Pattern How Too?

[kmmcrafts]

I had a request for a 1966 Dodge Dart desk clock.. I thought I'd try making my own design.. While I have the car down to where I think I could print and cut it.. I'm not too picky on the pattern design and can cut and know where to put what.. many times I just print the actual car picture and just work off of it.. and follow body lines etc.. 

Where I struggle at is wheels.. and I cannot seem to get the pattern to get me any details on the wheels.. If I get details there.. then I loose them elsewhere etc.. Wouldn't mind knowing how to grab better details on the body lines too.. but that isn't as much of an issue as the wheels.. like I said.. many times I'll just cut the actual picture.. but.. wanting to learn how to do this pattern making so maybe one day I could share or help others with patterns..  

Any tips or advise critiques welcome.. also wouldn't mind seeing what someone else would come up with on this so i could toy around with it to see how close to that I could get.. I use gimp and or inkscape.. Gimp is what i used to get to this point..

Below is my original image and then a cropped out backgrand then what i was getting from it as a pattern.

[heppnerguy]

I  downloaded a few examples of car patterns with a little different wheel drawing methods. I think this may help you to understand some of the ways to handle this dilemma

Dick

heppnerguy.

[kmmcrafts]

Thanks for the idea of looking at other cars.. now I have more on my to do list   .. those are awesome designs... I hope one day I can do some patterns like that.. I ended up finding a different picture to work with and actually got a pattern and cut it out tonight.. I'll show it off in the bragging section in the next day or so..