Moments Of Terror – Update

This project came to a screeching halt a while back, when I discovered that my view of the FW 190 was an almost exact match of a previous work by a well known aviation artist. I was able to come up with a different view, but honestly, the wind had gone out of my sails. So I put this one aside for a while and pursued other projects. I finally felt ready to pick this one up again a couple of months back and worked on it sporadically.

Here’s the new pencil study of the updated view

It will be a bit before I get back to this one, but you will see it again!

Blue Skies!

Chris

Bat Bird, Iron Hand – New WIP

I’ve actually been working on this project rather sporadically for about a year now.

I read the book “When Thunder Rolled” by Ed Rasimus a couple of years ago, and thought some of the stories he told might make a great scenario for a drawing. About a year ago, I met Ed via Facebook, and this is the result.

The primary aircraft in this piece is Ed’s F-105D – named “Bat Bird”. Ed is flying the #2 position on an F-105F Wild Weasel.

My composition depicts the Weasel leading the formation into a right turn around a formation of thunderclouds – somewhere “Up North”

Here’s the basic perspective plot:

I did this sans weapons – actually took multiple attempts to get the offsets to match the picture in my mind.

Here’s a look at the final plot of the “D” – with all weapons:

Since starting this project, I’ve decided to change the composition to a single aircraft “portrait”.

Here’s the first pencil study:

I made a few errors with the camouflage pattern, but I like the way this came out.

Here’s a closer look at the forward fuselage:

After Showing this to Ed – we agreed that the centerline pylon carrying CBU-24 cluster bombs would be a better representation of the Iron Hand missions he flew – so I’ll make that change on the color study.

And here is the color version:

And a detail shot of the forward section:

I have to get a better camera!

I’m going to try a new technique for the sky & clouds, but I need to practice a couple of times first. Since the view through the canopy depends on the background, I’ll do the cockpit area when I do the sky.

I’ll be putting this one on the back burner for a bit while I work on a large commission.

Thanks for looking!

Chris

NEW UPDATE FOR MOMENTS OF TERROR

Progress has been slower than I like, but I keep moving forward on this project.

I’ve completed the color study of the main aircraft in this composition. Some details have been left off, but that is not uncommon for this stage. My main intent was to settle on the colors and get some idea of the lighting that I’ll use on the full piece. The image shows a slight blue cast from my camera – the actual piece is much more neutral in coloring.

This study will be available when the full piece is completed, and the buyer will get some input as to the background.

Next step will be a study of the main B-24 in the composition. I hope to have that done in about a week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chris

MOMENTS OF TERROR – UPDATE

After struggling for days with composition and perspective, I was forced to re-think this piece. I’ve cut it down to only 5 total aircraft and re-arranged the placements to arrive at this new composition.

I’ve also been finalizing the individual aircraft drawings for color studies and transfer to the final drawing board. I’m going to do this one in colored pencil. It will end up being 40″ wide x 24″ high. The Fw 190 will be about 22.5″ wide. This is my biggest piece yet!

I’m off to the drawing board for now, but check back in a few days for more updates.

Blue Skies!

Chris

New Work – Moments Of Terror

Military service in general, and combat operations have often been described as hours of paralyzing boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

During the later stages of the European portion of World War 2, German controlled territory was subject to nearly continuous bombing by American and British forces. Even as the war industries were forced to disperse in order to survive, and necessary supplies became more and more scarce, the Germans continued to put up a stubborn aerial defense against overwhelming odds.

My latest work depicts a lone Luftwaffe Fw190 beginning a head on pass at a box of American B-24 Liberators. The German pilot must have been feeling his moment of terror as he approached the American formation, but I’m sure many of the crewmen in the bombers about to be attacked were experiencing their own moments as well.

After a series of layout ideas were studied, I plotted out the positions of all of the aircraft involved in the scene and generated a perspective wire-frame for the entire composition.

The scenario is this – the German has completed a dive from higher altitude and is pulling back up into a head-on pass at one of the bombers in the formation – specifically the “Number 2″ B-24. In the distance, you see a B-24 falling from formation, having taken a hit from anti-aircraft fire.

Once the wire-frame was finished, I began to work on pencil studies of the individual aircraft in order to establish light direction and tonal values. The first one I completed is the “star” of the show – the Fw190 (which just happens to be my favorite World War 2 German fighter).

As I progress, I will do a study of at least two of the B-24′s. I’ll be sure to post them when they’re ready.

Blue Skies!

New Stuff Coming!

I’ll be posting new projects here, so check back soon!