PVC plumbing tubing was used to form the splines. Attaching them to the frame with wire allowed multiple changes until the concept came together. Once a shape was set by the splines, I then covered the open areas between with a panel made from brown craft paper.  By applying the paper to the PVC with white glue in sections, each panel could then be aligned without warping, stretching, or tearing the paper.

  When working on the shape of the rear fenders, I found that this 3D sketching technique allowed interior and exterior corners to be formed. The interior corners gave a planar, utilitarian look similar to a Jeep, where the exterior corners beveled a transition that more closely resembled modern cars.  This technique also let the concept evolve through iteration, asymmetrically, from side to side.

  Though not a true analog to fabric, paper did point out the restrictions to be considered before the final design’s execution. Most fabrics will stretch a bit more than paper. Fabric can usually handle twists along the panel better also. I used this helical twist in the main side panel to “flip” the taper from front to rear. Paper also creates a hollow shape that lets you “try it on” with a low speed test drive. Try that in a clay model.

  The concept was finalized in the middle of July. The paper was removed in panels and kept as a patterns. The PVC splines were rendered on both sides to confirm the shape. Once the PVC tubes were clipped loose from the frame, their shapes would be lost. Lots of pictures documented the attachment points and Sharpie symbols recorded the direction for later replication.

all included works are created by Dan Vinson