Thanks for all the kind words, guys . . . it really means alot, especially coming from such talented artists! Toby, I think this drawing is the reason I laid off for 10 years. It came out so well it really surprised me and kind of initimidated me, so I just bailed out and quit. I'm drawing hard now though, trying to make up for lost time (we never get it back, you know).
Steve, I did the sky with powdered graphite, a Kleenex, a cotton ball, and kneaded rubber. I thought I invented the technique until I started reading (i'm not as smart as I thought). The biggest trick was not messing up the airplane, which I drew first. I still don't know how I pulled that off.
Robert, I think this took about 100 hours
Bob, Copyrighting is an issue that I have thought about alot, as I'm thinking about specializing in aviation art. I think this photo was OK because it was taken in WWII (copyright expired). This was probably a US goverment photo anyway, so it should be public domain. I know my F-15 drawing came from a photo off the USAF web site, so it is public domain as well. My next drawing, however, will be from a calendar photograph (the photo is clearly copyrighted). I'm not sure if just changing the backround and markings on the plane will be enough eliminate any copyright issues. But then again, what is really copyrighted, just the photo, or the aircraft itself? Interesting question. Since I'm not planning to sell the work, I'm not too worried about it . . . yet. This is a very interesting issue. Anybody know anything about this subject?
Bill
Actually it is fantabulous!