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2DTrial by Lightning in the Clouds of Saturn

JESJES390 Posts: 194Member
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Been working on this for about the past month or so. This is my first attempt at storm clouds, and I have to admit that I'm happy with how they came out. I also been wanted to make a more period-accurate version of the USS Leodegrance, and so here she is-same configuration, but with Excelsior/Lost Era components.

The backstory is Starfleet vessels will often take Hazardous Environmental Flight Tests (or HEFTs for short) in the system they are launched from, usually inside the thick atmosphere of one of the gas giants to simulate the rigors of spaceflight, where encounters with a spatial phenomena can't be ruled out, and have resulted in the loss of many ships. Due to their spectacular sights, the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn alike are popular assignments for cadets and officers alike. Here, the USS Leodegrance escorts the brand new USS Lancelot. If she should suffer any serious malfunctions or damage from the lightning storms and high pressure from diving into Jupiter's atmosphere, the USS Leodegrance will tow her back to spacedock. USS Speculator stands as look-out, just in case Leodegrance has any trouble braving the storm as well.

It has been hell trying to get the USS Leodegrance to look right, due to my decision to redesign her with the canted nacelles. The angle still doesn't look quite right, but oh well. Still a lot of work to be done before I can call this done.

I also started on some concept art views today, but those aren't anywhere near done enough to post, and were more for my benefit when it came to figuring out how the components were proportioned.

Lancelot Class designed by Bernd Schneider (Circa 1997)
USS Speculator registry, name, and class from Trekmania (Circa late 1990s-2000s)
SCE2Auxevil_genius_180Lizzy777StarCruiserpubliusrBolianAdmiral
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Posts

  • SCE2AuxSCE2Aux1038 Posts: 202Member
    Cool backstory you've come up with for this image, and lovely cloud drawings!
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I love everything about this. The back story is great, and it makes sense. In the real world, militaries put new equipment through some brutal testing before they sign off on a contract to have it produced and issued to troops. Obviously, Starfleet would want to test new ship designs in the same manner. I love the ship names too. Someone is clearly a fan of Arthurian legend. Also, Leondegrance happens to be the character that Sir Patrick Stewart played in the movie Excalibur, so nice callback to a movie with a Trek actor in it. And, last but certainly not least, the artwork is great. I love the storm, it looks fantastic. The ships look good too. I can tell that, as you said the Leondegrance is still in the WIP stage, but I'm sure you'll have it where you want it before long. :D
    publiusr
  • JESJES390 Posts: 194Member
    Finally got it to the point that I can call this done!

    cekj7lq7kbjk.png

    I admit that as far as perspective on Leondegrance go, it doesn't quite look right, but I've decided that if I take the time to get it perfect, I might as well spend my entire lifetime on this, and it's best to just move on, and use this a way to learn. I might try using Blender to build at least a simple 3D model for a template, but I'll just have to see what my laptop will tolerate (I doubt it will allow me to make them as complex as Madkoifish or Evil_Genius_180 above).
    I love the ship names too. Someone is clearly a fan of Arthurian legend. Also, Leondegrance happens to be the character that Sir Patrick Stewart played in the movie Excalibur, so nice callback to a movie with a Trek actor in it.

    Thanks for the kind words, and I am honestly a fan of ANY legends. I don't think that they get enough love, especially in Star Trek lore. If I revisit this design, it will likely in a Mk-II (phaser strips, color scheme similar to the Ambassador class, etc.), with a USS Beowulf, to keep the naming scheme of mythical warriors and potentially ancient leaders as well. But the name choice is because this is supposed to be the same ship that is mentioned in Picard, captained by Uhura, and Jean Luc Picard's first assignment posting.



    StarCruiserLizzy777BolianAdmiralevil_genius_180
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    The finished piece looks stellar, great work.
    JES
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