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Reference photographs

Modern technology has completely changed the way printed materials are produced today, but during Peter Helck’s era the process involved a great deal of trial and error. Anything that needed to be adjusted — from the curve of a line to the color of a truck’s paint job — required artistic talent, a good eye and a steady hand. There is little doubt that Helck possessed all of those skills and the steps he took to create advertisements for Chevrolet reflect that many times over.

After he was hired by Chevrolet, Helck was given access to internal photographs of brand new factory-fresh Chevrolet trucks to use as a reference point for his drawings. With these photos as a guide, he created a layout grid map which allowed him to scale the truck size and design onto paper during the beginning stages of his work.

These photos were likely for internal use only among General Motor executives and workers, and though we can only speculate at this point, it is possible that they have never been distributed outside the automotive company or seen by the public. The only other known copies to my knowledge are within the General Motors Historical Achieves in Detroit, Michigan.

Shown here is a 1954 Chevy 1500 Cab Over Engine truck prototype. The prototype truck features the same window design from the previous year (1953) of a two-piece windshield with metal trim separating the two-part window assembly. But as you know, they are called prototypes for a reason. When the ’54 Chevy 1500 finally went into production, the two-piece windshield was replaced by a new design of a one-piece front windshield.

See the USA in your brand new, fresh off the assembly line 1955 Chevrolet car or truck.

Pencil Sketches

Using the square grid as a reference, Helck drew “by square” or traced over the image to make a rough sketch of the truck.

The truck in this image was used as a reference for both the truck’s design and how occupants looked sitting inside the cab.

Hand-drawn sketch by Peter Helck of the truck shown above.

As soon as Helck felt confident that he had captured the proper scale of a vehicle, he could then draw the trucks in a range of sizes and from a variety of angles (front, side, rear, etc.) — this helped make each advertisement unique

Another example is shown here.

Prototype Stages of the Advertisements

When creating art for corporate clients during this time period, a number of steps were taken to ensure everything looked its best before publication. And while this holds true even now, advancements in digital design, printing and production technology have streamlined and improved upon the “by hand and by eye” techniques used during Helck’s career.

This particular art print is displayed on a wall within the VCR archives. The story goes that it was sent to Helck while the production department at Chevrolet was experimenting with color values and corrections. While doing so, they made a copy in black and white by mistake. Instead of throwing it away, they gave it to Helck for safekeeping.

Here’s a closer look at the gas station corner drawing by Helck. 

This is the end result of how this painting was used: Cover art for a Chevrolet dealership promotional handout. 

Here is a 1954 Time Magazine Color Proofing page. This was used as the final checkpoint — primarily to make any necessary color corrections — before the advertisement was published in the magazine. The color bars at the bottom of the page enabled the production department and/or printer to determine whether they needed to add more magenta or blue, for example, before the page went to press. Today, a click within a software program tells you the exact opacity of a color and whether or not it needs correcting.

Reverse side of the color proofing page. 

The final results

Peter Helck was responsible for many advertisements and dealer promotional handouts for the Chevrolet truck division during the 1950s.

Below is a small handful of the artwork he was commissioned by Chevrolet to produce. 

1954

1955

1956

1957

It’s clear that Chevrolet hired Helck for his artistic skills, but also for his unique ability to capture the heart and soul of an image on his canvas. Understanding Peter Helck’s artistic process — his use of a grid system to capture scale, for example — puts into perspective the detailed steps behind each truck advertisement he created. Altering a drawing or adding in more color was a time-consuming process, to say the least. And when you consider what is being created in advertising today with the support of AI tools and the speed at which it all comes together — a couple keyboard clicks can make a red truck blue or change the background from the mountains to the beach — it certainly makes for an interesting conversation.

The old fashion way of painting a picture-like scene for a paper magazine advisement will always be treasured and admired for generations, hence why I enjoy publishing these articles to keep that history alive in the modern world. 

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you below