1. Subject Research
Historical aviation art requires attention to detail as it is often used to illustrate important historical subjects. While books remain the most authorative source of information, the Internet can provide enough general data to depict routine aircraft operations. This painting will depict aircraft of the USAAF 94th Pursuit Squadron: From this information elementary research reveals that during the war the 94th operated from Selfridge Air National Guard Base; an airfield located within flying distance of the Great Lakes. Thus the decision was taken to depict the aircraft in flight over water.2. Create a Working Canvas
Step 1
To allow accurate depiction of fine detail, as large a canvas as the computer can reasonable handle should be selected: In this case 5000 x 3337 pixels will suffice.
3. Reference Material
Step 1
Before painting begins, references need to be gathered. In the case of the P-26A an example of the periods’ pilots’ flight gear was found photographed in a museum, the desired aircraft marking scheme on a flying replica, and a better view of the planes’ structure from an example on display.
4. Create a Working Canvas
Step 1
With references gathered it is helpful to arrange them on a single canvas, enabling easy viewing while working. Create a new canvas, taller than wide, and array the references within.
Step 2
To enable the easy viewing of these references the canvas will need to be duplicated and arranged around the workplace. Select Window > Arrange > New Window for References to create a copy of the canvas and resize both the original and the clone in a stack on the left side of the screen. Now using the Zoom tool it’s possible to view different parts of the reference canvas simultaneously.
5. Sketching the Composition
With attention to the references, take a size 4 round brush and sketch in the simple forms of the aircraft. The initial image needn’t look fantastic but rather is necessary to establish the proportions of the aircraft and its position in the composition. As you continue to sketch, use your references to constantly refine the proportions of the P-26A: This process is aided by using the known measurements of a part of the aircraft, for example the engine cowling, and then using those dimensions to judge how long the fuselage should be; in this example the fuselage is approximately four engine-cowlings long.Note that as work proceeds the canvas size may need to be changed, and in this case was made wider to take in the longer tail.
6. Masking the P-26
With the line art complete, it’s time to begin the masking phase. Select the Line Art layer and reduce its opacity to around 10%, making it almost invisible. Below this, create new layers as needed for each major element of the aircraft and block in the basic colors with a medium sized round brush. At this stage the color used is not important, so bright hues that allow easy distinction between each element are best. Take special care at this stage to get the masks the correct shape, using the Zoom Tool to refine the edges.
7.Adding a Basic Sky
With the masking complete a basic background is added to guide the final rendering of the aircraft. After setting a horizon line with sky above and water below add simple shadows to the larger masked areas of the aircraft to make color picking easier. Then take the Cloud Brush and rough in cumulus covering the surface of the lake. Follow references closely at this point, noting that with the chosen lighting the clouds actually get darker on their thin outer edges and white where denser towards their centres.
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