National Museum of Military Vehicles

National Museum
of Military Vehicles
(2016-2023)

I’ve been working with Larry from HistoryShots since 2013. His company produces beautiful graphics combining information and art. My contribution included illustrations of ballparks, maps, golf holes, NFL stadiums and classic motorbikes.

M41

In 2016, Larry started creating signs with descriptions, specifications, timelines, and illustrations for a museum of military vehicles that was under construction. He invited me to illustrate a tank for one of these signs: the M41 Walker Bulldog.

References.

Sketch created in Photoshop and transferred to 300 g watercolor paper.

Tank sketch in Photoshop and
transfer to a 300g watercolor paper.

Watercolor painting, high-resolution scanning, and adjustments in Photoshop.

More Illustrations

Larry and the museum managers considered using photos instead of illustrations on the signs. However, they felt my painting of the M41 Walker Bulldog provided a powerful visual of the vehicle, and since then, we’ve created hundreds of illustrations.

Larry and the museum managers considered using photos on the signs. However, they felt my illustration of the M41 Walker Bulldog provided a powerful visual of the vehicle and, since then, we’ve created hundreds of vehicles and guns.

This project required significant research along with the creation of the illustrations. We had to locate historically accurate photos to use as reference images, but most of these had a poor quality, showed the wrong viewpoint, or were only available in black and white. We needed to confirm that the photos matched the exact model of the vehicle and conduct further research to determine the correct color schemes.

Museum Opening

The National Museum of Military Vehicles opened in Dubois, WY, USA, in August 2020.

Its 140,000 sq. ft. facility currently displays the world’s largest private collection of military vehicles (over 500), in addition to a large firearms collection.

Create a free website with Framer, the website builder loved by startups, designers and agencies.