Paint schemes

[Ladybearhawk]

Is there a free program to design the paint scheme?

[SpruceForest]

Seems like the 'free' programs are just general graphics apps with import of three view and manual paint. There is an option to 'paint' an object in rendering programs like Fusion, but that seems like a heavy lift just to work out paint. Here are a few links to related discussions on other fora (hope that is a permissible thing):

https://backcountrypilot.org/forum/aircraft-paint-scheme-software-24833

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/28506-aircraft-paint-scheme-design-software/

Hoping someone else has a better/more useful answer. Congrats on your first post.

[Frank]

Maybe someday I will be to the point in my project where I need to think about a finished look. In the meantime though, I just keep a folder of attractive airplanes for future reference.

[Frank]

On the other hand, if you have to wait for your kit to arrive and you've done everything else in preparation, why not?

[Frank]

https://99designs.com/illustrations/contests/aircraft-paint-scheme-939489

[Frank]

I kind of like John Deere green and yellow. Don't want to look like farm equipment but you could land in a farmer's field and he might not notice!

[Frank]

And don't forget about Oratex.

https://betteraircraftfabric.com

[alaskabearhawk]

I just had a jpeg of the three-view (just lines) and printed it out. I got some colored pencils and pics of aircraft paint schemes that I liked and just started coloring. Once I got a couple that I liked I messed with the blank jpeg in MS Paint 3D. The original BH paint scheme and measurements is in the Nov 2001 Beartracks.

[coosbo]

the 'free' programs are just general graphics apps with import of three view and manual paint. There is an option to 'paint' an object in rendering programs like Fusion, but that seems like a heavy lift

This is consistent with my very limited understanding as well.

I've played around a bit creating very simple schemes using GIMP (free photoshop). I've found with zero experience it's not too hard to fumble around and convert a picture or line drawing into a vector drawing, add your paint scheme, and change colors. But you're still just stuck with a 2D image, so it might not be any better than hand drawing.

Capture.png

Given my lack of experience, if I was concerned with achieving an attractive final product, I think I would hire a professional to design the scheme and create a stencil.

[jaredyates]

Oriana, in the next hour or so I'm going to send out the Beartracks, including a cool paper airplane model that Paul alaskabearhawk was involved with developing. It is a blank white airplane that you can color to visualize the scheme in three dimensions. Or if you didn't want to build the model, you could also just cut out the airplane outlines and color those. If you'd rather stay on the computer vs the colored pencils, there is also an old Powerpoint file that someone (perhaps Russ Erb?) developed a long time ago. We hadn't set up the forum to accept Powerpoint files until just now, but I have attached it here. Let me know if you don't have a way to open it and we'll find another way, perhaps to convert it to pdf. I'm afraid that converting it to pdf will make it harder to draw on without some software like Inkscape. Software like gimp will allow for painting on a screen shot, so that may be an option too.

[rodsmith]

The above power point drawings are what I have used to draw multiple paint schemes over the years. There is a learning curve to using it, but I didn't find it that difficult.

[Pbruce]

On a much less technical note, How do you dress a BH? It’s very subjective of course. The more I look, the more I like the single colour jobs like Nev’s and Jonathon’s. To my eye, it seems like low wing planes look sleeker with fewer opposing surfaces and angles. These tend to tolerate more complex schemes (only in my opinion, of course).

High wing planes like our Bearhawks seem to look “smoother” to me when painted a single colour. Single colour also emphasizes the utilitarian purpose and bush heritage, as do big tires and chrome bolts standing proud vs flush painted ones. I saw a pearl turquoise painted Jeep Sahara the other day, and you know, it didn’t work; needed to be black, olive drab, sand, or orange.

A paint scheme also might make a nod, intentional or not, in the direction of a certain plane or perhaps an era: post WW2 planes often sported two thin longitudinal stripes down the middle of the fuselage (Piper Tri-pacer, Cessna 120, Luscome)

I was going to go with a PIper PA-12 Super Cruiser livery, circa 1947 in cream and red. (I still might). I wanted to make it look a little less blocky, so I tried smoothing out the transitions into a more streamlined presentation. Voila: I created a Cubcrafter stock motif. Bah. Humbug. Back to the drawing board. It’s either something closer to the PA12 in cream and red or else solid red. Not sure if that’s been done yet. One final consideration is that in my part of the world, you want dark-coloured wings to melt the frost off On cold mornings. For my American cousins, my colour= your color (which should give you some indication of my locale.

[jaredyates]

I'd say the first step in deciding a color scheme is deciding on the goals for the end product. Those might include things like visibility against various surfaces or the sky, weight, cost, taste elements like your favorite color, impressing others, or homage like incorporating elements of Bob's paint scheme or not. Then there are the realities and constraints like how easy is it going to be to mask and execute symmetrically, are the particular colors difficult like metalics, or maybe colors like yellow or red that are going to work best with a coat of white first?

Mark's LSA is pretty much solid red, plus an accent stripe. In the single colors it seems all yellow is popular, as is all white.

[Bcone1381]

My fourth son is an artist. I'll be painting maybe in a month or two..... I've stopped asking him for advice.... he tells me all colors are beautiful, and all designs have merit. But I see it differently.....some aircraft are NOT done well, all are errors, they cant be changed, I'm capable and probably will screw it up and I need help.

One thing Abe told me that really helped was to copy Patrol Plans P.1 fuselage image and fabrication a coloring book like image from it. I then made copies of the coloring book page and colored made 30 ideas. Jareds latest newsletter with the Origami Bearhawk takes it several steps further.

Pat confirmed my previous conclusion about solid color fuselages and or simple designs. He also hints on having a theme. A Porsche? Jeep? Tank? Happy Tough?

I don't want my paint job to be the initial attractor. The Design will be the curiosity attractor. So if its a dull gray with no lines I'm safe. That is my starting point. No one will judge my poor layout of lines for example, or the color choice coordination. They judge the design. Jared also confirmed another theme is outback hostile terrain flights and having some high visibility colors on strategic parts.

[OhioLSA]

MS Paint works well enough for me. The only trouble is, I could spend hours playing with color schemes when I ought to be building the airplane so I can paint it for real!

[Bcone1381]

This is consistent with my very limited understanding as well.

I've played around a bit creating very simple schemes using GIMP (free photoshop). I've found with zero experience it's not too hard to fumble around and convert a picture or line drawing into a vector drawing, add your paint scheme, and change colors.\
.

I had some spare time on the road and tried this program out on a MacBook......had some success. I took an old guy like me some time to learn it. this is my Grant (Bissetg) inspired Patrol scheme that is high on my list.

Screen Shot 2022-04-03 at 10.57.49 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-04-03 at 11.18.07 AM.png

[Bissetg]

I reckon your Patrol would look great no matter what colour Brooks. The reason my scheme has Grey and not white on the fabric parts is that the white Oratex has a higher inspection requirement than the grey, and is a little translucent too.

[Bcone1381]

Thanks Grant. It's interesting the reason you give for the grey is all about function. And "Function" is a good adjective to describe the message that I see in your scheme. Every object's paint job communicates something to its audience/viewer(s). The scheme is a first impression of its personality. For example is yours a delicate princess? No!!! A Mountaineer? A worn out homeless drunk? A young adolescent with curiosity?

I see a construction worker wearing the safety vest getting his boots dirty while getting the job done. I like it.

[Pbruce]

When I was in Air Cadets as a youngster, we used the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog for glider towing. I thought it would be cool to replicate that livery. However, it’s unforgiving if you go down in the bush, and it’s a very different looking aircraft with that high cockpit. I dunno.

[Pbruce]

Then there was a livery which all silver except orange panels on the outer wing and a yellow one on the mid-aft fuselage. I couldn’t get the image to copy, unfortunately. If I had a 170, I would definitely shoot for that. I considered that one but discarded the idea since I don’t want to polish and the fuse is fabric anyway.

If I substituted white for silver though…. It does look kind of cool, and pays homage to the L-19 and the people who flew it. Hmm. I think Grant’s white/orange is about as pretty practical, even in winter. I should be building instead of dreaming!

[SpruceForest]

Lots of different options... Bird Dogs flown by a bunch of different services and used for a wide range of missions. Keep in mind that US Army always had a bunch of orange high-vis panels on their training aircraft, to include all the birds assigned to the school houses (Fort Wolters and Fort Rucker). IIRC, the T-41's that were surplussed out of service to the flying clubs still had those hi-vis orange panels when I was flying the Fort Meade and Fort Hood flying club birds. The Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker should have shots of those schemes, which should include the OD green/black glare panel and orange as well as the grey or silver and orange. Might be one way to get both high vis and still tip the hat to those liaison drivers. Canadian O-1aircraft prob had some high vis schemes for the high latitude stuff...might be worth a shout to the appropriate museum.