1. Introduce yourself. Name, age, location, artistic background.
My Name is Hussein Al-Attar, turning 22 next month (May). I'm Iraqi living in Gemany for about 6 and a half years now. As you can see from the content of my gellery here, I love cars and designing them. I've always been a car fan and a son of an artistically talented man, who was a car fan too. So it was actually logical that the first thing I've ever drawn was a car!

2. What inspires you?
Well, everything and nothing. Sometimes I look at architecture or some nicely designed products and get some ideas for a new car. And sometimes I only have an idea of e.g. a new front design, without having any source of inspiration that led me to getting it. I also like looking at design students works and of course visiting motor shows to take closer looks at the concept cars and study the new trends and shapes presented there.

3. When did you start designing?
Well, as I mentioned before it began in my very early years. I started drawing when I was something like 5 or 6 years old. I'd say my first designed car was done when I was 7 or 8.

4. How did you develop your style?
Looking at real photos and analysing the reflections is very helpful. Also looking at other artists' stylings and trying to imitate them and developing it further until you get to create an all new personal style was a helpful method. That meant of course practicing, practicing and more practicing. I had to draw as much as I could to get to the level I wanted. Now that may sound really boring, but the cool thing is that the whole thing doesn't feel like practicing at all, because it's a lot of fun. I sit on some renderings for about 10 hours, without really noticing that.
By the way, i'm not saying that I've reached the level I wanted, but I'm kinda close to it. The internet was a great help too. It introduced great designers like Harald Belker and Scott Robertson to me, who influenced my rendering/painting style very much.

5. Who came to you first for one of your designs?
Well I actually got some offers from some small companies who were looking for professionals and contacted me thinking that I was one. After clarifying the misunderstanding they never replied! Then there were also some offers from companies, which were not really interested in whether I'm a pro or not, but they did not want to pay anything for my services, saying that "experience is a great benefit". Well, I can't agree any more, but when they say that the project is going to run over 18 months or 2 years, then I thought that only experience is not that enough for a poor student like me.
The first real 'offer' came from a small American company which specialized in producing tree-wheel electric cars. They bought one of my designs so that they could use the ideas and styling elements of it in one of there new projects.

6. Any big designs coming up?
At the moment, there are no big design projects to soon be shown here. But currently I'm working with a famous rent-a-car company here in Germany on some project and I may show some of the results, if they allow me to.
And also, there is a new, more detailed rendering tutorial coming. So stay tuned.

7. How do you feel about your fanbase?
I can't be more satisfied! Fortunately, there are lots of people who know and admire my work from different parts of the world. I've found sites and forums in Chinese, Russian, Arabic and many other languages where people post my work and discuss it. I also couldn't believe my ears when I was once recognized by a guy I saw in the design faculty of the university I'm going to apply to next year here in Germany. He asked, "Hey are you Hussein?", "Yeah" I said believing that it's not happening. "I know you from the internet. Cool work!"
Man, I love this virtual world.

8. What do you think of Designs & Interfaces as a whole?
It's indeed one of my favourite galleries on dA. I was missing good old Automotive design subgallery there. Now the new Vehicular Graphics subgallery does the job pretty well. Although I once suggested to open a Concept Design section which would also contain environments, robotics and tranportation design. Lots of great works are lost in the shapeless Miscellaneous section.

Be sure to check out Hussein's designs over at his dA account, ~husseindesign.