affinity designer Work in progress but need a little help

[Mvdarbs]

Hi Folks, 

 

Attached is a work in progress art deco air show poster I am putting together. I have never been the artistic type so I am struggling with coming up with a suitable way to add shading to the plane. As you can see there are 3 planes on my poster (There will only be one in the end) each one is an option I am looking at. 1 is white with no shading but I think it looks too clinical. 2 is one with a grey gradient added and 3 is a white one with a further black layer added over the top with the opacity reduced and with the noise increased. I'm not happy with any of them if I am honest. Is there anyone out there that can offer some advice? 

 

Cheers folks

Mark

SGA Poster v1.0.afdesign

SGA Poster v1.0.pdf

[pixelrain]

Maybe it would be better if you would separate shading/lighting for each part individually: top wings, bottom wings, wheels, fuselage.

[Guest]

Hi Mvdarbs,

 

I am not an artist either. The plane that I prefer is the one with the gradient, but to improve the contrast with the background of the image you could add a slight internal shadow and slightly modify the gradient in order to darken the tail if it must appear on an area very clear.

[gdenby]

Here's my suggestion. Go with the grey, but change the gradient. Make it radial, not linear. Then change the gradient to almost white to pale blue like the sky. But position the white over the upper wing, and the blue over the opposite. That way the eye will see the feather shapes as being a different color across the range, and the silhouette of the plane, being reversed from the sky, will pop out better.

 

While there are "artistic types," the old saying "Art is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration" is more or less true.

[Renzatic]

While there are "artistic types," the old saying "Art is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration" is more or less true.

 

I'd say it's more 5% inspiration, 5% aping someone's style, and 90% goofing around with various stuff on top of that until you land on something that kinda looks cool.

 

Or to put it another way, when in doubt, apply a gradient, and spin through your blend modes and layer effects.

[gdenby]

I'd say it's more 5% inspiration, 5% aping someone's style, and 90% goofing around with various stuff on top of that until you land on something that kinda looks cool.

 

Or to put it another way, when in doubt, apply a gradient, and spin through your blend modes and layer effects.

 

Picasso replied to a questions w. something like 'Of course I steal. Everybody steals. But the mark of genius is knowing who to steal from.' And then, slice and dice to your heart's content.

[Mvdarbs]

Any advice on applying shadows?

[gdenby]

If you were to go w. my suggestion of changing the direction of the gradient, you might continue w. a linear gradient, but add some stops to produce a darker band along one side of the length of the fuselage.

[digiart350]

I just added a (dark brown) inner shadow on the white one and it looks pretty good.  Love what you're doing here, the Christen Eagle is a beauty.   

[Mvdarbs]

Hi Folks, 

 

Do you mean something along these lines?

 

Mark