Working on the bottom of the saucer...
When this is finished, the paneling isn't going to be nearly this pronounced. The way my new work lights are set up, it is getting tons of light from every direction. The grid is also a normal map, which doesn't show up as well in this scenario.
More later on.
It's that way so you can read it from either direction...
Nice sketch.OK, I like where you're going with the nacelles and the cowlings. Much more refined and tastefully done and more believable than the JJprise.
But I'm still not buying into them yet. I need to believe that they DO something, like make more room for powerful machinery or something.
Assuming that the ship is "unpainted," I think the entire cowling's surface texture should NOT match the nacelle. It should look like it's made of a different material, say, to better withstand the cosmic forces of the whatever it is that's under there.
A. The leading edge should look different somehow, it should stand out from the material that makes up the cowling.
B. I sketched that because I like bulges. (No, I do NOT put a sock in my jeans... no need to...) I like things that tend to suggest the engineers had to make compromises for function over pure form. Too pure, too perfect looks unreal. Think of airplanes where they take a nice shape but have to have doors and steps and bulges to make room to wedge in upgraded turbofan engines.
Maybe something under that cowling required the bulge so everything would fit. Maybe it is a turbocharger.
I think that the strip running alongside the nacelle disappears under the cowling too abruptly or just too simply. The bulge was just my first impulse to address that.
C. The edges of the cowling in general seem too sharp and thin. I recommend rounding the leading and trailing edges ever so subtly, to give them a sense of thickness and mass. (But don't go all JJprise!) Here also, as with the leading edge, the trailing edge should be of a different material.
D. Those slots are placed perfectly but they look too random, like they were cut out. I recommend outlining them, as though they were prefab units dropped into place and astro-welded or something into the cowlings.
I think I will add some of your ideas in there (specifically the front edge and the panels around the radiators) , but I don't agree about the "bulge". I was going with the refit nacelle as an example there... they terminate in the same way on those strips with a flat edge. Remember, the look I was going for is a little simpler than the TMP refit ship... I don't want to have too many hatches/panel lines just because the TOS ships didn't have them.
OK, I think this looks like what I was trying for...
Inspired by Judexavier, on that one.
I'll have a similar arrangement on the secondary hull markings. I think it's a little more TOS inspired...
Those markings are wonderful, way better than anything I did...can I borrow those? (seriously, got some things in the "projects folder" that need something fresh in that area).
Sure, go ahead. I was looking at the Metaluna closely when I was trying to figure out some markings, so it was your idea to start with.OK, I think this looks like what I was trying for...
Inspired by Judexavier, on that one.
I'll have a similar arrangement on the secondary hull markings. I think it's a little more TOS inspired...
!! Really?
Love how this is coming along, and erifah's ideas worked out well for the panel detailing around the edges...nice sketches BTW.
*I kinda liked the "dirty" version, heck the TOS studio model had some nice subtle streaks on it, like that?
Great as always.
Hmm... see, IMO, it looks better without those edging details. Dunno if it's just me, but I reckon it makes the overall scale seem... 'smaller', somehow. Plus, it makes the fronts of the nacelles far more 'busy' looking than the rest of the ship, particularly the rear ends of the nacelles.
Additionally, it seems to break up the overall 'clean' TOS/TMP look with lots of fine detail that isn't really the hallmark of that era - it's much more like the look of the NX-01, in my view. Indeed, if I were to be really, reeeeally nit-picky, I'd say that the current grey-ish panelling texture also does that to an extent - a whiter colour á la the refit Enterprise would make it look 'cleaner'. It'd also separate this ship visually from the Constellation - that's a great model, and this one's shaping up to be a real beauty, so they really deserve to stand out from each other a bit more.
Lastly (good grief - apologies if I appear to be laying it on thickly!), the bussard collectors look a bit 'toy-ish' at the moment. This particular toy, to be exact:
http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery...ficial+image-+U_S_S_+Enterprise+_HD+ver__.jpg
I don't know what you think - I'm thinking that more, finer 'radials' (what exactly ARE those things, again?) would look more TOS-y, similar to the CGI Defiant/Enterprise from ENT:
http://ent.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/4x22/thesearethevoyages369.jpg
http://ent.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/4x19/inamirrordarkly2_504.jpg
Again, please don't take this as being massively critical - far from it! I'm loving where this ship is going (it's a fantastic concept!), and I'm just chiming in with things that I feel would be appropriate for the TOS-TMP transition you're going for.* I honestly can't wait to see this beaut in action - keep up the awesome work!
*Unless, of course, you're not going for that look, in which case I'll shut up, go somewhere quiet, and look all embarrased...
The original look I was going for was a refit of this ship slightly before the TMP Enterprise was, but I didn't want to build an off the assembly line version... We're seeing it several years after that, and it's been in heavy use since then. That's why I was adding all those grungy marks alongside the saucer grid, and that dirty "ring" that the Enterprise model had later in life. When Erifah posted those sketches, I realized it was perfect for what I wanted to do.
Thanks.I really like lots of what you've done via update here. The texturing looks great, and I like the markings. I think you did a good job with the pennants on the nacelles; the final version looks nice, though I actually also liked your original gold version of the delta.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Excelsior about the nacelle caps. They somehow look like clear plastic to me, and the color seems a bit too far into the orange spectrum. But, again, that's just one person's opinion.
Oh, but I do think I like the added detailing on the nacelle "cowling". While I agree with Excelsior that it may be a little "un-TOS-like", it also helps make it look a little like an "add-on", which I think is something one might see on a "refit" of an existing design element.
One of the things that's always bothered me about the TMP refit (a model that I LOVE) is how they completely changed the shape of the secondary hull without any indication that the original is still under there somehow. Aesthetically, it looks better of course, but the nit picker in me wants to see something that further helps me suspend my disbelief (as if I hadn't already.)
Anyway, enough from me.
Nice progress, as always.
It should be a slow work day today, so I should get some stuff done.
That last image you mentioned, is definitely going to appear, when this is done.
