3D interiors in Blender
- Thread starter Rekkert
- Start date
@Donny: Thanks mate! Haha, I'll try to keep things going. 
@The Librarian: Agreed on the sofa being a bad idea, I guess that's why it was so quickly scraped while other elements of this concept stuck around for longer.
Regarding the Sternbach thing, I think it was a combination of both factors, as even looking at his concepts, they're certainly a lot more "boxy" than Probert's. As for the Generations additions, those were designed by John Eaves.
@cardinal biggles:
How else would you accentuate an action scene if not by having someone break the glass?!
@The Librarian: Agreed on the sofa being a bad idea, I guess that's why it was so quickly scraped while other elements of this concept stuck around for longer.
Regarding the Sternbach thing, I think it was a combination of both factors, as even looking at his concepts, they're certainly a lot more "boxy" than Probert's. As for the Generations additions, those were designed by John Eaves.
@cardinal biggles:
How else would you accentuate an action scene if not by having someone break the glass?!
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No matter the quantum reality, the tactical officer is gonna end up with a broken spine one way or the other...
I've finished the shape of the glass panels, and started laying out the graphics for the MSD. You'll notice the ship's silhouette is full of artifacts, that's just a result of the low quality render. Still plenty of work to do there before it's worth a proper closeup.
I hope to be able to do most of the MSD tomorrow, as well as the balcony area for the Probert concept.
I've finished the shape of the glass panels, and started laying out the graphics for the MSD. You'll notice the ship's silhouette is full of artifacts, that's just a result of the low quality render. Still plenty of work to do there before it's worth a proper closeup.
I hope to be able to do most of the MSD tomorrow, as well as the balcony area for the Probert concept.
So that box they stuck in the middle of the tactical console, are there supposed to be any controls on it? Or a display screen? Or is it literally just a Big Stupid Box That Sits There?
How long will that thing last in a real world situation? How many people will have to run in to it, or bump there knees or elbow before captain looks at it and says.. Get this useless thing off my bridge!
@cardinal biggles I was hoping for a Beverage replicator ...
If I was captain I'd have a personel replicator within arms reach of the captains chair!
@cardinal biggles I was hoping for a Beverage replicator ...
If I was captain I'd have a personel replicator within arms reach of the captains chair!
TOS Battlestar Galactica had one of those enormous glass walls too. I think it was supposed to be a holographic star map thingy that you could interact with and plot courses and such. It, too, shattered in a million pieces during a Cylon attack at least once, maybe twice (through the magic of stock footage). Definitely not a safe device to have around. I think the assumption is that, in the Trekverse, it’s made of transparent aluminum and won’t shatter when under attack. The hull will crack before the glass wall does, in which case you have bigger things to worry about anyway.
Side item: I just heard that transparent aluminum is real (2016). 
I'm so behind the times. 
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-transparent-aluminum-real/
I'm so behind the times. https://screenrant.com/star-trek-transparent-aluminum-real/
@cardinal biggles: There is a display there, but... look for yourself, it doesn't look that comfortable or useful really...
I wouldn't try my luck with that.
@Henoch: Interestingly, I have an old argentine Trek fanzine from the late 90's that states it was invented back then! I'll have to find that and see what it was about.
The more I look at this graphic, the more I'm actually sold on its idea, if it were flipped 180°. (in fact maybe it already is, I can't read any of the text, but maybe it was intended to be read from the aft stations). It closes the aft area of the bridge, creating a little CIC in the process.
Sure, the tactical officer is kinda stuck in a smaller space; but people working on the aft stations have a central status panel. I can imagine Data standing up from the Science station he usually sat at when doing science-y stuff, and explaining something using this as a backdrop.
Going back to the Probert concept, I've worked on the balcony rails. The concept image has a weird detail in that the rail isn't drawn from edge-to-edge of the top level. To try and be accurate to this, I made the end bits go backwards a bit.
I think the assumption is that, in the Trekverse, it’s made of transparent aluminum and won’t shatter when under attack. The hull will crack before the glass wall does, in which case you have bigger things to worry about anyway.
I wouldn't try my luck with that.
@Henoch: Interestingly, I have an old argentine Trek fanzine from the late 90's that states it was invented back then! I'll have to find that and see what it was about.
The more I look at this graphic, the more I'm actually sold on its idea, if it were flipped 180°. (in fact maybe it already is, I can't read any of the text, but maybe it was intended to be read from the aft stations). It closes the aft area of the bridge, creating a little CIC in the process.
Sure, the tactical officer is kinda stuck in a smaller space; but people working on the aft stations have a central status panel. I can imagine Data standing up from the Science station he usually sat at when doing science-y stuff, and explaining something using this as a backdrop.
Going back to the Probert concept, I've worked on the balcony rails. The concept image has a weird detail in that the rail isn't drawn from edge-to-edge of the top level. To try and be accurate to this, I made the end bits go backwards a bit.
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Side item: I just heard that transparent aluminum is real (2016).
The problem with this is that per ST:IV, transparent aluminum is supposed to be an advanced form of the high density plastic that Our Heroes get from Doctor Nichols, with a pattern, or 'matrix', that makes it several times stronger than the material Doctor Nichols supplied. The transparent aluminum in your link is actual metal.
They say it is a ceramic (not a metal), but it sure is neat:
Fitting that one of its best uses would be for space shuttle/station windows. How Star Trek. Theories about making transparent aluminum started around 1980 and the patent to make it was filed in 1988 (two years after ST: TVH.)
I spent quite a bit of time this weekend trying to get the glass panels below the horseshoe to look more accurate. It's a weird material, as it's a frosted glass that's also reflective, while also having a light shone through the bottom. I completely remade the material from scratch, and I think it looks much better now.
I haven't been able to work much on the MSD graphic itself, but I have been working quite a bit on the arch it sits in. I've reshaped it somewhat to better fit in with screencaps (it's now quite a bit shorter than it was before from side to side, though it's still the same height).
I've also done the new LCARS panels for the alert status indicators, which were unique for this alternate bridge. They are certainly not perfect reproductions, but are the best I could do from the limited screencaps. The one besides the Ready Room door is completely conjectural though as we never saw that part of the bridge.
I haven't been able to work much on the MSD graphic itself, but I have been working quite a bit on the arch it sits in. I've reshaped it somewhat to better fit in with screencaps (it's now quite a bit shorter than it was before from side to side, though it's still the same height).
I've also done the new LCARS panels for the alert status indicators, which were unique for this alternate bridge. They are certainly not perfect reproductions, but are the best I could do from the limited screencaps. The one besides the Ready Room door is completely conjectural though as we never saw that part of the bridge.
Would have been funny... giving Worf a seat behind the horseshoe.. and Worf commenting on it on the episode.. hehe..
Looking good sir!
Looking good sir!
Are you sure it's transparent? I always thought it was just a silvery metal/painted surface.
I remember it being partially transparent. *shrugs*
EDIT: Just re-watched that BTS clip and you can definitely see Wesley's shadow as he moves back and forth there behind that. It's not solid.
EDIT: Just re-watched that BTS clip and you can definitely see Wesley's shadow as he moves back and forth there behind that. It's not solid.
I thought it was more "frosty" glass.
Looks awesome Rekkert! Don't forget to deepen those door insets btw.
You may have already seen this, but here's a great behind the scenes video of this bridge.
That reporter kept making my hackles rise. "Star Track." Grrrrr.
Then again, they also interviewed "Jonathon Frakes," who plays "Lt. Commander Riker." So much for accurate reporting.
@Nays: Haha, thanks mate! Yeah, I've been using that interview for reference quite a bit, I think you showed it to me a while back. And those door insets, they're stuck where they are at this point, consider them the signature of my TNG bridge model. 
@valkyrie013: That would've been funny indeed. Poor Worf, never getting a chair... Even in the universe where he's XO, there's no chair for him!
As for the material, yeah as mentioned in my previous post it's a weird one. Frosted, very slightly transparent, and reflective.
I'm mostly done with the MSD. I've tweaked the size of the graphics to be better matches for the screencaps (it's a never ending tweaking with that thing!), I've only need to do the remaining labels, some more work on the top view, and the graphics for the two... circle things...
The aft stations LCARS were modified as well, to better reflect their early season 7 version. They're mostly the same, but colors are somewhat modified, and the Engineering station is turned off when unused (as was the case for most of TNG actually).
Also, I've added the alternate combadge design to the dedication plaque. This obviously wasn't done for the episode, but it would make sense to think the "real" ship had it.
On another note, I've been using the 'spoiler' tags for images for over two years now, and while I certainly know how bothersome it is to have images slowly load up and move the website as they do, I think overall this is no longer one of the most "pics heavy" threads here, so I want to try and stop using the tag. If people start requesting it again, I'll turn back to it, but if not, maybe it's time to leave that behind.
And those door insets, they're stuck where they are at this point, consider them the signature of my TNG bridge model. @valkyrie013:
That would've been funny indeed. Poor Worf, never getting a chair... Even in the universe where he's XO, there's no chair for him!As for the material, yeah as mentioned in my previous post it's a weird one. Frosted, very slightly transparent, and reflective.
I'm mostly done with the MSD. I've tweaked the size of the graphics to be better matches for the screencaps (it's a never ending tweaking with that thing!), I've only need to do the remaining labels, some more work on the top view, and the graphics for the two... circle things...
The aft stations LCARS were modified as well, to better reflect their early season 7 version. They're mostly the same, but colors are somewhat modified, and the Engineering station is turned off when unused (as was the case for most of TNG actually).
Also, I've added the alternate combadge design to the dedication plaque. This obviously wasn't done for the episode, but it would make sense to think the "real" ship had it.
On another note, I've been using the 'spoiler' tags for images for over two years now, and while I certainly know how bothersome it is to have images slowly load up and move the website as they do, I think overall this is no longer one of the most "pics heavy" threads here, so I want to try and stop using the tag. If people start requesting it again, I'll turn back to it, but if not, maybe it's time to leave that behind.
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