Just a little discussion.

[sojourner]

Hey,
I was just curious if anyone else here does some of the same stuff.

Do you ever get enamored with a shape and find yourself trying to use it in different ways/models? I find that sometimes I just want to base several models on a nice basic shape I have come up with.

On similar note, do you re-use greebles? A lot of my models have the same window components glued on them.

Do you ever start something intending it to look unique from what you've done before only to have it turn out fairly reminiscent to previous work? My saucers/primary hulls always start this way but half the time they end up looking like derivations of the Excelsior primary.

Any other little idiosyncrasies you care to share?

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Splendid idea! This will give me a chance to review myself while I get used to better software, whilst I hawk my lame shit.

A while ago, I had a thing for uni-hull ships and using elements from the fake Dauntless.

The Excelsior has snuck in on me a couple of times, but those were both on purpose (with the Durendal, it was to suggest the craft being a "replacement" for the Excelsior, whilst the Sumeria was to share common tech and hardware. It even had a more Excelsior-ish engineering hull at one point).

I'm very fond of the Conestoga from Enterprise, having twice modified the basic design to create a "preferential replacement" for the NX class in my personal fanon. Once as a ringship, and then with nacelles.

I like scooped-out Nova/Intrepid/Delta Flyer-style deflectors, apparently. They show up on my Anduril runabout, Anhur-class patrol ship, and Normandy-class. I reuse a lot of common elements in my TNG-onwards ship designs, but it's not typically outright re-use of parts, so it usually ends up ok.

 

[B.J.]

If it fits the design, I like to use gull-wing nacelle pylons like on my Leonov. I like the way they look, and you don't see them much at all on Federation designs.

 

[Klaus]

Four-nacelle designs in general, and a longtime obsession w/a circular pylon arrangement:

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dguv0w

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dgurre

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dhy5ht

 

[Kaiser]

i use side firing phasers and torpedo luanchers in my designs these days as i see that as a good tactical idea

 

[Dac]

I dont usually design much of my own, but when I do I like the flowing saucer into pylon arrangement. I've used that in a few classic style UFO designs recently, and my random non-trek trek ship too.

 

[Santaman]

I'm not much of an artist but I seem to have a preference for oddball designs like the Sydney which I find a marvelous design.

 

[judexavier]

Four-nacelle designs in general, and a longtime obsession w/a circular pylon arrangement:

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dguv0w

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dgurre

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dhy5ht

I saw "circular pylon" and checked out your links, and freaked out. LOL
I played with this sketch design about a year ago (I know they're very rough, sorry)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg178/judexavier/RS-2.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg178/judexavier/RS-1.jpg

I had no idea...maybe I'm not so crazy.

 

[Klaus]

great minds...

Very nice! I'm going to revisit the design now that my Bryce skills are sharper...

 

[sojourner]

Four-nacelle designs in general, and a longtime obsession w/a circular pylon arrangement:

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dguv0w

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dgurre

http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com/gallery/4324836#/dhy5ht

I saw "circular pylon" and checked out your links, and freaked out. LOL
I played with this sketch design about a year ago (I know they're very rough, sorry)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg178/judexavier/RS-2.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg178/judexavier/RS-1.jpg

I had no idea...maybe I'm not so crazy.

JUDE!!! Please tell us you're back? I have missed your artwork a lot.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Agreed.

That sketch looks hotness.

 

[Warped9]

Yes, it happens quite often that I use certain shapes integrated into something I'm working on. There's often something about how the shape looks and how it feels when I look at it.

Periodically when I feel stuck I try drawing things completely unrelated and inappropriate just to try breaking a mental block. It often helps.

I also often use shapes that I've seen somewhere other than television or film in order to strive for something more distinctive and less derivative.

 

[judexavier]

Hey,
I was just curious if anyone else here does some of the same stuff.

Do you ever get enamored with a shape and find yourself trying to use it in different ways/models? I find that sometimes I just want to base several models on a nice basic shape I have come up with.

On similar note, do you re-use greebles? A lot of my models have the same window components glued on them.

Do you ever start something intending it to look unique from what you've done before only to have it turn out fairly reminiscent to previous work? My saucers/primary hulls always start this way but half the time they end up looking like derivations of the Excelsior primary.

Any other little idiosyncrasies you care to share?

Yes. I find I get stuck on "themes/configurations/gimmicks?"
such as this odd, reoccurring obsession with having the nacelles connected to the primary saucer (hard to describe; they flare out of the saucer, with vaguely "F-15-ish intake" bussard scoops underneath. Seems to work in my brain, but not on paper so far. (And if that isn't bad enough, I'll try to add traditional pylons, so it looks like a knotted pretzel spaceship).

I thought I was the only person that reused greebles LOL.
Man I have a ton of PSDs with just layers of crap and bits and pieces, like a big "scrap parts box".

As far as starting out trying to do something different, then ending up familiar, yeah, primarily because I get lazy, fall into old habits. (More panel lines! Kewl!!)

Actually, I'll throw in another question, (considering so many shows, movies, books, drawings, other people's work, stacks of sketchbooks and files of your own things), how often do you open a thread, and go "oh hell, I'm working on something just-like-that" or "damn, I did that last year!!??" or "crap, I guess I can't post this now...'click' >recycle bin."

Just curious.

This is a good discussion topic.

 

[sojourner]

^Hmmm, I actually don't run into that often. I think I am so obsessively looking at other designs that I do manage to steer clear of it as a design evolves. Either that or my design sense is just so out of whack that no one else makes the same ugly ships.

Conversely, I have looked at other designs and thought "nice idea, but if they had just taken it in this direction" and started on my own version on it.

 

[JES]

I am absolutely guilty of using many of the Sovereign's design elements in many of my designs, because I just her. I especially use that concave deflector dish design in a lot of my designs, in case you all haven't already noticed (which you might not have, since I haven't scanned enough of my artwork yet).
Then again, I'm also guilty of trying to develop Jonny Eaves's sense of detailing, since I'm not really all that good at knowing where to place stuff.

Except for weapons, because I think weapons are cool.

I also like using rounded hull edges like that used on the Galaxy, Galen's Legacy, MadeinJapan1988's Perception, speaking of whom, I've also been using a lot of his design elements myself, including basing my nacelles off of his own designs. Since my sense of style is still evolving, I am essentially assimilating any design elements I like and adapting them into my own designs, with the intention of later refining them with my own touch.

 

[publiusr]

Perception is a nice design. I would love to spend some hours in a car scrapyard just pulling plastic pieces out that have interesting shapes. I collect a lot of plastic bits, but never get around to getting a lot done due to work.