Grand Space Opera 2D Entry: Fabian Vercuiel

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104072640_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104072640_large.jpg)

As I was sitting and wondering about what to do for this competition I decided I would first try out a building concept.
This building is solar powered with a special globe attached to the top of the building. The triangular section with the generators serves as a storage facility for the energy harvested by the globe. Right below you see the main hall, as this is a conference building.
This building stores and generates so much power as it is a flying building. At the moment it is attached to one of the thousands of pillars on the planet surface. If some planetary war or disaster would break out the building would detach and fly into space or to a safer location. Below the building's main hall is the hydraulic fitting mounted to the pillar, when in flight the opening you see closes and the lower cupped shape, with the use of space age technology allows the building to float.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104074942_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104074942_large.jpg)

This is to give you a clearer idea of how the building looks in its environment. The pillars are made from a special material that allows it to tower high up into the clouds without moving because of wind or imbalance and is firmly mounted on the surface of the planet. I also tried to show you how it would look if one of the buildings were detached.. as you see the lower part closes up and the building levitates.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104078616_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104078616_large.jpg)

The Civilians of this planet have no concept of shame so clothing is not something they ever needed. They also did not develop fur or hair through evolution because the heat of the planet was always perfectly suited for their skin. The anatomy and structure of this creature is very much like a Human but their character traits are very different and far more evolved. They are stable unlike us and have a thriving society. Its very rough I know... it's a concept after all ;)

[Lovliebutterfly]

I'm following your thread...I like the way you're presenting the story...I'll wait for your final sketch. :)

[fabianv]

Thank you very much LovlieButterfly!!! Your comment is truly appreciated and I am glad you are following as I go along :) Thank you for your support; it is very sweet of you. I am new to cgnetworks so this is very exciting for me :)

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104092288_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104092288_large.jpg)

This nation, like any other, is always under some sort of constant threat from unkown intruders. They have created a special ship not designed for shooting but for slinging and dropping their most treasured technological tool for warfare.
They discovered that their solar energy spheres served as good mini-nuclear warheads. In normal conditions the spheres cannot explode when used for harvesting energy. It is only when it has reached full capacity without storing the energy in the storage facilities that it becomes dangerous.
When a sphere is exposed in normal light it illuminates everything in gold and yellow in a large radius.

[GaeasHerald]

Interesting concept :) . I wonder how you'll integrate the humanoid figure into the picture, but I really hope it appears, cause the human side always makes it easier to sympathise with the story.
Hurry up, and good luck!

[Lovliebutterfly]

This is looking cool...I like that sphere and paint effects....nice concepts, and I think the colour palette works well. :thumbsup: Nice flow of ideas.

[fabianv]

Gaia's Herald - Thanks a bunch! I'm wondering the same thing... that's what makes this so good! Im creating a story and integrating everything as the ideas flow, I believe thats how conceptual thinking is supposed to be and exactly what the judges want to see :) hehe. And yes... I will hurry up :D Thanks for wishing me luck!

Loveliebutterfly - Ah, hey again! :D I'm glad you like the sphere idea and whatnot :) Thanks for watching; it is greatly appreciated!!!

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104098905_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104098905_large.jpg)

This is a more indepth look at how the sphere bomber actually bombs. I think now you can get a clear idea of what I meant when I was talking about dropping and slinging. Here you can get a proper Idea of how big one of these explosions really are; something like this could easily blow a side of a ship to pieces, let alone blow a person into another dimension. These spherical bombers are fast, evasive and deadly; they serve as the only airborn defense against intruders because of their efficiency. All other defense/offense systems are mounted on buildings or turrets.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104107458_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104107458_large.jpg)

Well what you see here is what we currently know about this mysterious race.
Nothing dramatic, just a possible foreground for my final image... but mostly this is to summarise what we know now and to move on to other things like other ship designs and building designs; as well as "enemy" designs as this is probably going to be a epic battle of some sort. I am thinking of using humans as the enemies because humans are unpredictable and aggresive by nature; a typical race prone to conquering for greed. So here you have it.. and it only gets better from here!

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104112010_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104112010_large.jpg)

Well what do you know...! Those funny triangular thingies aren't so boring afterall!

Here you have a planetary and space vehicle capable of reaching impossible speeds with special technology. Speeds that are capable of ripping a mans flesh into pieces in a matter of milliseconds inside one of these babies if you're not wearing a seatbelt :)

On the top left corner you have the triangular shape serve as a power storage facility and a rooftop for a building with generator couplings on each face with a sphere ontop absorbing and storing power.

On the top right cover you have the triangular shape open at the top that serves as a hatch for the sphere to enter inside and whilst inside the sphere serves as a power generator. The top then closes and is ready for flight.

On the middle left you have the bottom part of the ship; 4 holes that emit energy that is transfered from the power storage facility through the power sphere and into each "hole" that emits strong waves of power that allows the ship to float at any speed and angle.

On the middle right you have the right top part of the ship.. if the ship had to topple over power would emit from the generator couplings on the sides and restore balance.

On the bottom left you have the triangular shape in flying mode.

On the bottom right you have the ship in flying offensive/defensive mode. The generator couplings that are usually fixed to the power sphere inside move to the outside of the ship and serves as weaponry. Short bursts of energy are emitted from the couplings and recharge simply by fixing itself into the sphere again. The damage is relatively small but effective and is usually used for defence.

If offensive strategies are needed the Sphere Bombers would be far better alternatives.

[GaeasHerald]

Fabianv: It's good that you have enthusiasm, but don't let it affect the quality of your work. You've posted 6 images in less than a day! Don't overpost my friend! Try not to add new elements to your concept before you know what to do with the ones you already have. Just sit back, relax, and think about your concept and how you can make it look the best it can. I kinda know what I'm talking about because when I started I did exactly the same mistakes.

On the bright side, if you develop the earlier sketches, you could end up with a great picture. A suggestion: your civilian has a lot of potencial. You could have a more interesting angle if you showed them from one of the halls of the solar buildings in the very foreground. The background could contain the battle scene. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I thought that, being such an evolved species, they wouldn't be impressed easily. That would create a peculiar scene: hell breakin' loose at the background while "people" calmly overlook the battlefield from their cosy hall. It's just an idea. :shrug:
Keep up with the good work, and take it easy.

[fabianv]

Gaia's Herald - Thanks for the feedback :) See, the thing is.. when the inspiration comes I dont hold back ... I let it all flow out. The very idea of concept thinking is the idea behind the aesthetics :) Technicalities over looks I say; the beauty is left for the final result :)

I like going through every tiny bit of inspiration I recieve and sharing it with you directly; that way it is far more raw and creative than sitting back and letting all those ideas fade behind layers. So all I'm saying is, as the concepts come I show them to you; I'm here to open my mind with raw drawings rather than making super - refined end result style of drawings.
I respect your opinion though and will take it easy; enthusiasm means inspiration and inspiration means good flow of conceptual thinking : )))) :bounce:

Thank you for that awesome idea.. I was considering that for tommorow. I like your way of thinking :applause:

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104116268_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104116268_large.jpg)

This image gives you a clearer idea of how it looks inside the vessel once the sphere is inside and ready for flight.

As you can see the ship is far bigger than a human being. The floor of the ship has 4 large compartments connected with tunnels. The reason why there are no compartments where the tunnels are is because of safety. ( The generator coupling could not connect properly etc)

I\'ve made it quite simple to understand but if there are any questions do share :) Conceptualising of building and ship is now complete and illustrated concepts will now follow.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104158674_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104158674_large.jpg)

This is my first draft.

I'm not sure about the composition and the perspective, it's quite tricky because I want there to be as much drama as possible but still giving my civilisation that wise and intelligent feeling. Their attackers are humans and I havnt really thought of any designs for their ships so theyre just rough lines for now. On the top right corner you can see the Sphere bombers in action and if you look carefully you'll see theyre floating and bombing ontop of the enemy ship as well. The enemy ship has a front hatch that is despatching enemy fighters and below that you can see the normal flying vessels ready for protecting the last line of defense. At the front you can see onlookers in the building to give it that dramatic feel.
Right infront you have one of the creatures using his psionic powers to control one of the Sphere bombers.


Tell me what you think.. if you have suggestions please do share.. I'd appreciate any feedback and most importantly your ideas :)

[fabianv]

Hmmm, I wanted to delete some of the more rougher works and group it under one reply.. oh well.. this will have to do :shrug:

If there is anything you'd like to see or any questions please ask I'm open to any suggestions ^_^

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104167543_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104167543_large.jpg)

I've started to jot down some colors to see if it is fitting to the mood I want to create. I know it's a bit dark but I think its more appealing than just a blue sky.

Feedback is appreciated.

[Falcorr]

Thanx for the visit in my thread! :thumbsup:

That yellowish structure had a good base :)

I'll try to give you some feedback in return.
At the moment it is still so unfinished so giving accurate feedback is quite hard. I really do hope that you will find out faster techniques. Because faster working leads to better results and besides you really gotta do it fast since deadline is coming up!

I cant do conceptart in full color, because it is so complicated, but seems you can handle it. Just do basic colors first. After that you can think of ways to improve perspective and depth on the pic. Do not try to tackle perspective, colors and shading all at the same time. Do things that matter first.

[fabianv]

Wow thanks for that amazing comment :D

Yeah it is quite unfinished but I have all the time in the world .. seeing Im alone at home all day :) I'll try out some faster techniques.. infact! Im gonna give the entire piece a full basic colouring just for you! And yeah fast working does... i've been told to slow down but it seems you say I should go faster.. i'll take your word for it !:D

*picks up his wacom pen and goes wild*


Thanks again for your support and hope to hear from you again!

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104175402_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104175402_large.jpg)

I took Falcor_'s advice and put down all the colors and get my imagination flowing.. thanks Falcor_! It helped! :D

It looks very simple yeah but thats because I just tossed all the colors onto the drawing so I can work from there... just showing the progress ;)

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104178831_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104178831_large.jpg)

I removed the enemy seeing the enemy does not exist in my concepts yet.. feel better now that its gone :)

Anyways.. added more shadows and lights..

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104184858_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104184858_large.jpg)

Ok.. I realised I was getting a bit carried away there so I stopped myself in my tracks and cleaned up :)

Concentrating on the sky now... I will implement the Enemy ship and dispatch aswell as local fliers in later again..

Any suggestions?

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104188526_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104188526_large.jpg)

Honestly.. does that even look like clouds? I'll keep experimenting.. just keeping you all updated :) Never drew clouds before.. not like this.

Suggestions appreciated.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104191257_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104191257_large.jpg)

Just continuing with the clouds, getting a base I can work on and refine. You will also notice Im trying to implement the surroundings again... far from done but getting there!

[KevinJM]

hi , there are nice colors implemented on your work but what i don`t understand is
1.what is happening in your scene.I`m talking in terms of your design and colors.
2.Your light set up.
3.your focal point.
4.Your depth of field.
5.The story being conveyed in the scene.
I would also like to know if the last post is your final choice on concept or are you planning to change it.
Overall i agree with Gaia's Herald on certain things. Keep up with the hard work man.:buttrock:

[GaeasHerald]

What program are you workin' on? I've been dealing with clouds myself, maybe there's some advice I can give you. I liked the color test, but the elements seem to be too "organised" right now. I mean, you have the slinging ball on the top right corner, solar structures below, piramid vessels on the middle... Try mixing things up a little bit :). You should also work on the scale of things, because everything looks as if they were exactly the same size.

Good luck!

PS: the green works great :thumbsup: .

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104220023_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104220023_large.jpg)

Here's a little change in scenery :)

I took some of the advice I got from Gaia's Herald and decided to implement this POV where they are looking upon everything.

dean080580 -1.what is happening in your scene.I`m talking in terms of your design and colors.
2.Your light set up.
3.your focal point.
4.Your depth of field.
5.The story being conveyed in the scene.

Reply:
1. Well its a human colonisation take over attempt against my civilisation that I created.

2. Light comes from the top right... the atmosphere is dark yes but thats because of the reflective light from the surface of the earth. (So its actually day)

3. Well im bad at perspective so maybe you can help me out there?

4.Well I havent yet implemented any special depth of field .. or maybe I dont understand what that means..

5. Well.. I'm going to write a story on my final release.. maybe before that :) If you want technical details I got lots of that.. hehe


Gaia's Herald - I'm working on Photoshop.. it's such a pain for me to work on clouds so any help you can give me will be sooo appreciated.

Yeah ill try mixing things up a bit ;) I just know how crowded this pic will be when Im done with it hehe.. im just laying down the foundations still.

Im glad you like the green :D
Wee!

Thanks both of you !!! Your comments help me so much!

[GaeasHerald]

Favianv, painting clouds is never easy, but here's what I've got:
Select a soft, round and big brush. Go to the brushes tab and look for dual brush. There, select another soft round brush, but smaller this time. Tweak the scattering parameter as you wish (depends on the effect you're going for). You can also change the color dynamics slightly, so as to get some color variation (don't go mad there, with only 5 to 10% is OK).
This will give the intricacy you need, and combined with the smudge tool it will make awesome clouds. Hope it's useful...
Your new composition is far better :thumbsup:.

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104235934_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104235934_large.jpg)

Gaia's Herald- Was this was you had in mind when you were talking about blending it a bit ? :) I know its only the sphere bombers but it already looks better I think! Do remember this is just very basic colouring hehe I'm still laying everything out! Anyways.. thanks for your support! You're the greatest!

[fabianv]

Thank you Gaia's Herald for the advice on clouds... I'll get right to it! This proves to be VERY helpful!

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104253766_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104253766_large.jpg)

I tried that brush for the clouds but I couldnt manage to get it to look very realistic or striking so I went over it with some contours and leaving it for later. I'm playing with a design for an enemy ship as you can see and I refined the rest of the pic more..

Any comments? Suggestions?

[fabianv]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104277461_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/6/5536/5536_1104277461_large.jpg)

I think im running out of ideas on how to make this look epic and dramatic so ideas would really be as precious as gold right now...

Added some lasers.. theyre actually teleportration beams that give them a real big benefit in war.

I also added some body language to the onlookers..

[GaeasHerald]

It's time to start polishing the things you have. In my own humble opinion, I think that the civilians should be even closer (I mean reeeeeeally closer). The idea is fine, just zoom it in. You could get back to the first scketches, and try to make the most out of your initial ideas. For instance, these people are so advanced that they do not wear clothes, right? Maybe, they could have found better things to do with all the skin they show, like drawing space charts, express their personallity or write their biographies on themselves!
By the way, you need to be more bold with colors. This is the perfect oportunity to go wild, so don't play it safe!

[Lovliebutterfly]

I'm just contributing my ideas to you. Well i think the two borders on the left and top are useless in the scene. The are just too bold and they create a negative shape that doesn't mean anything in my opinion. You could either add details to break that boldness or remove them completely...Well that's just my opinion. :shrug:

[fabianv]

Ok here it goes!


*takes a deep breath* *picks up wacom pen* *creates a new layer* *goes wild!!*

[V_Shane]

Needs a focus, either on characters or technology. Too semetrical, good advice already given, can't add too much more to that.

[Falcorr]

Hello there!

I'll try to give you some advices hope they will be off any use to you.

You will have to start prioritysing stuff. Give yourself a clear guideline what you are trying to achieve here.

Priority 1: should be usually the idea and attitude
Priority 2: viewpoint
Priority 3: shapes
Priority 4: colors
Priority 5: attitude

Always work on the higher priority stuff prior to less important stuff. Priority 1 first 5 last

One thing i can comment on your current piece is that your clouds do really look like brainmatter! Because of those dark lines. Since clouds dont have those usually. :)
Good luck! Hope my advices were off any use. Try to keep stuff simple and fast! :bounce:
Start thinking towards the end.

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