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4 October 2015

Collectible Skills: Flight

I began with a "sketch" in Blender, by which I mean a quick model of about half an hour in this case, comparable to a paper sketch in time:

I painted over it in GIMP, adding a spinning propeller. I planned to use a "frosted" background effect, so I used an aspect ratio for the image that would enable me to fill the card with it. As always, the sky texture is from public-domain-image.com:

The above image is already color-corrected. I created a speckled texture to enhance the frosted effect, and then composed everything in Inkscape, applying careful attention to every detail. I did not want to repeat the fiasco that was the soccer card:

Text:

"A mix of careful focus and child-like delight color the sky. Severed from the safety of the rocks, high above the normalcy of life, this vast expanse of thrilling fear embraces a peace of unrivaled solitude."

I am pleased to say that I find myself delighted with the results. I realized from the start that the airplane's lack of decals would make it appear a bit artificial; but, this is a dream. A certain departure from realism is not unwarranted.

Unfortunately, a dream is a long way from reality, and I cannot see myself affording to fly in the near future. The dream thrives.