, or flake when erasing because it may not hold up as well when wet.

I found it both hard and interesting to go from a rough texture to a smooth once I got used to one for a while. But by pressing on, I found both gave me a learning experience plus a slightly different quality. We've talked about brushes. But in terms of the drawing itself, I've gotten very different looks from different drawing pencils (HB, 2H, 4H), technical pencils, etc.... Never neglect the importance of the under-drawing because the way it feels inspires the mood of the painting. And mood is everything once you get caught up in it.

Take care...and looking forward to more!
Edited by Dragnet_Supporter, Feb 23 2015, 01:16 PM.
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clem24
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Station Wagon
Wow those wheels look perfect! Great job!
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Hosspower98
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Forever Blue Oval
Superb work Nicolas. You are very talented in many ways. Your photos, your writing and your expressions through paint, brush and paper. I see a very bright future for you.
Edited by Hosspower98, Feb 23 2015, 01:37 PM.
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mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
I appreciate all of your compliments; it is truly pleasing to read that you all enjoyed the watercolor, writeup and photos. :)

I am happy as always to have your input, Robert. I agree that the base drawing is one of the most important parts of a painting; if I start off with a poor drawing to work with, with every little mistake that is made it is worse and worse off the desired original. I have spent extra care with the sketch on this one because I wanted to see if it translated to a better painting, and I do think it worked. Of course, having to draw it twice helped!

As far as tangible tools go when it comes to drawing, I don't use any other then the pencil and paper, and very, very occasionally a ruler. I didn't use one on this work though. The paper has improved, but I still use any regular No.2 pencil lying around. Probably the main problem with my first drawings was that they were colored pencil, and I outlined them with a black pen to highlight the borders lost by colored pencil. Even if I spent a while making my sketch as perfect as I could get it, it all came down to one line in the end with the pen. Wheels were the hardest to do in one go with a pen. I would have to lift up as my hand couldn't go all the around, and it made awkward breaks of the shape, and getting a nice oval in one go was difficult.

But I am sure the drawings then were not as good too, and attributed to the issue with the outlining. The worse off it was in the beginning only exaggerated with outlining, which is why I love watercolors. Compared to my colored pencil works, they are much easier to get the correct lines. There is no pen outlining, watercolors are easy to get in a smooth sweeping motion, and a good amount of mistakes can be fixed with water. I think that, and more experience with artwork in general has helped out.

I have been working on experimenting more, too, as you recommended, and it is truly the best thing. I picked up gouache paints as well and have worked with them in experimentation and hope to become more acquainted with them over time. It is tough for me to change, though, but I should. I remember I tried watercolors when I was younger (10ish) when I only did pencil drawings and I was not happy, I thought they were waaaay too difficult to use for anything detailed, until I pulled them out a year ago and taught myself and learned about them. I really like watercolors but recognize that I should keep up with colored pencils and practice outlining as well, and with good colored pencils, like Prismacolors, I will not even need to outline, so thanks for reminding me to keep trying new things!
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Buddhaa1
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mbx64
Feb 22 2015, 05:42 PM
Buddhaa1
Feb 21 2015, 12:50 PM
Wow Nic! Just wow! I may have to commission you in the future as well!!
Thanks! I love to hear that, just send me a message if you do. :)
Will do! And btw, congrats on getting the shout out on Lamley's Instagram account! I thought that was pretty awesome to see!

In case some members here don't have the Instagram app, Lamely had a nice little write up and shared Nic's artwork with their IG followers.
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mbx64
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Matchbox Collector
Buddhaa1
Feb 24 2015, 10:16 PM
mbx64
Feb 22 2015, 05:42 PM
Buddhaa1
Feb 21 2015, 12:50 PM
Wow Nic! Just wow! I may have to commission you in the future as well!!
Thanks! I love to hear that, just send me a message if you do. :)
Will do! And btw, congrats on getting the shout out on Lamley's Instagram account! I thought that was pretty awesome to see!

In case some members here don't have the Instagram app, Lamely had a nice little write up and shared Nic's artwork with their IG followers.
Thanks! I was thrilled and shocked when I saw that. I really do love the work that John and others are putting into the Lamley Group Blog, and it meant so much that he did that.

It was one of the best moments in the hobby for me so far.



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Stampede
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Team Canada
Saw the Lamley mention, nice! Congrats, Nicolas, as it is definitely well deserved!
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Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
Congrats, Nicolas! And you're welcome. Gouache is a little different. And the transitions you mentioned happen all the time. We do get better as our confidence grows--or simply by thinking about things and allowing our subconscious to digest them for a while. It's pretty incredible how time and practice builds us up, much like excercise for the mental muscles.

One thing available now that wasn't around when I was starting out are Youtube tutorials. You can watch videos of so many different artist's techniques. I think that helps the creative muscles grow as well. Plus you can see what kind of tools other people are using. Which encourages experimenting even more :)
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