Now it is time to start the actual artwork. The originals were drawn on A3 Bristol Board with a clutch pencil. The tiers and borders are laid out, reference material is piled up close by and the hours are swallowed up! I will often sketch ideas or difficult poses in my sketchbook (or on the back of the script) during this phase before committing them to the master page.

Sometimes I'll need reference for things, and this could be in the form of photographs or models, which are especially useful in the case of vehicles that I may need to draw from any angle. I asked a friend, a talented model plane builder, if he'd make me a model of the scarce Breguet 280T, and he did a wonderful job. The model has been invaluable.

My pencils start out very loose and I gradually tighten them up so they look quite finished by the time they're ready for inking. Here are some examples which you can click on to see bigger versions...

The next stage is to solidify these ghosts with inking...