Attention all Spitfire doodlers.

Ian Kennedy

I consider the master of drawing aircraft to be Ian Kennedy. He still draws the covers for some of the “Commando” books and has specialised in aviation strips throughout his extensive career in the comics. I’ve yet to find out whether he’s ever done a Whirwind strip but he is an absolute master of drawing all aircraft whether ancient or modern.

Anything in there about blurry prop discs? 😀

Damien,

Well actually he always draws them just like a photograph, that is with a hint of a blurred blade within the disc.

In reality on airborne aircraft the eye sees just a disc.

I think that this is called ‘artistic license’.

Mark

Ta Daz, I was highly commended at school for the Stukas in my history book (quite what they has to do with cotton mills and the industrial revolution is somewhat debatable!)

I was quite pleased in hindsight with the Spitfire canopy…

… oh yes and if you want some line drawings for book illustrations… 😉

At least they’re recognisable! 😀

Had to have a go (I promise these were done without any pictures to hand to copy!!). My Spitfire is alright but the rear of the fuselage looks too chunky, the Hurricane has not got enough front end, my Sea Fury appears to belong to an air force that has dinosaurs in its roundels, and the Buchon looks like an anorexic Griffon Spitfire 😀

I found myself having to make the plan shape of the wings thicker at the end of the drawing on most of them :confused:

Good post Mark!

Pity Frank couldn’t follow his own advice. Quite a few of his (I think) later paintings suffered from ‘bent’ and ‘broken’ aircraft. There’s a Mosquito painting which is shocklingly bad. To be fair, when he was good he was very good, but he was regarded as above criticism by people who gave him too much lattiture IMHO.

Cheers!

Not a straight line on it.

With not a straight line on it, drawing the Spitfire has always been a challenge not only to ‘doodlers’ but also to quite a number of members of the Guild of Aviation Artists. 🙂

I am reminded of a little book by the renowned Frank Wootton, ‘How to draw planes’, that I picked up some time in the late 1950’s for 6d/2.5p. Published in March 1941 it takes schoolboys through the process.

I regret now not endeavouring to get him to sign my copy before his death in 1998.

Mark

Always doodled my own designs meself; can’t get them wrong. 😀

Only slightly off topic,but couldn’t resist…………….

I had to laugh at my youngest daughter last week,who is 9.

On the routine visit to the parents evening,I was reading through her history book,when I came across a section they were doing on WW2,and there in amongst the drawings,was a rather good likeness of PA474,complete with the QR-M!!!!!

Certainly put to shame anything I’ve ever doodled.

I’ve been known to commence the occasional grossly misproportioned Spitfire in my margin, and they never get any better. And that’s with a ‘life model’ zooming about outside. It’s those wings…

I’ll remember that next time I hear somebody talking about running things up the flagpole to take a helicopter view of the ballpark whilst rearranging the deckchairs!