How to Draw Hydraulic Cars
Cars are complex objects to draw but even if you depict them while they are in motion, the recreation isn't terribly difficult to pull off. Hydraulic cars are an exception: they're outfitted with devices that allow each individual wheel to be raised, lowered and—with a skilled operator—be manipulated to make the car hop. Properly capturing the movement of a hydraulics system can add life to a typical drawing of a car. An artist that wants to draw hydraulic cars needs to have knowledge of depicting motion and perspective.
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Instructions
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1
Draw a horizontal line across the page representing the limit of the ground in the distance of the drawing—this won't necessarily be in the final drawing, but it will provide a reference for drawing the car to perspective. Draw axle lines for each set of the wheels of the car; these will be in different positions depending on the perspective and will actually be dots if you draw a side profile. Keep the perspective in mind to keep the axles parallel to each other. Activated hydraulics will mean the axles are at different levels: no matter how far from the ground you draw the grounded axle, it will always be interpreted as one half of a wheel width, so you should keep the proportion of the rest of the vehicle using this standard.
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2
Draw the basic shapes for the parts of the car, starting with basic circles (for wheels) perpendicular to each end of the axle lines. Draw a rectangle representing the bottom of the car, but unlike non-hydraulic cars, it won't necessarily sit flat on the axles. The end of the car where hydraulics are activated will be a little farther away from the wheels than any grounded portion. Continue to draw up from the bottom rectangle to create basic shapes for the various parts of the car; like circles for the headlights and rectangles for the windows. Keep everything in one point perspective, almost as if the more distant parts of the car are shrinking toward a single point on the horizon line.
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3
Erase the hard edges of the shapes of the car and redraw them into curves that will more closely resemble the actual body of the type of car you are trying to emulate. Hydraulic cars are most frequently lowrider hot rods, but the car can be any kind you would like. Erase anything that is not necessary to portraying the body of the car.
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Trace the pencil lines of the car in ink. Let it dry and gently erase away the pencil.
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Tips & Warnings
If you would like the hydraulic car to appear to be hopping, sketch "ghost lines" below the hopping end of the car—incomplete lines that copy the bottom surface of the vehicle to show where the car has recently been. Hopping is achieved by the operator deploying the hydraulics on one end of the car very fast, so that end will be deployed during the hop: imagine how your own legs extend during a jump.
