Morning all,
Not going to have a chance to work on the mesh today – today is a hospital day (nothing serious, just lots of waiting around and then getting fitted up for new hearing aids, and then getting used to hearing again – such fun!).
So, as I’m not really able to work on the mesh, I thought I’d explain a little bit about the history and process I use to build these models;
I’ve been building 3D models for twenty years. Compared to some folk out in the inter-web, I’m still a rank newbie, lol. But, I’ve been playing with 3D stuff since 2002 after I was introduced to a game called Star Trek Bridge Commander (STBC) and I decided to build mods for that game. Some of my STBC mods are still up on various sites, the Star Trek V shuttle, the Blake’s 7 ship pack (my creator tag is Jayru if you’re interested).
I remember contacting Atolm back in 2002 about working on the Windrunner, but that was back in the days when I was using Milkshape 3D and… I just didn’t have the skills to do it. I’d seen Todd’s Ingram plans as well, and that I thought I could do. Thanks to my dad I graduated from Milkshape and started using 3DS Max.
I think most of you know the rest – I spent fifteen years building not one Ingram but seven of them. I started other projects as well of various ships I designed – the Wolf Class, the Ballard Class - a lot of these I shared on SciFi Meshes... And you all know I lost my archive and backups. So, I’ve started again, from scratch.
Beginning when you have nothing is scary, it’s interesting. You have to relearn things – but… I’m glad I did come back to this. I do this because I enjoy it. I think some of you know, although it’s no secret, that I am medically retired. Building 3D models has become a go to hobby to keep my mind going.
My process is simple; I like to build ships that work. I like to rationalise designs and make them logical. When it comes to Trek ships, I look at how they fit together, and whether people could actually fit on each deck (or do they have to be Smurfs, like on the Excelsior which has a tiny bridge module, or dwarfs like on the Enterprise-E, which uses TARDIS technology to fit an ever changing number of decks in, lol).
I like things to make sense.
So, when I build a ship, I try and make it work. I think about where the Warp Core’s would go, how the shuttle bays work, the crew actually fitting on the bridge, windows that match the deck layout and aren’t impossible (*cough* refit Enterprise *cough*).
Ok, so maybe that makes me a nerd. But if it does, I am the KING of nerds.
It’s why I like working on the ships I have. They have been designed with this ethos – the Ingram, the Windrunner, and make it a joy to work on them. They are logically designed and work. Fitting them into there eras is fun, TMP ships have certain design details that TNG ships do not, and vice-versa. It’s fun to play with. I build details in rather then using texture maps. It makes for a higher poly count, but for sharper details on the model. Textures tend to be simple and just the patterns you see on the hull. Although I say simple… Procedural maps that pearlese are not simple, but now I have the settings – look amazing.
Anyway, I could waffle on and on about process and miss my appointment time, lol. I think the takeaway from all this is that I enjoy doing it – and I hope that others enjoy it as well.
See you all tomorrow, more soon!
As for the colours, I understand that you want it more fleetlike but hey, now and then they might make a whoopsy in spacedock and the right colours don't arrive until tuesday..
