For the third year in a row, I have had the honor of creating the Long Haul Gang magnets given at each stop on the Hot Rod Power Tour. For 2019, I made it a personal mission to man the wheel on Creative Direction as well as producing the art, and at the risk of sounding like an overly-proud parent, this one raises the bar. Let’s tear into the artwork and see what makes it tick, and drop a few tips and tricks your way, too. I’m a giver.

When working on a drawing, little can create impact like line weight. From the most basic uses in describing weight, position in space or even highlighting a featured subject in your work to defining motion, the width of a simple stroke can do many things. I implement this thinking into each piece I create, right from the start, and today I’m throwing down a masterclass on the essentials and value of using line weight to carve out your own signature style.

The plan has been simple: Show the workflow, the art, the technique an all of the warts and whatnots that go into creating a rendering or illustration the “Problem Child Kustoms Way.” Suffice to say, it’s been a ton of work thus far, but very rewarding and eye-opening for me, both from a technical standpoint and as an artist. I’ve realized many key things about my work, as well as just how often I let a few f-bombs fly. Crazy how that can go.