@Tralfaz: Thank you! I'm using Blender for modeling and rendering (with it's default Cycles renderer). I do the computer displays and 2D graphics with Inkscape.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
@Tralfaz: The Blender UI certainly had it's issues. I would suggest you try the beta for Blender 2.8 though, it has a brand new interface that makes learning it a lot easier.
Took a few days to do a quick commission for Rusty. As he mentioned the USS Indefatigable bridge he wanted was pretty much identical to the Appalachia, so it really was mostly a matter of changing materials, LCARS, and a few consoles around.
Fun fact, this is the 12th Trek interior I've finished this year. It's the same number I've done in all of 2018, but we're only 4 months into 2019. Of course a big part of this is due to the heavy reuse of components I can make as I model more and more interiors, but I want to think that I've also become a faster worker overall.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
Just wanted to post an update as I haven't able to work on stuff for these past few weeks. My overall motivation levels are really low (and I never had the discipline to just do stuff all the same when I'm not motivated), so I'm weighting my options at the moment.
A lot of stuff happened all at once and I'm having to restructure my life accordingly...
As for the commissions... well like I said I just don't know at this point. I might slowly continue working on them, or it might take weeks for me to get on with them... If those involved would feel more comfortable with a refund, I totally understand, just let me know via PM or email. I'm sorry for doing things this way.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
I wanted to email you to see how you were doing, but I didn't want to bug you. I figured you were dealing with some real-life stuff and that you might be feeling burned out or less motivated. I hope you're doing well, my friend. Take care of yourself first. We'll all still be here for you, and for any future commissions, when you're mentally and emotionally ready, of course. Don't be a stranger, and if you ever need someone to talk to, let me know.
Just wanted to post an update as I haven't able to work on stuff for these past few weeks. My overall motivation levels are really low (and I never had the discipline to just do stuff all the same when I'm not motivated), so I'm weighting my options at the moment.
A lot of stuff happened all at once and I'm having to restructure my life accordingly...
As for the commissions... well like I said I just don't know at this point. I might slowly continue working on them, or it might take weeks for me to get on with them... If those involved would feel more comfortable with a refund, I totally understand, just let me know via PM or email. I'm sorry for doing things this way.
Hang in there dude. It'll get better. I struggle with the motivation problem as well. Kinda going through that right now. Just too much crap happening at the same time can take a toll sometimes.
Yea, what Viper said. Take a break, clear your mind. This is a hobby, not a career.
If you feel your motivation wane, go shoot the shit in discord for a week or two, do other things or talk about what you want to do, motivation will eventually return. Take it from someone who's motivation went away for 8 years.
Frist off I like to say I love the stuff you have done.
Secondly, motivation leaves us all, all the time, take a break a do something else and it will come back.
Try doing something else that take your mind off it.
It has been something like six year since I last did any modelling. (I did one or two simple models in that time.) While I took a break I got back into drawing, which is what I have been doing in that time.
Now to stop losing motivation I keep swapping between the two.
Thanks for the words of support everybody. I appreciate it very much and it did help to read it all when I woke up.
The thing is, it kinda is a career for me, as it's been my sole source of income for the past two years now. Even if I stop doing commissions and go back to a salaried position, it would most probably be in 3D. One way or the other, this is my job, and I need to become better and managing my life balance to avoid burning out on it.
I wanted to keep the post short yesterday so I didn't go into a lot of details, but this past week things actually improved somewhat over the week before. I've been spending more time with my partner, and exercising every day, feeling better with myself overall. I'm happy with the way forward I see for my personal life now, I just have to figure out what the hell to do with my professional one.
Post edited by Rekkert on
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
I take it your, your own boss and working from home?
If that is the case, set yourself a working time 9 to 5 for example and stick to it as much as possiable. When your out of working hours don't touch anything to do with work and enjoy your personal life.
Being self employed you can't always do that, but try to as much as you can and thing should work out.
Rekkert, I hope you are feeling better. I know how burned out you can get when doing 3D. I've been doing it for 2.5 years 9 hours a day without a vacation and by the end of those 2.5 years I barely had any will to work.
All I can say is get out in the nature and away from the computer. If you have pets, spend more time with them. For me, their stupid shit always makes me laugh.
Well, I've been reading up on volumetric lighting on Blender... that combined with the fact I've been watching a lot of DS9 with my partner (her first watch), has lead me to a little experiment these past couple of days...
First I wanted to do a Klingon bridge, to take full advantages of volumetrics, but that was just too much work for me right now, I wanted (needed) an easy one...
So, after seeing the SS Xhosa bridge, I realized I had what I needed to create something on that style. I've taken the aft consoles out of the Odyssey and turned them 90°, mirroring the wall segments on each side. Details were mostly left intact, as they were shown on the Norkova, another ship of the same class.
A lot of kitbashing was involved here. The door is taken from the Potemkin, while the central ceiling light is from the Galaxy sickbay, and the metal hand rails near the door are from the Galatea bridge. The viewscreen is new, inspired from the ones on the Xhosa and Norkova.
However, I wanted this to be a ship from the "lost era", as the Enterprise-C, so I used the color pallet and graphics from the Constellation bridge, with modifications. I also added some greebles to all consoles to make them look more like "workhorse" versions of the cleaner Starfleet lines.
Finally, I've added a slight volumetric fog, and hard shadow lighting on each corner of the room. It's my first time using this sort of lighting (as we usually don't see it on standard Starfleet interiors), but I quite liked its effect.
The ship is named SS Rawson NAR-16349. The name and registry are derived of an Argentine merchant vessel from the early 20th century (itself named after the small Argentine city of Rawson).
I wouldn't consider this one finished, but I don't know what else to do with it either, so I'll probably tinker with it a bit more to see if there's anything else to do, and then call it done. Maybe increase the lighting a bit. Feedback and suggestions, of course, welcome.
Post edited by Rekkert on
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
Very interesting! That bridge could also suit a Mediterranean-class ship (it's a very small semi-canon design). Pretty funky and clever, if you ask me!
I love this! And it's somewhat similar (if smaller) to a bridge concept I had in my own head for a brick-shaped tunnel style bridge. Love the light and colour scheme.
I agree... I really love the look of this new bridge! EDIT: the one thing I might comment on/change, is the back support for the command chair... it doesn’t look like it reclines any, and it looks to be at a pretty straight vertical angle, which I would think might get uncomfortable for the Captain, when sitting for prolonged periods. I’d maybe angle the back support on the chair slightly, but that’s just me.
One thing - I consider the NAR registry for research vessels. There's an NGL registry type as well (used for the SS Odin in TNG's "Angel One"), which may fit cargo vessels better.
@Freak - viewing screens for ships like this are typically pretty small in canon, like the tiny one on the Norkova and the one on the Xhosa, so there is consistency. The command chair and single forward station are reminiscent of the Jenolan's Ops Center (what their "bridge" was called).
@BolianAdmiral - I do agree about the chair might being a bit too uncomfortable.
@Rusty0918: The shape could be reused for small Starfleet ships indeed (in fact at first I was toying with making this a civilian Oberth bridge), though for Starfleet use I'd remove some of the "ruggedness", personally.
Regarding the NAR registry, I did debate what code to use, but I settled on NAR because it was originally deviced for "merchant type civilians" by Rick Sternbach, and we saw a ton of freighters and transports using that code in canon. NGL appeared only once and most probably is a regional registry (like NSP, which is used by the Vulcan National Merchant Fleet according to 'Unification').
@BlueNeumann: Thanks! I'd be interested in seeing that concept.
@BolianAdmiral: Well, that's a real chair haha! Interstuhl makes three models: with short, medium, and tall backplates. I'm gonna asume they know what they're doing regarding ergonomics.
We saw the two shorter versions being used on the USS Kelvin bridge, and I imagined that the tall version would make for a good freighter command chair, as we saw several freighters using unmodified office chairs in canon.
@Freak: Oh, I agree that in the future it's silly to have such a small viewscreen. But as Rusty said, I made it that way to be consistent with the Norkova and Xhosa viewscreens, as they're the same ship class.
Post edited by Rekkert on
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
I didn't make any more changes to the design after all, so here are the finished renders (identical to the ones above, but with a higher sample rate so details aren't lost so much).
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
That looks really good! I have to say though, if there's volumetric fog in there, it's very hard to see it. Might be just giving you a longer render time.
Posts
@I14R10: Thanks! Haha, how could you forget?!
Took a few days to do a quick commission for Rusty. As he mentioned the USS Indefatigable bridge he wanted was pretty much identical to the Appalachia, so it really was mostly a matter of changing materials, LCARS, and a few consoles around.
Fun fact, this is the 12th Trek interior I've finished this year. It's the same number I've done in all of 2018, but we're only 4 months into 2019. Of course a big part of this is due to the heavy reuse of components I can make as I model more and more interiors, but I want to think that I've also become a faster worker overall.
Old age. 28.
A lot of stuff happened all at once and I'm having to restructure my life accordingly...
As for the commissions... well like I said I just don't know at this point. I might slowly continue working on them, or it might take weeks for me to get on with them... If those involved would feel more comfortable with a refund, I totally understand, just let me know via PM or email. I'm sorry for doing things this way.
Hang in there dude. It'll get better. I struggle with the motivation problem as well. Kinda going through that right now. Just too much crap happening at the same time can take a toll sometimes.
Frequent updates at our Discord channel!
If you feel your motivation wane, go shoot the shit in discord for a week or two, do other things or talk about what you want to do, motivation will eventually return. Take it from someone who's motivation went away for 8 years.
Current Projects:
Ambassador Class
Secondly, motivation leaves us all, all the time, take a break a do something else and it will come back.
Try doing something else that take your mind off it.
It has been something like six year since I last did any modelling. (I did one or two simple models in that time.) While I took a break I got back into drawing, which is what I have been doing in that time.
Now to stop losing motivation I keep swapping between the two.
The thing is, it kinda is a career for me, as it's been my sole source of income for the past two years now. Even if I stop doing commissions and go back to a salaried position, it would most probably be in 3D. One way or the other, this is my job, and I need to become better and managing my life balance to avoid burning out on it.
I wanted to keep the post short yesterday so I didn't go into a lot of details, but this past week things actually improved somewhat over the week before. I've been spending more time with my partner, and exercising every day, feeling better with myself overall. I'm happy with the way forward I see for my personal life now, I just have to figure out what the hell to do with my professional one.
If that is the case, set yourself a working time 9 to 5 for example and stick to it as much as possiable. When your out of working hours don't touch anything to do with work and enjoy your personal life.
Being self employed you can't always do that, but try to as much as you can and thing should work out.
All I can say is get out in the nature and away from the computer. If you have pets, spend more time with them. For me, their stupid shit always makes me laugh.
First I wanted to do a Klingon bridge, to take full advantages of volumetrics, but that was just too much work for me right now, I wanted (needed) an easy one...
So, after seeing the SS Xhosa bridge, I realized I had what I needed to create something on that style. I've taken the aft consoles out of the Odyssey and turned them 90°, mirroring the wall segments on each side. Details were mostly left intact, as they were shown on the Norkova, another ship of the same class.
A lot of kitbashing was involved here. The door is taken from the Potemkin, while the central ceiling light is from the Galaxy sickbay, and the metal hand rails near the door are from the Galatea bridge. The viewscreen is new, inspired from the ones on the Xhosa and Norkova.
However, I wanted this to be a ship from the "lost era", as the Enterprise-C, so I used the color pallet and graphics from the Constellation bridge, with modifications. I also added some greebles to all consoles to make them look more like "workhorse" versions of the cleaner Starfleet lines.
Finally, I've added a slight volumetric fog, and hard shadow lighting on each corner of the room. It's my first time using this sort of lighting (as we usually don't see it on standard Starfleet interiors), but I quite liked its effect.
The ship is named SS Rawson NAR-16349. The name and registry are derived of an Argentine merchant vessel from the early 20th century (itself named after the small Argentine city of Rawson).
I wouldn't consider this one finished, but I don't know what else to do with it either, so I'll probably tinker with it a bit more to see if there's anything else to do, and then call it done. Maybe increase the lighting a bit. Feedback and suggestions, of course, welcome.
I would have doubled the size of the view screen but that just a personal thing.
@BolianAdmiral - I do agree about the chair might being a bit too uncomfortable.
Regarding the NAR registry, I did debate what code to use, but I settled on NAR because it was originally deviced for "merchant type civilians" by Rick Sternbach, and we saw a ton of freighters and transports using that code in canon. NGL appeared only once and most probably is a regional registry (like NSP, which is used by the Vulcan National Merchant Fleet according to 'Unification').
@BlueNeumann: Thanks! I'd be interested in seeing that concept.
@BolianAdmiral: Well, that's a real chair haha! Interstuhl makes three models: with short, medium, and tall backplates. I'm gonna asume they know what they're doing regarding ergonomics.
We saw the two shorter versions being used on the USS Kelvin bridge, and I imagined that the tall version would make for a good freighter command chair, as we saw several freighters using unmodified office chairs in canon.
@Freak: Oh, I agree that in the future it's silly to have such a small viewscreen. But as Rusty said, I made it that way to be consistent with the Norkova and Xhosa viewscreens, as they're the same ship class.
I didn't make any more changes to the design after all, so here are the finished renders (identical to the ones above, but with a higher sample rate so details aren't lost so much).
Frequent updates at our Discord channel!