MY STORY

Hello! My name is Melaine “HALO” Valentin, and I love drawing and illustrating almost as much as I love flying fast jets. But make no mistake, art has always been my passion, long before I began my aviation journey. As I moved from undergraduate college student to Undergraduate Pilot Training student, my art portfolio adapted. I traded murals and textbook sketches for digital patch designs and aircraft liveries—most notably the T-7A paint scheme and the “Fly Like A Girl” patch!

Now, as a fighter pilot, my portfolio includes a little bit of everything: pencil-and-paper sketches, Prismacolor caricatures, leather jacket and helmet painting, pet portraits, fine art prints, graphic t-shirt design, and Procreate digital artwork for patches and stickers.

I’m inspired by my badass job to make kick-ass artwork, so let me make some for you!

My Portfolio

Here are some of my all- time favorite project. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Photograph by Caulun Belcher | IG @TXAVGEEK

Photographed by Scott Thor | IG @thor.aviation

The FAIP JET

This T-38C livery was designed during my time as a First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) in the 87th Flight Training Squadron. It combines the Squadron's "raingin' red bull" mascot, red primary color, and the iconic 87th FAIP flag with bull skull and crossbones. The full size skull prominently displays the "Hook'em horns" all the way to the wingtips when the jet is in planform, while the teeth / eyes are displayed in the profile view. Unlike almost any other Air Force Aircraft paint job, after the initial application of primer and black paint, the intricate bull skull design was hand painted with a spray gun by a local Del Rio artist / aircraft maintainer.

Photographed by Santos Caceres | IG @santos_caceres.lv

I designed this T-38C livery during my time as a First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) in the 87th Flight Training Squadron. Drawing inspiration from the squadron’s storied history, the gray coloring, bold red and white stripes, and angular bull design pay homage to the iconic F-106 Delta Dart . The 87th FIS flew delta dart's back when they were an Fighter Interceptor Squadron stationed out of Michigan - and this design brings a piece of that history forward into the present.

Photographed by Santos Caceres | IG @santos_caceres.lv

The Toro Tail

Fly Like a Girl began in 2019 as a design for the Women’s AETC Fly-In in Dallas, TX. I grabbed my helmet and sketched up the idea you see below. What started as a quick drawing became the patches you see today.

Over the years, I’ve expanded the design to include different skin tones, hair textures, and eye colors to match the diversity of women who fly.

Since 2019, the Fly Like a Girl has bee busy! It’s now worn by female aviators in over 20 countries, supports breast cancer awareness alongside the Pink Jet Team, and even made its way to space, flying on the shoulders of two female astronauts during the Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, and abord the ISS in 2025... proving not even the sky's the limit!

FLY LIKE A GIRL

Before the U.S. Air Force could release the long awaited replacement to the T-38C Talon, they needed a name... and they needed a paint scheme. The then 19th AF commander, Maj Gen Craig Wills, reached out to me - he was the one to choose the T-7, recently dubbed the "Red Hawk" paint scheme and he wanted me to design it. Over many drafts we eventually settled on this design: Classic red tails to represent the rich heritage it was named after, and dark grey/ light grey blend looking to the future of 5th generation aviation. Roughly 36% of the fleet will be painted in this livery.

The T-7 Red Hawk

into the sky

This coloring book had been a goal of my for many years - and it finally came to fruition when I was in basic course (B-Course) for the F-16. The coloring book contains every aircraft in the US Air Force inventory, i drew a few here and there for special requests, and side projects, finally wrapping them all together into this 8.5x11 coloring book - and what better jet to be on the cover then the mighty viper!

My partnership with The Pink Jet started in 2023 with their team patch and a special edition pink "Fly Like a Girl" design. Since then, we've expanded to a full "Pink Jet Fly Like a Girl" collection. These patches support the Pink Jet's mission to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for breast cancer research, while continue to celebrate the diversity and strength of women in aviation!