How to Draw a Realistic Aircraft

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DIGITAL PAINTING

How to Draw a RealisticAircraft in Photoshopby Alex Ries 9 Jul 2015

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What You'll Be Creating

This tutorial was originally published in August 2013 asa Tuts+ Premium tutorial. It is now available free toview. Although this tutorial does not use the latestversion of Adobe Photoshop, its techniques andprocess are still relevant.


Aviation art has a long and distinguished history dating back to the early days of

human flight. Although it has encompassed many styles and mediums throughout

its development, historical and technical accuracy remain mainstays of its

successful execution. In this tutorial, we will describe the key steps in portraying the

Boeing P26A Peashooter, a pursuit aircraft developed during the interwar period.

Although initially state of the art, it rapidly became outdated due to the rapid

development of the period's aviation technology, and it was to be the last USAAF

fighter of its kind. However, its unique place as the first production all-metal fighter

built by the United States, and its flamboyant livery, make the P-26A an intriguing

subject for illustration.

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial. Please

download them before you begin. If they are not available, you may need to find

alternatives.

P-26a

P-26a Details

Over Wing 01

Over Ocean 01


USAAF

P26Brushes

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 authoritative 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 I decided to depict the aircraft in flight over water.

2. Create a Working Canvas

To allow accurate depiction of fine detail, select as large a canvas as the computer

can reasonably handle. In this case 5000 x 3337 pixels will suffice.


3. Reference Material


Before painting begins, references need to be gathered. In the case of the P-26A I

found an example of the flight gear of the period's pilots 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 1With references gathered, it is helpful to arrange them on a single canvas, enabling

easy viewing while working. Create a new canvas, taller than it is wide, and array

the references within.


References arranged on a single canvas


Step 2To 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 its

possible to view different parts of the reference canvas simultaneously.


Duplicate the canvas


Arrange the canvases around the workspace

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 neednt 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, you may need to change the canvas size. In this case I

made it wider to take in the longer tail.


Initial Sketch


Body is roughly four 'engine cowlings' long


Canvas is resized and the line art refined


Detailed line art

6. Masking the P-26

With the line art complete, its 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.


Line art ready for masking


Change line art opacity to 10% and proceed with masking

7. Adding a Basic Sky


With the masking complete, add a basic background 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 they're denser

towards their centres.


Basic shading and cloud masses added


More detail added to clouds

8. Adding Initial Detail

Step 1


With the basic background in place, return to the aircraft's layers and select each in

turn, depressing the Lock Transparent Pixels button to keep all coloring within the

masked areas. Use a combination of large and medium sized soft brushes to add

the first stage of true color while using the references as a guide.


Set Lock Transparent Pixels and begin coloring


Step 2Simple shadows now added, attention turns to the panel lines and rivets. Taking a

fine brush, as small as 3 px, copy the line and rivet positions (on different respective

layers) carefully from the references. Pay attention to detail, as aviation art is a

discipline that values accuracy. Once the panel lines are complete, completely

disable the original Line Art layer being used as a guide.


Lines and rivets added

9. Painting the Wheel Hubs

Section by section, fine detailing is now undertaken.


The wheels, which consist of a high level of concentric detail in their metal hubs,

will serve as a start. Lock Transparent Pixels on the wheel mask and add some

simple color detail to the underside of the tire, and then use the Shape Tool to

create a grey circle the size of the central hub.

Next, duplicate the circle, recolor it near-black and resize it to match what would be

the first outer ring of the hub. Then duplicate this circle one more time and very

slightly resize it until it sits just inside the previous dark circle.

Control-click the small preview image of the circle in the Layer panel, which will

create a selection border around it. Leaving that selection border in place, delete

the layer the border was derived from and then select the layer just below it: the

slightly larger dark circle. Now press Delete on the keyboard, leaving only a ring

behind. Repeat this process until all rings shown on the references are accounted

for.

With these rings in place, lock the layers that constitute the hub (below the dark

rings) and use a soft round brush to add simple weathering, and shadows where

the hub meets the wheel fairing.


Use the shape tool for the initial wheel hub


Use the duplicate, resize and delete sequence to create a series of concentric circles.


Continue the creation of increasingly small circles until all elements of the hub

are represented


Select each layer in turn to add shadows and some simple weathering.

10. Adding Support Rigging

Further detailing is accomplished by adding the steel cables that bind the fuselage,

wheel fairings and wings together.


On a new layer and in high contrast white, draw in the cables and their mounting

holes using the references as a guide. With these in place, add the wire guides on

a new layer above the cables and erase small portions of them where the cable

enters.

With all the elements in place, activate Lock Transparent Pixels on the cable

layers and add a dark shadow along the lower edges.


Rigging wires and mounting holes are added. Some chrome sheen is also given to the rivets


Cable guides are added on a new layer and small areas of them erased where the cables enter the guides.


With Lock Transparent Pixels selected, a chrome shine is added to the upper edge of the steel cables.

11. Adding the Propeller

Step 1


Attention now turns to the propeller mechanism, a complex pitch control machine

which requires careful observation of references to get right.

First, paint a dark mounting plate over the white central engine section and add

several securing bolts. Only one bolt is rendered, and then its layer is simply

duplicated until the desired number of bolts are achieved.

Next, paint the blade mounting mechanismdue to its complex geometry, it's best

painted at a high level of zoom. Atop this sits a cylindrical device rendered with a

soft brush in the manner of plastic with a specular shining line added to its upper

third.

The mechanism is completed with a small metallic cylinder which forms part of the

blades pitch control system.


Add a flat mounting plate and bolts to the centre of the engine


Paint the propeller blade mount including the bolts that hold its two halves together


The cylindrical central piece is then added


Finally a round, short, cylindrical device is painted on a new layer above and between the two central elements

Step 2Propellers in motion are best rendered with a degree of blur to make the image

dynamic and life-like. To achieve this effect on the hub, Radial Blur is used.


First, merge all the layers of the propeller mechanism into one, with the exception of

any parts that remain static, such as the mounting plate and its bolts. Next, create a

selection rectangle taller than it is wide around the hub and bring up the Radial

Blur settings. Change its Blur Method from Spin to Zoom and input a relatively low

value to keep the effect subtle. Apply the effect, and a dynamic central hub results.


Select a tall rectangle around the central hub mechanism


Use the Radial Blur at a relatively low setting, set on zoom, within the selected area


Apply the Radial Blur to give the central hub the illusion of motion


Step 3To complete the propeller mechanism the blades can finally be added, and as they

are moving faster than the central section the blur effect will be more exaggerated.

First paint in the rough forms of the blades in a light grey using a soft brush, and

add a tall rectangular selection border around them. Next, open the Radial Blur

filter and repeat the steps from 13 but at a much higher setting to increase the

blurring effect. With this complete, erase parts of the propeller that overlap the hub

and refine any unsatisfactory elements with a soft-edged brush.


Use a relatively soft brush and, without too much attention to detail, paint in the forms of the spinning propeller

blades


Add a selection border to encompass the blades and bring up the Radial Blur dialogue. Use Zoom once more,

but at a much higher setting


Erase any parts of the blurred blades that intersect with the hub, and use a 100% soft brush to refine the blade

edges

12. Adding and Refining Details

Step 1Further detailing now takes place on other areas of the P-26. First, add the red and

white stripes to the rudder, taking care to keep the number of stripes accurate. Now

combine the layers that compose the landing gear fairing and, on a new layer,

duplicate and place below all other layers in the P-26 stack to show the wheel on

the far side. Darken the fairing to distinguish it from the closer wheel. Finally, use

similar methods used to paint the forward wheels to detail the hub of the small tail

wheel and its mounting bracket.


Place a duplicate copy of the landing gear behind all other existing layers and darken it into the aircraft's

shadow. At this stage also add the red stripes to the tail and detail the tail wheel

Step 2At this stage it is apparent that the upper surface of the fuselage is too dark and

blue, so take a soft brush and draw it at low opacity across the upper edge, using a


light greenish-blue hue. As the clouds below would also reflect a large amount of

light onto the plane's underside, lighten it accordingly.

To indicate the strong sunlight, a lighter upper edge is added and the intensity of the lower shadow is reduced

Step 3


Step 3With the lighting corrected, extra detailing can be added, such as the forward radio

mast and communications wire linking the headrest to the tail tip.

A radio mast is added to the forward fuselage, and the wire between the tail and headrest is illustrated


13. Additional Decals

When illustrating specific aircraft it is important to get external decals correct.

Research materials beyond the scope of this tutorial revealed both a numerical

stencil and Native American head painted on the side of the rear fuselage. In

depicting such things it is worth noting that they were often painted with a low level

of technical skill. This should be depicted as such if your painting is to be

completely accurate.

pdfcrowd.comopen in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF APIAdd the basic outlined shapes of the markings, taking note of the curve of the fuselage

pdfcrowd.comopen in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF APIOutline the Native American head, making sure the quality of the line art does not exceed the slightly casual


style in which it was rendered in reality

pdfcrowd.comopen in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF APIOn a layer beneath the line art, paint the bold colors of the logo in the style indicated by the research


14. Skin Detailing

Step 1With the major elements in place, surface detailing now takes priority. Using various

small soft brushes, add areas of specular sheen to the sunward side of the metal

surfaces.


Add specular shine on the leading edge of the headrest and dents to the aircraft's skin

Step 2Next, on a new layer above the aircraft's skin but below the wings and other details,

paint in a series of soft edged depressions. These depict airframe struts below the

thin metal surface. Also added at this stage are another set of decals; those present


under the wings and on the fuselage sides. As the wing decals are at an extreme

angle, paint them carefully to keep them in perspective.

Add depressed areas to the rear of the fuselage and underwing decals


15. Refining the Background

Step 1The aircraft largely complete, we'll now turn our attention to the unfinished clouds

and lake below. First, the additional levels of detail added to the clouds soon reveal

a completely white sky below, which contrasts too strongly with the brightly colored

aircraft. To correct this, erase an area of cloud to reveal the unpainted lake surface

beneath. At this stage I also widened the canvas further to improve the composition.


The effect of a floor of clouds removes too much color from the composition


Area of cloud erased

Step 2Now take the Wave Brush and, working from the background to the foreground,

paint in the rippled surface and the reflections of clouds on the more distant areas

of the lake.


The rippled lake surface, achieved with the Wave Brush

16. Painting the Pilot

The final major detail is the pilot, and careful research must be done to gauge both

period accurate clothing and scale relative to the aircraft. Begin by blocking in and

then rendering the major elements such as the leather cap, collar and skin on

separate layers. Remember that the small size of the pilot in the final image makes


super detailing unnecessary.

Block in the basic sections of the pilot on different layers


Render each element in turn, starting with the worn leather of the flight suit


Render the face in simple tones, and add goggles with white sunlit lenses. At this level of detail eyes would not

be visible in the final render

17. Adding a Second Aircraft


Step 1As seen in the initial sketch, the image requires another, more distant airplane to

give the composition more depth. To do this efficiently, duplicate the entire existing

aircraft and resize and relocate the duplicate to a position behind the main P-26.

Then, make several small changes to distinguish this new aircraft; invert the blurred

line of the propeller and remove the 13 decal from the side.


Duplicate aircraft in place. Note the lack of '13' decal

Step 2Now, using the Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast controls, modify the

appearance of the plane to make it recede into the distance with atmospheric

perspective.


Brightness/Contrast and Hue/Saturation settings can both be manipulated to add atmospheric perspective to

the distant aircraft

18. Stop the Presses!

The next step reveals the value of continuing your research even during a painting.

While adding final details to the tail, I discovered late that this aircraft had additional

decals not seen on the aircraft in other references, and so added the number 45

where indicated. I also took the opportunity to repair a perspective error on the '13'

stencil.


Perspective errors on the '13' are repaired, while final elements such as the '45' decal and small tail mechanism

are added

19. Lighting Effects

To add life and to unify the composition, we'll add areas of light to parts of the


aircraft most affected by the sunlight. On a new layer above all others in the P-26

stack, select a soft round brush, and, using the Outer Glow settings indicated

below, gently add in glowing light to areas such as the front windshield, engine

cowling and landing gear fairing.


The above settings add a faint glow to the areas where lighting is applied

20. Effect Layers

As a final touch, we'll use effects layers to enhance the contrast, coloration and

mood of the painting. In this case they will play off the striking blues and unify them

all into a common palette.


To create effect layers, select the Solid Color option from the divided circle icon at

the bottom of the layer palette. This will create a new layer of solid color, which

should be placed at the top of the layer stack. Once in place, repeat the above

steps to create a second layer. Now, set their Blending Modes to Overlay and

select the colors indicated below.

Note that at this stage we're making another minor change, darkening the bold

stripes on the tail to reduce their distracting appearance.


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21. Preparing for Export

When ready to export the image, flatten all the layers using Layer > Flatten Image

and change the image size to the dimensions most useful for publishing. In this

case for the web, 900 x 541 pixels is ideal. The image, now complete, can be


exported into any file type required.

Congratulations! You're Done!

In this tutorial, you have learned how to create artwork that will test your skills in


perspective, materials rendering, and perhaps, most importantly, attention to detail.

With the skills learned in this tutorial, and a willingness to seek out and research a

subject, you should now be capable of rendering almost any aircraft in an accurate

and realistic way.


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Difficulty:

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Length:

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Categories:

Digital Painting Illustration

Adobe Photoshop

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About Alex Ries

Alex Ries is an illustrator and conceptartist from Melbourne, Australia.

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Daniel Thomassin 6 hours ago

Le TOP.Merci beaucoup pour se superbe tutoriel.

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Alin Deviss 5 days ago

What about complete video tutorials like here

Melody 6 days ago

How have I not seen this one before? Lol, awesome techniques!

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Clment Brunelle 7 days ago

Superbe !!

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How to Draw a Realistic Aircraft

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