Uplift Universe - Image Entry: Andrew Alexandris

[Dragneye]

First, good luck to all who enter :-) - "In the future, when we have desolated our planet, and moved on into space, we have found many alien races. One of them has come to lend a helping hand. We stand and cheer, as our leader places his hand on the shoulder of the alien commander who is showing us what they can do. Humbled... and with immense gratitude, the people stare at the life rejuvenating beam" - The core concept will remain the same; but will flesh this scene out more to see how I can incorporate the app that Softimage has so kindly offered. Only as of last year have I started moving pixels around so this all is quite new to me; entering a prestigious contest, working with a Wacom pad instead of mouse, using 3D to create... man, this will be some ride. I see the whole picture in my head already; but execution will be interesting trip to say the least. So... Lets RIDE!
PS: ANY input, any guidance will be greatly appreciated :-)

[Dragneye]

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4817/shipdesignstudy1lv6.jpg
Will be going with insect theme for aliens, figuring it's more logical to have more insectoid forms than human in the universe. Wanted to somehow incorporate my favorite (yin/yang) but that's too earthly, so chose the 'infinity' symbol for the spaceship designs. The 'worker ship' will have a hard outer shell, to protect against atmospheres and the like, since the mothership never gets too close to any planet, for safety. - The worker ship retracts its outer shell in the front to expose the mechanisms protected within. Also will have the alien commander glowing, sort of the 'enlightened' concept. For now, this is what I have

[Dragneye]

http://http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/4458/cgbug1mk5.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)
Using a 3D app to figure out the placement, this will probably be the composition I'll be going with, and this is just about what the alien will look like, less a few details


http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5029/cgcomptest7iq7.jpg

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207003921_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207003921_large.jpg)

This is the basic shape of the alien, less details

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207004110_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207004110_large.jpg)

Starting form of the spaceship - The detailing I have in mind will be lost in the final render, so will see how it goes. I tend to try to keep the designs 'feasible' - for example, if traveling through parsecs and parsecs of space, all that piping, and small external parts would not only get beat up over time, they could very well get destroyed. An advanced 'bug' species, would stick to their normal designs, ie: a hard outer shell protecting the fragile insides. I know it's more visually appealing to add a lot of gizmos to the shell of the ship, might even hurt my chances with this challenge, but I have to keep it as 'pure' to my eye as possible

[Dragneye]

Sorry abt the double pic posts; still gettin' the swing of this.
I have avoided looking around here much until I had finalized my vision. Trying to keep a pure creative mind. So now, let's see what your eyes have created. Good Luck all.

[butterpaw]

The slug-like alien is about as far as you can get from humans and still be something more organic than a blue cloud ... :)

I must say I do like the insectoid design of the ship. Might the leg-like projections pointing toward the back be propulsion units of some sort? The present popular style of greebled surfaces for space ships is certainly not the only way to go.. I wonder if these beings might have added any sort of outer colorations or patterns of lights as .. identifiers?

Wonder what software you are using for the 3d modeling - that screen looks vaguely familiar

I look forward to developments..

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207340758_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207340758_large.jpg)

The more I tweak the composition, the farther I get from the original vision. This is what I am goin' with, unless you all can throw me some input. It Would be appreciated :-)

[Dragneye]

Hi ya Butterpaw - Thanx for commenting. The idea really came from the phrase "the meek will inherit the earth". We have an aversion to bugs and routinely try to stomp them out, but what if they became smarter than us, and instead of acting like we do, um, what, macho (?), they just stuck to basics, and just helped us fix the planet we've destroyed? - Anyway, just trying a different concept than the normal alien kills human and vice versa. As for propulsion, I figure space faring BUGS, would have come up with something more creative than what we have so far. I'm using trueSpace for the modelling. The model has become much more complex than what you see above, but it will be lost in the final picture. Was hoping to do this whole scene in a 3D render using XSI, but with my time restraints, I'll just have to go with a 2D pic and hope for the best. Maybe will work on the models after I finish the entry.

[butterpaw]

I like to think of a postive alien human interaction.. get a little tired of all the "kill the aliens or be killed" movies .. nice to see more positivly creative imaginings..

The composition seems much stronger now than your first one .. I'm really looking foreward to seeing this come to life.

I use trueSpace also .. but am very new at it.. didn't know that I would enjoy 3d modeling so much! ^_^

[Dragneye]

THAT's where I know ya from. How are ya?! :-) - As for the composition, thanx. I feel that it centers the focal point of the interaction, which in my eye is twofold; the alien commander with the human leader, and my main point (in my eye anyway), the alien ship helping earth and its inhabitants. Hope it works. I've been staring at it and movin it around so much, I've gone bleery-eyed, so now I move on to get some color down, and keep the process moving

[butterpaw]

hmmm .. not ready for that color yet? ^_^

and, yeah.. that's where from - Oh! and have an especially wonderful day today! :)

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207854627_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1207854627_large.jpg)

Started blocking in the sky and ship

[Dragneye]

Here's some color :-) Have been debating back and forth between my original composition (horizontal) and the vertical, which I had decided was more focused on the point of the pic (the actual interaction), and I had developed the vertical more, so since I have limiteed time, I made a decision, and hope that not going with my first choice will work in the end. This will probably be one of the last 2D works I develop fully, as I am dying to get back to 3D (I am working on the models on the side, but want to make sure I get to finish this as a complete art piece in time)

[na]

Thanks for your suggestion, and good luck with your challenge. I will keep an eye on your progress :)

[butterpaw]

I like the ship from this angle. Thats some toxic-looking smog you got going on there.. eh where's my gas mask! ;)

[butterpaw]

Heheh, the trouble with having an audience is that they might nag you.. :rolleyes:

I'm dead curious! ^_^

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1208378500_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1208378500_large.jpg)

Final placement. Will adjust a tad here and there as the colors are added. Had the sky just about finished but saved in jpg and lost all the detail, so gave me a chance to rethink and redo. I am a sucker for dramatic lighting so changed the sky from a cool blue to a more red.

[Dragneye]

Sorry for the delayed response. You're very welcome Pearlyking. Glad my 2 cents was somehow helpful. I'm watchin' yours also. - Butterpaw, it's ok. Just got screwed up with saving my work to a 'lossy' format by mistake. It gave me a chance to rethink the whole picture though (and fight with doubt some more, lol). That, and my computer really struggling with these large files is making this more work than play, but, dat's life :-) Anyway... hope you folks like the color I'm goin with.

[butterpaw]

This is good.. you've got the sense of expanse you were going for.. I like it better tahn any previous - sometimes mistakes give us a chance to think again... ^_^

[Ferx]

Hey Andrew, really interesting approach to the concept. I think this will be an a great image, great! For sure looking forward for more updates on your concept. Cheers mate!! :beer:

[butterpaw]

I am really looking forward to further developments with this .. 3D or 2D it is the artists vision which is the most important element imho, and that, I really like to see. I like the change in composition which gives the impression of a much greater expanse of land/world, while maintaining the tight focus.. and .. I am intrigued by the alien's details which are now beginning to emerge.

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1208884583_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1208884583_large.jpg)

I have struggled so hard to work against my first instinct, that I ran out of spirit for this pic. Times up; I am now entering the pic as my eye had first envisioned it, for better or for worse. The only problem: other than basic shapes, I now have to start from the beginning with limited time to finish it.

[HornlessUnicorn]

Hey Drew! You've invested quite a lot of thought and effort. I hope you get it done - you still have enough time. The sky looks very good (the colour version).

Keep it up, mate :)

Cheers,

Dimitrij.

[butterpaw]

Hmm, an interesting turn of events ... daring, really, to change so radically at this point...

You now have a lot of space available! ^_^

I look forward to seeing where you take this... but I am very curious - what precisely did not satisfy you about about the vertical layout?

[na]

I like the new post the composition has more of a classic feel to it. I really hope you get done in time Drew I think you definately have something to work with :)

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209145390_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209145390_large.jpg)

Have blocked in all main areas. The worst thing I could do is not finish this, so have redecided lol to go with vertical format, since this is the closest to finished image that I have.

[Dragneye]

Thanx for the support folks. Also, thanx Pearlyking... I had thought this idea up using the horizontal format but man, my biggest let down would be to not finish this piece in time. I'm not goin to quit, but the technique IS a bit different than oils, which I am used to. I'm goin batty between remembering to save each step, and learning the new tools and techniques of 'painting' with pixels. - Am now struggling with what to do with the bottom part of the pic. Though some would say that letting the terrain run out of frame like this isn't good composition, I really want to show the wasteland we've/they (ie humans of future earth) created, since it'll be lost in the distance by the ground clouds. Any ideas? Should I leave it as is? Should I add one more building towards the left? I originally had thought of the edge of a rooftop, lined with cheering people (the outcrops on left will be full of cheering people) along the whole horizontal bottom edge. Any input?

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209766644_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209766644_large.jpg)

Alrighty then... the outline is all ready... except the color and most details. Whatta ya think? Can I finish in time? Aha hahahaha... (he saunters away with a madman's laugh and fire in his eyes)

[butterpaw]

Ok, now get 'er done.


Want to see this complete... seems like you know where you're going with it...

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209881303_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1209881303_large.jpg)

Added some color & details. The title may stick, as it ties in to the whole story. - We've looked down at primitive lifeforms on Earth in the past, who would have thought they would be the ones who would rejuvinate our planet once again. But... that's half the story :-)

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210022688_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210022688_large.jpg)

Started to fill in cloud layer and the rest of the 'untouched'.

[Dragneye]

Yea me too butterpaw :-). Do you have any suggestions on what looks wrong, or can be improved? Mind you, the most finished part so far is the aliens head and shell. - Does Anyone have any comments or crits?

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210402068_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210402068_large.jpg)

Adding more details. Made some slight changes, and some not so slight.

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210535287_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210535287_large.jpg)

Added some more details. Working on a suitable... suit :-) for the human leader. Any crits appreciated.

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210592951_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210592951_large.jpg)

The Gaian leader held his head in awe. Many years had passed since the land had held the green of life, and now, these new interplanetary beings shared a gift, a gift that would rejuvenate the lands of his forefathers. The people would rejoice, and be able to walk freely amongst not the dead stumps and radioactive earth, but amongst the flowering trees, and relish the sound of all the animals they had cryo-saved. They would hear the song of the birds again, and the roar of the lions... sounds that his parents and he had only heard in recordings.
It was ironic that the only creatures that still existed on this dead land, looked like this alien being that had now come to save them. Nothing else could survive free on this putrid earth. Supreme Leader Clarke was now not only amazed, but humbled. His people looked with disgust at the few invertebrates that still roamed the crevices of the lost lands, and yet here was an alien species that though similar in appearance, had developed a massive brain, and unheard of technology.
Tears were welling in his eyes, but he knew that these aliens don't have emotions; they 'feel' with their minds, but not in an emotive way... they are pure realists... pure beings of logic. Their communication is telepathic. That he had sensed.
As the beam of life-giving energy spread its beauty, Clarke would in time turn and thank his new friend for the gift they shared with the people of Gaia, but he would never realize in time, that the 'gift' they offered, was a prelude for colonization. With no emotion comes no remorse... just pure, progressive, expansionist, logic.

[Dragneye]

Well, that's it for now. I have made the deadline. A bit tattered, but sane. It was an interesting adventure. I learned a new toolset, and refined my technique a bit. Will see if I have time to put in a lil more work on this before the clock fully runs out. I really wish I could have finished this using totally 3D tools but played it safe to make Sure I finished what I said I would. Now will go work on some 3D models that arose from this. Great luck and fortune to you all!

[Dragneye]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210613661_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14792/14792_1210613661_large.jpg)

This is a clearer version for my final jpg image.
The Gaian leader held his head in awe. Many years had passed since the land had held the green of life, and now, these new interplanetary beings shared a gift, a gift that would rejuvinate the lands of his forefathers. The people would rejoice, and be able to walk freely amongst not the dead stumps and radioactive earth, but amongst the flowering trees, and relish the sound of all the animals they had cryo-saved. They would hear the song of the birds again, and the roar of the lions... sounds that his parents and he had only heard in recordings.
It was ironic that the only creatures that still existed on this dead land, looked like this alien being that had now come to save them. Nothing else could survive free on this putrid earth. Supreme Leader Clarke was now not only amazed, but humbled. His people looked with disgust at the few invertebrates that still roamed the crevices of the lost lands, and yet here was an alien species that though similar in appearance, had developed a massive brain, and unheard of technology.
Tears were welling in his eyes, but he knew that these aliens don't have emotions; they 'feel' with their minds, but not in an emotive way... they are pure realists... pure beings of logic. Their communication is telepathic. That he had sensed.
As the beam of life-giving energy spread its beauty, Clarke would in time turn and thank his new friend for the gift they shared with the people of Gaia, but he would never realize in time, that the 'gift' they offered, was a prelude for colonization. With no emotion comes no remorse... just pure, progressive, expansionist, logic.

[butterpaw]

Well, that's it for now. I have made the deadline. A bit tattered, but sane. It was an interesting adventure. I learned a new toolset, and refined my technique a bit. Will see if I have time to put in a lil more work on this before the clock fully runs out. I really wish I could have finished this using totally 3D tools but played it safe to make Sure I finished what I said I would. Now will go work on some 3D models that arose from this. Great luck and fortune to you all!

I am delighted to see you met the deadline, and I love the result! ... an imaginative scenario, extremely well executed imho. I know you're not satisfied, but I think that's becuase you know what else you might have done... ^_^

Congratulations on grasping the use of new tools so quickly.. but then I should have expected that, knowing the quality of images you've produced using only a mouse and the simplest of paint programs.. It's great to see you enjoy painting with a stylus as much as I do, (and better at it than I am too, heheh )

I look forward to seeing more of your work!

[Dragneye]

THANK YOU Butterpaw for the kind and encouraging words. Yea, using Painter instead of what I had so far is awesome. Totally new world. Actually, this pic was new for me in many ways. First time I have used only a stylus to complete a pic; first time i finished a pic using Painter (MS Paint is nice but Painter is a Real Artist's tool); and first heavy duty Art contest I have entered, so this was a 'challenge' for me, but I learned a lot, had some fun, and created a 2D pic (something I hadn't done in a while).
Anyway... time for you to post some new work on here ;)

[butterpaw]

Me post some work.. now there's an intriguing thought....


......

I better go away and think ;)

^_^

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