- What if told you
the most exciting builds on Instagram
aren't even real cars?
Boof,
boof.
(car engines revving)
These are renders,
outrageous machines built with 3-D modeling software.
Social media posts of these cars
have exploded in the past two years
with new artists posting every day.
And it's got me wondering,
how can this art
change
the automotive industry?
Okay, before I talk about Instagram
we need to talk about the history
of automotive design
in the context of the automotive industry.
That way we'll see how Instagram car art
is so different from the formal stuff.
Then we'll meet some artists
and talk about their processes and influences.
Then we'll take a look at one production car
I think was directly influenced by these artists.
After that I'll give you a short list of artists
I think you should follow
right now.
Finally I'll get sappy
and talk about why I think fusing art and cars
is so cool.
(upbeat electronic music)
Automotive design is an art form
steeped in tradition.
Most concepts for any car you've ever seen
started as a sketch on a piece of paper,
penned by an automotive designer
with formal training.
These people went to school to design cars.
I went to school to learn how to party,
and guess what?
I got my Master's,
with a focus on keg stands.
Generally these designers
can't just design whatever they want
and the factory will make it.
Company leadership decides what to build
based off of market demand
and the designers have to ride the fine line
between sketching a car that looks amazing
but also conforms to parameters like safety,
practicality,
and desirability.
After a car is drawn out and approved,
then the designers have to bring that idea
into the real world
by modeling the car in clay.
You've probably seen this before, right?
Slick B-roll of designers scraping away at a car,
getting the shape just right.
There's probably a guy with glasses,
and since the clay is the same color as my skin
it kinda looks like they're building some
horrific human car hybrid,
kinda like that episode of Full Metal Alchemist
with the,
the chimera.
- Can we play now?
- These clay models are actually still
very valuable in the industry,
despite the fact that VR exists.
That's because you can actually walk up
and touch these things
and see them in the real world.
You can tell that a real life person
worked on it,
and that's why they still use
this old school technique.
The end result of that OEM pipeline
is usually a concept car,
the kind that you see unveiled at an auto show
when they pull a shiny cover off the car
and people go, "Whoa."
And then inevitably the production model
is way different, which is fine, okay?
Concepts are all about
drumming up interest in your brand
and showing people
where you're going.
Just look at Kia's process for the Stinger.
First we saw the GT concept in 2011,
then the GT4 Stinger in 2014,
then finally the consumer version of the Stinger in 2017.
It changed a lot,
but there are still a lot of elements still present
in the final form,
just like that poor girl's personality
was still in that dog chimera thing.
This pipeline uses the art of automotive design
to drum up a ton of hype for auto makers.
These concepts get tons of exposure
on auto magazine sites and social media,
but it all started with a trained artist
putting pencil to paper,
which is a little different
than how a lot of Instagram-based artists
got their start.
(electronic music)
I was lucky enough to interview
three of the most well-known render artists
in the world right now.
Khyzyl Saleem,
Jon Sibal,
and Ash Thorp.
If you're any level of car nerd,
you've probably seen these guys's work
on your Instagram discover page.
A common theme between these guys
is that they're not formally trained
in automotive design.
They either started in fields like graphic design,
or just taught themselves
how to use rendering software.
For example, Khyzyl is the most Instagram famous
of these guys.
But he started doing graphic design
when he was 17,
then started working at EA Games when he was 21
doing concept art in environments
for Need for Speed 2015.
Ash Thorp was also working in the gaming field
doing menu design for games like Call of Duty,
as well as doing art design for movies
like Ghost in the Shell.
And Jon Sibal's been doing comic book art
longer than I've been alive.
These guys are artists
first and foremost.
So we know a little bit about these artists,
but how do they actually make their art?
For a long time,
I thought that renderers
were just really good with Photoshop
and got their work done that way,
but it's actually
a lot more impressive.
Take a look at this shot by Khyzyl.
First, it looks like a photo, right?
Well, it's not.
Nothing in this shot is real.
He had to model the car himself,
then modify it,
then give the scene color,
and then on top of that,
he had to take a photo
in the digital space.
If you wanna learn how
to take good photos in the real world,
check out this video right here.
Larry Chen taught me.
These artists are different
than auto designers, though.
And I don't mean for that
to take anything away from either side.
I think they're in a symbiotic relationship.
The designers make a product,
then the artists make it their own.
The designers probably think it's pretty cool
they made something that inspired art.
One common trend in the auto render space
is the use of sci-fi imagery.
Both Khyzyl and Ash use dystopian
and cyberpunk imagery in their work
which helps sell the realism of the renders.
A tricked-out McLaren P1
with Le Mans aero wheels and quad exhaust
might be hard to believe
when it's parked in a suburban neighborhood.
But you bathe that sucker in neon
and park it on wet asphalt,
that's cyberpunk AF.
I believe that car exists in that universe.
Examples like this,
this, and this
harken back to a retro vision of the future,
one influenced by films like Blade Runner,
Total Recall, and Back to the Future.
And that's because these artists
are huge fans of those films.
And who isn't?
The whole vapor wave aesthetic
is based on this style.
Retro futurism is huge right now.
I think that guys like Khyzyl
have helped bring that style
into the car world mainstream.
And one auto maker went all out with it.
- [Man] So I present to you the cybertruck.
- The cybertruck.
You've seen the memes,
and you've seen the hate probably.
But in all that noise
I don't think the cybertruck
got its full due,
at least from me anyway.
I said it on my Twitter,
I like the Tesla truck.
It's different,
and if it's anything like Tesla's other models,
it'll probably drive pretty well, too.
Render artists were quick to put out
their own spins on the truck,
including our friend Khyzyl.
The cybertruck might be controversial
or even ugly,
but I applaud Tesla
for doing something completely different
than everyone else in the market.
That's precisely the reason
it got so much press.
We've never seen an auto maker
produce something like this.
- This is a truck that is not designed for truck owners.
- You're like Thomas Edison
made cybertruckers pretty new.
- Cybertruck was cool, all right?
- The ridiculous design of the new Tesla-
- Cybertruck.
I'm gonna get it. - This is very divisive.
- We have, however, seen it in the movies.
Blade Runner, Robocop,
and that one with Stallone in the Pizza Hut
all had pointy cars.
- Now all restaurants are Pizza Hut.
- No way.
- And here is where I'm gonna make
a bold statement, okay?
I think the artist we talked about earlier
might have had a hand
in making the cybertruck a reality.
Those guys are clearly influenced by those films
and use those themes in their art.
That style then made its way
into the ethereal automotive zeitgeist.
Tesla is a pretty online company.
Elon, he loves his memes.
I don't think it's a huge stretch
to imagine a Tesla designer
going through their Instagram page
and seeing Khyzyl or Ash's or Jon's work, okay?
They coulda been like, "Sick.
"I love sci-fi.
"What if I made a pyramid into a truck?"
Then bam!
Cybertruck.
If the cybertruck does well,
it could change the whole industry.
It'll tell other auto makers,
"Hey, use your imagination.
"Go big, don't be afraid.
"C'mon guys."
Maybe, just maybe,
we could see some seriously crazy (beep)
in the next decade,
and I'm all for it, okay?
(electronic music)
So giving Instagram artists credit
for making the cybertruck
might be a little lofty, I'll admit it.
But these artists affect the industry
in other ways, too,
maybe most importantly
by showing people what is possible,
to either acclaim or some criticism.
If you don't follow Khyzyl Ash or Jon on Instagram,
you should definitely do that now.
It's a must do for Wheelhouse fans.
I also have some smaller artists
I think you should check out,
which I will list right now
with some of their art, okay?
Abimelec Design,
Jaked Car Art,
Adry53 Customs,
Karan Adivy,
WNLVD,
Paul Fuentes,
Aaron Beck,
Rain Prisk,
and Robert Designs just to name a few.
I wish I could do what these guys do,
but I can't.
Maybe the coolest part
is that it gives everyone involved
some sort of release.
The art is therapeutic, right?
There's a release when the artists
finally get to post their finished work.
But there's another feeling on the viewer's end, too,
that's almost like a,
like a thank you.
I'm a horrible artist
and could never put what I visualize in my head
onto a piece of paper.
So when I see someone else get close,
I'm like, "Thank you,
"thank you very much.
"Now I can see what I want."
It sounds very woo woo,
but I believe that.
Not to mention that artists like Khyzyl
are designing body kits now, too,
finally bringing their vision
from the screen
into the real world,
which will strengthen their influence
over the industry even more.
It's freaking cool.
Do you like what these guys do
with these crazy renders?
Are you offended by putting a wide body kit
on a Lamborghini Miura?
I think it's pretty tight.
Let me know on Instagram @nolanjsykes,
and Twitter, same thing.
Follow Donut @donutmedia, be kind.
I'll see you next time.
Go make some art.
Nah, I'm a horrible artist
because I never practiced.
Like, I'm like, "I wish I could draw",
but I never draw.
Like, I get surprised
that I can't play my guitar anymore.
It's, like, I haven't touched it in, like, 6 months.