skyraider3d's CGPortoflio Gallery

Luftwaffe "1946": Junkers flying wing bomber

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:10:33 +0000

Having just emerged from rain clouds over the south of England, the crew of this Junkers flying wing bomber find themselves surrounded by flak bursts and quickly take evasive action.

The Junkers Ju EF 130 was an ambitious flying wing bomber design that didn't progress beyond the drawing board status. It was to be made of non-strategic materials (wood) with a pressurised cabin in the front. It was expected to carry no less than 3000 kgs of bombs at 900 km/h. The end of WW2 put an end to this project as well.

This image was made for Marek's latest book on German bomber designs of WW2.

Luftwaffe "1946": Henschel high altitude bomber

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:43:47 +0000

Of the many innovative aircraft designs of WW2, the Henschel Hs P 122 was perhaps one of the most secret. It was a culmination of Henschel's research in high altitude flight and guided weapons. In fact, this was the first aircraft designed from the outset to deliver "smart" weapons, much like today's F-117 Stealth Fighter.

This image was made for Marek Rys' new book German Air Projects, volume 3 about bombers.

"Tiger's Revenge" & the pilot's story behind air combat art

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:11:23 +0000

Earlier this year I was commissioned to make an artwork for veteran P-51 Mustang pilot Lt. William S. "Tiger" Lyons, who flew with the 357th FS/355th FG during World War 2. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr Lyons over the telephone and pick his brain on his experiences over Germany during 1944/45. He told me about several air battles in which he took part, and I decided to portray the one in which he score his second victory, on 9 February 1945. Rather than telling you what happened, I have added a cropped sound recording from this interview, in which Mr Lyons vividly describes his air battle with a German Messerschmitt 109! On this day he was flying wingman for Lt. Edward J. Moroney. Click the image below to download or listen to the sound recording.

The "Tiger's Revenge" artwork was presented to Mr Lyons during the 355th Fighter Group reunion by Peter Randall of the Little Friends website, last October in Philadelphia. Below a photo of Mr Lyons holding one of the prints:

Mr Lyons signed twenty large canvas prints for me, which are available here:
http://www.digitalaviationart.com/tigersrevenge_le.html
The prints are museum-quality giclee canvas prints at approximately A2 size.
If interested, don't wait too long - there are only seven pilot-signed prints left!
For those interested in a more affordable print, normal prints are available here as well:
http://www.digitalaviationart.com/tigersrevenge.html

For those interested in seeing how "Tiger's Revenge" was made, I have created a video which shows the buildup of the layers, which resulted in the final artwork. A high and low quality Quicktime has been uploaded. Hopefully it will be of interest:

Last but definitely not least, "Tiger's Revenge" is currently exhibited in the Military Aviation Museum in Soesterberg, The Netherlands, amongst more aviation art by Wiek Luijken, John Wallin and myself. For the three of us this is our first exhibition, and needless to say we're very proud of this milestone in our aviation art careers! Many thanks to Wiek and the museum for making this possible.

Vichy Fledglings

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:51:40 +0000

Here's my latest work, a pair of Vichy French aircraft on their take-off run.

The aircraft are North American NAA-57-P-2 advanced trainers (predecessors to the famous AT-6 Harvard/Texan), taking off from Fr�jus�Saint-Rapha�l in the South of France, on what could well be their last flight. It is November 1942, and in a matter of days the Vichy French Naval Air Arm will seize to exist, as German forces occupy the rest of France. The image was inspired by this photograph of Vichy French aircraft at Fr�jus�Saint-Rapha�l, now under German command, waiting to be scrapped or sold.

NB. The white tailband was added directly after the Allied invasion in North Africa on 8 November 1942 and just four days later all French airfields on the Mediterranean coast were taken over by German AAA units.

This image was made especially for an aviation art exhibition, Wiek Luijken (Kiwi 123), John Wallin (Capt Flushgarden) and I will have at the Military Aviation Museum in Soesterberg, The Netherlands, starting on 24 November and running for well over half a year.

Prints of this image are available on DigitalAviationArt.com.

Aviation Sacrilege! (Mutant Mustang)

Sun, 21 May 2006 17:27:53 +0000

Mustang and Corsair fans, close this post NOW while you can!

Inspired by some oddballs from Kiwi123, I decided to make my own mutant aircraft and bolted some Corsair wings on my Mustang model!

Apologies to Mustang and Corsair fans that I may have offended, hehehe

Enjoy!

Shepherds - Another Tribute To Two Ww2 Veterans

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:40:46 +0000

After my first Mustang image done for veteran pilots, I got many requests for follow-up work for other veterans and their families. Here is the latest, made last December as a Christmas gift for two veteran Mustang pilots of the 359th Fighter Group. The piece was commissioned by the son of one of the pilots.
The image shows the P-51D Mustangs that the veterans flew during World War II. Here they provide protective escort to a formation of B-17 bombers who are retuning to England after a long mission.
Below two sideview illustrations of the same aircraft. Click the image for a bigger variant.

After my previous Mustang image, Daddy's Girl, I got many requests for prints. I am happy to announce that prints of all my Mustang artwork is now available through www.digitalaviationart.com. DigitalAviationArt.com is a fairly new website that aims to put the digital aviation artist in the spotlight. Expect it to grow in the near future.
I have half a dozen more Mustang commissions coming up, so I hope you're not tired of them yet
In the meantime I'll be finishing my Corsair and will start a P-47D Thunderbolt as well. My main short-term goal is to reach as many veteran pilots as I can, as they are the ones who appreciate this kind of artwork most. It's a real joy working for them and researching their combat histories is quite addictive too!

Daddy's Girl

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 19:16:21 +0000

I would like to show you an image which I recently completed and which received a full page in Ballistic's latest book Elemental 2.
After I did my first P-51D Mustang image, "Little Friends" over a year ago (seen here in the CG Choice gallery), I got lots of requests from family of veteran pilots and Mustang owners for similar artwork. In the meantime I have finished a couple and here is the first.
The aircraft depicted was flown by one of the top Mustang aces Captain Ray Wetmore. He named the aircraft after his first daughter and went on to score over 22 kills against the German Luftwaffe. Sadly Wetmore died in a flying accident in 1951.
This artwork was made for his daughters and son, as well as the owner of a restored Mustang which flies in the exact colours of Wetmore's Daddy's Girl.
Here is a side profile of Daddy's Girl:

Next year I'll be back with more Mustang artwork and I'll also finish my Corsair WIP of course!
In the meantime... Have a merry Christmas and the very best wishes for 2006!
>> Hi resolution image <<

Tribute To Two Fighter Pilots (p-51d Mustang)

Sat, 27 Nov 2004 10:12:11 +0000

This image was made as a present for two veteran fighter pilots. They flew the P-51D Mustang with the 359th Fighter Group during World War II. The image shows their aircraft flying in close formation on the first leg of an escort mission into the heart of Germany.
This is the first work I have made for actual wartime veterans and it's been a pleasure doing this. It was made on the request of a friend of these pilots, who presented the prints to them last weekend. The response of the veterans was better than I'd hoped for. Both loved the prints and said they bring back lots of memories ("some good; some not so good"). The 18"x12" prints will get a place in their living rooms, which is a great honour to me.
Flying with different squadrons, these two pilots never flew together as illustrated in the image. But being friends for over 60 years now, they should have.
Besides the image above, I've also created a sideview profile of each aircraft. Please click the image below for a bigger version of it:

I am now awaiting signed copies of the prints to be send to me from the USA, which will receive a place in my own living room!
PS. Here is the old P-51D WIP thread on CGTalk:
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=165531

Silver Beauty

Sun, 31 Jul 2005 12:59:50 +0000

This a new render of my old Junkers Ju EF 100 airliner (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=238671).
I hope you like it
More info about the Ju EF 100 can be found here: http://www.luft46.com/junkers/juef100.html
>> Hi resolution image <<

Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe - Part 1

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:30:22 +0000

During World War II, German aeronautical engineers designed an incredible amount of highly sophisticated aircraft for the Luftwaffe. Some of these actually flew, but most never got further than design proposals, blueprints or wind tunnel models and mock-ups at best. After the war ended, these designs were elaborately studied by the victorious allies and many of today's aircraft borrow features from these designs - a good example being swept wings.
This is the first of a series of secret weapons of the Luftwaffe. It portrays the Henschell Hs P.122 high altitude bomber as it could have been, had it ever been built.
The Hs P.122 is perhaps of the most secret aircraft projects of this era, and it is speculated that it was the first bomber specifically designed to deliver precision guided weapons.
This artwork was created for Monogram Aviation Publications for their new book "Jet Planes of the Third Reich - The Secret Projects - Vol.2". Two more artworks made for this book will follow over the next few weeks.
Here is a heavily edited version of the above image - as if it were a photograph taken from the cockpit of a second machine:

Lastly, here are examples of the textures used for this model. The exact techniques used to map this aircraft are described in my aircraft texturing mini guide here on CGTalk.

>> Hi resolution image <<

Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe - Part 2

Sat, 12 Feb 2005 23:04:03 +0000

This is the second image in a series of three made for Monogram Aviation Publications (http://www.monogramaviation.com). The first image can be seen here: http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=201373&page=1
The image depicts two Junkers Ju EF 130 flying wing bombers, returning from a hypothetical daylight strike on London (you can just make out the South-East English coastline below). Black puffs from anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) be seen below (these weren't present in the original image as used by Monogram). The Ju EF 130 was designed in Germany during the closing stages of the Second World War and therefore was never built.
Here are two texture samples from the wing and cockpit respectively:
http://skyraider3d.military-meshes.com/images/JuEF130_tex01.jpg
http://skyraider3d.military-meshes.com/images/JuEF130_tex02.jpg
As you are maybe able to see from the weathering on the textures, the Ju EF 130 was of a mixed construction. The pressurized cockpit was made of metal, but the wings were made of wood. This was done to minimize usage of strategic materials, such as aluminium.
Lastly, a link to a high-resolution version of the render:
>> Hi resolution image <<

Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe - Part 3

Tue, 10 May 2005 00:27:27 +0000

This is the third image I made for Monogram Aviation Publications for their book about German secret aircraft designs of WW2.
The first and second image can be found here:
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=201373
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210303
The aircraft depicted is the Junkers Ju EF 100 transatlantic airliner. A rather peaceful subject, really, as it's just a passenger plane.
It was designed around 1940 and windtunnel testing was undertaken, but it wasn't built as the Junkers factory was needed for bomber production. Lufthansa wanted to build and operate this ambitious plane after the war for regular flights to America, but we all know how that ended, sixty years ago.
This render was my first attempt with raytraced materials for the metal effect, and I think it's still my best attempt. I hope you guys like it too!
Here are the diffuse and specular textures at 20% resolution:

*** PS. There's a high-resolution version below:
>> Hi resolution image <<

Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe - Part 4

Fri, 18 Nov 2005 21:16:18 +0000

Finally I can show you folks something "new" - Part 4 of my Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe series
The following images were made almost a year ago for John Baxter's latest book, The Alternate Luftwaffe, Volume II. More info about Joh Baxter's books can be found here: http://www.luft46.com/jbbooks.html
The aircraft depicted is the Messerschmitt Me P 1091a Stufe III, which was a mid-war design for an extreme high altitude interceptor. It was effectively a stretched-up Bf 109, adapted for high altitude combat. The P 1091 never flew, but was further developed into the equally bizarre Blohm & Voss Bv 155.
Here is a sepia-toned version of it. I don't know which one I prefer myself

And another view, showing both Messerschmitts intercepting an XF-12 Rainbow reconnaissance aircraft:

Here are the previous three parts of this series:
Part1: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=201373
Part2: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=210303
Part3: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=238671
One more part to come... soon!

Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe - Part 5

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 20:03:03 +0000

The fifth and (for now) final part of this series...
The following images were made almost a year ago for John Baxter's latest book, The Alternate Luftwaffe, Volume II. More info about John Baxter's books can be found here: http://www.luft46.com/jbbooks.html
The images depict the Messerschmitt Me P 1070 jet fighter, a forerunner of the famous Me 262, which was never built.
Same image as above, but in black&white:

Profiles...

In John Baxter's book it's become the fictional Me 260 A-1/R1 of the Romanian air force, battling Soviet bombers over Ploeisti.

Last but not least, a sample of the textures used:

Earlier parts of this series can be found here:
part1: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=201373
part2: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=210303
part3: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=238671
part4: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=295206
>> Hi resolution image <<