the last tank
Summary
CLIENT
Personal Project | Summer 2025
Problem to Solve
1st Tank Battalion has a problem, there is little to no artwork representing the Battalion. With the Battalion being in disbanded in the summer of 2021 we, now more than ever, needing some visual representation for the men and women who served under needed something to hold onto. The legacy, friendships, families, deeds, and sacrifices deserve to be remembered.
Creative SOLUTION
I wanted to represent every serviceman and woman who served in 1st Tank Battalion in its 79 years of history from 1942 to 2021. I decided to recreate the iconic M2A4 Light Tank from the units emblem since there was not much visual media of the machine but everyone who served in the battalion would recognize her. I chose to do a classy side profile of the light tank so there could be a large window of possible application of the artwork in future projects.
Process
This project had 3 major problems I had to navigate. The first was that there was very little photographic record of this tank. The photos that exist are of fairly low quality and in black and white. I would have to cross reference different photos to understand the design of the light tank. The second problem was that American military hardware evolved so rapidly during World War 2 that the M2A4 was quickly replaced by later iterations of the light tank. Both of thee problems bleed into one another. Many of the photos from this time period are of neighboring iterations tank design that are difficult to discern. With accuracy being of paramount importance I had to be careful. I reached out to the National Museum of the Marine Corps to see what historic references I could be connected to. I was fortunate to speak to the recently retired Deputy Director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, David Vicker who was, of all things, a Marine Tanker. David was able to provide some insight and photo references that were helpful in illuminated what this tank looked like in color. With new resources unlocked I was able to solve the first 2 problems. The third and final problem I had was creating the M2A4 technically accurate without tracing. The only exception I made for this was that I used used a circle already divided into sections to help create the initial wheels sprocket. Using Adobe Illustrator, I created a grid system overlaying my reference photo. From there I exported the grid system as a. png and imported it into the digital drawing software Procreate. From there, I illustrated the light tank as faithfully as possible.
A secondary objective of this project as I do with many of my digital illustrations, I wanted to only use one digital brush for the entirety of the art piece. By limiting my tools, I force myself to master it and come up with creative solutions. For this particular artwork, I used the LP Brush Pen from the LP Inking Brush Kit created by Lucas Peinador.
After finding a good reference photo, I created a grid overlay system in Adobe Illustrator and rulers to help guide my eye in seeing how different parts of the tank related to one another. for this stage I worked on a MacBook Pro.
For the parts that were unclear, I had to reference other photos and Frankenstein the tank visually in my head and piece it together in the illustration to follow. Even though the silhouette of the tank is clear here, there majority of the finer details are unclear. When creating a technical drawing, this becomes a huge problem.
The guide system itself was recreated in the digital software program, Procreate. The hardware used here is an iPad. This a very rigid approach to creating artwork but very helpful when it comes to technical art and suited my goals perfectly.
Circles and squares are geometric truths and I used the smaller wheel located at 4-1 as my starting point since it was the most complete circle located nearest the point of view of the camera. From there I created a square of equal height and width as the circle. I further broke down the square into quarters as to more accurately measure various components of the tank. The tank was approximately 9.75 squares wide and just shy of squares tall.
Once the foundation of the rough line art was liad down, I tightened up the line work. The result of which can be seen here.
At this stage, I constructed the local color of the machine. Because no color photos exists of this light tank I had to assume that other tanks of later iterations that were in color photography had the same color scheme.
Finally, once the local colors were established, I went back and added shadows and highlights to bring the M2A4 roaring to life.
The identifying number on the tank’s hull, 2064, is a reference to the building number of the Armory that I worked in. The building number can be seen in the unit photo below. The Armory I worked in was a special place to me as it housed many memories with some wonderful friends.
The name “Goldy” on the main un barrel, was my nickname in the Marines and how I chose to sign this art piece.
Time Lapse Video
Inspiration
1st Tank Battalion was my home. I was an Electro-Optics Ordnance Repairman (MOS:2171) and worked in the the Battalion Armory. I don’t want to kid myself, there were plenty of bad days, weeks, and even months. There were long nights, heated disagreements, and stresses on running an armory safely and securely. However, there were also good times. There were lasting friendships, groomsmen at weddings, and shared memories on all the hardships endured together where you could only share a laugh at the absurdity of the situation you somehow found yourself in. At the end of it all, however, we called 1st Tanks “Home”.
I left the Marine Corps in 2017 shortly before the Battalion was disbanded in the summer of 2021. We all had mixed feelings about it, but one thing we all shared was a sense of loss. 1st Tanks was something that we had dedicated a significant part of our lives to and always ensured she was in good health and combat ready with a razor-sharp, sword. To see her retired was something I never expected to see and left somewhat of a strange pain in my chest.
With this simple artwork I wanted to capture the visual heart and ethos of the service men and women and their families that sacrificed so much for her. The 1st Tank Bn official emblem has a picture of the M2A4 but I wanted to recreate it more visually accurate and in her full beauty. From the research I did there is little artwork on the my battalion and I wanted to change that. While the M2A4 Light Tank is the first tank used by the battalion, I named this art-piece “The Last Tank.” I did this because I wanted to present the idea of the “end-of-an-era”. This illustration is more than just a technical illustration of the M2A4 Light Tank; that is trivial. This is a portrait of the every serviceman and woman and their families who served with 1st Tank Battalion.
