Yeah, I really like that aspect, too. Makes it that much more realistic.
I sure you've gone into how you create the graphics in the past, but remind me, you are building them in Illustrator and importing them into your 3D program, correct?
For these TNG panels, I revisited my workflow to make sure I was making them in the most efficient way. My previous TOS, TMP/TWOK, and TUC panels, for instance, were almost completely done in Photoshop. But the TNG panels rely much more on alignment and consistent spacing than the others. I originally thought I'd create the layouts in 3ds Max (as flat geometric shapes) and use the grid-snapping tools there (which I am incredibly used to working with) to create the layouts, and then render those shapes out to a texture. But this proved cumbersome. So I then moved to Illustrator, which proved superior. Not only does it have great alignment and snapping tools, but any shape you create is easily editable, especially in terms of being able to adjust rounded corners on the fly. The only thing I don't like about Illustrator is that I find working with layers in the program is pretty clunky.
Anyway, I create a clean black-and-white layout image in Illustrator. Once this is done, I export that image and bring it over to Photoshop as a single layer. Once in PS, I then add color to the "negative" by multiplying blocks of color over the black-and-white image. I then multiply gradients on top of that to give it that "lightbox" look you all are commenting on above, and add a slight inner shadow to the "buttons" to further enhance the layered backlit look. I also create a flipbook image (multiple animations cells stitched together on a single image which are later animated in succession by the game engine) for any blinking buttons needed (the ones that appear bright/hot orange in the images above blink on and off slowly, as they do in the movies). I then black these blinking buttons out on the main emissive texture (with an opacity of about 10%) so that with the flipbook image added on top of them gives the illusion of blinking lights turning on and off. I also save out a black-and-white mask of what areas of the display that are brushed gold.
Then I take this all into the game engine, which is added to the emissive channel of the material I've already created of the black, glossy panels themselves (of which I've added fingerprint/hand smudges which you can see when the light hits it just right
). The brushed gold bits are created by blending the black glossy material with a brushed gold material with the aforementioned mask as a blend between the two.
I personally love the backlit look of the panels, although I know that in-universe the panels would more likely be evenly lit. But there's a warmth to the backlit look I think you lose when you idealize them to be consistently lit.
All this being said, I may go back on my previous statement that I wouldn't be making the animated displays appear to be on monitors (as they do on-screen). If I can't get them to look "correct" as integrated into the backlit displays, I may very well do the monitor thing. We'll see. I need to do some tests.
floor by Michael Bradbury, on Flickr
