There's no denying that Americans and Europeans often have different taste in cars. Here in the USA, we love big, brutal V-8 power and torque, while many Europeans prefer refinement and luxury over raw power. However, for Bartosz Janiszewski, a 32-year-old resident of Poland, American muscle has always been the preferable choice. Over the last decade, Bartosz has combined this love for American vehicles with his considerable graphic design talent. Although he has a master's degree in architecture, Bartosz writes, "My love for cars is bigger than my love for architecture." Entirely self-taught as an artist, he started out sketching body kits for European cars, then met some other American car enthusiasts and started creating renderings for their projects. It was all downhill from there, and now he has a considerable portfolio of designs ranging from logos and T-shirts to fully custom renderings and wall art. Currently, he's working full time as a designer for a state-of-the-art 3D printing company and creating automotive renderings on the side. When it comes to his free time, he sounds just like us, writing, "There's nothing better then a custom car cruise with friends on a Friday night." To see more of Bartosz's work, check out www.Lfantdesign.com or visit Lfant Design on Facebook.

Corey Floyd, a 22-year-old from Ringgold, Georgia, got his start creating renderings at age fifteen. Flipping through Truckin, he was always amazed at the photorealistic renderings created by the likes of Graphic Disorder, KEG Media, and Eye Kandy Designs. Rather than simply admire others work, he decided to learn to create his own designs. After hours of watching Photoshop tutorial videos and reading countless how-to articles, he began a rendering of his own bagged 1995 Chevy C1500. It didnt exactly turn out as he expected, so he took some basic graphic design classes at his high school, slowly getting more comfortable with Photoshop. Although he still wasnt satisfied with his skills, he was determined to get better, so he dedicated his free time to practicing and entering online contests. Finally, he began getting requests for renderings, and decided to start his own studio, Corey Floyd Designs. Since then, business has been picking up, and Corey takes on more projects with every passing day. Through it all, he couldnt be happier to be doing what he loves and hopes to continue improving his craft for years to come. To see more of Coreys work or request a rendering, visit Corey Floyd Designs on Facebook or contact him directly at coreyfloyddesigns@gmail.com.

Dwayne Vance's passion for design started at age three when, to his parents' dismay, he started drawing pictures on his closet door. However, his parents quickly decided to nurture his natural artistic abilities, enrolling him in art classes by age five. Cars became another passion, as his childhood collection of Hot Wheels grew into the hundreds, and by junior high school, his love for cars and talent in art were converging. It was at this point that Dwayne knew he would become a car designer.

Dominik Scherrer is a 21-year-old resident of a small village called Uebersaxen in the western part of Austria. Dominik knew from an early age that he had a knack for drawing, and even at age four he was already spending hours at a time doodling. He started out sketching anything that interested him, from tanks to robots. At age 10, his father gave him a book on drawing cars, and it was all downhill from there. Although there are few American vehicles in Austria due to import taxes and high gas prices, Dominik has always dreamed of hot rods and custom trucks, and his artwork reflects that passion. Originally sketching in pencil alone, as his skills developed he began using mixed media such as markers, colored pencils, and pastels. He also considered learning to create digital renderings, but decided that there’s something special about putting in extra time to do things the old-fashioned way—we couldn’t agree more. Currently in school for automation technology, Dominik’s studies occupy much of his time, but he still finds time to create a variety of impressive renderings. To see more of his designs or commission a rendering of your own, check out www.autodrawings.net/beatsbydbf and http://dominikscherrer.deviantart.com.

Ben Drolet of Scottsdale, Arizona, is a graphic designer who works primarily in automotive illustration and photography. Ben got his start in vehicle renderings at Stillen performance parts in Costa Mesa, California. As the art director for Stillen, the company needed him to work on project vehicles, body kit design and show car design projects from time to time. After a few years, Ben was regularly creating detailed renderings alongside the modeling team there. With the help of the highly skilled team at Stillen, Ben learned to bridge the gap between concept art and actual production parts—that is to say, just because you can draw it doesn’t mean it can be built. Currently, Ben is working as a lead designer for video game producer Digital Madhouse Studios, but he keeps himself available for automotive consulting, and is working on project proposals for Chevy, Dodge, Honda and Ford. Ben’s contact information and more of his work can be found at bendrolet.com.

Like many other kids, Antonio "AJ" Kemper loved to doodle and draw in elementary school. However, he never really took it seriously until high school rolled around, at which time he realized graphic art was his true calling. After getting his first vehicle, a '99 S-10, he saw some local custom trucks and decided to start modding his Chevy. Doing some research online, he found a forum where a few guys did rough Photoshop "chops" of vehicles for other members, and the light bulb came on. Although he had no idea how to render a vehicle, AJ applied his existing design skills and learned as much as he could about creating renderings in Photoshop. Months passed, he gradually improved from the tips he found on the forum, and before he knew it, he was producing professional-quality renderings. Fast-forward to present day, and 22-year-old AJ has three years of rendering experience, a college degree, and has opened No Life Designs with his friend, Jesus Gonzalez (featured in "Radical Renderings," 2011). AJ wants to thank Jesus Gonzalez, RJ Silva of Eye Kandy Designs, and all the guys in the old S-10 forum render contests for inspiring him and helping him succeed. To check out more of AJ's work or request a rendering, head over to www.nolifedesigns.com.

AJ Kemper
www.nolifedesigns.com
aj@nolifedesigns.com

It is that time of year again. In just a couple of weeks, the Las Vegas Convention Center will be packed with vehicles of all types as the automotive aftermarket comes together and unveils the new products for 2013. We will be among the hundreds of thousands that will attend SEMA. We want you to have a firsthand look at some of the vehicles we will be bringing out. We will show the tech buildups for most of these here in Truckin, so be sure to keep an eye out in future issues.

Put simply, Brian Stupski draws hot rods. Whether it's cars, trucks, or souped-up airships, if it can be modified, chances are he can and will draw it. By trade, Brian is an automotive artist, designer, and illustrator, and works out of his studio, Problem Child Kustoms in Gilbert, Arizona.

Sean Smith has always had a passion for all things automotive. He began drawing cars at a very young age, and upon graduating high school in 1997, started attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In this program he honed his skills, studying exterior and interior design and moving on to internships at Mazda and Hyundai. After graduation, he worked for several industry-leading companies, doing design work for Honda motorcycles, Rockstar Games' Midnight Club Los Angeles, and a multitude of hot rod and custom shops across the country. Sean has even worked with Jada Toys, directing their new LoPro line of die-cast cars. Soon, he plans to branch out into an apparel and lifestyle clothing brand that specializes in hot rods and street machines. To check out more of his work, visit www.seansmithdesigns.com.

For as long as Rodrigo Chicon can remember, he has been nuts about cars and trucks. He used to draw everything by hand but always felt like he had no knowledge of art and had difficulty freehand drawing, which bothered him. Not giving up on his idea, Rodrigo worked hard and eventually bought his first 3D rendering software. Teaching himself, Rodrigo learned how to model realistic vehicles with his new software.

Eye Kandy Designs was started in August of 2004. R.J. Silva started doing renderings for friends at night while going to school for architecture and working at an architectural firm during the day.  Shortly after that, he went into business for himself and the business has expanded into much more then renderings. He now offers all types of printed material media from business cards to flyers and even large-scale banners, embroidery, screen printing, promotional items, and vinyl decals. Essentially anything someone would need to promote and advertise his or her business, club, or activity. Here is a sample of what Eye Kandy Designs has to offer.

This month we're taking the opportunity to show you some of the cool project trucks we're building during the rest of 2012 and looking towards 2013. Project trucks are our way of getting you excited about turning some wrenches and looking at your daily driver or weekend warrior as a constantly upgradable truck. Knowing we have a diverse readership, we're working on several different trucks with different end goals in mind. If you have an idea for a buildup, shoot us an email at max.matthewson@sorc.com.

When Joel was about six years old, the Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit were big time hits. "I remember drawing vans with huge rear tires and spoilers, scenes with Chargers and Trans Ams jumping over hay trucks and monster trucks anytime I had the chance," Joel told us. Throughout the '80s, Joel's love for drawing really ignited and he sketched cars all the time, then when the Pro Street scene blew up in the early '90s, he would draw every car he could with tubbed Mickey Thompson's and polished blowers. Soon after that, Joel discovered the artwork of Steve Stanford, Thom Taylor, and Chip Foose who all helped to inspire him. He started using airbrushing and markers with a little pastel as well as drawing more hot rods and customs. Joel has done more than just renderings for customers; he has done work for Pixar, Toyota, Harley Davidson, and countless shops across the country. When asked what he currently does, Joel responded, "I get a ton of people coming to me for truck renderings, I think because trucks are more popular now than they've ever been, and the versatility they offer." Here are a few samples of what Joel has to offer. To see more of his renderings, check out his website, www.1320designs.com.

Gerard Blommaert has been in the rendering scene for a while. He started honing his drawing skills on horses when he was just five years old. A few years later, his fascination turned from horses to horsepower, and he began drawing cars and trucks. One of his first jobs was in a body shop shaping metal, slinging Bondo, and learning to paint. From that job, Gerard found himself in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he attended Utah Technical College at Salt Lake. While there, he really learned to draw with great skill. This is a sample of what Gerard can offer in the way of illustrations.

Warren Simpson says that he has been drawing for as long as he can remember. Couple that with his love for just about everything on wheels and automotive art became his specialty. Warren works mostly from reference pictures, which provide the ideas for themes. Originally from South Africa, Warren now lives in London, England, and runs his website, http://simpsonartistry.weebly.com, with dozens of cool renderings. Everything you see is hand drawn with pencils and scanned for digital reprint.

Darryl Tracy is into custom everything. From cars to trucks and even bikes and boats, he designs, draws, and drools over them all. After graduating from the Art Institute of Houston for Graphic Design, Darryl started his graphic design company called Tracy Media. With this company he does everything from vehicle renderings and vinyl wraps to logos and business cards. Each rendering that leaves this artist’s desk is packed full of heavy detail and imaginative design cues that feature clean, striking paint schemes and slammed stances.

Tracy Media
(281) 844-4960
tracymedia@sbcglobal.net
www.tracymedia.net
www.facebook.com/darryltracy

Robert’s first memories and experiences with cars come from working with his dad and brothers. His dad was a mechanic for various dealerships when Robert was growing up, so Robert always found himself around cars. His brothers were constantly tinkering with their mini bikes and go-karts, so his first job was passing tools to them, and over the years, he was given more responsibilities. Eventually Robert was rebuilding his own motors and such. That eventually led him to get into the mechanical engineering field out of college. After 12 years working in the engineering field, the animation field was really blowing up, so while Robert was working, he put himself through school again to receive a degree in Traditional and Digital Animation. Since then he has been in the 3D industry working on a variety of projects and films. He spent some time at Disney Animation Studios working on the movie Bolt and most recently doing some freelance work on the upcoming film Premium Rush, where he created photorealistic vehicles for certain chase scenes that involves animated camera passing by 3D cars. At his current job, he also does quite a bit of work in the automotive advertising industry for some high-profile clients such as Audi, Chevy, Hyundai, Toyota, and Lexus. This involves creating billboards, magazine ads, and website content with the emphasis on photorealism.

Gerald Martin has been in the custom truck scene for a long time. The first truck he built was a 1955 Chevy Stepside when he was 12. Since then, he has built several Volkswagens and trucks. In his spare time, Gerald would read CARtoons magazine and draw cars and trucks. Now, Gerald owns Whatadesigns, the company that he started and does anything from business cards and flyers to vehicle renderings and custom apparel. Gerald says that even though his job is graphic artist, he still loves every minute of it.

It's that time of year again boys and girls, the SEMA show is upon us and we are busily getting ready. We have been working with premier shops who are building some of the sickest rides to debut in the city that never sleeps. Here you can see a glimpse of what to expect at this year’s SEMA show.

Karbon Kreationz is a full service graphic and automotive design company that was formed in the fall of 2010 by brothers Bill and Scott Denham. Their intention was to push the creative envelope to a new level within the custom world. They thrive on the challenges their customers present them and accept nothing less than perfection from themselves and their work. From business cards and web sites, on up to fullsize renderings and custom T-shirt graphics, they strive to put 110 percent into each design. After all, shouldn’t creativity come standard?

Robbie Bryant started Kutting Edge Graphix in the fall of 2002 and Brian Fields joined up in 2004. The name was shortened to KEG and the word Media added to showcase all the forms of advertising media they specialize in, which is print and web. KEG Digital Garage is what they call their automotive rendering section. They were one of the innovators when it came to digital renderings and practically set the standard for quality and have been raising the standard ever since. They have designed many award-winning vehicles for the SEMA show that have taken home GM and Ford Design awards. They have also designed countless cover and feature trucks including Robbie’s own truck, Head Hunter, which is on the cover of this issue. According to them, they have been in business longer than anyone consecutively doing digital renderings. With a client list from all over the world, KEG Media does more than 100 renderings a year. They also specialize in web design, logo design, and full color printing. Keep an eye out for Robbie or Brian at shows all over the country as they travel to a lot of shows throughout the year, particularly in the South.

Jesus Gonzalez started drawing cars and trucks in elementary school. He later stopped for several years, until thumbing through a copy of Truckin’ and seeing the “Radical Renderings” section. Jesus then decided that he wanted to get back into drawing. In high school, Jesus took a graphic arts class and learned Adobe Photoshop. He started with sloppy chops, swapping wheels, changing paint, and shaving stuff. Then he got his first truck, a 1993 S-10 Blazer. After joining an S-10 forum, Jesus found a Photoshop competition. He immediately began entering his drawings in the contests. After being crushed by professional rendering artists, Jesus really stepped up his game and eventually placed in the top three and finally won a contest. Now, at 19 years old, Jesus and a friend, Antonio Kemper, are launching a web-based rendering company called No Life Designs. Keep on the lookout for Jesus’ new company, and for more of his renderings, scroll to the bottom of the page!

Koapono Patrick is the mastermind behind these great looking renderings. At only 20 years old, he is one of the young guns in the industry, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his artwork. Koapono has been drawing cars and trucks since he was a kid, and about six years ago, he started working with Adobe Photoshop. With a degree in Graphic Communication, Koapono is more than capable of taking your visions and putting them on paper. For more information, go to www.kpconcepts.com.

Corey Calloway has been drawing cars most of his life. After graduating with a degree in Visual Communications, he has worked in numerous design firms and agencies. He finally landed a job with Weld Racing as a creative director and broke into the automotive industry. He has done SEMA vehicle renderings for companies such as Weld Racing, BMF wheels, Genuine Boyds, and Sean John.

When we first laid eyes on Ben Rickel’s renderings, we knew we had to get them in the magazine and share them with all of our readers. They’re just so unlike anything we’ve seen before. Each rendering shown here is the culmination of between 60 and 300 hours of computer modeling from the sheetmetal to the frame. The trucks are fully 3D, so once it’s complete, Ben can show any angle you’d like, and in any color. Ben designed each wheel you see in the renderings, so don’t ask who makes them, because so far they exist only on his computer. Ben wouldn’t share what sort of modeling software he uses, he’s keeping that a secret, but if you’d like to contact him about his renderings, you can find him on his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/benjamin.rickel. In addition to the small sample in the magazine, this story includes more than 40 other killer renderings by Ben!

SOURCE
Benjamin Rickel
www.facebook.com/benjamin.rickel