Learning to draw in Illustrator

So in my current class this term I'm learning to create drawings on the computer using Illustrator and then also touching them up in Photoshop. It's been a learning curve first getting used to the vector system in Illustrator as I've been living in the pixel world all my life with Photoshop.

I learned some drawing techniques including blending, pattern brushes and gradient meshes. Of the three techniques, I've fallen in favor of using gradient meshes. If you don't know what gradient meshes are, you should look up some professional gradient mesh examples in Google and see that with practice and extreme patience, designers can achieve highly photo realistic looking renders.

The image I am attempting to recreate is of a silver Nissan GTR. You can see the original image below.

So far in two weeks, I've created the main outline and also have nearly completed the front bumper and grill... I got a lot of work cutout for myself.



Here is what the front bumper alone looks like so far... Not too bad I guess.




Here is an outline of the whole car.... You can see how complex the bumper area is compared to the rest of the car...