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3DUSS Triton

AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
edited February 2013 in Work in Progress #1
Hi guys! My progress so far... The CG version of the Akira class starship for the fan film Star Trek: Triton. It's been slow going since I don't really get a chance to work on it all that often.

TRITONWIP.jpg

From the show bible;

U.S.S. Triton. NCC-62507. Though the Akira class was initially intended to fill a combat role, most of the TritonA’s shuttle hangars and weapons platforms have been converted to state of the art science facilities. Primarily an exploration vessel, sheA’s more than capable of coping with the inherent dangers of deep space.

Hope you guys like it and stay tuned for updates! :)

- Andy
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Post edited by Andymator on
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  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Nice work so far. After reading the excerpt from the show's bible, I'm looking forward to seeing the differences between this ship and the Akira-class from First Contact. :)
  • AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
    Nice work so far. After reading the excerpt from the show's bible, I'm looking forward to seeing the differences between this ship and the Akira-class from First Contact. :)

    Thanks man!

    I am striving to make it as screen-accurate as possible, but that presents some pretty unique challenges since it wasn't a hero model but more of a mid-to-background ship, so some of the shapes are a bit wonky. I've tried to clean it up a little bit and made some very slight alterations that I can show when I get some free time to do some specific renders.

    I started the nacelles a couple of nights ago, and it took me probably 5 tries to reconcile all the crazy shapes and polygon smoothing issues from the original First Contact model. Madness! Hehehe, hopefully they'll come out nicely.
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Andymator wrote: »
    Though the Akira class was initially intended to fill a combat role, most of the Triton’s shuttle hangars and weapons platforms have been converted to state of the art science facilities. Primarily an exploration vessel, she’s more than capable of coping with the inherent dangers of deep space.

    You, Sir, just won me over. I cannot emphasize how absolutely refreshing it is to see a project where the combat aspects of a starship take a second seat to science and exploration efforts. For this, I thank you. In the words of the FedNet spots, I would like to know more... do you have a direct link to the series bible?
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    It's actually a pretty good approach, if you think about the weapons pod as a probe magazine on steroids, which will carpet an area with probes and then serve as a massive amplifier for telemetry reception.
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    It looks very good, your renderer make it look a lot like an actual model.
    As for the project itself, it sounds very interesting, I would love to hear more about it.
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • vmblastvmblast3 Posts: 0Member
    Looking awesome :D

    And really nice grading too ;)
  • McCMcC373 Posts: 704Member
    I'm quite fond of the Akira-class. Looking forward to seeing this develop!
  • AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
    Thank you for the replies guys! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
    You, Sir, just won me over. I cannot emphasize how absolutely refreshing it is to see a project where the combat aspects of a starship take a second seat to science and exploration efforts. For this, I thank you. In the words of the FedNet spots, I would like to know more... do you have a direct link to the series bible?

    Thanks! Someone else gets it! :thumb: We haven't released a whole lot of material as we don't want to actually spoil thet film for anybody heheh, but here are some sheets we did up back when we were doing our first round of casting:

    LeynaPACK.jpg

    ColemanPACK.jpg

    DevonPACK.jpg
    Rekkert wrote: »
    It looks very good, your renderer make it look a lot like an actual model.
    As for the project itself, it sounds very interesting, I would love to hear more about it.

    We're actually using a mix of CG and physical shooting miniatures for our SFX shots, so that's what I was going for! I want to integrate them seamlessly.

    The first film shoot is tentatively scheduled for March, which is just a simple scene meant as kind of a proof-of-concept for the whole thing. It'll help us identify what works and what doesn't in terms of production. We'll probably release it online to try and drum up interest in the project and get some help hehehe.
  • KillaBCKillaBC0 Posts: 0Member
    Very good, I like the character profiles and the way they have been illustrated. You on to a winner here.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Nice character sketches.
    Andymator wrote: »
    I am striving to make it as screen-accurate as possible, but that presents some pretty unique challenges since it wasn't a hero model but more of a mid-to-background ship, so some of the shapes are a bit wonky. I've tried to clean it up a little bit and made some very slight alterations that I can show when I get some free time to do some specific renders.

    I started the nacelles a couple of nights ago, and it took me probably 5 tries to reconcile all the crazy shapes and polygon smoothing issues from the original First Contact model. Madness! Hehehe, hopefully they'll come out nicely.

    Actually, the Akira-class was pretty detailed, considering when it was made. It was the only one of the CGI ships created for the Borg battle that was designed to be seen up close. What doesn't help it was being made in 1995-ish. But, yeah, it's got some wonky shapes. I've considered making it in the past, but those shapes are a pain.
  • BorgManBorgMan209 DutchlandPosts: 581Member
    Why is Devon a 'Starfleet Observer'? Starfleet isn't militaristic per se and as such I'm not entirely sure why she's positioned as an outsider while apparently still being in the same organization and part of the same chain of command others are. Very curious about that...
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    It says she was assigned by an Admiral, she could have been sent there to be the Admiral's eyes and ears and report back. We've seen stuff like that on a few ST episodes. In fact, her brief story reminds me a lot of Lt. Cdr. Shelby from The Best of Both Worlds, who was assigned to the Ent-D as an observer/mission specialist. She could also have operational knowledge about a mission and be there to provide such knowledge to the command crew of the Triton but have no official position on the ship, like how Ro Laren started out on TNG and how Tom Paris started out on Voyager, but without the prison aspect that both of those shared.
  • AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
    It's difficult to get into too much detail about Devon without giving away parts of the plot, but Evil Genius pretty much hit the nail on the head there so to speak.
    Actually, the Akira-class was pretty detailed, considering when it was made. It was the only one of the CGI ships created for the Borg battle that was designed to be seen up close. What doesn't help it was being made in 1995-ish. But, yeah, it's got some wonky shapes. I've considered making it in the past, but those shapes are a pain.

    I think maybe the mesh was damaged through getting ported to different pipelines a couple of times too, since there is some really crazy texture stretching and assymetry going on in the reference that Doug Drexler put online.
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    I love the character sketches and concepts as well. I especially like Lt. Cmdr. Devon... something tells me she'll be kind of like Cmdr. Shelby? FWIW, I just have to put in my own two cents and express that personally, I would by far prefer to see the TNG-only uniforms used here, because of the fact that IMO, they look the best, and have the most color. I never cared for the "dark & black" trend that DS9 began and FC furthered. Again, this is only my opinion. I look forward to seeing more.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Andymator wrote: »
    I think maybe the mesh was damaged through getting ported to different pipelines a couple of times too, since there is some really crazy texture stretching and assymetry going on in the reference that Doug Drexler put online.

    That's true too. It was either a Max or Maya model that was converted to Lightwave for the TV shows, and we know too well what can happen when you convert a model. I'm amazed it came out as well as it did, but I think it looked better in FC and in Star Trek: The Magazine, where it was seen in its original format.
  • AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
    I finally started to get the nacelles to work. They were hard.

    NacelleWIP.jpg
    I love the character sketches and concepts as well. I especially like Lt. Cmdr. Devon... something tells me she'll be kind of like Cmdr. Shelby? FWIW, I just have to put in my own two cents and express that personally, I would by far prefer to see the TNG-only uniforms used here, because of the fact that IMO, they look the best, and have the most color. I never cared for the "dark & black" trend that DS9 began and FC furthered. Again, this is only my opinion. I look forward to seeing more.

    We struggled with the choice of uniforms quite a bit. It was always going to be either the TNG ones or the DS9/VOY ones. To be honest I probably prefer the TNG ones but it worked out the way it did mostly because of story requirements. Either way we've already gone too far into costuming to turn back now! :lol: But don't worry, there are definitely TNG ones in the film.
    That's true too. It was either a Max or Maya model that was converted to Lightwave for the TV shows, and we know too well what can happen when you convert a model. I'm amazed it came out as well as it did, but I think it looked better in FC and in Star Trek: The Magazine, where it was seen in its original format.


    I totally agree, it looked it's best in First Contact, that's the look I'm going for. :)
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Nice work so far on the nacelles. :)
  • VALKYRIE013VALKYRIE013547 Posts: 1,473Member
    looking good! but requesting a larger render... please!
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    Looking great. Again, the Bussards look more like an actual model rather than CGI, greatly done! :thumb:
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Yeah, nice work on the nacelles so far!
  • AndymatorAndymator0 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks guys. I'm hoping that this thread can drum up some interest for some CG artists to join the team and help with the VFX work on the film.
    looking good! but requesting a larger render... please!

    I'll make sure to do up some nice big renders soon. These ones so far have all just been preview renders from the XSI viewport. After I get the big pod done up I'll set up some bigger renders.:thumb:

    We initially wanted to build full sized sets for the film, but we quickly realized that it was going to be a huge nightmare both logistically and financially, so I did a couple of tests with greenscreening. It looked waaaayyyyyyy better than I expected so we settled on a middle ground; Anything our actors touch or interact with is a physical set piece, and the rest is done in CGI and composited together.

    Our first test was the captain's ready room set. When we film the desk / chair / desktop computer / PADDS are all real physical elements (depending on the shot requirements) and the rest will be this CG set.

    RRVIEW1.jpg

    RRVIEW2.jpg

    Andy
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    Wow, those look amazing! Every updates makes me more and more exited about this!
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    Wow. That is an awesome ready-room... modern and functional, yet simple but with a touch of luxury, and nice use of colors and lighting. So far, I REALLY like what I'm seeing here, and where your project is headed.
  • BlueNeumannBlueNeumann615 Posts: 1,275Member
    Oooh... I really like that interior, feels just right, Trek but a little claustrophobic like a ship from that era should be.

    Now, greenscreen-- that tech has gotten a lot better but I still can't help but think of Hidden Frontier. I would totally suggest that you consider doing cgi storyboards with lighting, so that you can light the actors the right way to matte them in, so you can have the sun shine through the windows like you have above (and of course, tracking dots and a high-res live-action input).

    Might I also suggest you consider making some CG officers for the background, walking past in the corridors and so on.
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    ^

    I agree, except on the point that the room feels claustrophobic... not all 24th century ships have to have huge interiors. This was one thing that always bugged me about the Voyager... it was such a smaller ship than the Enterprise-D, yet its bridge felt and looked more spacious than the D's bridge... same with Janeway's ready-room... it was literally like the step-down living room of a luxury condo, it looked so big. I think Andymator is going in the right direction with this.
  • VALKYRIE013VALKYRIE013547 Posts: 1,473Member
    looking Very nice!

    only sudgestion would be to personalize it abit.. has that off the showroom floor feel to it.. maybe add a plant, fish, Ancient Klingon Tribal Mask... something :)
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Those look really good. :)

    Yeah, a lot of fan efforts are going with green screen. Of course, the first and probably most famous/notorious was Star Trek: Hidden Frontier. It was all green screen with props and you could tell because everybody had green outlines around them. ;) Fortunately, technology that people can afford is getting much better these days.
  • McCMcC373 Posts: 704Member
    Yeah, a lot of fan efforts are going with green screen. Of course, the first and probably most famous/notorious was Star Trek: Hidden Frontier. It was all green screen with props and you could tell because everybody had green outlines around them. ;) Fortunately, technology that people can afford is getting much better these days.
    If I recall correctly from talking with Rob Caves, their main FX dude, they had some sort of hardware greenscreen solution they were more or less locked into using, rather than taking advantage of some of the better software solutions that emerged, which is why HF's greenscreen never really got better as time went on. On the other side of the coin, you've got the Star Wreck guys, whose techniques got markedly better with each production, ultimately culminating in Iron Sky.

    Andymator, might you be willing to share some of the composite tests you did? :D
  • BlueNeumannBlueNeumann615 Posts: 1,275Member
    I like the First Contact uniforms, they're fine for DS9 and the movies, but I also love the TNG uniforms and if there was ever a time to bring them out, this would be it, with the blu-rays coming out and the fans falling back in love with the series since we can see it so clearly.

    Now, for your Starfleet observer, typically when you have an outsider in Star Trek they rock some sort of skintight outfit, but since she's also Starfleet, she'd need a uniform, so I was thinking maybe a colour we'd never seen before.

    gray-purple_edited-1.jpg slate-uniform_edited-1.jpg
    (boy, I wish that I had a less cheesecake picture to use as an example, I just needed to do it quick. And I couldn't get the gray purple that was in my head).
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    The problem with that is the inevitable fanboy question: Why doesn't anyone else in Starfleet wear that color? :p

    Besides, it says on her bio sheet that she's a command-track officer, so she should wear red. The fact that she's on board the ship as an observer shouldn't affect her color of uniform, as that's department specific.
    McC wrote: »
    If I recall correctly from talking with Rob Caves, their main FX dude, they had some sort of hardware greenscreen solution they were more or less locked into using, rather than taking advantage of some of the better software solutions that emerged, which is why HF's greenscreen never really got better as time went on.

    Yeah, I don't know much about their back story. I just figured they were limited by what they could afford and what was available at the time. I know they started working on that series back in the '90s. (taking into account their "proof of concept" series, USS Angeles) Their green screen did definitely get better over time, though. The first couple seasons or so were very rough, but their last few seasons were much better.
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