3DEnterprise Orbiting

evil_genius_180

I recently completed a new Enterprise model. This is actually the first ship model I've completed (with textures) since I switched from TrueSpace to Lightwave. So, it was picture time. I found a really sweet tutorial for making planets in GIMP, so I decided to do a couple TOS-style orbital shots.

Rekkert

Been following this one on your blog, you did a great job with her!

evil_genius_180

Thanks.

raytridi

Good working. I liked it.

Schimpfy

Very nice work! :thumb:

evil_genius_180

Thanks guys.

evil_genius_180

I love football. Just to be clear, that’s what we Americans call football (where you use your hands more than your feet) and not what the rest of the world calls football (where you actually do use your feet.) Thus, I was watching a game on TV earlier and I had my tablet out. I was looking at my green planet renders on there and I noticed that the underside of the Enterprise’s saucer looked too dark, much more so than on my desktop monitor. Now, I’ve known for a long time that I have a bright monitor, but it’s amazing how different it is than the tablet. Both are LCD screens, both made by Samsung and both are running on Nvidia graphics. So, I decided to alter the lighting slightly and render them again. This meant flipping and moving my 2D planet(s) slightly, but that’s not a big deal. I have those saved as GIMP .xcf files, which is a vector graphics file format. So, I made minor alterations and here they are. I’m happier with the lighting on the ship now.

Aresius

There was a time I didn't like TOS, despised it for its poor performance.
Over time, I came to realise the nostalgia and importance of it...

wonderful work!

trekki

Fine object, i love the old "E".
Have you a Pic from the Planet ? Is this a Texture ?

Greetings

evil_genius_180

Thanks guys.

@trekki: the planet is basically a textured disk with atmosphere and shading added, done entirely in GIMP. This is the tutorial that I (mostly) followed:

http://mygimptutorial.com/the-ultimate-gimp-planet-tutorial

Though, I did modify a few things. For one thing, I didn't care for how that person did the clouds, so I did some using the Plasma filter and desaturation, brightness/contrast, etc. Once you get down to it, the whole thing is a really simple process, but time consuming. No more so than doing a planet in 3D, though, which I've never had any success doing.

Aresius wrote: »

There was a time I didn't like TOS, despised it for its poor performance.
Over time, I came to realise the nostalgia and importance of it...

Yeah, but there are some episodes that are just so bad that I can't even stand to watch them. Though, I can say that for most TV series. However, overall, it's a great series. My favorite is still TNG, though. That was on TV when I was a kid, while TOS was being show less, so I saw more TNG.

spacefighter

good renders and great job on the planet(though a green and habitable climate requires oceans). i like the model and angles (for an enterprise) but their seems to be a severe lack of hull detail, for example the metal on the underside of the saucer is good but it needs some panel lines or greebles added.

evil_genius_180

You do realize I modeled the ship pretty much as it appeared on the TV series, right? If I wanted to ignore what they did back then and add detail, I might as well have completely redesigned the thing.

As for the planet, that method is still a work in progress. Adding water is on my "to do" list. For now, we'll say that the green is the color of the rocks, which wouldn't require water.

evil_genius_180

My trek into planet making in Gimp continues. I've moved beyond what was taught in the tutorial that I originally followed and decided to do a planet with more Earth-like colors and oceans. (what NASA would call a "Goldilocks" planet) Hopefully it came out OK, it's hard for me to judge my own work sometimes. I hope it looks at least as good as a TOS planet.

LeoCeballos

Nice renders of the Big E. When did you make the TrueSpace to Lightwave transition? I find it interesting because I also started in trueSpace, then switched to Lightwave; now I'm a modonaut, but still remember both those programs fondly.

As for the Connie, I think she's an awesome ship to model. Its like a rite of passage for a 3D artist, and a good thing to test a new tool on. She's got a couple of interesting curves here and there, and is a lovely design when she's finished, but not the most terribly challenging thing to make and the relatively light detailing makes it a manageable thing to tackle in terms of time. I made one a few years back, but I think you've outdone me handily (partially because I unknowingly used some lousy references).

Anyway, she's a beaut as always and you've done 'er proud.

evil_genius_180

Thanks. I switched to Lightwave last year, after I found someone selling a full version of LW10 at a great price on Ebay.