Look, it's a Superman! No, it's a bird! No, it's a plane!
Planes are something that always attracts people attention, as it is always fascinating to see a huge steel machine flying. Since the period of Renaissance and incredible inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, people tried to find out how they could fly. You know the rest - The Wright Brothers, their experiments, the beginning of the aviation and it went just in a snap.
Aircraft will always be something amazing as people are not meant to fly naturally. When something incredible like ability to put man in the air is created by human, it is always a win for the whole humanity against the nature. And what about the future? Well, we can only guess how the aircraft will look later. However, there are ways to express the imagination in a very realistic form. Yes, we are back with photorealism again.
This time we present you 25 photorealistic renderings of aircraft from past, present and future. Don't forget that you may create this magic yourself with models offered by great designers on CGTrader, such as Dreamscape and others. Enjoy!
This image was made in 2010 by a talented Italian who earned a diploma of virtual designer just two years earlier - in 2008. This project was made as an advertisement for his then workplace - RotorStudio in Sydney, Australia.
Now, what do we see here is an ad for Canon Croma photocamera. And it really nicely depicts the details. "It was a great challenge for us to develop all the little details. This image was made in Modo and the retouch was done in Photoshop," - says Vinicius Valente.
Software used: Modo, Photoshop.
This one comes from Johannesburg. It was created by Shaun Hillary for a South African feature but, unfortunately, it was never used. The clouds and lighting setup was created with Vue and Google earth was used for the terrain texture.
Software used: 3ds Max, Vue.
Here are 10 3D renderings which were used in trailer of a video game IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad. As you can see, these renderings were really hard to create, as they depict a lot of dynamics in them. It was a challenge and it was perfectly done.
Software used: 3ds Max.
Andrew was just a regular Australian boy when he heard about Blender for the first time. Then he decided to learn to created marvelous designs with it. So he did and after 4 years of learning he was finally satisfied with the results of what he can create. You can see one of them right here. Amazing is the fact that this one was made just as a demo for learning purposes.
Software used: Blender.
We are back in South Africa. This time - for some military action. "This is a Denel AH2 Attack Helicopter, designed and made in South Africa. It is a ground attack gun ship designed to support troops much like the Americas Apache Gunship. Modelled in Maya off some rather difficult, pixelated low resolution blue prints. I used high resolution reference photos for most of the modeling and details," - said Shaun Hillary.
Software used: Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop.
This one right here is a concept for a Russian jetfighter. This project gained a huge amount of attention all around the world. And it would not be so successful if not the professional skills of a designer and the amazingly realistic 3D renderings.
"I found this really cool photo, so I found a free model of a 747 online and dropped it in KeyShot. It’s a great way to get nice imagery in a pinch!" - said the author. Highly detailed, highly photorealistic.
Software used: KeyShot.
Brilliant modeling, texturing and composition. That's what makes this rendering so much special and worth to get into this list. It is one of the best Blender 3D renderings from year 2013.
Software used: Blender, Photoshop.
It is one of the renderings made for the project which depicts a private jet. Full project includes renderings from inside of the plane. They are not so photorealistic, though.
Software used: 3ds Max, V-Ray.
The Whitcomb area rule, also called the transonic area rule, is a design technique used to reduce an aircraft's drag at transonic and supersonic speeds, particularly between Mach 0.75 and 1.2.
Software used: Cinema 4D, Carrara Pro, Cinemas AR3.
This one comes from Sweden. It depicts a jetfighter JAS 39 Gripen which is being used by a few air forces in Europe. Anders really likes 3D modeling planes. You can see a lot renderings of them in his personal website.
Software used: Modo, RoF.
This rendering depicts an aircraft carrier which was used to attack Pearl Harbour in 1941. Rendering looks so realistic, like a photograph made more than 70 years ago. It is very professionally done.
Software used: Maya, Photoshop, Mudbox.
"Earlier this year I was commissioned to make an artwork for veteran P-51 Mustang pilot Lt. William S. “Tiger” Lyons, who flew with the 357th FS/355th FG during World War 2. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr Lyons over the telephone and pick his brain on his experiences over Germany during 1944/45. He told me about several air battles in which he took part, and I decided to portray the one in which he score his second victory, on 9 February 1945" - said Ronnie Olsthoorn.
Software used: 3ds Max.
These 3D renderings of small jets are created by a freelance artist from Barcelona, Spain. The details look so real because he thought about the plane's motion. So, the background is a little bit blurry - therefore it looks natural, as one should focus on an airplane if he wants to make a photograph of it flying.
Software used: 3ds Max.
The PZL P.11 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed in the early 1930s. It was briefly considered to be the most advanced fighter aircraft design in the world. It served as Poland's primary fighter defence in the Polish campaign of 1939, but by that point was outdated due to rapid advances in aircraft design.
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971. The below render shows an F-100 named "Pretty Penny" which was operational in Vietnam in the mid 1960s.
Software used: Modo.
A Spitfire of the 303 quardron flown by Sqn.Ldr. Jan Zumbach with the 'Donald Duck' painted on its side which came from Zumbach's nickname. The 303 squadron played a very significant role in the Battle of Britain joining more than 150 fellow Polish pilots in this crucial encounter. The squadron’s performance was extraordinary. It shot down 126 enemy planes and lost merely eight pilots in the effort, far surpassing the performance of any British squadron and earning itself permanent membership in the ranks of the most illustrious military formations in aviation history.
Software used: Cinema4D, BodyPaint, Modo, Octane.
The A-4 Skyhawk was an attack aircraft originally designed to operate from United States Navy aircraft carriers. Fifty years after the type's first flight, some of the nearly 3,000 Skyhawks produced remain in service with smaller air arms around the world, including active duty on a carrier.
Software used: Cinema4D.
The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force.
Software used: Modo.
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