Artist: Jan Čefelin, AKA Iconic Garage
I often tell myself that in another life, I'd be doing stuff like this.
Before I fell into motoring journalism back in ~2005, I was a full-time graphic designer and hobbyist illustrator, and I spent a lot of time drawing cars. Usually in a bit of a manga style. I've lost most, but there's a few here.
But Jan, here, Jan is an absolute pro and I can't get enough of his work.
The way he takes cars both ordinary and legendary, and throws his particular flair and character across them... the results blow me away every time.
See this Insta post here.
There's a sort of 'rat rod' look to his style, with cars rusted up a little and plastered with tape, while sitting low and wide and comically misproportioned in a familiar car-toon way.
But, at the same time, you can see the hours that go into making a thing that looks so simple.
He does his line work in vector, which takes time! Then he draws all the livery and body effects in Photoshop, designs his own cheeky knockoffs of well-known brand logos as sponsors – and then he shows his work by posting the process steps on his Instagram page.
☝️ He's been showcasing another style lately too, a 'low-res polygon' look effectively places his creations into a 3D space, but made to look like they belong in an old PlayStation 1 game.
Except, when you look closer, you quickly see that while the cars are low-res polygonal, the accessories and parts strapped onto the roof are all in varying degrees of higher-res polygons, so the dichotomy there is really cool and I can't get enough of it.
You can see some of the process steps below, and most of his Instagram posts offer similar details. I have mad respect for the way he gives us all really deep insights into how he does what he does!
Jan, if you're reading this... you gotta do an art book or some prints. I would 100% plaster my walls will your work!
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