Students may like this book for the nice images, but as far as technique and instruction goes “How to Illustrate and Design Concept Cars” falls flat.

When I was given the opportunity to review “How to Illustrate and Design Concept Cars”, a guide created to help automotive design fans draw cool cars, a realization struck me:  as a schooled designer I am very protective about who, what, and how automotive design should be taught to the masses.  I’m of the old school thought in that proper design training only happens in colleges or through rigorous and continual practice.  At least that was part of it, until recently.

With the proliferation of new media across the internet it is possible to receive ample training in the tools and techniques required to help sketch cars.  But, that’s where it stops.  Illustration and design are two very different things.  One can illustrate a car, but designing one requires a level of problem-solving that you can’t teach without human interaction.  Even though this book has “design” on the cover it primarily focuses on the techniques associated with sketching.  And, unfortunately, it misses the mark in that respect.

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