Poilu

Another figure i'm working on from photographic reference. Adobe Illustrator, with a filter applied through photoshop.

This chap will be representing a member of the 202nd RI, 60th Division, which if my mind is right, would make it a reserve unit. Working on some stuff to do with General Foch and the First Battle of the Marne, in which 60th Div took part.

RAF Phantom FGR.2 nose II

Super detailing the Phantom. Lots of rivets and stuff to add. Its hard getting reference for the minute stencil markings. Still, she's getting there. Need to watch the light source. Have amassed quite a lot of pics of the venerable F4 now, of virtually every angle, but can't get a shot with the warning on the air intake thats truly legible..

RAF Phantom FGR.2 (5)

Space infographic

Working on this at the moment, a chronology of events during the cold war space race between the US and the USSR. Lots going on, messing with halftones, recreating an old off set matchbox retro texture and lots of little spaceships.

Le Tour

I like watching the Tour de France, there's no harder test of endurance I can think of than that relentless bike race to Paris over three weeks every summer. Those guys that take part I take my hat off to - crashing in the sprint or sliding off the road in the wet at speed, almost dying of fatigue in the knackers yard of the Alps. This year an illustrator called Neil Stevens has produced a set of great prints of each stage. I bought a print from this chap the other day, check out his site, he has a fine style:

www.crayonfire.co.uk/

RAF Phantom FGR.2 (4)

Some more work on the old Phantom. Started adding weathering to the tail and other bits. Need to push on and complete this as i've missed the deadline I set for myself (which was the start of July!).

Sopwith Pup Profile

And another profile. This time i've been using the gradient mesh tool - probably the most powerful one in the Adobe Illustrator armoury and a real pain to push around. Using symetrical shapes to mesh the straight blends of the stretched canvas on the wings and fuselage here. The roundels started out as rectangles (so I could get the shades in straight) then a lengthy play with the anchors and points to get them rounded. not finished, yet.

Isla with dummy in

Bren Carrier Update

Moved on a bit more with the Bren Carrier. It's getting there. I added the trooper to give it it's sense of scale. I was looking at the old Airfix box artwork for their 1.72 scale model Carrier and the guy peeping over from the drivers position is tiny compared to the Carrier (a little artistic license going on there I think). Anyway, i've ended up messing around with the artwork as some kind of basic model packaging. I added a filtered parchment over the image and filtered it with color burn to scruff the look up a bit more (less computer generated). Text, well just rekindling my fondness for Akzidenz Grotesk as a header font. Lovely.

Bren Carrier

And another incomplete project. Been studying the ubiquitous little Universal Carrier recently. Used mainly for transporting men and equipment, around 113,00 of these little tracked vehicles were produced from 1934 onwards, making this the most numerous AFV in history. Also known as the Bren carrier, it would mount a Bren gun in the commander's position to the left of the driver, and often another Bren on a pintle mount in the back.

When I was young I used to think it was rubbish, and was drawn to the German heavy tanks like everyone else. But the little carrier has some charm about it, and I don't care if it doesn't mount an 88mm gun!

Drawn in: Adobe Illustrator. Vectors, using a refurbished carrier photograph as basic guide.

RAF Phantom FGR.2 (3)

Managed an hour or so on the Phantom. Work continues around the tail section. Got hold of some reference for the tops of the ejection seats, and these have been added.

Royal Marine, Falklands 1982 (2)

Royal Marine, Falklands 1982

Pushing the envelope a little bit doing some DPM camouflage, a tricksy pattern. SLR and a huge bergen to add in here.

RAF Phantom FGR.2 update

I've put some more time in on the 56 Squadron Phantom FGR.2 commission. Am pleased with the results so far. Next step will be all the work around the tail and back end.

Frederick at Zorndorf

Old Fritz, Frederick the Great. Working from the depiction of the great man from the painting of the Battle of Zorndorf (1758, Seven Years' War) by Carl Rochling.

Brush drawn image in Illustrator, taken into Photoshop at high res then messing about with big watercolour opaque brushes. Wanted to get the old cigarette card look to the colours.

Imperial German field gun

Next up in the works in progress is an illustration of some breech loading imperial German artillery. I'm working from limited sources on a C/64 8cm field piece with a Saxon gun crew. Its impossible to find a good reference for this particular gun type, which was used in the Franco-Prussian war, i've been able to muster a few shots of it, some poor and some so so.

Because of this, it's probably not truly accurate, but short of going to the military museum in Rastatt, Germany (where I think there is a fine example of the gun) it's the best I can do.

RAF Phantom FGR.2 nose

Saxon infantryman (1870) WIP (2)

Worked a little more on this chap. Working it as a DPS though I may just make it one A3 sized plate. It's going to take some time to finish the intricate helmet plate. Need to shoehorn the belt plate in if I can too.

The Blue Max

Not the George Peppard 1966 movie. The other day I saw a book on a militaria website about German medals with the Pour le Merite (Prussia's highest military order) on the front. I liked the layout and colours so much I drew it in my lunch hour.

Saxon infantryman (1870) WIP

Another colour plate i'm working on. Taken from a period photograph of the subject. I'll be adding details on belt plate, pack and mess tin to this one as well at some point. (Adobe Illustrator)