Renault 4 'life drawing' sketches by way of Juno...

Odd one this post. I finally got to see the film Juno a few days ago, really enjoyed it, a fantastic script and performances. I was really taken by the production design, especially feel of the title sequence. It's nice to see that they carried through that loose naive sketch style through the film and into the promo materials and DVD / CD packaging, more often the case with an indie film than your standard hollywood fare don't you think...?

Although it doesn't tally with how I tend to go about my illustration I've always liked strong line based images, especially when balanced with bold flat graphics. Egon Schiele, Klee, Miro, Picasso... I think it was Paul Klee that talked about 'taking a line for a walk' when you sketch, and when I usually try and eliminate any 'excess lines' in my work I think it sometimes also loses a sprightliness. By way of nothing I was looking for something to warm up doodle and, for no real reason, I thought back to the quirky Renault 4 car my family drove when I was a kid. At the time you wanted to drive in the same cars everyone else did but, in retrospect, I really love the little things that made the Renault stand out from the crowd (a car outsider just like Juno in the film...? I shouldn't over analyse myself...). I remember the puzzling 'umbrella handle' gear stick that stuck out from the dashboard and the weird front bumper loops that I always thought were handles to pull the car by if it broke down! I'd usually construct my drawings with basic geometric volumes first in order to get all the relationships between elements fixed and then add line over the top but, in keeping with the Juno images bouncing around in my brain I just went at it, life drawing style, and to hell with the results. A lot of fun to loosen up and not over plan things.