DRAWING IN PRISMACOLOR - The Magic of Creating Exciting Aviation Artwork with Colored Pencils

[@garfieldsmith332]

Awesome art work. Even from your very early days. Hard to imagine that a lot of those images are pencil drawings. And the ending of this video, showing how to correct an 'issue', was a delight.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Garfield - glad you enjoyed the video!

[@maxsmodels]

Jack Lynnwood is smilig at your VC-10 artwork 😁

[@Slickboot21]

The nature of the wax-based Prismacolors lends so well to blending not only for textures; but for different colors together as well, Prisma being a transparent medium. Like transparent inks in pencil form.

[@maxsmodels]

So which one of your familiarization rides was your favorite/favorite plane to ride in?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Jump seat trip in an Air France Concorde flying Mach 2.04 at 57,800 ft. was lifetime number one. Best military was the Grumman F-14B Tomcat 'cause despite having all my USAF flight qualifications, I had to go through all the Navy quals including water survival, then learn the back seat of the jet to operate all the non-TAC systems for our awesome 90-minute flight. A really elegant, yet ballsy airplane! F-15 was a beautiful airplane also.

[@decam5329]

Best 16 minutes of this week. Thanks for sharing.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

So glad you liked the video and thanks for the nice comment.

[@Slickboot21]

Great episode! I loved every second and paused quite often. High school Class of '67.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Neat that we're from the same generation, and thanks for the comment!

[@gaz2188]

your videos are pure gold! So happy I found your channel!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Glad you like the videos and 'really appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@markfrommontana]

Mike, Delighted that your dream of becoming an aviation artist came true, and glad that we get to enjoy your art and benefit from your knowledge of aviation and art.

[@maxsmodels]

we are all richer for it

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

@@maxsmodels Appreciate that Max, and all the great support!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Mark, and glad you're enjoying the videos.

[@chuck9987]

Wow, Incredible use of shadows! We used to live near JFK (Idlewild) from 1954-1959. I remember going out to "tour" the jets that were coming on line at the time. The airlines would park one on an apron and you could do a walk through on Sundays! My dad worked on the new upgraded runways for the new coming of age jetliners. I pulled up Google Earth and our house at that time was about 1.5 miles from the western end of runway 13L. Remember Jon Gnagy's show. I liked doing the harlequin dane sketch in the book.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Charles, and I know that neighborhood very well! My Dad always told me the street south of Sunrise Highway directly under the final approach path to Runway 22L (just west of the Green Acres Shopping Center) was called "Jitter Alley" when the early jets became operational. Man, they were loud! And yes, Pan Am had their first 707 tour at IDL and United had the "Jet-A-Rama" for their new DC-8. A wonderful time to be growing up in New York.

[@maxsmodels]

My dad had a subscriptopn to the AAHS magazine. I love that publication.

[@terryhadler4565]

As a kid growing up in the UK in the 50s and 60s, it was the US that we looked to for the WOW factor when it came to the growing hobby of building plastic kits. Sure, we had Air fix but kits were few and box art was limited. It was a joy to visit a large store in London called Gamage which had a whole area devoted to American kits and such names as Lindbergh, Renwall. Monogram, Revellers and Aurora were familiar to us even if we had to save for ages before we could afford to buy something. Studying the artwork was always an exciting aspect of my London trips which eventually led me to finding employment with a then we'll known publishing company called Profile Publications, but that's another story. As a fellow artist I salute you. Regards Terry Hadler

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Wonderful comment, thanks Terry!

[@Slickboot21]

I've always loved my Prismacolors. They used to be fairly expensive and now they're almost unaffordable. I worked mine to the last finger grips. My opus in prisma is a childrens book I found once titled ARE ALL THE GIANTS DEAD, by Mary Norton...illustrated by Brian Froud...all illustrations were in b/w...until I colored them all in Prisma. It was a wonderful project that no one will ever see. Thanks for sharing.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I remember paying 12 cents apiece for those pencils back when a Revell model was 98 cents. Today the pencils are about $1.50 each and nowhere near the same quality leads.

[@johnaitken7430]

I used them we had no TV n those days, but newspaper comic strips, comic books were my first inspiration

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

All the other great artists had their afterburner years … Da Vinci.. Monet … and got kicked out of a 2-D class …and Having your drawing of that VC10 reproduced proved your point quite well …!

[@everettsharp1917]

Although not a disabled person my artheritis prevents me from standing for very long nor bending, I have a special chair that gives comfort, but it's in our lounge...so wet art materials are understandably NOT a good idea ! Colour pencils are therefor an excellent medium for me to use. I think we are near contemporaries and I have over the years painted aircraft, they are tricky, but your work is absolutely inspiring. Thank you from the UK.

[@johnplaninac9980]

Another great video we both enjoy watching these treasures.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks John, and hope you're doling well. I really miss our lunches at Hills Street Cafe.

[@mode1charlie170]

Another awesome presentation Mike....well done!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Dean, really appreciate the comment!

[@haroldellis9721]

Always informative, engaging, and therapeutic. Thank you.

[@drawingboard82]

You are very talented. That VC10 is particularly inspiring, I was one of the last people to fly on one, back in 2009 in the RAF! I think they are the coolest airplanes.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks, and yes, those original markings on BOAC Super VC-10s was one of the best ever. Loved seeing that airplane at JFK in the 1960s!

[@paladamashkin8981]

Thank you for sharing so much. Truely beautiful life.

[@vernonsaayman9741]

Thanks mike, this i can really relate to, sounds so familiar. Step by step, i too enjoy creating my own ,,revell boxtops,, just to see how they would have looked,.,or models i missed buying on the 50 this was a great videos

[@jetsons101]

Hi Mike, Mike here. When you lived in California did you ever fly to Catalina in one of the Grumman Goose seaplanes? Bumpy take off and real bumpy landing. I never got to fly on the Sikorsky VS-44 "Mother Goose," that was the four engine one. Thanks for your time and hard work, it shows in your videos....

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I booked a flight to Avalon on the Goose, which broke and was grounded that morning. They flew us out to the airport on top of the mountain in a Twin Otter instead.

[@effenbeezeetravel4474]

I liked this because I would like to learn how to render objects by trying out using a matt painting tone base color and value tone for an object and then using pastel pencils and pastels to finish illustration . I saw this in some artist magazine and it looked like this could be tried for more detailed things like planes or trains !

[@kenty2831]

Beautiful and informative walk through time. Thank you for sharing you interesting personal history.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Kent!

[@bertg.6056]

An excellent presentation, Mike. Although a minor point, thanks for rekindling my memories of John Gnagy's wonderful TV show. I too was a fan.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Bert, and I still remember his commercials for the "Arthur G. Brown and Brothers" art store in Manhattan!

[@Robutube1]

Really nice touch to credit your Mum and Mr Morgan in this one Mike. As you say yourself -these folk are seminal, critical influences, greater than they probably realise at the time.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Belated thanks for the nice comment!

[@Robutube1]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 😀

[@cruzcontrol1504]

the progressive evolution of your skills shares the same cadence as a plane taking off !

[@Skeeterguy24]

Great video and always interesting to hear the back story. So much more than meets the eye... no pun intended!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks!

[@georgecox2924]

Another good one!!

[@jeffwalther3935]

Maestro M.M. shows in this biographical album his progression in mastery of Prismacolor pencil-rendered aircraft. How many of us spent hours of elementary and high school too, school classtime drawing warbirds in action, just as Mike did, showed and told. It is/was truly part of our delightful American kid experience and probably the first opportunities we had for freely-chosen drawing AND foundation, even extent for some, of all our drawing later. Imagine: a 3 ship squadron of B-47 during the Kennedy Administration, making European landfall at about dawn after flying 10-15 hours with young, green American pilots seeing Europe for the first times in their lives, coincidentally as pilots of intercontinental jet bombers, their first transoceanic hop just completed, after a long night and two aerial refuelings in the propwash of a KC-97, just above stall speed in the Stratojet with the tanker at full throttle, in the wonder of their age. Whotta picture. Masterwork, once again.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@jeffwalther3935]

Specifically, in enjoying the challenge of depicting warbirds flying and/or in action, are their ways and techniques, using Prismacolor as you do, exclusively, to indicate or cue the aircraft moving, as well as, various stages and sources of light and dark, within formation, other views than semihorizontally, e.g. from a cockpit, over a corresponding wing, including consistent light treatment for near by objects inside and outside the canopy through to objects on and off the aircraft, on the ground and horizon, etc. These seem to be missing from many, most or all your examples, but could be because your examples focus on emphasis of other things than such visual considerations as these. In other words, is the unusual lights involved in aviation as tough as the sea is to depict and little fun to do, but makes the picture better by far and yet, perhaps the essential beauty of all aircraft in flight is this interplay entirely; e.g., Turner's worx being considered England's GREATEST artistic work? My question then to M.M is can Prismacolors convey light and sky as well? suitably? Further, if so, how? If not, are Prismacolors suitable to render aircraft as such or best used in combination with other materials, e.g., watercolor, pen and inks, pencil, collage, etc. to get the sky right and coordinated with the aircrafts' colors?

[@cozysouth]

Great Prismacolor drawings. I’ve never been able to get it looking smooth. It always looks like colored pencil. Because of that I’ve stuck to graphite pencils.

[@mpetersen6]

Multiple, multiple layers and blending media. Prefer Polychromos myself. Good KZbin channel for colored pencil technique is Lachri Fine Art

[@Commentator541]

The right paper is very important!

[@millopguy]

The AAHS cover is beautiful

[@maxsmodels]

incredible. I had to stop and go watch John Gnagy. A true proto-Bob Ross.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

You nailed it!

[@PeteMcD]

"This is an Eastern DC-7 making a ... max-performance takeoff." That gave me a great laugh.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks for the comment, and 'glad you enjoyed the video!

[@maxsmodels]

Mike, I hope you don't mind but I talked about this video on my morning coffee video and included a link.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Awesome, thanks! Always appreciate the nice commentary you give my videos. 'Also answered your great question about what we learned from building models.

[@stevecausey545]

Another great post. Thank you Mike. Are you still building models?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Yes Steve, always building models, but strictly "out of the box" skill levels - not even close to the IPMS-level artisans. Still fun after all these years, though!

[@thetreblerebel]

Prismacolor is a great color pencil. I was turned on to them back in 2002 when I apprenticed at a tattoo shop. Color pencils is one of my favorites as a color medium. Digital is better as far convenience but real deal it's gotta be Prismacolor

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@Commentator541]

I don't know if you realize it, but you lived a dream! I would love to accompany you to an airshow some day!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment , thanks!

[@AMStationEngineer]

Damn interesting, and quite inspirational!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks!

[@markfrench8892]

I'd be lost without my Prismacolor set for my graphics work.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Same here!

[@nathanbond8165]

Hey Mike have a question so since you're using the color pencils as opposed to oil or water paint that you can manually mix to create color scheme how do you handle if you need to use a color that is not available in the pencil or is that not an issue? Maybe these pencils come in every possible color palette imaginable? I know with other mediums like watercolor acrylic oil you can make any color by using primary colors and then your metallics and stuff are available as well I don't know how you would mix color pencils to create a different color variant?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Good question, and there is a technique for mixing colors using Prismacolor pencils. A major factor is the paper, and a cold press, or mat-finish textured surface is required. Using the darker colors first, lay down layers of color at light-to-medium pressure. Then the lighter colors are added in subsequent layers, gradually increasing the pressure on the pencils until the new layers blend into the layers underneath. This process can be 'played' back and forth until you get the desired color. The gradually darkening skies in my Prismacolor pencil renderings are the best example. 'Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!

[@rbrtjbarber]

My experience with Prismacolor pencils is how much the "leads" seem to shatter & break when I sharpen them. Mike, do you have a certain technique for sharpening yours?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Apologies for this belated reply Robert, and the answer to your question is that the composition of the 'wax' lead was much harder back in the 1960s and '70s than it is in Prismacolor pencils now. I used a hand sharpener back then, but 'couldn't get the same tightness or effects with the pencils being sold today.

[@mpetersen6]

@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I occasionally do work in colored pencils and use a Prisma dual point hand sharpener. The trick I've found is to have a very sharp blade. Wish I could find replacement blades instead of having to by new sharpeners 😖 For pencils I prefer the Polychromos* over Prismas usually. Although for rich very light blues or greens I'll reach for Prismas. For detail work I do like Prisma's Premier line * For what I do there is no way I'll pay for Caran d'ache

[@mpetersen6]

The color pencils of my youth were Venus's. Today when I dabble I prefer Polychromos over Prismacolors. Too much wax bloom on the Prismas IMO. I remember copying the airliners from a Pan Am spread in Life magazine in the late 60s with the 707, 747 and the soon to be canceled SST*. * The only American built SSTs were in a trim level from AMC 🙄

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

I remember tht Pan Am ad, and agree on today's Prismacolor pencils - way too soft for good detail work. The original Eagle Prismacolors I used in the early 1960s were much harder and more precise. Thanks for watching!

[@jeffwalther3935]

I too struggled with rendering sky and cloud, light and shadow without reference points, Turner's worx show this exclusively as his pictures' subject altogether. It IS that important to the success of the piece. The sky MUST be right, shown correspondingly right in tones on the ground and aircraft, ALL must be just right OR ELSE it will be as much as irritating and obnoxious to any pilots or realists, which IS part of the genre. We discern light and shadow as a mortally-important matter of course in flying with utmost attention to detail; abhorring visual hallucination, psychologically-engrained, 24/7/365 we fly. This rendering of sky and night lit sky is too the hardest and pivotal part of the whole work. The sky must be right and cannot be considered supplementary nor incidental, imho.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@Slickboot21]

Backgrounds are such a distraction, eh? And clouds serve no purpose whatsoever. : )