The cutaway drawing and its artists

December 3, 2010 8:32 AM

The cutaway drawing and its artists. Enjoy.

178 pages long and counting, every single one of them has some amazing pictures -- many of them contributed by the original artists, almost all in high-res images, and occasionally with work-in-progress scans. Mostly dedicated to motorsports, there are a few other types of machines scattered throughout.

posted by clorox (15 comments total)

P.S. I've found the most rewarding way to sift through it is to just jump to a random page.
posted by clorox at 8:34 AM on December 3, 2010

Looking at these incredibly intricate pieces, mostly rendered in technical pen with watercolor or airbrush, makes me feel a bit less intimidated by needing to draw ninety-nine missiles to finish off a project of mine. n.n
posted by egypturnash at 9:07 AM on December 3, 2010

This is the kind of thing I wanted to learn how to do here. I see he mentions a "Technical Graphics school" but that term usually just finds AutoCad now. :(
posted by DU at 9:26 AM on December 3, 2010

The golden age of the airbrush. These are lovely. Thanks!
posted by Thorzdad at 9:41 AM on December 3, 2010

Big collection of car cutaways.
posted by Kabanos at 11:08 AM on December 3, 2010

The working drawings of Tony Matthews are the best thing in that thread, partly because the finished drawings look so gaudy and mass-produced, while the working drawings look raw and unconcerned with polish. They almost seem to accomplish their illustrative goal better than the finished drawings because they feel more like an exploded interior view, where hidden lines are visible and the relationships between components are actually connected by axial lines.
posted by fatbird at 12:10 PM on December 3, 2010

Kevin Hulsey creates some great technical illustrations (automotive and otherwise). Along with his own portfolio, he's got a Masters Gallery dedicated to some legends in the fields (includes lots of large-size images). DU: You may be interested in his free tutorials.

Also: Vintage cutaway illustrations previously on mefi.
posted by Kabanos at 12:11 PM on December 3, 2010

My graduating class was one of the last ones at our college that had to create technical illustrations with t-squares, ellipse templates, tech pens, and airbrush. First assignment was always a black and white exploded drawing of your own tech pen. After that we worked our way up to create large technical cutaways. When things were going well, working for hours on a massive cutaway (similar to this) could become hypnotic, even meditative. But far too often that zen-like state was shattered by the sudden realization that all these component parts would JUST NOT LINE UP (like the last empty square of a screwed-up sudoku). So you would just take it out on your art, and have to beg for an extension.

Now the kids get to use illustrator, photoshop, and 3D modeling software. And an undo button.

Get off my lawn! I've just covered it with a nice piece of clear acetate!
posted by Kabanos at 12:17 PM on December 3, 2010 [3 favorites]

I would love to have an original to frame and hang up in my house. Does anyone know if they are available and for how much $?
posted by digsrus at 12:33 PM on December 3, 2010

...partly because the finished drawings look so gaudy and mass-produced, while the working drawings look raw and unconcerned with polish.

fatbird, you might like some of the work of Beau and Alan Daniels. In particular, their retro-style illustrations for a Toyota FJ Cruiser ad campaign.
posted by Kabanos at 12:50 PM on December 3, 2010

Ahh! The Borg took apart the Enterprise!
posted by plinth at 1:01 PM on December 3, 2010

fatbird, you might like some of the work of Beau and Alan Daniels.

Those are pretty nice, though of course it begs the question of, if they wanted that Olde Timey pencil drawing feel, they didn't just pull out a pencil :)
posted by fatbird at 1:06 PM on December 3, 2010

My personal favorite cutter-away is Russell Porter, previously mentioned on mefi. And this, and this, which also has this Masters Gallery: Art of the Cutaway, which Kabanos already mentioned upthread.
posted by foonly at 3:56 PM on December 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

A little love for the kids' fave, David Macaulay.
posted by Rat Spatula at 11:48 PM on December 3, 2010

Reminds me of the Dinotopia books, which often featured cutaways of fantastical things. Example.
posted by breath at 1:07 AM on December 5, 2010