Yeah, that shot looks like the one from TNG, Encounter at Farpiont. It's definitely before TUC. I think you're right, it's gotta be the paint. They probably repainted the ship when they modified it for TUC.
Reason I think it was some sort of UV paint or reflective medium is its disappearance when the ship leaves the space dock in st3. Also in close up shots of both early photos and in the even ent b version some gunk is visible in the nooks of those ribs. Either case it is a feature I had missed in the past. Maybe if someone knows someone who worked on the model could answer this?
Back to the big lady... I did the decals first and then started with the textures. So far one out of seven 4K maps have been done. Aztec patterns really do take time... :argh:
Yeah, the Excelsior has probably one of the most aggravating Aztecs because of all of the tiny sub-panels they pained on. I don't envy you one bit. Having said that, it looks friggin' fantastic. I've been staring at pics of the studio model for years and I've seen other CG models and your textures come closer than any others I've seen to replicating the hull material on the studio model.
Texture question: is 4k the largest you ever go for textures, or do you occasionally have to do larger maps?
Just curious - you using Illustrator to create the aztec pattern? That's what I used when I did mine. Got the primary hull looking great but never got around to finishing the whole ship. This one is quite a beast to build. You probably already know this, but I'll warn you anyway: the hull grid on the top does not align with the grid on the bottom, and most of the fan-made blueprints out there are complete ****. ;-)
Thanks for the offer, Sean. I very rarely use Illustrator - and I already have the aztec for the bottom saucer. YouAâre right - it is different from the top aztec. I hope I got it somewhat right, it was a bit harder to spot due to the limited amount of reference.
evil - I sometimes use larger textures, but Maya does not handle them that well during preview, so I tend to stay with 4K maps.
evil - I sometimes use larger textures, but Maya does not handle them that well during preview, so I tend to stay with 4K maps.
Thanks for that, I was curious. I know you do a lot of commission work and your models always look fantastic, whether you're doing desktops, art print size or HD video, so I thought I'd pick your brain on that a bit. I know some people say, for professional work, you've gotta do HUGE maps. However, if 4k is really all that is needed, why go bigger?
Great to see your take on the Excelsior! Finally a ship I am familiar with! Is it just me or are the blue panels supposed to be more teal? Maybe that was just on the Ent-B...
You know it's good work when you're half considering making someone else's WiP image your wallpaper. Specifically, the second of the most recent batch. I suppose the ERTL kit's influenced my mental image of what the Excelsior looks like, so I always thought the top surface of the impulse drives were completely flat, rather than having that nice bow to them. Nice to have an opportunity to have a closer look at these details.
@evil - the saucer contains of 3x3x4k maps (3 maps, each color, spec, bump) - and itAâs layed out in my usual way, so not just projected from the top, but the sections are layed out straight. I do not have any loss due to antialiased lines like I would have if it was just projected from the top. That makes up for a lot of resolution. And still the resolution is high enough so you can have a HD screen filled with about half of the saucer and have a texture ratio of about 1:1 pixel. Should I need to get much closer I would probably have to build a more detailed ship or section anyways. From my past experience, this level of texturing works for 99% of all cases.
Thanks for the offer, Sean. I very rarely use Illustrator - and I already have the aztec for the bottom saucer. YouAâre right - it is different from the top aztec. I hope I got it somewhat right, it was a bit harder to spot due to the limited amount of reference.
evil - I sometimes use larger textures, but Maya does not handle them that well during preview, so I tend to stay with 4K maps.
Mr. Richter,
Just what level of machine do I need to this kind of work?
The textures are pretty much done - maybe a tweak here and there - have to make a few more test pictures, but it shouldnAât be a lot of work. I think I might not put interior in here, as the windows are considerable smaller then the other vessels and you wonAât notice anything. Maybe just a few cardboards...
Excellent! On the top front view the windows look like they could do with just a hint of detail, just so it's not a solid blue glow. But other than that she looks fantastic. Captain Sulu would definitely be saying "helllooo".
The Excelsior ist not NCC - 2000 ... she is NX - 2000
The textures are excellent!
_Chris
The prototype is the NX-2000. After she underwent a refit, entered active service (Tobias built the version from ST6) and became the first of her class, her official designation became NCC-2000
The prototype is the NX-2000. After she underwent a refit, entered active service (Tobias built the version from ST6) and became the first of her class, her official designation became NCC-2000
Also, how do you get the spotlights, like on the underside of the saucer, to create a specular hit the same width as the modeled light source? If you get what I mean...
The model looks stunning as always.
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for a cheat.. could just make a texture, maybe just some random blues, or a small person maybe and put it on a 1 poly square behind the windows.. just for a look of something behind the window..
Superb work Tobias!
I've grown so used to see the smaller Excelsior studio model, and CGI representations of that model, that when seeing the original, it looks somehow odd, as if some proportions are off, but then I realized it looks much better this way. As always Tobias, your work is amazing not only in the modeling and texturing, but also on the researching of material to work with.
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Texture question: is 4k the largest you ever go for textures, or do you occasionally have to do larger maps?
I would love to cast an eye at your files, too... if you don't mind...
evil - I sometimes use larger textures, but Maya does not handle them that well during preview, so I tend to stay with 4K maps.
Thanks for that, I was curious. I know you do a lot of commission work and your models always look fantastic, whether you're doing desktops, art print size or HD video, so I thought I'd pick your brain on that a bit.
The textures on the saucer look fantastic.
Mr. Richter,
Just what level of machine do I need to this kind of work?
Saquist - I work on a standard I7 with 16Gig Ram.
The Excelsior ist not NCC - 2000 ... she is NX - 2000
The textures are excellent!
_Chris
ahh, okay ... didn't know that ...
That explains it. lol.
Also, how do you get the spotlights, like on the underside of the saucer, to create a specular hit the same width as the modeled light source? If you get what I mean...
The model looks stunning as always.
Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 12GB
1TB NVMe SSD, 2 x 1GB SATA SSD, 4TB external HDD
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Windows 11 Pro
for a cheat.. could just make a texture, maybe just some random blues, or a small person maybe and put it on a 1 poly square behind the windows.. just for a look of something behind the window..
I've grown so used to see the smaller Excelsior studio model, and CGI representations of that model, that when seeing the original, it looks somehow odd, as if some proportions are off, but then I realized it looks much better this way. As always Tobias, your work is amazing not only in the modeling and texturing, but also on the researching of material to work with.