Star Ship Polaris

[USS Intrepid]

That's stunning. Beautiful work Vektor.

[Maurice]

Loving it. I love seeing the ship in context like this. I LOVE the lander.

My only quibble at the moment is the texture on the "fins", which continues in a radial fashion after the shape straightens out...it screams texture map that it doesn't follow the lines out there near the ends. That's my only issue. Otherwise...wow!

[Vektor]

Texture mapping is still rudimentary at best. I won't be doing anything much more sophisticated in that department until after the modeling work is essentially complete.

[Colonel Midnight]

Beautiful work as always, Sir Vektor... *zoinks*

Although, on the first new image -- isn't the upper fin missing a connection to the rest of the ship? On my screen, it looks like it's just free-floating in formation above Polaris. (Had to nitpick such a gorgeous shot!!)

Cheers,
-CM-

[Vektor]

These are still WIP images. Lots of parts and pieces and connecting structures are still left to be added.

[Vektor]

Rather than draw the entire ship from scratch in order to work out the detailing, I decided to switch gears and start from a 3D rendering, then add the detailing as a "paint over."

This is about 70-75% finished, I would say:



I figured I would go ahead and post this and get some feedback on it before I go any further. I am now at that delicate stage where I am beginning to add details that I have had in mind all along, but everyone else has been looking at the simpler versions for so long that the refinements can be rather jarring. Fortunately, some of the early design sketches included a lot of these details, so it shouldn't be too bad.

A couple of specific notes:

1. I realize the name and emblem don't look very military, but I figure they were held over from the ship's former life as a civilian research vessel. Not yet shown is a cluster of ID codes and registry numbers on the bottom half of the disc. Dennis sent me a graphic for that some time back but I seem to have misplaced it. I'll probably need to have him send me another copy. Size and placement is still negotiable.

2. The color scheme is not final. I rather like the blues, grays and blacks but almost anything could still change. At one point we were considering more of a red or orange color for the stripe on the side of the main engine housing instead of black, in which case some adjustments to the overall color scheme would probably be in order. I've kept those markings separate in the Photoshop document so they can be adjusted at will.

3. The feature just in front of the lander module is a significant addition. This is a large airlock for EVA operations and is called for in at least one scene in the script. The EVA suits are more than mere space suits, more like small capsules with helmets and manipulator arms, and this is where they are launched and retrieved. The airlock is oriented in alignment with the ship's internal decks, so imagine stepping out on the lip of this thing like a ledge on the side of a tall building, with the lander module just below you and the weapons pylon looming over your head. Probably there are two of these, one on either side, though I'm still debating over making one of them a dedicated docking port or locating it elsewhere, perhaps in the mirrored position on the other side of the lander.

4. Two of the four landing struts are visible in this image, at the trailing edge of the main engine cowling and the tip of the upper tail fin. These extend out and downward, partially unfolding into stabilized landing pads for those rare occasions when the ship actually touches down on a planet's surface. The position of the drive sails is actually about where they would be in a landed configuration.

Comments?

[RoJoHen]

I want this to be a toy, and I want to play with it.

[USS Intrepid]

Beautiful! I want a physical model.

[Psion]

Magnificent! I just think it needs more color. Maybe Dennis' ID codes will provide some, but I think it could use some copper or gold surfaces. At least some red or yellow striping to balance out the cold-neutral tones.

I can't wait to see a picture of this baby standing upright on a planet's surface!

[largo]

RoJoHen wrote:

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I want this to be a toy, and I want to play with it.

i want this to be real, and to be captain.

[RoJoHen]

largo wrote:

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i want this to be real, and to be captain.

But I want to hold it in my hand!

[KNH]

RoJoHen wrote:

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But I want to hold it in my hand!

That's what she said.

Though, admittedly, it -is- gorgeous. I approve.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

This is better than I could ever have asked for. Thank you. We'll do our best to live up to her.

Oh, and she has a captain.

The airlock is indeed an important story point, and I thank you for getting out ahead of that - this makes that sequence easier to visualize, as well.

On the subject of the registry and emblems, we should probably look at aviation and naval references - not so much at the way these things are placed and illuminated in Star Trek. For that matter, there are alternative approaches even in science fiction - do Star Wars ships even have markings? I'm personally fond of the colors and look of the markings on the Venture Star in Avatar:

[Gep Malakai]

Dennis wrote:

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For that matter, there are alternative approaches even in science fiction - do Star Wars ships even have markings?

Sort of. Their approach is occasional panels or stripes of contrasting color, with the exception of Episode III, where all the capital ships suddenly sprouted large colorful graphic markings.




Episode III:


I really like the bright-color-with-trim approach of this one:


I wonder how the Polaris would look in maroon...

[largo]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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I wonder how the Polaris would look in maroon...