Cyfa's art challenges and other bits & bobs

[Cyfa]

After a little time away, yesterday I eased my way back into the world of creativity by combining my extremely amateur photography, the North Norfolk coast, and Star Trek:

This is just black, gold and silver cardboard cut out to look like the 2390s Starfleet insignia. The sparkly silver background is from a wedding invitation, and the gold is more cardboard!

In the selection above, the bars display various sea, sky and beach images from photos I've taken near my home.

And these are a kind of "making of" showing the insignia laid over my photos displayed on my old PC monitor.

One of my blog friends suggested that "the bars are little display screens! Sort of 24th century mood rings!" which I think is a brilliant idea! What do you think? Would Starfleet go for such a thing?

 

[BorgMan]

I don't think it would have any real benefit though. As an official organization, frivolous things such as moodinsignia would probably be considered "inefficient". It might, however, be something for on the Orville

 

[Cyfa]

I think you might be right, @BorgMan. However, maybe the bars could be simple light emitters for use as locator beacons for when the wearer becomes trapped in a papier mache cave or something?

 

[Cyfa]

Something else I've been working on: Star Trek Star Maps
Since discovering the "Starry Sky" setting on my camera at the beginning of the year, I've been nipping out on clear nights since January (not many of those, and when they are clear they're bloody cold!) and taking some photos (aided by my tripod). I've been messing around with labelling the constellations and individual stars in some of the photos, but when I started recognising some of the star names from Star Trek, I decided to have a go at labelling just the Star Trek featured stars.
However, finding a photo with enough Star Trek-featured stars to make the map look anything more than sparse, is quite time consuming. The one below of the (partial) constellations of Leo, Canis Minor, and Gemini has quite a nice selection.
Anti-clockwise from bottom left are: Wolf 359 (in Leo), Procyon (in Canis Minor), Pollux & Propus (in Gemini), and Regulus (back to Leo).

Then to the labelling: For the star's Latinised Bayer designation, e.g. Alpha Lyrae, I chose 16 pt in a medium-light grey. For its traditional name (approved by the International Astronomical Union), e.g. Vega, I increased the font size to 20 pt and the brightness of the grey. And for the citation (i.e. which Star Trek episode or film it appeared in, or was mentioned in), I went with a darker grey in 12 pt.
To add something a little different, I circled the star with a red 26 pt "O" in Century Gothic - one of the few fonts in my limited selection with a perfectly circular O - and used it to denote the star, planet or moon that featured in the show (examples below).

This photo features Orion the Hunter in centre stage surrounded by Canis Major, Eridanus, Taurus, Gemini, and Canis Minor.

Orion plays host to quite a few Star Trek locations, but in this map I only really had room for Coridan, Orion, and Mintaka III. The planet Vulcan, which orbits 40 Eridani A, otherwise known as Omicron² Eridani (I forgot the ² on the map!) or Keid, can be found in the constellation of Eridanus; Aldebaran III in Taurus; Iota Geminorum IV, aka the Tribble homeworld, in Gemini; Andor in Canis Minor; and Sirius in Canis Major.

Much research was conducted using Memory Alpha, Wikipedia, and my trusty Universe book, although I may have taken one or two liberties here and there (Andor being located at Procyon, for one - the location came from the Star Trek Star Charts book by Geoffrey Mandel).
I intend to do some more, so when they're done, I'll post them here. Let me know if you have any suggestions

 

[BorgMan]

Hmmm... It could feature a small replicator? An away uniform could be lined with replicator material, not only giving insualtion to the wearer but also stuff for the replicator to convert. Combining a badge with built-in lights with a Tricored and / or a PADD could exponantially increase one's survival in a hostile situation...

 

[Cyfa]

Ooh, that's a good idea, @BorgMan. I'm sure late-24th century technology could easily squeeze a replicator into one of those bars, and the comm array (and holographic sensor/projector into the other.

And now for something completely different: Making Money

For this month's Art Challenge, "Isik for your thoughts", I was finding it difficult to think of something to do until I remembered Spock saying "What does it mean - Exact change?" when booted off the bus in The Voyage Home. So, I've started to design a few coins/credit chips to become a handful of 23rd century change. Here are a couple of the designs I've come up with so far:

They're a bit basic at the mo, but I'm going to try a few embellishments, and fill the gaps in the gold 'coins' with some sort of translucent material.
I don't think Spock and Kirk could get very far on these, though...

 

[Michael]

You're off to a good start, because these look great!

 

[Cyfa]

Unless I have an unexpected spurt of creativity in the next few hours (very unlikely), one of the following images will be my half-hearted entry for this month's Art Challenge:

 

[Cyfa]

After some dithering, I've made a decision:

 

[fireproof78]

I like it but I'm wondering why there is Vulcan script on one of them?

 

[Cyfa]

I like it but I'm wondering why there is Vulcan script on one of them?

Because the round ones are Vulcan coins Actually, all four of the round ones have Vulcan script rather craply scored into them, but you have to look carefully for it because I didn't score hard enough and didn't get the angle of light quite right. As to the square ones - I have no idea which civilisation they come from. Possibly Andorian because the holes in the bottom one look like a stylised upside-down Andorian head?

 

[fireproof78]

Because the round ones are Vulcan coins Actually, all four of the round ones have Vulcan script rather craply scored into them, but you have to look carefully for it because I didn't score hard enough and didn't get the angle of light quite right. As to the square ones - I have no idea which civilisation they come from. Possibly Andorian because the holes in the bottom one look like a stylised upside-down Andorian head?

Well I figured but I wasn't sure.

 

[Cyfa]

I have finally got around to doing something about July's Art Challenge! Thank you @Starscape for extending the deadline. While I had an idea and an extremely rough sketch around the middle of July, I hadn't actually done anything more because of the dratted weather. Like many places, the UK is basking in above average sunshine and temperatures which makes anything but flinging one's self into the sea at any opportunity (rather than, say, sitting at a desk and drawing) quite absurd.
Anyway, I have made a start:

I thought I'd better post this work-in-progress so you can see that I am actually doing something, and because it will instil a sense of pressure for me to finish it (or at least make it less unfinished, after all, the weather forecast is only getting better over the next couple of days...).
It's probably not immediately obvious which "Unseen Scene" this is - Can anyone guess?

 

[Admiral2]

I have finally got around to doing something about July's Art Challenge! Thank you @Starscape for extending the deadline. While I had an idea and an extremely rough sketch around the middle of July, I hadn't actually done anything more because of the dratted weather. Like many places, the UK is basking in above average sunshine and temperatures which makes anything but flinging one's self into the sea at any opportunity (rather than, say, sitting at a desk and drawing) quite absurd.
Anyway, I have made a start:

I thought I'd better post this work-in-progress so you can see that I am actually doing something, and because it will instil a sense of pressure for me to finish it (or at least make it less unfinished, after all, the weather forecast is only getting better over the next couple of days...).
It's probably not immediately obvious which "Unseen Scene" this is - Can anyone guess?

Well, you've got me thoroughly stumped. The closest I can figure it's Trelayne after "The Squire of Gothos" sulking in his room while being accosted by...what looks like B5's Vorlons without their encounter suits.

(Yeah, I know, but I can only go by what I'm seeing...)

Still, after going through the rest of your art I expect whatever this turns out to be will be fantastic, so I'll just wait and see.

 

[Cyfa]

Ha! Great interpretation, @Admiral2 However, you're about a hundred years out...
For July's Art Challenge, I chose to illustrate a scene of Jake Sisko baby-sitting Vilix'Pran's budlings, as mentioned in the DS9 episode "Business As Usual". I don't know why I asked if anyone could guess what the above sketch was as the only vague clue (I think) are the hastily drawn (and rather shoddy) viewports!
Anyway, here's the very rushed coloured version:

I was going to call this "Adventures in Babysitting" after the film (and even labelled it as such), but I haven't seen the film so I didn't really think it was appropriate. Jake's wearing his outfit from "The Reckoning" which, I think, is one of his least objectionable, but his face (at least the lower half) looks more like Old Man Jake's from "The Visitor" (I drew him with his hand over his eyes as I'm rubbish at faces).
As for Vilix'Pran and his twin budlings, the design is close to what I had in mind, but it's not quite there yet. I need to spend more time thinking through his biology etc. Also, the things that look like heads aren't - they're pseudo-heads. Just like starfish, Vilix'Pran's species have eyes at the end of their tentacles, and a scary-looking mouth in the centre of their underside.

And my final entry (title shamelessly nabbed from Bill Watterson's 5th Calvin and Hobbes collection):

 

[Admiral2]

Ha! Great interpretation, @Admiral2 However, you're about a hundred years out...

I see that now. Figures. I'm a TOS baby at heart, so even though I've seen and loved all of DS9 it didn't even occur to me that's where the scene came from.

And, yeah, it's fantastic, just like I thought. I love the detail and color. Excellent work.

 

[Cyfa]

Rather uncharacteristically, I've made a start on this month's art challenge well before the last minute! I've only cut out a few bits of coloured paper/card that fit together to make a couple of Starfleet officers, so far, but I know what I'm going to do with them.

I've chosen a Chandir ("Tailhead") and an Andorian, and dressed them in a version of my alternate universe 2373 Starfleet uniform for February's Art Challenge (as modelled by T'Cael & Ry'iak up there in the top right, with influences from my Starfleet Occult Operations design, bottom left). Once I've stuck them together and tidied them up a bit, they'll be ready for their away mission

 

[Cyfa]

you have a unique style.

- Thanks, gazomg. While I'm somewhat envious of those of you who can conjure up computer generated images and models, I'm going to stick with my old-school methods (for now) as I can't be bothered to learn anything new

Below, my Chandir and Andorian subjects have escaped their paper prison (despite being unfinished!) and made it out into the garden. As I hadn't yet got around to furnishing them with tricorders and communicators, they have availed themselves of a divining rod and crystal ball (it's amazing what one can find laying about in a witch's garden) to aid in their bid for freedom...

 

[BorgMan]

Stubborness ? maybe, but know what you mean about changing and possibly killing your buzz.

I get you man. I absolutely love SketchUp, but then again, I've been working with it for upwards of 10 years. I know Max amd Blender can get better results, but this works and for me, it works well.

Nice going Cyfa. Great art style!

 

[Cyfa]

Thanks @gazomg and @BorgMan I keep meaning to have a go at SketchUp or Photoshop (as you suggested, BorgMan), but I never seem to find (or make) the time.

This morning, I obscured myself and surreptitiously followed Lieutenant Commander Koromandis (the Chandir) and Lieutenant th'Thanticar (the Andorian) down the cliff to the beach where they were attempting to use the appropriated crystal ball and divining rod (as well as a staff that they must have picked up on the way) to find a way off this planet. I took some photos as evidence: