Guest Chopper #1: John Nguyen

A second generation Hyundai Genesis coupe for the right-hand drive European market, here in drop-top HT form.

G U E S T  C H O P — We have a special treat this morning—I'm featuring my first Guest Chopper! John Nguyen, also known online as Culong81, is a young photoshopper whose work I've been keeping my eye on for 2-3 years now. I first saw his chops at Motor Trend's Artist Loft forum, and he keeps getting better and better, posting his work at a few more sites now, givin' the people what they want! He's also quite a humble fellow, an admirable trait in the webworld. He takes the occasional criticism well and keeps coming up with cool cars the factories haven't. I saw his latest creation, this Hyundai Genesis HT a few days ago at CarSpyShots.com, and offered him the first "guest star" role here at casey/artandcolour. I'm delighted he accepted.

His Genesis is really a work of art. He has taken Hyundai's current, and very fashionable, design language, and extrapolated out into a second generation. The grille and headlights work beautifully with the "swoosh" side swage, incorporating the door handle in a very clean way. The exterior and interior colors are a classic combination, and the car has none of that "chopped off" roof look or "big ass" look of most retractable convertibles on the market today. I was really impressed with this photoshop piece the second I saw it. Its seamless execution also shows a mastery of the program. It has really been fun watching his work get better and better these past few years.