3D Various starships for Crimson Dark [Archive]

theleast

10th Aug 2006, 16:56

Hello all!

I've realised that for the next chapter of my webcomic, Crimson Dark (http://www.crimsondark.com/), I'm going to need a lot of new ships. The plan is to have my main characters visit a massive space station (http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/3d-wips/3292-espenson-station.html) where there's going to be a lot of traffic. It's going to be a month or two before I render that particular scene, but I want to get as many ships built as possible.

I want a diverse range of designs, ships which look like they've been built by different governments and companies over many decades for every function imaginable. So far I have four: A cruiser, a destroyer, a freighter and a frigate. Over the next month I'm going to improve these four models, and hopefully add many more. Ideally I want to have more models than I'm going to really need, so I can pick and choose for the final render based on aesthetic considerations.

traq

10th Aug 2006, 23:51

these going to be for distance shots? seems (from your description) that they'll be background ships for the most part. my advice: put that first ship in the front, it looks awesome.

theleast

11th Aug 2006, 05:48

these going to be for distance shots? seems (from your description) that they'll be background ships for the most part. my advice: put that first ship in the front, it looks awesome.

Yes, the idea is to have a nice, grand scene for the title page, so all of these ships are going to be seen from a distance. However, there's always the possibility that I may want to reuse them later in the story, so I'm putting some effort into each of them. Thanks for the feedback, you've inspired me to focus on the cruiser today :D

Updates: I've added some details to the cruiser (still more to come), and I'd also thought I'd share a test render of a set I'm building for the current story - mainly to show off some new textures I made in Photoshop thanks to Ramiel's tutorial (http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/dojo/1966-seamless-textures-tutorial-part-2-metal.html).

EDIT: Hmm, I just realised that I didn't specify the application (Cinema 4D) and theme (Original) for this thread. Anyone know how I can go and fix that?

Lee80

11th Aug 2006, 06:27

looks good..how bout a different angle

evil_genius_180

11th Aug 2006, 06:39

These are looking good so far. I really like that first one, the one you posted the update on.

theleast

11th Aug 2006, 06:51

looks good..how bout a different angle
Here you go, a view from the aft. Yes, those engines go right through and can fire in both directions. I'm starting to realise that there might be a touch of Romulan Warbird in this design.

evil_genius_180

11th Aug 2006, 06:54

I'm starting to realise that there might be a touch of Romulan Warbird in this design.

That's why it's so cool. ;)

Seriously, great design. :thumb:

Lee80

11th Aug 2006, 07:16

very cool. :D

jack cloudy

11th Aug 2006, 09:37

I too like that ship. It's the vertical spine that makes it something I remember. The only problem I can see is that it will have trouble landing on a planet. But real starships don't land, they've got shuttles and stuff for the job.

theleast

11th Aug 2006, 11:33

Yup, none of the capital ships in Crimson Dark are capable of making planetfall.

New engines, more details across the entire ship and some basic textures. I considered making it green, but decided that such a move would make it look just a little *too* Romulan. Thanks for all the positive comments, they're really inspiring :)

Aethernaut

11th Aug 2006, 18:04

Very nice! It's nice to see some interesting shapes in use.

theleast

13th Aug 2006, 17:03

Here's something I doodled in the margins of my sermon outline at church tonight. I'm not happy with it so far, but I'm not sure what it needs. Any suggestions? It's supposed to be a fast, nimble one-seat maintenance vehicle. Those are engines, not weapons, and the arms are fully articulated.

CSquared

13th Aug 2006, 20:29

Hey there! ^_^

I love the comic so far, and the models are just... wow. But I just wanted to suggest something - a permanent link to the latest comic would, I think, be a good idea. I managed to jerry-rig one, but the way that you mask the URL means that if you try to bookmark a page it bookmarks the main one. I realise there's probably a reason for this (you want accurate hit stats, or something), but a lot of people (myself included) bookmark the latest comic page of a webcomic. I was reading the Joel Fagin tutorials (which, by the way, also came up under your URL) and it struck me that that might turn a few people away.

That said, I shall reiterate: love the comic, and the models. XD

theleast

14th Aug 2006, 06:05

I love the comic so far, and the models are just... wow. But I just wanted to suggest something - a permanent link to the latest comic would, I think, be a good idea. I managed to jerry-rig one, but the way that you mask the URL means that if you try to bookmark a page it bookmarks the main one. I realise there's probably a reason for this (you want accurate hit stats, or something), but a lot of people (myself included) bookmark the latest comic page of a webcomic. I was reading the Joel Fagin tutorials (which, by the way, also came up under your URL) and it struck me that that might turn a few people away.
Thanks, that's a really good point. The problem is the way my hosting service masks the URL, I'm trying to find a workaround. One option is to shift the entire site to a new server which would remove the need for the masking, but just the thought of it gives me a headache. You're right, though, something needs to be done.

Lee80

14th Aug 2006, 06:21

Nice work..

theleast

15th Aug 2006, 08:16

I did some more work on the skipper today - new engines and a new hull. I'm much happier with it than I was yesterday.

theleast

16th Aug 2006, 06:09

Some detailing for the skipper, a new rough concept (possibly a battleship, or carrier) and a completed panel featuring the new set that I've been working on.

Lee80

16th Aug 2006, 12:48

Nice work. very cool:D

theleast

21st Aug 2006, 05:59

I've stuck some turrets on the Battleship and have started detailing it, there's still much to do. Meanwhile I've textured the Skipper. It's blue!

Berticus

21st Aug 2006, 06:26

That first one you textured... I WANT TO ANIMATE IT IN SOMETHING... That would look so awesome in a short or something... MAn... That texture just set that thing off like none other.

Nice work so far!
-alberrg

Lee80

21st Aug 2006, 07:48

nice work..:)

theleast

19th Sep 2006, 16:10

Wow, it's been a while! Producing the comic is taking a lot of time, but I've finally gotten back to work on these ships. Here's an update on the Battleship with more details and some of my generic hull textures.

chrono

19th Sep 2006, 18:16

???

Where's the trigger at?

:P ;)

theleast

21st Sep 2006, 14:56

More work on the battleship - textures and detailing. I've added a dorsal tower for aesthetic reasons.

theleast

9th Oct 2006, 13:06

I'm back! I've finished the title page which prompted the need for all these new ships and it went online a week or so ago: Crimson Dark - comic (http://www.davidcsimon.com/crimsondark/index.php?view=comic&strip_id=51)

But of course my plans for the story require yet more ships, so it's back to the old drawing board. Today I threw together a new heavy fighter which just needs some more detailing and texturing, and a carrier which is still in the concept phase.

Choo1701

9th Oct 2006, 13:13

theleast

9th Oct 2006, 13:23

Looks very good. Like the 'tri-wing' fighter, very industrial like. :D

Although it seems seems a lot of the big ships have tails sticking out the bottom :p

BTW read the latest page: there not going to arrest Kari for illegally downloading BSG season 3 arew they?

Yeah, I have a thing for ventral stabilisers - I'm making it one of the unifying features of most Republic cap ships. Really, I just like adding some verticality to my ships, especially since I'm working in a vertical medium (comic books).

Australian TV is still showing season 2 of BSG, we're up to Pegasus at the moment :D

Choo1701

9th Oct 2006, 13:33

^ oooo....good episode :D

Always good to have something that will identify one ship for another :D

BTW: how the hell does the Niobe land with those huge wings? :confused: :p

theleast

9th Oct 2006, 14:34

BTW: how the hell does the Niobe land with those huge wings? :confused: :p
Niobe doesn't land :) if you look very closely you should be able to see a small shuttle nestled snugly between the two hulls. Hardly any of the ships in Crimson Dark can make planetfall, travelling to and from planets almost always involves docking at a station or entering geo-stationary orbit and then jumping onto a purpose-built shuttle.

nulll

9th Oct 2006, 18:30

Interesting ship designs, i also like the style of your comic - reading it now :)

Mechmaster

9th Oct 2006, 19:16

Very cool designs and an interesting comic, I just went and read the prologue and bookmarked the site so I can go back when I get more time. Keep up the good work.

Parker Midwinter

10th Oct 2006, 05:08

i love the comic.

i'm a big fan of the new Marine too... the helmet needs just a little work... doesn't seem to flow...

besides that i'd like to say that i'm in love with the Niobi

mental|plate

10th Oct 2006, 18:42

Yeah i like your comic too, and i like your designs also!

jutau

11th Oct 2006, 02:17

very interesting set of designs... awesome work :)

theleast

13th Oct 2006, 15:08

Thanks for the kind comments everyone :)

Two new designs - an experimental gunship and a heavy fighter variant of the Kestrel which has already appeared in the comic. The aft of the gunship needs more work, but I'm not sure where I want to take it yet. I'm mostly happy with the fighter, I think it just needs polishing.

theleast

16th Oct 2006, 04:11

Here's a new frigate design which I came up with this morning. There's still a lot to do, but I quite like this one so far.

Mechmaster

17th Oct 2006, 23:50

I like the design of the gunship but at the moment there is nothing there to give it a sense of scale, there are no visual clues as to whether it is a single seater or a mile long monster.

theleast

19th Oct 2006, 14:23

I like the design of the gunship but at the moment there is nothing there to give it a sense of scale, there are no visual clues as to whether it is a single seater or a mile long monster.
Aye, the lack of windows is part of what makes it "experimental" (and technically illegal, as it breaches OH&S standards for long-service vessels). It's between a heavy fighter and a corvette in size.

I've refined the new frigate with details and textures. I've also started work on a new destroyer, presumably made by the same company which made the cruiser on the first page of this thread.

theleast

23rd Oct 2006, 04:23

Lots of work done on the new Destroyer, and I've finally finished remodelling/texturing the old Scimitar Fighter.

theleast

14th Jan 2007, 12:32

I thought it was time for an update. I need a detailed freighter for chapter 3, so I went back to the design in my first post in this thread and made a number of improvements. I also modified another design from that post to be a carrier in Chapter 2.

Choo1701

14th Jan 2007, 17:40

very sweet. Big fan of Crimson Dark, you do such great work on it :thumb:

Just a thought: I take it the yellow squares are windows, because they seem to large for a ship that size (seeing that its a carrier). Other than that, its a cool design, and the engines on the freighter look absoutly sweet.

Great work "theleast" and i can't wait for more updates on Crimson Dark :D

oh, and nice hat ;)

Enigma X

15th Jan 2007, 08:37

Man....I have been reading that comic for well....since it started i guess(Linked over from GWTBW),I would also like to ask, where do you get all of those nice textures from?

I SUCK at textures, so much in fact that i usually only use solid colors to show details.

Anywho, those look great :)
Keep up the good work, and thanks for the comic.

theleast

16th Jan 2007, 12:29

I would also like to ask, where do you get all of those nice textures from?
These days I make all my textures myself in Photoshop, they're mostly variations on a few generic seamless panel textures I put together (with separate channels for specular, bump and reflection). I owe it all to the following tutorial:
http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/dojo/1966-seamless-textures-tutorial-part-2-metal.html