furry arts discussion > artwork techniques & tutorials

Drawing art in a most unusual manner.

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Kobuk:
Calling all artists! Come hither! I need your advice.

I have a unique project in mind, but I won't be starting it for quite a long time. But I'll take all the early advice I can get. ;)

I plan to build a 1/48 scale model kit of a modern American fighter jet. I have plans to "draw" some artwork on the nose of the aircraft, preferably of a wolf snarling/growling. I'm trying to go for a look similar to what you see in these pics:

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/mig-21-fighter-nose-art-14313709.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OL3ecYN.jpg
http://66.media.tumblr.com/c28fe466f752fc95b69dfb2edaaf904a/tumblr_o7nxodAHmS1r94kvzo1_1280.jpg

Though I do not plan to draw/paint the entire model aircraft in the shape/colors of a wolf. Only the head is what I need on the front radome/nose of the aircraft. So looking at the aircraft from the front, a person might see an image similar to this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/eb/b8/a9/ebb8a971a3fdcd32efcacddb811ccc8c.jpg
........and looking at the aircraft from the side, a person might see the growling wolf image similar to this:
http://powerathletehq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/growling-wolf-power-athlete.jpg

But here's my main problem: Whatever I draw on the left has to be the same on the right side. Everything has to be exact and proportionately even. That's easier said than done.  :P As an example, see this pic here:
http://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/ECOLOGY/Amur-tiger-painted-on-the-plane/inside_painted_nose.jpg

Anybody got any good tips and advice for getting a left and right "sides" evenly proportionate and exact?

What I'm thinking of doing is painting the aircraft in a flat (Non-gloss) paint color, then lightly draw in with regular fine tip pencil the ear shapes, muzzle, etc., then progressively add more details with finely sharpened colored pencils. After the whole artwork is done, then spray over the art with a gloss laquer clear coat to protect the art from fading and rubbing off, then apply decals, then apply a dullcoat (Non-gloss) over the entire thing again to protect the decals.

Another bad problem: The entire amount of surface area of the aircraft radome/nose is not very big. The part I'd be drawing all the art on is maybe 3 inches long x maybe 1 inch wide which is the diameter of the radome/nose section of the aircraft. Geeze, talk about a small canvas to work on.  :P  :P  :P  :D

GrayWolf448:
you could try drawing the wolf on a piece of paper, fold it in half, and then try bending it over the nose of the plane (if you find some way to mark through the paper onto the model)

though this will only work if the nose of the plane has a shape that would allow that

Iara Warriorfeather:
I agree with your thought in terms of painting the aircraft a solid matte color first, and then penciling in the wolf. As far as making it even...is it possible to use a trace paper type of pattern, sort of like the decals on model planes? Using that as a pattern or guide could help in terms of keeping the wolf even on each side of the plane. Are you going to paint your wolf? I think that would look better than colored pencil, and will be more permanent.

I suggest you start with a bigger model, then scale down. Practice a few times before using the actual model you intend to paint.

I hope your model turns out well! Post pics when you can!  (:

Holt5:
I haven't done any model kits for a LOOOONG time, but this is what I'd try:

Because the nosecone is such a pain to try to adapt a mirrored image on, I would draw a basic sketch on paper, then find something with roughly the same dimensions as the nose of the plane in order to adapt the basic idea onto it, just to see what you're looking for. You might be able to find model plane noses on E-bay or something too, you never know. I hear it's also a good idea to paint certain parts of a model before you actually assemble them. I never got that memo when I was doing model kits (speaking of which, that actually doesn't sound like a bad hobby to get back into...)

Considering the size of the model, trying to stencil and reference everything from paper sketches could turn into a nightmare. It would really come down to whether your hand is more precise than paper. Paper can wrinkle, mislead the stenciling if not secured properly, and there's the pure hassle of making it, then securing and positioning it to begin with. Having the other cone/plane nose comes in handy because you'll be seeing your reference and your art piece in basically the same dimensions, so it wont be as hard to replicate the same design. If symmetry is what you're most concerned about, I'd look up tutorials on how to strengthen that skill-set. Even if it's not done on 3-dimensional space it may help to become more familiar with symmetry in general and picking up some of its nuances.

Since it's such a small surface area it might be worthwhile to get some sort of mounted magnifying glass that you can hover over the nose of the plane while putting in details too. I've never done it myself, but I'd consider it for something like that. I'll drop in more info if I can think of anything else later. Sounds like a cool idea in any case - hope to see it soon!

Old Rabbit:
I would suggest you work out the drawing on your computer. Then
print a left and right flipped version of it.  Lay the paper over the nose.  If
the image still looks fine then make small holes in it along the outline of
your drawing. After you do that tape the image on your model and
make dot marks through the holes. Remove the paper and you only
have to connect the dots to get an out line of your drawing on the
model. Do this for each side and with care you should end up with
a good image alignment to finish.

You could use carbon paper, but I don't know how well it would transfer.
Also you might be able to buy paper made for the purpose of image
transfer..  Check online or a art supply store.

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