Encouraging results with Blender

I downloaded the latest alpha release of Blender 3D the other day, mainly down to it's use of volumetrics. I've been agnosing over the last few weeks about how to create a realistic 3D nebula effect much like the Mutara Nebula from Star Trek II:


The 3D Sphere at the top of this post was created by me in Blender where volumetrics were used to create that of a 3D cloud, an effect I've struggled to create in other 3D apps. It actually didn't take me as long as I thought, do I'll see if I can start making future images with it.

I mainly used this page as a guide to creating it; Blender's UI is still taking some getting used to, but seems well worth the effort.

I'd animate the sphere, when I can manage to work out how... ;)

Insignia Class U.S.S. Challenger

Some highish res images of the old Insignia Class for a Star Trek sim.

Something blue

It seemed I'd done a fair few orange things lately, so I thought I'd try something blue.

Done for www.stphoenix.com.

Ongoing projects.

I continue to do animation work for Sonnet films for the time being, and unfortunately cannot show anything as of yet until their official release of The Incursion. Suffice to say it's something original and I will post the final effects and development art here when I can.

In the meantime, I also continue to do stills work for Star Trek: Phoenix, any images of which I'll post here (as above). The producer wanted to show the relative scales of the two ships in the production.

Apologies to all those that have contacted me where I am yet to reply; I am working to get round to you soon.

Planetary Explosion

I was asked to blow up a peaceful planet for Sonnet Realm Films a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed I had very little choice but to comply...



Done mainly in 3DS Max, where the use of glow effects really helped in the final render.

Departure

Turning out very differently from what I sketched out here, this is a shot for a Star Trek Sim of a ship departing an Asteroid base.

The story required a holodeck-type effect on the doors, so I added this here but I thought it might be a little hard to explain outside the storyline:

Avalon Station profile images

A very simple model, but it's design seems to be quite popular - So here's some raw shots of the station to see what actual detail is there:



Here is a close up shot, well, as close as I'm willing to go on a model that was only meant to be some background dressing in a scene!

Orange Planet & Asteroid belt

Before I ruin it by putting a spaceship in the foreground, thought I'd post this up.

The barren planet texture was from a picture that Chrissie took of the rust on the surface of an iron garden roller.

Update: I fianlly got round to ruining it by adding that space station here:

Avalon station shot orbiting a star

I've recently been bought a new Graphics Tablet by my very kind and understanding fiance, and boy what a difference it's made to how I create pictures. Here is a shot of the station shown in the "First Step" picture, now renamed Avalon station for the sake of a Star Trek Sim I am doing some images for.

Done in a combination of Photoshop and 3DS Max.

Asteroid Base Survey Room

[Click to enlarge]
This image was created based on an idea for a Star Trek Sim storyline, where an Insignia Class ship was being constructed inside an asteroid. I posted an earlier concept image of the ship departing the base, but here it is whilst still docked.

I originally got the idea for the window affect from the following image on the net:


I then put together this rough image as a concept for approval before I worked on the final version:

A couple of Insignia Class starships

Just some images of two Insignia Class Starships I did as a request for a couple of Star Trek Sims.

The USS Achilles:




...and the USS Phoenix:

Rough asteroid base exit concept sketch

Although it is just an "initial idea" concept for an image I am working on for another Star Trek SIM, thought I'd post it for anyone who's interested even in my rough work.

Set inside an asteroid, the strange "exit" is because the base is intended to be protected by a hologrid which shields it from the outside world.

There are a few other ideas and images in the pipeline - any finished versions, or in-development work, will also be posted here.

USS Phoenix Animation

This animation was put together last week for the unveiling in Seattle - it had to be done against a tight deadline - in an ideal world it would have been a little more polished.

A different version of the video is also at www.stphoenix.com.

Development of the Ascension Class: Photos & Album

I have been busy these last few months working on a new design for Star Trek: Phoenix, a fan based production in Seattle.

Now that the final 3D Mesh has been handed over to them and they have formally revealed the design, I can at last catalogue all my work here - from initial sketches, test models, development shots through to the final textured design.

Click here to browse through all the images in one Album: