Aircraft - F-18E Painting Step by Step

[jetplane]

For those that are interested I'll run a thread here showing how I develop a finished oil painting from the concepts and renders.

These are the original thumbnail sketches which I scribbled down a couple of years ago.


A render in lightwave based on the 2nd thumbnail


After a lot of trail and error, mainly playing around with the composition this lead to this more polished render


This is re-textured Mesh Factory model to represent VFA-143

I also created a blank set of textures to help create the master line drawing.


The line drawing will then be copied onto the canvas, which is to be 36" x 18". The main F-18E will measure out at 20 inches or thereabouts.

P

[3D_CG]

O.m.g.


wow awesome

I use to love working on those planes....



new Desktop wahoooooo

[Rigel]

This should be very interesting.

[bmckain]

Watching this one.

[Omnipotent]

pulling up a chair!

[BillS]

I'm in too!

[3D_CG]

Pass the beer, Please, I am stuck in this chair, again...

Buurrrrrpppppp... Opppss, Sorryy, Excuse me..




I was attached to VFA-135, out of Lemoore Calif.


I really really really need to dig up those pictures I took when i was in the navy and scan em...

[jetplane]

Well I finally got around to fixing a canvas to a board, and got the line drawing transferred and sealed in with an acrylic wash.



And today the fun starts with paint going down. About six hours work on masking the smaller Hornet and blocking in the sky.



I'll need to let this dry before working on it further.

Oil on canvas 36" x 18"

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[Rigel]

Very cool.

[vitruvian]

Thank you for showing your creative process painting !

[jetplane]

Two days work sees the" in light" colours roughed in on the main F-18.
The shadow tones will go down next and then all will be re-worked and tweaked before the final detail is added.



P

[Gordon Robb]

Superb. A joy to watch.

[Rigel]

That looks really great.

[jetplane]

Most, but not all of the shadow tones blocked in.
I'm very pleased with how I'm painting this one and while it my not be my best painting I do think it is my most technically competent work to date.
Sorry about the dodgy photo but daylight has gone here already.



P

[Rigel]

If I look away from the blank areas, it almost looks like a rendered image.

[Gordon Robb]

No it doesn't, it looks like a photograph. Awesome.

[3D_CG]

that's awesome

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Gordon Robb

No it doesn't, it looks like a photograph. Awesome.

Looking at the thumbnail's especially, I would have to agree.

[vitruvian]

Yes I agree with you, its technically competent work , could you explain how you done the shadows ? what colors you used and how much % of each one to get the desired effect in case you had used mixed colors.

Thanks in advance.

[Treybor]

It's not dodgy at all. I think it's a splendid start.

[Afalk]

Fun and very interesting thread since you do such sweet work

[jetplane]

Cheers Guys - you're being very kind with your comments

could you explain how you done the shadows ? what colors you used and how much % of each one to get the desired effect in case you had used mixed colors.

Well that’s a simple question, but the answer is far more complex. But seeing how you’ve asked and how I love to waffle – here goes.

First up I’m entirely self-taught with regard to my art, but I have always loved drawing and painting, whether on paper, canvas or models and so I have some natural ability. I have however spent a lot of time reading about the technical side of representational art, and light and shade play a key part in this type of art (as they define shape and form) and in addition I ask questions of anybody who’s art inspires or impresses me.

I use the “rule” of 5 Tones of light as my guide, hence why I mentioned laying down the “in light colours” and “shadow tones”.
These 5 tones are
1. Highlights – the lightest tone/value of a colour.
2. Halftones – a version of the local colour in light that darkens and gains saturation to the local core colour just before rolling into the shadow edge.
3. Shadow Edge – the darkest part of the body shadow
4. Body Shadow – varying tones imbedded into the body shadow caused by surrounding objects/surfaces.
5. Cast Shadow – the darkest of all five tones, although “as a cast shadow recedes from its “blocking object” it gets lighter and it’s edges softer”.

If a colour is “in light” then its colour will be de-saturated to some extent dependant on how well light the surface is. In other words the more light the less colour a surface will show.

There is an additional rule of thumb that states that under direct sunlight surfaces in light will have a warm temperature, while in the same conditions surfaces in shadow will have a cool temperature. In very simple terms this means any colour in light will move towards red/yellows on the colour wheel, while surfaces in shadow will move towards blue.

“A red apple in sunlight will have a warm red in the light and cooler red in the shadow. Both reds are “warm” but relative to each other one is warm, the other cool”

A further “rule” suggests that light when painted is opaque and shadow transparent, and that yellow is the colour of transparency.

So taking the above rules into account for the F-18 (bearing in mind it is painted two very similar shades of gray only) I mixed 4 separate colours of gray in light.
Highlights will be added sparingly using Titanium white and a spec of blue later in the process.

These 4 grays ranged from the core colour (being a close match to the actual colour the aircraft are painted FS 36320) to a very light gray with orange added warm it and so all fall within the category of halftones above. These colours were then further adjusted on the canvas as necessary to create the sense of form required.



#1 Core Colour
#4 lightest value of halftone
Colours used
Titanium White
Paynes Gray
Cadmium Orange.
(In addition a small amount of magenta was used to create strip of colour between the halftone and core colour)

For the shadows I mixed only three colours, being
#1 a dark gray
#2 a slightly lighter version
#3 a variant with discernibly more blue



Colours used
Paynes Gray
Blue Black
Colbalt Blue (with which the lower part of the sky is painted)
A little French Ultramarine Blue was added to some of each dark gray (with which the upper part of the sky was painted)
Titanium White.

The underside of the fuselage is a shadow edge/body shadow, while that from the wings is a cast shadow and so this needs to be the darker of the two.
(On the drop tank can be seen a combination of body shadow along the bottom of the tank and cast shadow from the wing leading edge)

At the moment the leading edge shadow needs to be lightened a little as it curves down the side of the fuselage, while that from the tail wing needs to be darkened a little.
The cast shadow from the trailing edge needs a little more work but is working very well in giving shape and depth to the aircraft.

The values to be used in painting shadows is pretty much a judgement call, but no colour/value in shadow can be as light as its equivalent halftone.

The use of oil paints makes it very easy to graduate the shadow values from their darkest areas up under the wing to the “lighter” areas of shadow towards the bottom of the fuselage.
In the case of the trailing edge shadow - checking it with a valuer finder has the darkest value at 2, the lightest value at 3 to 4.
On this scale 1 is 100% black, 10 is white, -so the darkest value is iro 90-95% black, while the lightest cast value shadow iro 60-70% black.

This is only something I have checked given the question asked and I know of no process which can determine these values other than judgement and the Mk 1 eyeball.

Hope that helps

Pete

[vitruvian]

Originally Posted by jetplane

Well that’s a simple question, but the answer is far more complex. But seeing how you’ve asked and how I love to waffle – here goes ....

Your explanation was a real painting class for me !

Thanks for the time you devoted to made it, I really apreciate Pete !

[jetplane]

Your explanation was a real painting class for me !

Thanks for the time you devoted to made it, I really apreciate Pete !

No worries - I find it really helpful to write this stuff down - it helps move it into the subconscious.

Do you paint yourself ? Happy to talk more

P

[Rigel]

Wow, that was an amazing bit of art course right there. I don't paint and never have, other than painting models. And painting models is just paint it in the correct colour, then let the real world light and shadows take care of the rest of it.

I'm really enjoying this look into your technique as I've always been a fan of aircraft artwork. A friend has a gorgeous Spitfire painting in his cottage I'd like to get for my house.

Thanks again for sharing.

[vitruvian]

Originally Posted by jetplane

No worries - I find it really helpful to write this stuff down - it helps move it into the subconscious.

Do you paint yourself ? Happy to talk more

P

Im just do same digital paintings , I love traditional paintings but I not had success yet in done a good one, its always a pleasure see and knows how the masters like you work, so I can have a more deep knowledge about this marvelous art.

[jetplane]

Well the main F-18 is pretty much blocked in and I can now start to refine the detail.



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[Rigel]

That looks good.

[bmckain]

Really fun to watch this progress and get to see the final results when it's done.

[Gordon Robb]

Looking great.