Spitfire IXB "We Flew For Freedom"

[Gryphon]

Spitfire IXB AH-L, 'Avenger' Personal mount of Kjeld Rønhof.

RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force, 132 Wing, 332 Sqn. North Weald, 1943.

I was fortune enough to get a signed copy of Kjeld Rønhof's book, "We Flew For Freedom",
before he passed away of old age a couple of years ago. This painting is a tribute to him and his story.

He signed the book: "Stauning, 22nd of June 1999.
For Christian, A little something on some old "warbirds", which I used to fly.

With all the best wishes for your future,

Kjeld Rønhof.

Holy smokes did they shoot!"

The last remark referring to the intense anti aircraft fire they incountered over occupied europe.

I highly recommend the book, it's very intense reading with a rare insight into the lives of fighter pilots
during WWII. It covers the basic flying training in Canada and the 183 active missons, and that's only counting the ones were live ammo were fired. Kjeld's very last mission was a patrol over his native Denmark, flying a P-51 Mustang from Scotland.

I'm fairly sure the book is available in English.

I had to redraw the lineart several times to get the shapes somewhat correct... but when the sketching was done, everything was much easier, blocking the colors and begining the general painting of the image.

I get asked a lot if I do paintovers or trace photos. And the answer is: NO! Hehe... where's the art in that?

3 days. Photoshop. Wacom Tablet.

Crits and Comments welcome!

[snofox1]

Beautiful ! I love Spits and your rendering is terrific. Thanks for the tip on the book. :lol: :lol:

[kevjon]

This looks great Gryphon. Nice atmosphere and squinting ..... very unusual with the sun in the viewers eye. I still think it works well.

Your really turning them out at the moment. Good story behind the image too.

My only minor crit is the white and red of the roundel on the fuselage of the foremost aircraft looks a little off centre. Should be easy to correct.

[kiwi123]

Man you are fast !

[jkbon]

Wonderful !

I especialy like the background and the way the light affects the planes.

[Gryphon]

Thanks guys.

About the roundel... I tried to recreate the shape of the fuselage in the roundel... maybe I over did it a bit? It's very hard to do in 2d... make a round shape follow an odd curve in perspective.

[Skyraider3D]

Very nicely done, mate. The perspective on the first Spit looks a bit odd here and there but nothing too bad. You're fast indeed. Dare I say "whats next?" :D See, you're spoiling us now! :)


Looking again at the first Spitfire... is it on a seperate layer (set)? Maybe try to rotate it a few degrees counter-clockwise, so the longitudinal axes of all three planes sort of point in the same direction (3D). I think it would look better somehow. It just feels a bit twisted. Just a gut feeling of mine, but please give it a go if you can :)

[Gryphon]

Haha are you kidding me? It's a painting, I can't just rotate... I'll mess up the lighting, shadows and so on. But I know what you mean... and I guess I can try to cut 'n paste then rotate... and repair.... but I doubt It'll be any better. I'll try it nontheless.

Thanks for the crits, useful as always.

BTW, Rønhof had engine problems on one mission and had to land on a field... only to his terror, he saw a horse that wouldn't move... he had to pull the spit over the darn animal... only resulting in hitting the horse flat out with the landing gear! He bounced a few times before landing. Again, great book :D

[Skyraider3D]

You paint everything on the same layer then? Damn... :)

The lighting and showdows will still look quite alright, I think.

[Gryphon]

Yup. I like keeping it as close as possible to 'real' painting. I'll try and adjust the spit a bit.

[Art 111]

respect!!!

[Capt.FlushGarden]

Sweeet! looks very good! love how the clouds in front of the sun partially disappear! Keep em coming!

J