"HeartBreakers Squad 2" close ups

"Nina" pinup close ups

Click here to see a tutorial showing how vector techniques 

can help to better render a vintage bra like this one. 

If interested, check it out. Hope you dig it.

Click here to see close ups of the aircraft.

"Nina" aircraft close ups

Some close ups on the aircraft. Given the nature of the project, 

the planes are as important as the pinups and I tried to put the most care 

that I could doing them, in so far as timing allowed, also I did not exactly 

copy the photo however, on many details as rivets, lines and such, 
I followed references not exactly but only as general impression.

Click here to see close ups of the pinup.

"Heartbreakers Squadron" close ups

Interested in a tutorial showing how vector techniques can help 

to better render a vintage bra like this one? Look here, hope you dig it.

Can vectors help to better draw a vintage bra?

Here's a little tutorial about how much is useful considering the use of vector techniques even while you're painting. My latest painting had to have a retro feel, also the lingerie of the model was typically vintage, with large bra cups decorated by concentric stitching. To better design the structure of the bra, I thought of using vectors. Here are steps of the process:

Crop the area you are interested in pencil drawing.

Import it in your vectorial application. I use Freehand but I think that anything can be done in Illustrator as well.

Place it in the background layer, to view it as through a veil.

Draw with the circle tool the two wider ellipse of the bra cups.

Then trace the upper smallest ones.

Select the two ellipses of the same cup, the largest and the smallest.

Do a fusion between them.

Select the two ellipses of the other cup.

Second fusion.

Select the first fusion and adjust the proper number of steps.

The same for the second one.

Please notice that this feature allows you to adjust the initial arrangement, by selecting the upper smallest ellipse within each fusion and moving it as you like.

Once you're satisfied, remove the pencil draw.

Then exports the two fusions as an EPS file. The size is already exact, just open the EPS file with Photoshop at the same resolution of your painting and you will get lines on a transparent background, ready to be applied to a new layer of your painting.

In this case, there is need to delete lines in the orange area, and adjust them manually with a fine brush in the yellow area.

And this is the result. What I like about these synergies between applications is that the process is also useful even if you're painting with traditional techniques. For many years I have worked with traditional media and, when the computer appeared, doing commercial work, I often had many benefits from this mix of techniques to get the results I was looking for.

If you liked this tutorial, hope you would consider to follow this blog. 

"Bombs Away" painting

It's my pleasure to share a painting I have done for the upcoming 

"Wings of Angels" Art Book of the amazing photographer Michael Malak. 

I loved very much this project and got so much fun working on this piece, 

to look at pinup and aircraft close ups below, just scroll down this page.

Photo Inspiration: Michael Malak

Model: Sarah Barton

"Bombs Away" pinup close ups

Click here to see a tutorial showing how vector techniques 

can help to better render a vintage bra like this one. 

If interested, check it out. Hope you dig it.

"Bombs Away" aircraft close ups

Photo Inspiration: Michael Malak