The trick to painting realistic metal: Know how much white to use — or not use. Use too much and you’ll end up with something that looks like glass, plastic or a DreamWorks collector toy. Look at the beautiful illustrations and paintings below and take note of how much (little) pure white is used. More frequently for metal, the lightest parts reflect the ambient lighting, whatever colour that is.
William Nicholson, 1911, peas‘The Gold Jug,’ (1937) by Sir William Nicholson (1872–1949)Poster produced for British Railways in 1952 showing the Pacific Plover locomotive crossing the Forth Rail Bridge. Artwork by Terence T. Cuneo (1907-1996)Mike Jeffries night lorry1963 Pontiac Grand Prix – ‘Loire Canal’ – Arthur ‘Art’ M. Fitzpatrick (1919-2015) and Van Justin Kaufman (1918-1995)Art Fitzpatrick (1919-2015) 1960 PontiacBump Mobile cover illustration by Albert W. Hampson. ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ (June 22, 1940)The Iron Man (pictures by Chris Mould). This book was turned into an animated film called The Iron Giant.Russian futuristic buildingJan Marcin Szancer, Tygrys w pociągu, 1964 Shotaro Honda, illus. for Kodomo no kuni, vol.II, no. 3, 1932Bruce Pennington (born 1944) 1970 book cover illustration for A.E. van Vogt’s Children of Tomorrowfrom an Eagle annual1941 November, cover by George Giusti WW2 Designed and illustrated by Emanuel Schongut (circa 1960s)llustrated by R.C. Swanson, 1960 advertisement for Sharon SteelTea (1872) by James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Met Museum of Art. This painting is a near repeat of the left-hand side of a larger work by Tissot, Bad News (also 1872)William McGregor Paxton – The Samovar 1926Poster-by-Vincenzo-Ceccanti-about-1900J.C.Leyendecker 1940 advertisement for Pan American Coffee Bureau. Caption reads: What every young girl should know, followed by Americans’ coffee drinking habits and instructions for how to make instant coffee.Gourmet Magazine January 1959 with Apricot Jam, Eggs, and a Shiny PanDecember 1952 Time Magazine look at future space travel, art by Boris Artzybasheff metalDean Ellis (1920 – 2009) 1971 book cover for Star Born by Andre Nortonfrom an Eagle annual the distant futurefrom an Eagle annual the distant futurefrom an Eagle annual the distant futurefrom SporkRobert Fuqua (1905-1959)Albert Lynch (1851-1912) Joan of Arc, an engraving from Figaro Illustre magazineTHE LITERARY DIGEST December 10, 1921 League of Nations; Manhattan Plan Pebeco Toothpaste advertisement
Header image made with Midjourney: a metallic landscape, reflecting sunlight
