For a while now I've been slowly putting together a collection of ideas for an "idealised" Enterprise-C interior, one that (like the Probert concept) doesn't lean
quite so heavily upon the Movie-era aesthetics of a good 40 years earlier... The intention is to create a set of rough blueprints, mockups, and PS paintovers for the commissioning of a new Bridge and other areas in 3D, and to better flesh out the "lost years" before TNG.
With that in mind, below are the first rough images of what direction I'm taking the Okudagrams in: A "final install" version, which hints at the LCARS to come. The colors are currently sticking to the movie era, but that
may yet change.
E-C Okudagrams Door Control.jpg
E-C Okudagrams final install.jpg
I'm pretty satisfied with the "door control" type panel layout, but I know the other input panel needs a bit more fleshing out. Ideas? Suggestions?
Posts
So here's another element I've been working on; corridor deck/section signage. I'm basing these primarily off some of the old TNG pre-production concepts done by (I think?) Mike Okuda, as I felt they made an ideal go-between for the Movie and early TNG eras. The colors are intended to match up with the various Movie-era divisions, to denote the function of a particular section in that deck.
Corridor Signage - Engineering copy.jpg
Corridor Signage - Sciences copy.jpg
Corridor Signage - Medical copy.jpg
Ent A Bridge 01.jpg
Ent A Bridge 02.jpg
Ent A Bridge 03.PNG
Ent A Bridge 04.jpg
Ent A Bridge 05.PNG
Ent A Bridge 06.PNG
Ent A Bridge 07.jpg
What I'm working on here is a link between the Generations style of Okudagrams and labelling/signage, and what we saw by the time of early TNG.
Something between the Narrow fonts of LCARS, and a bridge between the Blue and Green of the Movie Era, and the Orange, Purples, Creams, and Pinks of TNG LCARS
I don't want to go overboard when it comes to bridging the gap, and I already have a proto-LCARS -the immediate successor to these- that I've been putting together; it holds minor elements and references back to the Movie era. It's intended to be installed sometime in the 2340s. I'll post those at a later date, but for now:
Standard doorsign, based on some of the Generations signage but with a TNG touch
Signage - Doorsign.jpg
And some example labels. I figure by this point in time, Starfleet has migrated fully away from the bigger 4:3 ratio labels, to something akin to TNG (though a touch bigger). As with the previous corridor signs, labels are dept color-coded according to designation. Here we have:
1) Engineering systems
2) General use labels
3) Critical systems
4) Medical equipment
Signage - Labels.jpg
I'm really not that skilled tbh; for example the corridor signs are little more than a PS traceover and embellishment of some old Mike Okuda art....
Maybe my best piece of advice with regards signage or GUI would be to first get a good example of an existing design / style that you like, and then rework it to create a "visual reference", adding and removing elements until you reach a look that best suits what you're aiming for. Once you've arrived at an aesthetic that you like, you can use that visual ref to create new pieces based upon it.
Hopefully that makes sense! Happy to DM if you'd like to discuss what you're working on some more
Connie Engineering Screen.jpg
I'm looking to strike a balance between the background screens on the USS Saratoga at the start of The Voyage Home, and those we saw on the Enterprise-A at the end; so I may yet decide to make the graphics borders thinner and square-edged (or even lose them entirely), and add a smidgen more color.
Ideas? Opinions? Rotten vegetables?
Connie Engineering Screen 2.jpg
I've added a touch more color ala the Saratoga's displays for this one; I'm pretty sure I'll be going with straight-edged and incomplete borders from here on in.
Connie Science Computer Core 01.jpgConnie Science Computer Core 02.jpgConnie Science Computer Core 03.jpg
In hindsight I should have modified the "code" text layer for each one, but tbh I couldn't be bothered in the end
Int-Ingram copy.png
Int-Ingram copy 2.png
The first was designed to be an amalgam of TVH and TUC aesthetics, reflecting the exterior design itself; while IIRC the second was intended to depict how the class would look after its first refit. The Helm consoles were -roughly- based upon the Excelsior type seen in STIII.
2332.jpg
The design here takes elements from the Galaxy-class (providing the initial 2D components), as well as Excelsior, SeanR's bridge, and a couple other designs. At some later stage I'll be posting the TNG-era USS Excalibur (as well as working up a side profile of the walls/consoles and drawing the faces of the consoles themselves, which sit midway between TNG and TUC). And yes: that is a table for a tea cup.
NB: I know the canon-obsessed will cry havoc, but the bridge we saw was IMHO from anything but a Ship of the Line. I'm going with the interpretation that it was either Auxiliary Control, or a predecessor to the TNG Battle Bridge (since it was the same set as the TNG S3/4 Battle Bridge, it'd make sense).
Thoughts, comments, harsh language? I'll take any of the above but please keep back the rotten vegetables - I've already had my five a day...
I actually had in mind a re-dress of the Constellation bridge that Rekkert just did for an Ambassador bridge with similar console placement. This would be as it appeared starting in the early 2350's (with the newer LCARS computer system) as well as doors flanking the viewer (ready room and turbolift) while the aft doors are a turbolift and egress corridor.
For the Ambassador variants, like SeanR I'm aiming squarely in between the Galaxy and Excelsior classes, as the ""Constellation type"" was first seen on the Hathaway, and reused for the Bozeman -- and overall seems a bit anachronistic to me, for a new class in the 2320s
ETA: Here's the (WIP) blueprint @Rusty0918; I'll avoid posting the PS drawover I'd been working on for now, as once I took a look at it I remembered there's quite a bit to do still as yet!
WIP Sutherland Bridge copy.png
2370.jpg
Generic Battle & Warship Bridge - Valiant.png
This is a late 2370s ""generic Warship / Battle Bridge module"" designed to plug in to new generation warships (sorry, escorts) post-Defiant, as well as into the secondary hulls of standard large Explorers such as the Galaxy and Nebula-classes. The basic version gets plugged into warships unmodified, while implementation on other vessels involves some minor aesthetic mods. The example here was installed to the prototype for the Valiant-class.
Included is a cross section of the main buttresses, based on the profile of the TFF/TUC era versions; but a little sharper edged, and at something like 2.5 times the thickness.
The image isn't finished, as there are some further changes needed (eg two different versions, appropriate seating, etc etc...).
Well, the USS Galaxy in Battle Group Omega edition does have Dark Warship Gray. The idea is she's the flagship of Battle Group Omega and she's refitted into a 3-nacelled AGT variant.