Personalised Automotive Retouching - Bringing cinematic drama to YOUR photos!
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Archive revisit: Ford Mustang GT. From the Swiss Alps - to that Dusty Highway.
'I got in touch with Alyssa in Switzerland who drives this incredible Ford Mustang GT Premium. She loved the idea of this moody retouch'.
This was made into a 1.5 metre print and has pride of place in her apartment. Sehr Cool!
DM me for details as to how to get YOUR perfect Automotive gift.
1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville:
A classic Cadillac taken out from the suburbs to the Nevada desert. Back in time to one of my first Highway Stars retouches. Interestingly it was an homage to my airbrush retouches of a previous century. Note those 'painted' hills.
After these early retouches, I began to work entirely with photos for the background montages adding dust and atmosphere digitally. See the later version in a moonlit setting with an abandoned gas station in the background.
Get in touch if you'd like me to give YOUR Classic American car an inspirational backdrop. The prints make great Birthday Gifts. Simply send me a couple of photos of your car and I'll get back to you with some ideas and prices. She's worth it!
Cruising through Monument Valley...listening to the radio...with no particular place to go.
Here's a retouch I did a while ago for Ben Klemenzon, Editor at the Classic American Magazine I took his beautifully restored Ford from a UK motorway and retouched him into the Monument Valley.
Where would your Dream Location be...?
Take me to Cuba!
Here's some retouches doing just that. From trailer park to downtown Havanna. There's lots of digital rebuilding, montaging and retouching on both of these cars but I think they both look cool.
Get in touch if you'd like to see YOUR car retouched into a Personalised backdrop.
Dodge Chargers - in the Nevada desert.
Here's a quick breakdown of the step-by-step process for taking the Chargers from a UK country lane out to the Nevada desert
Great photo - thanks again to Classic American Magazine for giving me the go-ahead to work up their excellent photo.
Top Left: Original photo - then a concept sketch and a slow montage of the components to make up the C-I-N-E-M-A-T-I-C Backdrop.
Get in touch if you'd like me to give YOUR car(s) the Highway Stars treatment..wherever you want to go!
After seeing Zeltango futuristic barn find yesterday, I went through my archives and found a Dystopian project I started for a client. Step-by-step process and the final picture. Get in touch if you'd like your vehicle transported into a Sci-Fi scene...
Go and find this guy - he’s a genius and pioneer of tongue in cheek AI artwork. I love it. Inspirational!
And here’s the next 5-a-Day.. A selection of sports and racing cars from the 60s and 70s. Let me retouch your classic car back into an historic racing moment whether that’s the Targa Floria, Le Mans, or the Monte Carlo Rally. DM for details.
Working on several new projects but, in the meantime, I’ll post 5-a-Day to brighten up the winter months! Starting with artwork sent through to In2Motorsports for my portfolio with them. https://www.in2motorsports.com/highway-stars-the-art-of-simon-roberts/
Great photo of a white Corvette at an OK Diner but...the owner felt it could do with a little more drama. No problem.
So, I gave it a bit of Highway Stars treatment. Definitely a bit more 'Blade Runner'!
Winter. It's that time of year when I go through my archives and take a look at some of my early retouches. Here are some of my favourites showing 'Before and After' photos.
Get in touch if you'd like me to give some of your photos the Highway Stars treatment. What backdrop? The Sky's the Limit!
2024. Happy New Year everybody! I hope you enjoyed the Festive Season.
I'm looking forward to working on some exciting new projects in the coming weeks - I'll be posting regularly. Get in touch for YOUR Personalised Automotive Artwork..
A last minute Christmas Eve post. The guys at are helping Santa to speed things up. Time is running out….Go Santa!
Charles Phoenix does these videos SO well. This era of car design just takes my breath away..
Christmas Countdown - and another classic Highway Stars Xmas retouch. Santa opted for the Red Mustang and where better to start his Xmas eve run - than Santa Pod.. Go Santa!
Another classic Highway Stars Christmas card - Feel free to share it as YOUR Xmas card.. Merry Christmas!!
The Big Picture!
Phil W.is one Happy Customer now he’s hung the final artwork at his home in the U.K..
If you remember, Phil was keen to get all his Corvette Collection onto one Cinematic scene. He loved the Gas station idea as his family had history with the Redwing brand.
After a series of mock-ups, the final digital artwork came together and Phil arranged for an impressive 2 metre x 1 metre print on Foamex. Great choice. Great result!
Get in touch if you know someone who’d love to have their cars built into a Unique, Personalised scene…wherever that might be!
Calling all Car photographers in the U.K./ Europe - I’m looking to share a stand/costs at a Classic Sportscar show in 2024.
The idea being that we would complement each other at the same time promoting our skills independently.
I’m very happy to do a sample retouch using one of your photos. Sample below.
If this is something you’d consider, please get back to me. Thanks!
Had some Festive Fun yesterday with the guys from . Borrowed a rod from their cool site and gave it the Christmas (re)touch. Thanks guys! Get in touch if you want YOUR rod given the Special treatment
Signed, sealed, and delivered! Another Happy Highway Stars customer. The brief: 'Can you put my cars into a cool backdrop - ideally a personalised gas station scene'.
'Oh, can you shut the headlights down on the black one - and do some body retouching?' No problem. 'And I'd like some Redwing branding dropped in but it's got to look old..' Job done. No AI - just hours of Photoshop - shaping, distorting, and blending to get the scene looking good.
The major part was getting the individual cars to look as if they were actually parked up together. I'd begun piecing the background together for another project, but I needed to extend it left and right to fit the format which was going to be 2m x 1m. Epic!
After that, it was more blending, more dust, and finally some tumbleweed.. Great result - I'm looking forward to seeing the XXL print hung in place.
If you'd like me to take YOUR car(s) to a Dream Location - send a few photos through and I'll get back to you with some ideas. The Perfect Personalised Christmas Gift!
Work in Progress: The Commission: Put these cool Corvettes into a CINEMATIC location. Before Christmas.
Phil W. from the UK sent me the photos individually but wanted them grouped together. That was a challenge! I've roughly montaged them together into two options - Mel's Drive-in or a desert highway gas station.
He's gone for the gas station because there's family history in that business. That's what I call Personalised Artwork. Getting the personal story in there!
The final artwork is going to be printed 2 metres x 1 metre! Watch this space for updates.
Work in Progress: The Commission: Put these cool Corvettes into a CINEMATIC location.
Phil W. from the UK sent me the photos individually but wanted them grouped together. That was a challenge! I've roughly montaged them together into two options - Mel's Drive-in or a desert highway gas station.
He's gone for the gas station because there's family history in that business. That's what I call Personalised Artwork. Getting the personal story in there!
The final artwork is going to be printed 2 metres x 1 metre! Watch this space for updates.
What on earth do you buy a Ferrari 250GT owner for Christmas? In fact, what do you buy ANY Classic Sports car owner for Christmas?
How about some Unique Highway Stars Personalised Artwork to be displayed on his, or her garage wall? Or the lounge, or the bedroom?
I took this Ferrari back in time to the 1959 Auto Tour de France. It could have been back to the Mille Miglia or the Tarrga Floria.. So much better than a simple enlargement of a nice photo.
Add Highway Stars to your Classic Sports Car owner's Christmas list. I'm busy but we can fit in some Personalised artwork ready for print before Christmas. DM me for details.
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'Great! Thanks for the T-shirt and socks.'
If only they'd got in touch with Highway Stars for that Unique, PERSONALISED artwork of MY car. Maybe next year'.
Another Christmas Day Let-Down.. '
Don't wait till next year, send photos through to me NOW and I'll get back to you with some ideas, a mock-up and some prices. Whatever your style of car, wherever your Dream location is - I can put artwork together ready for a framed print before Christmas. Don't have another Christmas Day Let-Down.
This Christmas - Let's give YOUR car, bike or truck the dramatic setting it deserves!
That could be back to a classic moment in racing history - Le Mans? the Mille Miglia? Maybe forward to a Mad Max backdrop, or simply cruising along Route 66 circa 1955, 'with no particular place to go..'
I can give your Pride and Joy the CINEMATIC drama it deserves - a Personalised and Unique gift for you and yours. Great as photographic prints or on canvas.
All I need is a few photos and I'll get back to you with some ideas for layouts and locations to produce your PERSONALISED Artwork.
This Christmas don’t just buy your car-lover a set of furry dice - get them a piece of Unique, Personalised artwork to hang on the wall!
These 3 cool cars were supplied by Harley G. And I transported them from a seaside carpark to Mels' Drive-in. Can you spot the subtle modifications I did to the cars in the before and after photos?
Get in touch if you'd like your cars retouched into your dream location..
What do you buy a Lamborghini owner for Christmas? You buy him - or her, a beautiful piece of Personalised artwork to adorn the apartment walls.
I've chosen a wintry background montage for these stunning white Countachs but they would also look good outside the Casino at Monte Carlo or being driven to Portofino along the Amalfi Coast.. The choice is yours.
DM me for details as to how we can put the Perfect Personalised Gift together before Christmas..
Ah, the Promenade des Anglais in Nice circa 1957..what a place that must have been. The Tour de France - automobile race. Here's a retouch I've just completed (in between commissions) of a Ferrari 250 GT setting off on a stage of that event.
This was unusual in that I selected the background photograph first, then found a car to fit. Normally the other way round. This could be the first of many.
WORK IN PROGRESS: A 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 'Tour de France'.
As the world votes on which Classic 50s sports car I should retouch next 😉 - see previous posts, I started reading up about the cars and in particular this Ferrari. It turns out that Ferrari took the first 3 places in the 1957 Tour de France Automobile Race. I'd never heard of it. Apparently it ran until 1986. More info here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_France_Automobile
So I started Googling and found some classic photos from the era. Search out Archives Maurice Louche who was there in the thick of the action. The website is also a classic piece of early internet design.
I found the Ferrari on Wallup.net and started the retouch. I want to start putting restored cars back into original scenes. Either the south of France or the legendary Mille Miglia in Italy, Goodwood in the UK and Daytona Beach - to name but a few - in the US. Watch this space.
OK - on with my 1950s Spotify playlist...
2021. More colour. Starting with RED. Which one do you want to see given the Highway Stars treatment?
Corvette..Ferrari..Porsche..or Austin Healey? A,B,C or D?
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Choosing my new E-Type Jaguar convertible at JD Classics/Woodham Mortimer..(In your dreams Si!) Just had the pleasure of a personalised tour of the JD Classics workshop with Paul and Dave. Great to experience the workshop for real after so many years of watching online. I have never seen so many beautiful cars under one roof. Thanks guys. More photos and a special Highway Stars retouch in upcoming posts.
Flashback Friday.. Here's the latest 'animated' Highway Stars retouch. It's my homage to the 1990 David Lynch film 'Wild at Heart' with Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern. Sure was a Wild film. I'm adding these to my YouTube channel (Highway Stars Retouching) and this will be in the new playlist of 'Cars in the Movies'. There are a few others in the pipeline too - namely Steve McQueen's Ford Mustang in 'Bullitt' and also his Porsche 917 in the iconic 1970 'Le Mans'. Also a certain Aston Martin DB5 in 'Goldfinger'. Any other classic car movies you can think of? I'll add them to the list.
Let me take you back in time..to a previous century. Long before the digital age. This is a snapshot showing how the idea of 'Highway Stars' began. I didn't mention that originally I'd been trying to (unsuccessfully) sell my personal airbrush illustrations as prints. From there I moved to working on (underpriced) full colour illustrations for car owners before hitting on the idea of retouching photos of their cars (much more cost-effective). I retouched them into desert scenes, drag strips, and thunderstorms. It was nerve-wracking stuff with no 'undo' button so a spitting airbrush could mean disaster.. Fast Forward to the digital age. SO much more fun. Such an infinite range of background options - and clean nostrils. Airbrushing a big blue sky meant blue snot for days.. Not a great look. So, as Buzz Lightyear says, 'to infinity and beyond!'
Please bear with me - I'm just seeing if I can easily upload films like the one I produced for the youtube channel yesterday.. I'm planning on putting more step-by-step videos together.
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?
What I love about the Art of Digital Retouching is the way you can transform someone’s Pride and Joy into a dream location. This could be putting a classic American car onto Route 66, or projecting a biker into the future, or an Off Roader into the Sahara desert. Where do you want to be?
I’ve been working as a graphic artist for many decades and I’m really enjoying using those traditional skills learned in drawing offices with digital technology.
