A pilot draws a GTA 6 mural with his flight path

With one continuous line from takeoff to landing. Benjamin McDaniel, who calls himself "The Pilot Picasso", flew a Cessna Skylane RG and let his route form the drawing on air tracking systems.

Flightradar24 keeps the record for the aircraft, registration N1810R. IGN Latinoamérica compares the technique to an Etch A Sketch: you can't lift the pencil.

That makes it harder. Every stroke has to connect to the next one without a break, and the plane has to stay in the air the whole time.

McDaniel took off from the Bentonville airstrip, code QTV, at 11:29 a.m. on November 5. He landed at the same airfield at 7:37 p.m., after eight hours and eight minutes in the air, according to IGN.

Aviation fans could follow the route in real time. Flightradar24's official account then posted its own message about the flight.

According to IGN, the final trace shows the official GTA 6 logo flanked by an alligator and palm trees. A sports car, a woman in a bikini and a helicopter flying over the emblem complete the scene.

Flightradar24 only mentions the alligator in its November 6 post and credits it to @thepilotpicasso. IGN describes the rest.

The pilot has form. IGN notes he previously traced the Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch's The Scream, plus tributes to The Lord of the Rings, Skyrim and Spider-Man.

The reptile doesn't look out of place on the Leonida map. Game Informer's September 29 feature mentioned more than 170 animal species in the game.

For perspective: that feature counts more than 170 species, and McDaniel's plane drew one. As a mural it's modest. As an eight-hour flight, it isn't.

Inside the game, nothing. This piece adds no content, confirms no feature and changes nothing Rockstar has shown so far.

What it does offer is a look at the pre-launch buzz and a flight you can check yourself. Search for registration N1810R on Flightradar24, which keeps 7 days of history without a subscription.

IGN says the pilot is preparing a classic-themed piece and another for Thanksgiving. Neither has a date, and he hasn't said whether more GTA 6 drawings are coming.

In a recent interview, McDaniel explained how he approaches long flights.

His rule, as IGN quotes it: safety comes first, and if bad weather approaches he postpones the flight to another day or week. Meanwhile, everything we know about GTA 6 keeps growing until pre-load on November 12.

Who drew the GTA 6 mural in the sky?

Benjamin McDaniel, a pilot who calls himself "The Pilot Picasso". IGN Latinoamérica reports it, and Flightradar24 credits him on its official account.

How long did the mural flight take?

Eight hours and eight minutes, from takeoff at 11:29 a.m. to landing at 7:37 p.m. on November 5, according to IGN.

Is it an official Rockstar Games project?

No. It's the pilot's own work, and none of the sources presents it as a Rockstar commission.