A bunch of firsts today! My first upload here, first challenge entry, first time attempting clouds and first time attempting metal. Also one of my first proper attempts at anti-aliasing, which is one of the things I'm hoping to get help with.


            

And the WIP. Originally just a static sheet, but got a little too large.

A few things concern me. I don't know if the guns would be visible when looking through the targeting lense, for one. Any advice on how the light actually 'would' fall on cylinders at that angle would be appreciated, or how to use fewer colours - with minimal dithering, if possible. Any advice on light falling anywhere on the reticule would be appreciated actually - it's the thing that puzzles me most.

Originally I hoped to draw a bullet hole in the glass, but didn't have enough time to learn how best to do that. Any advice or links appreciated. I was hoping to imply the plane had been shot and was on its way down, so the tail might be tilted up, allowing for a better view of the sky. Also, if viewing through the glass normally (if there was a giant targeting reticule on the frame, I suppose), I don't know whether the bottom of the plane would be visible. All photos I've googled which were possibly taken from a ball turret indicate a camera with a zoom lens, or someone keen on keeping the bomber out of it. Or they weren't taken from a turret at all.  If you see the ball turret photo I linked to above (re position), the gunner is looking through a targeting lense of sorts... but I have no idea how much zoom that might have provided.

Any advice on how to make this better would be appreciated.

- Also, I'm also looking for information on indexing and how to make the most of it. I haven't found any via search yet, will hunt again.

Thanks for your time! ^_^

Edit: Updated to match Pixelation thread, where I've posted for tips as well.


Edited by Scribblette - 11 May 2009 at 1:20am