3DDefiant - Martin Concept Model

PhilArt

Hi All, I've been on SciFi-meshes off and on for something like 15 years (I'm not sure as my membership predates the great crash of 2006). But I shelved modelling for several years as general life got in the way. At any rate, I've gotten interested in it again recently and have been pleasantly surprised by the advancements since then in my software of choice, Blender. I guess you could say I'm a slow learner, but have enjoyed delving back into the forum and look forward to picking up more.

For a long, long time I've wanted to take a shot at one of Jim Martin's concept drawings for the USS Defiant. I like the Defiant we got on DS9, but love the aggressiveness of one of his almost-but-not-quite-finished sketches (seen about 2/3 down this page).

I've currently started on some of the major forms, with three components at the moment. I think for next steps I'll work on some of the details that don't involve messing with the main forms, like the bussard collectors and some weapons components, before returning to the main mesh for some geometry cleanup. Then hopefully I'll start working on some more detailing there. I'm taking it a little slow as I'm hoping to take this one further and more detailed than I have before.

evil_genius_180

Welcome back. Yeah, Blender has come a really long way over the past few years. It's a robust program with a lot to offer. There's not too much it can't do that the professional software can. The biggest hurdle most people have is the interface, which really isn't all that bad, in my opinion.

Great start on the ship. I like this concept, it reminds me a lot of a 24th century Romulan Bird of Prey, but Starfleet style.

By the way, if you reorder your modifiers, put the mirror modifier in the stack above the subdivision surface one, you won't get that weird thing going on along the spine. Just a little tip.

Helot

I have always liked that concept version of the Defiant. Nice start!

PhilArt

Thanks EG! The mirror modifier is above the subsurf; the error is even worse if I move it below. Thanks for the heads up on that effect though, I could just picture putting them in the wrong order in the future and not realizing what's going on. At any rate, that crease is definitely on my to-fix list.

evil_genius_180

Yeah, that's weird, but it happens. The only thing I can think of is maybe your points back there aren't exactly at 0, which could cause that issue.

PhilArt

A few tweaks tonight, a little detailing around the bridge and experimentation with the bussards. I like the idea that the ovals seen in the sketch might be physical shielding in front of the collectors. I need to think through how it all comes together back there though.Defiant render 3.jpg

Vortex5972

Looking good. I've always quite that concept art.

Not sure how you've set your model up, but if the modifier stack order isn't the solution it's likely that you have faces on the inside of the model, running down the centre line, that need deleting. If that's not it either, then I have no idea.

Polaris 004

Loving the mesh. It is a neat concept design, and it will be fun to see what you do to actualize it. What you have looks clean.

Im a very expjeriencdd Blender user myself, and I STILL get that same problem when i try to mirror. I snap the mesh down, clean it every way I can think of, and still i get that melt point issue. I keep meaning to do a search and figure it out, but i have just gotten in the habit of transferring changes across the axix manually. If you figure it out, please post your solution in your thread!

PhilArt

A little fiddling tonight to add the deflector. Creating that grid and getting the slight curve added to it took way longer than expected. However, I'm still loving how Blender handles shaders and lights now.

Defiant render 4.PNG

Polaris 004

PhilArt wrote: »

A little fiddling tonight to add the deflector. Creating that grid and getting the slight curve added to it took way longer than expected. However, I'm still loving how Blender handles shaders and lights now.

Defiant render 4.PNG

Deflector looks great. What cool lines this design has.

Yeah, Blender has improved BUNCHES in the las two updates. Everything is easier to find and many things just work better. Like Booleans. Oh, man has boolean cuts been made soooo much better...

psCargile

Looks great. RE: mirroring issue: did you do any scaling after mirroring? Have you tried recalculating normals, or deleting double vertices (if any)? Have you applied rotation and scale?

PhilArt

I think I have the smoothing issue on the top sorted out, simply pushing some vertexes around and adding some geometry. I thought it was also fixed on the bottom too, but as I was running some quick renders just now it looks like they could still use a little tweaking.

Anyway, I've now got some impulse engines and the hull extension to hold them. I tweaked the rear of the nacelle struts a little, making them a little narrower top to bottom. They just seemed too clunky before. And, I've added the first shapes for the fore weapons modules.

kvorshk

Phil this was always my favorite design for the defiant. You are doing right by her and I can't wait to see her done.

evil_genius_180

Looking sweet.

PhilArt

Ok, after too long of a break, I'm back at it on this model. I got really frustrated with some paneling issues. I got those sorted out and added a few more tricks to my repertoire recently. Lots more paneling, mid-rear round port, bay doors added as well as some geometry correction. Some of these details may get more tweaks, but feeling on a better path again with more to come.

Defiant render 6.jpg

The_meshmaster

Sweet...always love the Defiant Design...

The_meshmaster

This was my, (2) Defiant Varient's I made years ago.

Starscream

Awesome @PhilArt! I always loved that concept better than what we got :thumb:

SATR

Wow. what an amazing looking ship

PhilArt

The_meshmaster wrote: »

This was my, (2) Defiant Varient's I made years ago.

I really dig that elongated design.

The_meshmaster

PhilArt wrote: »

I really dig that elongated design.

Really, I always felt it looked too small for being a starship...but it looks cool.

Starship

Welcome back Phill! So, you´re one of the last dinosaurs walking here, as me. I´m a member since the old days of Scifi-Art forums... Looong time!

It´s good to see a new incarnation of this ship coming to life. The last one I remember was built by Ebolii in the year... 2004, maybe? :cool:

The_meshmaster

Starship wrote: »

Welcome back Phill! So, you´re one of the last dinosaurs walking here, as me. I´m a member since the old days of Scifi-Art forums... Looong time!

It´s good to see a new incarnation of this ship coming to life. The last one I remember was built by Ebolii in the year... 2004, maybe? :cool:

Same here...been a memeber since 07...good old days,

EBOLII

what?....huh

PhilArt

Starship wrote: »

Welcome back Phill! So, you´re one of the last dinosaurs walking here, as me. I´m a member since the old days of Scifi-Art forums... Looong time!

Thanks Starship, yeah I've been and on-again off-again modeler since about 2000. I think my original membership predates '06, but I seem to remember a site crash that required rejoining.


Just a few small updates tonight with some small additions of some smaller forms on the nacelles. Also, I wasn't happy with the scale of the segments on the bay doors, so I've made those a lot smaller.
Defiant render 7.jpg

BolianAdmiral

Nice work. I've always preferred this concept to what we got on the show.

Starscream

Yeah, it really puzzles me that they went with the final product (though I do prefer the Bussards on the canon version to the concept's wibbly wobbly ovals )

PhilArt

Back at it some, right now a lot of retopology, especially on the main hull and nacelle wings. I've been watching a number of tutorials on hard surface modeling in blender and learned some things that made me want to go back and correct forms and control loops. It isn't especially obvious in these renders, but generally some tighter and more consistent creases.

That said, I'm having some trouble with some of my paneling and I'm wondering if anyone has seen this in blender and if you have any suggestions. I'm getting weird faces in the cut-out around the ridge at the outer edge of the nacelles. the panel is created by snapping the shape to the surface of the wing, applying a solidify modifier, then a bevel modifier, then sub-d. All of the panels so far are created this way, but this is the only area with this weird artifact.

MadKoiFish

Not a blender user but it looks like wrinkled faces due to the subdiv not having the framework to control those faces. Without a wireframe it is hard to say exactly though. If memory serves blender has no material/smoothing groups or IDs so your reliant heavily on loops and control edges. This area is a weakness of subdiv a inside cut or a object perpendicular to the main curvatures.

See if you can loop edges on either side of those inside corners and have them head out across the mesh surface.
Maybe these simple objects should help, blue is the control mesh Green is the result.

komaro

There were two addon that look interesting in Blender for controlling surfaces, extrusions. One is called Destructive Extrude. The other cost 40$ but seems to have more options around borders Mesh Machine (only 2.8). I am still with 3dsmax, so I don't know how really useful they are.

evil_genius_180

Yeah, it definitely looks like you're missing some control loops. I do use Blender from time to time (I switch back and forth between that and Lightwave, but I'm currently in Blender) but I don't use that method for paneling, so I can't advise you further than MKF already did.

Aside from that, the model is looking really good.