Slybird

[falcon012]

353rd FG "Slybirds". Commission for client. Digital, 24" x 16", 300 dpi.

This is what my client decided to go with for his P-51. The main criteria was to have the main airplane prominent, black and yellow checker markings and a vanquished enemy going down in a "soft kill".

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/SlybirdP-51Mustang1850-1.jpg

[kevjon]

Very nice mark. Mustangs are proving popular for you at the moment. I really like this one.

Couple of thoughts about the image which may help (or it may not)

- The main Mustang looks very precise and clean and could possibly be improved with some exhaust stain and subtle weathering.
- Pilot might look better with more shadowing and highlights to give him more depth as he looks a bit flat at the moment.
- Specular highlights might look better if they were stronger on the main Mustang.
- Maybe the smoke from the downed 109 should trail off and dissipate a bit more towards the left of the image.

These suggestions are only that, you do have a very precise style with the aircraft in your work so understand if that is not where you want to go with your painting.

Keep em coming, I really enjoy looking at your latest pieces. This one is really good.

[falcon012]

Thanks for the suggestion Kevin. I purposely left the Mustang in pristine condition. An exhaust stain especially would run right over the witch in the markings and I didn't want to do that. My client wants the main focus to be the primary Mustang. This image will be used on commercial products and has to appeal to a wide audience - men, women and children alike. The image will be used in a variety of representations in various sizes and croppings which will not always show combat - sometimes showing just the Mustang only without the background. The client also specified the shot-down airplane be a "soft kill" so I tried to minimize the destruction and smoke as much as possible. The main focus is to provide something with good color and composition to please the eye.

As far as smoke dispersal: Considering the ME-109 was about 30 feet long, the distance traveled in the painting represents less than 200 feet. Assuming the airplane is travelling 300 mph it would cover that distance in less than 1/2 second by my calculation - still well within the time to have a steady smoke trail by my estimation.

[falcon012]

Update - I made a few minor tweaks and some adjustment to the pilot size. I just replaced the original image so as not to clutter up the thread with a bunch of minor tweeks.

[falcon012]

I adjusted the highlights on the fuselage and decided I couldn't let it stand without at least minimal exhaust and gun stains. I think it looks better this way.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/SlybirdP-51Mustang2850.jpg

[kevjon]

I like the reflection tweaks its really helped make it look more like aluminium.

The gun staining looks a bit heavy IMO but nice improvements overall.

[falcon012]

Thanks Kev. You're probably right about the gun staining. For the fuselage I wasn't going for a bare aluminum finish on this one. If so I would have more reflections in the metal. I was going for the light grey painted look as in this reference photo. My light source in the painting is to the right and behind so the fuselage side visible to the viewer is in shadow rather than direct light.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/DoubleTroubletwo9.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

Hmm I don't know mate. The Mustang looks much better this time, but somehow it's detached from the background. I'll be honest with you and I hope you'll forgive me for that, but I don't like the colours on the background at all. The pink clouds against the bright green-blue sky and blue-green groundwork makes for a rather lurid and unpleasant combination of colours.

If the plane is on a different layer, try putting a gradient map adjustment layer in between the plane and the background to bring the colour tones of the background a bit more in line with eachother. Don't worry if it becomes a bit monotonous, as it is now the background has more colour than the aircraft and is very distracting.

Minor point, but try and curve the bottom of the "B" a bit - it feels like it's not exactly following the contours of the plane.

I hope you'll play a bit more with the colours on this one :)

[falcon012]

Thanks for your advice Ronnie. At first I thought your assessment was a bit harsh but since I respect your opinion I decided to give it a try. I played with some gradient layers and voila! The change is a bit subtle but I was afraid to go any darker. I want to maintain the vibrancy of the colors.

I also adjusted the color of the clouds. My original vision was to have them be more orange but somehow they turned a bit on the pink side while I was working on the piece. I've also started playing around with some lettering ideas.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/SlybirdP-51Mustang4850a.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/SlybirdP-51Mustang4wLettering850-1.jpg

[falcon012]

This might be getting a bit boring but here's another treatment of the subject. I thought I would try it with a cooler background.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/cbscharlotte012/SlybirdP-51Mustang10b850.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

I think the last one is much better! The removal of the foreground clouds has created a great sense of depth and space. Also the sky has a much more pleasant colour now and some nice additional detail. Good job, Mark!