posted
First attempt at doing a Utopia Planitia scene, and I've always wanted to do one. But I think there's something not quite right with this, or something missing, and I can't figure it out. Perhaps it's my imagination...
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Well... for starters, the lighting is rather dull. The brightness is too high yet the illumination too dim, if you catch my drift. Second, you've oriented most objects along the same axis, which doesn't give a "natural" impression of the busy and crowded facility that UP should be. Third, a lot of ships share the same plane. Space is three-dimensional, so you'd expect there to be activity on various levels. And finally, the perspective of the Galaxy and Sovereign in the top left corner doesn't quite fit the rest of the scene. It's as if they've been superimposed somehow.
Nonetheless, very impressive! Please regard the above as constructive criticism... guess it's always easier to find faults within other people's work, considering I still have difficulty rendering a simple cube
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Okay, I like it... I wish I had time to try to do work like that...
The lighting doesn't seem right... in the 'dry dock' bays in the foreground... The ships don't look like they are lighted properly... shadows where none should be...
Is that a Sov.? It looks like the nacelles are up and down...
Also, it doesn't look, mmm, crisp(?), or a little to blurry for my tastes...
Other than that your talent makes me sick to my stomache, I hate you, and wish you to burn in hell...
-------------------- "You are a terrible human, Ritten." Magnus "Urgh, you are a sick sick person..." Austin Powers A leek too, pretty much a negi.....
Registered: Sep 2000
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Prismatic EdipisReks
Ex-Member
posted
that middle ship ain't a sovie. it is in fact the ship that was first unveiled here.
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posted
What this image is really lacking is a sense of scale and perspective. Some of the ships look impossibly close to one-another, just look at the Springfield and the docked Galaxy, the Spingfield should be dwarfed that close to such a large ship.
It might me a good idea to put something right in the foreground, like a closeup of a nacelle or the top of a sauser. Something to show just how big these ships are.
Something else that I notice is that all the ships are in one piece, try adding elements that show that the is some activity going on. For example you could have a ship with it's nacelles being removed, or a bridge module being installed...maybe you could have a Nebula-Class undergoing a mission pod swapout.
Most importantly, you have to show an Apollo-Class in there somewhere
posted
Color and texture for the Earth Station Mackinly(sp?)-type dock is way off. The support struts and frames for the dry docks look too thick, especially the ones further away, and the entire structure could be wider. Various docks in too close proximity to each other, namely the two in the foreground. Mini-mushroom support stations needs more hull features and texture, being so close to the camera, and maybe smaller windows (personal taste). Not enough shuttles, work bees, and EVAs running around. Back ground space could be darker, instead of kinda nebulous looking.
No space cows, and too many weird looking ships.
-------------------- "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Right, thanks for all the input. I knew there were many things not right about this image and I've already got to work trying to refine it.
First off: This is a tricky scene to light. I have a princpal light source plus light fillers, as some of the sructures are behind Mars, and hence in deep shadow and wouldn't show up at all. Regardless of how it really would look like in space, we want to see stuff. That's always been my policy (without of course totally sacrificing realism)
-Yes everything's on the same plane. We have to have it this way otherwise it looks stupid. We can't have a series of ships flying one way, and then the space station upside down. Docking hatches, drydocks etc are all one way up, so the ships are orientated one way up, a la the real glipmses of UP that we've seen.
-All ships are scaled exactly, to the nearest canon meter. The Sovereign style Utopia Class is several hundrfed metres below and beyond the Galaxy. Unfortunately such perspective is impossible to convey when looking virtually side on.
Also, the space station is not one of the big ones, like spacedock. It's much smaller and has no internal drydock facility.
-Reverend: There's no Sprinfield in the scene. Which ship did you mean...? Do you mean the Challenger, also in drydock?
I like the idea of putting something close to the camera - I'll work on that. And I don't really want to clutter the scene by having dozens of ships, service craft and workbees flying around. (I'd have to build a workbee mesh if I was going to use one). But there is a fine line between busy/realistic, and cluttered/ridiculous.
Apollo class is a possibility. It would be an older ship for this scene, but I'll look into it.
-As far as I know the drydocks are reasonably consistent. And I deliberately placed two close together - artistic license, one side by side.
quote:Mini-mushroom support stations needs more hull features and texture, being so close to the camera, and maybe smaller windows (personal taste).
Not sure what you mean here....
And for Mars, yes, I really could use a more detailed texture map. I'm looking into it.
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
posted
This is the latest version, and it's coming along better now. Constructed and added some orbital habitats this afternoon, but no more time to do anything else right now, I have to go out...
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
quote: -Reverend: There's no Sprinfield in the scene. Which ship did you mean...? Do you mean the Challenger, also in drydock?
Oh right, I see it now. I was refering to the Challenger, the drydock threw me off
quote: I like the idea of putting something close to the camera - I'll work on that. And I don't really want to clutter the scene by having dozens of ships, service craft and workbees flying around. (I'd have to build a workbee mesh if I was going to use one). But there is a fine line between busy/realistic, and cluttered/ridiculous.
Absolutly, you need to find the balance between art an chaos
quote: Apollo class is a possibility. It would be an older ship for this scene, but I'll look into it.
You have an Excelsior in there don't you? they're way older.
quote: This is the latest version, and it's coming along better now. Constructed and added some orbital habitats this afternoon, but no more time to do anything else right now, I have to go out...
Better but....where's my baby!?
Seriously though that is an improvement, all you need now is to expose the decking on some ships and undock that Nebula's sensor pod.
posted
Forget the last two versions, this is the final one, Apollo and all (it is in there Reverend... perhaps I should rename this thread 'Spot the Apollo...)
-------------------- "To the Enterprise and the Stargazer. Old girlfriends we'll never meet again." - Scotty
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