Author Topic: Graeme's profiles (Read 15081 times)

Gingie · « **on:** December 18, 2012, 08:38:03 AM »

Hey gang, here's some of my profiles from about 5 years ago. I was on parental leave with our first child and wanted a quiet hobby with no noxious fumes that I could do in baby's room. So I decided to teach myself how to draw in photoshop 7. Jeebus... I just realized I wrote 5 years ago... where does the time go when you have kids??

In this thread, I'll try to show the profiles in chronological order. The learning curve on PS can be pretty steep, but once you figure out layers and fills, you can be churning out profiles fairly quick.

My first attempt at digital profiles is a Canadian Skyhawk.

And a bit of clumsy attempt at making a super Skyhawk. I was more concerned with giving a weathered appearance to the finish than refined drawing

First attempt at using a layer to change the colour:

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2012, 08:48:40 AM »

Welcome, Gingie! Reminds me of the Canadian Gripen that I did when I first started (and a Canadian Mi-24 Hind). Well done! I look forward to your future profiles here!

Cheers,

Logan

Gingie · « **Reply #2 on:** December 18, 2012, 08:49:50 AM »

Next up is a B-24. Still trying to get the hang of shifting bits around. This sequence shows my modification to a single tail, then adding a lonnnnnng nose, and finally moving the wings lower on the fuselage.

I started looking closer at some other profiler's work and tried to get a hang of highlights, shading, shadows, and glass. Some RCN colours...gotta love EDSG/DSG!

And a boring unification scheme:

Tactical Airlift colours (like the Buffalo and Hercs)

Why would the RCAF Movers need a MAD boom etc? So, off they went.

Always liked the 3-colour wraparound scheme..this thing is reminding me more of a Buffalo now:

Gingie · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2012, 08:51:56 AM »

Cheers Logan! I hope to find some time to do more profiles. I've got a couple Army-themed ones partly done.

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2012, 08:59:34 AM »

Very nice. Some of the best-looking Liberator variants I've ever seen. Reminds me more than a bit of this:

Also has a bit of a Globemaster look there with that low wing.

Cheers,

Logan

Doom! · « **Reply #5 on:** December 18, 2012, 10:49:12 AM »

Nicely done :) If I hadn't seen the Liberator origin I'd have never guessed it in the later profiles.

Litvyak · « **Reply #6 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:14:24 AM »

Unification sucks.

Great profiles, though! :)

apophenia · « **Reply #7 on:** December 18, 2012, 01:31:55 PM »

Great stuff Graeme! I love your Liberator evolutions

Gingie · « **Reply #8 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:13:22 PM »

Cheers!

Wow, that Liberator (Privateer??) does look a lot like mine! And you are right, I never noticed how much of a Globemaster look there was to it. Might have been subconcious as my Uncle was in the USAF on Globemasters.

A couple more colourful versions... I think SAR yellow is pretty much a mandatory WHIF scheme! You can see that the markings don't seem to blend with the finish. I think I was doing all my shading first, and then adding the markings on afterwards.

This scheme was inspired by Air Ontario Convair 580's that would fly over my childhood home. I was trying to get the hang of bare metal finishes with this one:

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #9 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:29:06 PM »

They look nice, Graeme. You'll want to look at how you're doing the hard shadows on cylinders, though. You've got them doing the impossible curve around the bottom of the fuselage, for one.

http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/f29-aircraft-profile-painting/shadows-fuselages-3439/

Look at this topic for a discussion on it. Also, you've got some funkiness going on with the spinner on the second profile, too.

Cheers,

Logan

Gingie · « **Reply #10 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:32:17 PM »

Trying to develop the bare metal finish look here (In the meatime, I'd started work on my CP-140 and CV-122 profiles. These Liberators I came back to after a few more hours on Photoshop):

Adapting a Lancaster SAR Scheme over top:

Gingie · « **Reply #11 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:36:27 PM »

Logan - many thanks for the tip! Part of the problem in not drawing from life is guessing where shadows go. I'll check out the link for sure - digging up these old profiles has got me interested in doing some over. Though I'm afraid of how much I've forgotten over the past half decade!

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #12 on:** December 18, 2012, 11:49:25 PM »

No problem. Also, I did a tutorial on Natural Metal Finishes a number of years ago, though it has changed somewhat since that time in practice.

Finally, if you're fine just learning these things on your own, tell me to keep my advice to myself and I'll gladly just sit back and enjoy the show. Your profiles are lovely and need nothing. I just like to offer help in case someone wants it. A lot of my lessons were ones I had to learn myself, though you can see my evolution over the past 4 years here.

Cheers,

Logan

Gingie · « **Reply #13 on:** December 19, 2012, 12:29:46 AM »

Any & all comments are welcome!

My biggest issue with PS7 was sitting down doing something, and *knowing* there HAD to be an easier way. One of my earliest examples: Drawing individual rivets! Then someone told me about brush spacing to put a dot down and that would save me 10 hours.

Other things that confounded me were drawing straight lines (found out to hold the shift key - at least, thats what I think it was, so long ago now!), and drawing concentric circles.

Are the later versions of PS (CS?) more user friendly?

Gingie · « **Reply #14 on:** December 19, 2012, 12:48:49 AM »

Next up are a few CP-140's. There was talk of these becoming a ground surveillance aircraft (it may have happened, I never kept track). I thought some camouflage Aurora's might be interesting.

And with some colour. This was done before I had figured out shading. The result is very 2-D, but the payoff is you can crank out profiles real quick, it's all good!

And now with some shading and some some WIF cam for a mid-east theatre

The next profiles come pretty quick, I just change the colours in the layers, its really a matter of minutes to change colour. This is what I love about digital art over paint & paper (that, and the ability to erase mistakes!)

Couple solid colours

And trying to do black, so making the panel lines a little lighter for some contrast:

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #15 on:** December 19, 2012, 01:24:43 AM »

Quote from: Gingie on December 19, 2012, 12:29:46 AM

Are the later versions of PS (CS?) more user friendly?

I don't think they're especially more user-friendly. The do add some more functionality, though. I use CS5 at the moment. Just use Google searches and YouTube tutorials for basic help. More specific help generally comes either from the experts on Simmers Paint Shop or (more often) just trial and error figuring it out myself.

Thanks,

Logan

Gingie · « **Reply #16 on:** December 19, 2012, 01:35:22 AM »

Lastly, we have the Osprey. These were the last ones I worked on before ending my parental leave to go to Kandahar. I came back from the mission to a nearly 2 year old daughter and discovered my 'hobby time' had been drastically reduced. I hope to pick up the tablet and start in on these again...the work I've seen on this forum is literally inspiring stuff.

I found out that PS brushes come in all kinds of wacky shapes. I took one and made it into an eraser to create the chipping on the whitewash:

Same brush used, only this time with grey paint to 'add' chips:

elmayerle · « **Reply #17 on:** December 19, 2012, 01:45:29 AM »

I showed these around the office (I'm a design engineer on Bell's part of the V-22) and they were much appreciated.

Excellent stuff!!

Gingie · « **Reply #18 on:** December 19, 2012, 01:46:52 AM »

Some Antipodean schemes:

Sometimes you get into a project and notice the base drawing is wrong. With the Osprey, I realized I had misinterpreted the engine exhaust (there's probably other areas too!). A good lesson in spending more time getting the basic profile right. For this RNZAF scheme, I also tried refining some of my highlighting:

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #19 on:** December 19, 2012, 01:48:30 AM »

Those Ospreys are fantastic! I love the glass on the windshield, especially. Are you open to requests somewhere down the line?

Quote from: Gingie on December 19, 2012, 01:46:52 AM

Sometimes you get into a project and notice the base drawing is wrong. With the Osprey, I realized I had misinterpreted the engine exhaust (there's probably other areas too!). A good lesson in spending more time getting the basic profile right.

Story of my life if you read my thread.

Cheers,

Logan

Gingie · « **Reply #20 on:** December 19, 2012, 02:21:51 AM »

Thanks guys!

Requests - sure, I'll take them. No promises of a rapid turn-around this decade though

One of my other favourite WIF schemes...Swedish Splinter cam.

This one adapted from a USMC CH-53:

And a take-2 on my CF SAR Yellow. I was either prescient or ripped off (LOL) because when I went to the CADSI Arms Show in Ottawa last year, Bell had a fuselage painted up pretty close to what I had drawn back in '07:

The mock-up for the FW SAR replacement from last summer:

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #21 on:** December 19, 2012, 02:33:45 AM »

Those are lovely, the Swedish bird, especially.

Cheers,

Logan

elmayerle · « **Reply #22 on:** December 19, 2012, 02:57:00 AM »

*chuckle* Since I work for Bell, I'll shift the blame to Boeing for that since they build the fuselage.

Jeffry Fontaine · « **Reply #23 on:** December 19, 2012, 03:42:49 AM »

Graeme,

Always good to see your V-22 Osprey profiles. Liked them all the first time around when you shared the profiles at what if modelers forums.

Logan Hartke · « **Reply #24 on:** December 19, 2012, 03:51:25 AM »

You sure those were his you were thinking of?

Thanks,

Logan


Swords to Plowshares GB Now Open!!

News:

Author Topic: Graeme's profiles (Read 15081 times)