Before any car or truck is built, the first thing that has to be laid out is a concept. To do this requires an engineering mind of sorts, but once the ideas start bubbling to the surface, an automotive artist has to be hired to put pencil to paper in order to bring the concept to life and give the builder direction. With that said, we salute all of the talented automotive artists out there that are bringing to us, the automotive enthusiasts, ideas for our own projects. One such talented artist is Ed White of Fast Eddy’s Hot Rod Art (www.fehrarules.com) out of Katy, Texas.

The Low Down: “How It’s Done… Fast Eddy Style”

The mechanics of Ed’s creativity on paper consist of pencil, ink, color, shine, and then, Ed scans it and lays it over a background in Photoshop. Ed rarely uses the computer for his renderings, however, he will sometimes “Frankenstein” some pictures together to see if an all-new idea is worth doing a full rendering on. Most of the time, Ed’s doodles are no bigger than a couple inches, which will get the creativity juices flowing, but once the pencil starts skidding, there is no computer activity until the car is complete.

The above grouping of images gives you some insight into just a few of the steps it takes to create a truly one-of-a-kind custom rendering of a car. This definitely isn’t doodling in study hall.

Tools of the Trade: “The Magic Box”

Ed has a storage container he affectionately calls the “magic box”, which retains all of the tools of his trade– pencils, erasers, straight edges, Sharpie and Marks-A-lot markers, etc. Some of Ed’s tools were made by himself, such as a clear plastic notebook cover, which helps with accuracy since it is see-through. He also uses an “old school” metal-strip ruler that is “jacked up” a bit off of the canvas, which enables Ed to use a brush to apply the white “shine” to paper. In the bottom part of the box, referred to as “the basement”, Ed keeps a mini water bottle on hand, which is used to rejuvenate the white shiny material, along with all the colors (Prismacolor) he uses– sky blues, light greys, dark greys, and blacks.

“As for the tools, this is where the magic happens.” -Ed White

Completed Projects: “It’s Alive!”

There are many projects that have jumped from Ed’s mind to canvas, and eventually into a working real life truck or car. What a concept, right? Here are just a few of the many projects that were actually built.

1954 Corvette

This ’54 Vette concept was conjured up on canvas for Jay Jorgensen of Speedway Customs in Lake Havasu, Arizona, and ended up winning “Best Overall Custom” at the Grand National Roadster Show.

1970 Chevelle

Ed knocked out this rendering for a shop named Color Etc. in Houston, Texas. Several of Ed’s ideas were combined and used in the completed project. This car is owned by Rice University Professor Richard Tapia and it is a head turner! To view more of the finished car visit: www.caam.rice.edu/~rat/cars/chevelle/index.html

1986 Chevy C10

This rendering was drawn for Hill’s Hot Rods in Lubbock, Texas, and they kept the “real life version” identical to the rendering. More of this truck can be viewed at: www.hillshotrods.com