I don't know if it's a trick of the curvature of the bridge, but the engineering and communications stations look as if they slope downward towards the turbolift, and the lights under the viewscreen have a slight angle to them (perhaps just the resolution is affecting how I see it?). Aside from that, excellent progress, and more yeomen like the one in red!! James
^^ Actually, it's a trick of the camera - the virtual lens was pretty short, in order to get as wide a shot as I did, so it has a bit of fish-eye to it. As for the lights, the panel they're on is angled, so ... Thanks for the encouraging comments, folks - I'll have an updated shot of the enlarged screen soon.
Now that I look at it some more, the top is too low also. The angle section above the screen should go to the top edge of the walls with the panels and red alert lights on them. The angle is correct, just move the whole structure up, the same way you need to move the lower one down.
Thanks for the tips, Ziz! I'd actually already made that change, including bringing the alcove all the way to the ceiling. Some proportions still may be off, but it's considerably closer now:
We've seen some really talented work from our moderator, Ptrope. Let's make it look even better by contrasting it with some "hack" crap from yours truly. In the animated episode, we see an elder council, each member representing a different species trapped within the mysterious "pocket" of space/time. One of those members is a Gorn, the reptilian species introduced in "Arena". Now, I'm not seriously suggesting we use this, but if Ptrope finds himself in a scheduling bind and the proposed custom modeled Gorn is not finished, maybe the "thing" below can be employed as a background figure, and I mean the far, far background as in the "nosebleed" section! What is this piece of sh*t?! Basically, it's a "Frankensteined" collective of different 3D meshes. The body is a morphed version of the DAZ Troll. The head and feet come from two different types of Godzilla figures released by Scott Ayers. I know, sad, isn't it? Hopefully, if nothing else, it produced a chuckle or two. Sincerely, Bill
So he was the Gorn equivalent of a body-builder when he left Tau Lacertae IX and was lost forever in the temporal void. I like it! I dunno about you boys.
Actually, Redfern, with the right lighting and garb, that "Gorn" probably would look better than the lizard they showed us in ENT; anyplace I can find that to play around with?
You're kidding... Well, if you are genuinely curious, the body is composed of the DAZ Troll which can be found here: http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/shop/itemdetails/-/?item=3129 (I got it free as part of an annual Platinum Club deal.) The head came from a free figure called the Delgadosaurus, based upon a rejected design for the American Tri-Star Godzilla flick, which can be found here: http://www.morphography.uk.vu/dlscott.html#Delgadosaurus I snagged the feet from another 'Zilla figure, the "Final Wars" version also found on the same page. While not the most appropriate, they seem slightly better than the elephantine feet of the Troll. I simply turned off the visibility of all body parts for the Delgadosaurus except the head and eyes, aligned it with the Troll's head and changed the figure parent. I did the same thing for the feet, but I had to load the "FW" 'Zilla twice so each foot would work independently of the other. In reality, there are really four figures in the shot, three of them "slaved" to the Troll and most parts "cloaked". I used a procedural texture with some displacement that helped to hide the intersections of the various figures. You can see it work better between the head parts as opposed to the feet and legs. Ptrope, if you can demonstrate you have the DAZ Troll, say by creating a "draft" render of the thuggish brute standing upon your bridge model, I can send you the .PZ3 scene file so you can experiment if you wish. You guys really think this thing has potential? Oy... Sincerely, Bill
This is looking great! Are you going with TOS style camera angles? And will you be animating the characters quickly (i.e. more like real human movements) rather then the slow plodding animation of some CGI? (I know that's probably hard to do without the expensive setup with the guy in the leotard covered in pingpong balls)
The general project is still in flux, TK421 (why aren't you at your post? ), although as a concept, I'd like to see a combination of TOS-style imagery and the more advanced imagery that can be achieved with CGI, where we aren't limited by budget or physical constraints. The only thing, really, that limits what can be done is the soundtrack, as any action will need to match the tempo and timing of the audio that's available. As I stated at the beginning of the project, I'm no animator - think of me more as a director/producer. I'd like to find people interested in the project that do know their stuff around animation, and for whom I can provide resources as far as 3D models that can be used for the task, and the direction for which to compose and execute the scenes. I know what I want to see, and I hope I can communicate that with people capable and willing to work with that vision, who want as badly as I do to see what can be achieved. As far as the character animation goes, I'd like to see Kirk walk with the characteristic Kirk body language, something I think can be done by using live action as a guide in timing and technique. I'd like to see Spock in his characteristic live poses, rather than the oft-used "leaning over the viewer" pose so common in TAS. And all the characters would look better with the faster, often-random quirks that people do, rather than the smooth, mathematical motion we often see in CGI, but then I also realize just how much harder that sort of 'reality' is to achieve. Camera work should be more dynamic, obviously - why keep everything still, as needed by background paintings, when the camera can move through dimensional sets, right? I even hope to add a few nice touches not seen in the original, where they can fit into the audio timing - things like seeing a 3D M'Ress rising from Uhura's chair as Uhura takes over - even without a speaking part, M'Ress can fit into the overall flow of the audio and add, I think, an extra touch to the experience. Also, some real expression and movement from Lt. Arex, who never speaks in "The Time Trap," would be infinitely preferable to his stock-still demeanor in the original cartoon. What we won't see, however, is this Trollorian:
Well it's on my screen, so it's canon now. (You're right, I really should be getting back to my post)
Those are awesome, Ptrope. I especially like the Trollorian Security Officer. His shear presence alone would be intimidating. Can you do Ensign Naraht (Ensign "Rock") from the Diane Duane novels?
Hey Ptrope, anything new to share? Consider it an early Christmas present to the fans of this project.
Actually, I had planned to post a Gorn this weekend ... EDIT: Just some preliminary work, based upon Redfern's 'Frankengorn' concept: Again, the 'Delgadosaurus,' but this time, submerged into the Freak character for Poser, and some clothes hastily selected and textured for modesty's sake . IMHO, the Delgadosaurus works surprisingly well as a Gorn head, with few modifications other than enlarging the eyes. Finishing both figures with the same texture certainly helps, too . Keep in mind, this is not a finished concept, but just something I wanted to play with.
This looks great! I know you don't consider it finished, but to me, this is a gorn. Great job. :thumbsup: Thanks for the update.