The Return of MSPaint...

[Belisarius]

Thanks for the comments, all! A few folks have mentioned not being able to see older images in the thread. Unfortunately, I can't resurrect them since I was locked out of my original Deviant Art account at some unknown point (though if you visit that gallery you'll probably see everything that was previously linked; most of what's there is very redundant/iterative).

Up isn't terrible, it just destroys this design's unique flow.

I (still) agree with you, 100%.

HA! A certain other ship could learn a thing or two.

I am not familiar with this "certain other ship" you're referencing, but would love to know more!

Your Paint-Fu is remarkable! As are your starship ideas - I love this latest concept with the semi-ring nacelle

Thank you! MSPaint is still a powerful (albeit limited) tool for creating digital art, and it's 100% free. As for this concept, the "ring" actually houses the main deflector array in a duplex configuration, and the nacelle components are housed in the rear "fin" of the ventral hull. This ship is a unibody hull concept, so there is no true secondary hull (unless you count the deflector ring, I suppose). The bussard collectors are situated much like ram scoops on the dorsal hull aft of the saucer, and the warp core is longitudinally mounted between them, well below the armored dorsal "spine" of the ship. Plasma transfer conduits would run aft and below toward the warp engine field grill (which actually hides multiple redundant warp coil assemblies). You're really looking at two warp nacelles folded into one hull section.

 

[shapeshifter]

A few folks have mentioned not being able to see older images in the thread.

Huh.

I am not familiar with this "certain other ship" you're referencing, but would love to know more!

<coughtheorvillecough> It uses 3 semi-rings as its drive to... mixed results.

Anyway, hope to see more of all your designs, and in 3D.

 

[Belisarius]

<coughtheorvillecough> It uses 3 semi-rings as its drive to... mixed results.
Anyway, hope to see more of all your designs, and in 3D.

Ah, the Orville. I love that show (and ship). I can definitely understand what you're talking about. So is this art imitating art...imitating art?

Unfortunately, I am not much of a 3D artist, so unless someone else wants to take on the monumental task of translating them to 3D (unlikely), you probably won't see them rendered as models.

Another small update, with a new bussard collector (and hull) redesign. I realized pretty quickly that the original geometry as drawn in the side view was impossible in three dimensions. I think she's starting to look rather Delta Flyer-esque.

 

[shapeshifter]

Unfortunately, I am not much of a 3D artist, so unless someone else wants to take on the monumental task of translating them to 3D (unlikely), you probably won't see them rendered as models.

No worries then, <demonic voice> just create more drawings! Ahem Excuse me. lol

Nice.

 

[Belisarius]

Another incremental update:

 

[shapeshifter]

Took a minute but I see the change. The very outer rim lost its windows in the forward view though.

 

[Belisarius]

Took a minute but I see the change. The very outer rim lost its windows in the forward view though.

I don't think I've added any viewports to the front view yet. Mainly just correcting the uppermost dorsal saucer hull geometry in the front view to accurately correspond to the lateral view. Slowly adding detail to the ventral hull sections. Balancing this design (especially for viewport placement and hull geometry) is proving to be a challenge.

 

[shapeshifter]

Ok, ports. I may be misunderstanding more than that. Here is what I am talking about.

Top lines indicate ports, bottom line indicate missing ports.

 

[Belisarius]

Yes, I haven't gotten around to those yet.

 

[Belisarius]

This will likely be the last update before I tackle the aft and dorsal views!

Any thoughts on shuttlebay placement? This is a smaller ship, so shuttlecraft/workpod/workbee capacity will be more limited. Perhaps vertical shuttlebay doors (similar to DS9) on the dorsal spine? The only other option I can visualize is ventral/aft hull "inside" the deflector ring.

 

[publiusr]

I can see a drop bay underneath

 

[Belisarius]

I normally don't show "rough" iterative versions, but maybe some of you will find it interesting to see more of the process...

 

[Belisarius]

Aft view nearly finished. Dorsal profile very rough. The design is actually larger than I thought (but mostly saucer). Note that the saucer section will definitely be tapering more than the current outline. I tend to start large and then chisel away the fat.

 

[SCE2Aux]

I think the design of your Victory Class is rather snazzy! It's nice to see work being created using MS Paint, I remember making a few ship diagrams using it, and enjoyed getting all the various shapes all pixel perfect. I'm looking forward to the final image

 

[Belisarius]

I think the design of your Victory Class is rather snazzy! It's nice to see work being created using MS Paint, I remember making a few ship diagrams using it, and enjoyed getting all the various shapes all pixel perfect. I'm looking forward to the final image

Kind words, thank you! MSPaint is both charming and maddening. I use it only because I've developed a workflow for starship design that allows me to iterate quickly. But those large, square pixels do drive me a bit insane at times. You can only get the lines so curvy, the viewports so small...

Back to business; I'm debating with myself over two different dorsal (top) saucer shapes. Thoughts?

 

[SCE2Aux]

Charming but maddening is a great description of MS Pain(t)!
I'm leaning towards the arrowhead shape.

 

[Rekkert]

While I personally prefer the horseshoe crab shape, when looking at the other views of the ship I think the arrowhead feels more correct to them, if that makes sense.

 

[Belisarius]

While I personally prefer the horseshoe crab shape, when looking at the other views of the ship I think the arrowhead feels more correct to them, if that makes sense.

I'm leaning toward the crab, aesthetically and geometrically. I think the deflector ring is going to look wonky with the arrowhead profile.

 

[Belisarius]

The ventral view arrives (or a decent first attempt, at least). I'm still working out the ship's somewhat complex hull geometry, so please bear with me! You may notice the saucer profile ended up being a compromise between arrowhead and crab (though it does lean more toward the crab profile).

 

[Belisarius]

Incremental.