Grand Space Opera 3D Entry: Matthew J. Bennier

#1

Matthew J. Bennier has entered the Grand Space Opera 3D.

#2

Well it’s official. I’ve decided to put my life on hold for a few months to join what I consider to be the most exciting CG Talk Challenge yet. I’m relatively new to CG Talk and I’ve never submitted any of my work in the past, but I thought that this challenge provided the perfect opportunity to introduce myself to the community. The artistic quality of the sketch doesn’t give the concept the justice it deserves so ultimately only the final product will show the vision for this scene.

This concept actually derives from a sci-fi universe that I’ve been quietly conceptualizing since 1997. After a great deal of deliberation I finally allowed myself to use a scene from one of the episodes of my work-in-progress sci-fi universe. I was hesitant at first to use this scene as it’s a pivotal point in the story and I didn’t want to create a spoiler shot if the franchise ever takes off. Then again, Lord of the Rings was a huge success even though most of the audience new the outcome before hand.

Essentially, the scene that I plan on depicting is the climatic battle between the Regealian Resistance and the Balaron Dominion. After years of intense intergalactic war fought on part of the Regealian Resistance nations to obtain political freedom from the Balaron Dominion systems they finally come to a head for a decisive battle over the militarized planet of Moisianar after eluding the Dominion’s outer defenses. The Regealian’s, although drastically outnumbered and overpowered, managed to secure an unprecedented route for the traveling mining colony and spaceport Thraos to enter into orbit around Moisianar over the city of Krailla. Thraos is a highly prized mining colony and space port that is built into the cavernous openings and insides of an enormous asteroid that is as large as many small moons. Thraos is completely self-sufficient and is equipped with a synthetically created ionized field that contains an atmosphere inside the asteroid. Deep within the asteroid’s caverns are numerous ice stores that provide the cities water needs. A massive and elaborate thrusting system is built into the exterior of the asteroid allowing it to navigate through the asteroid fields and travel through space. Of course the acceleration isn’t spectacular, but Thraos can get to where it needs to go.
Prior to Thraos’ arrival above Moisianar it had been evacuated of all civilians and equipped as a military launch point and defensive barracks for the Regealian battleships and deep-space fighters. The Dominion had anticipated the Regealian’s arrival and already knew that the Regealian Resistance was going to use Thraos as a base of operations for the attack. However, unknown to the Dominion, Thraos was not only to be used as a base of operations for the assault, it was the assault. After lowering the planetary perimeter defenses the Regealian Resistance intended to crash Thraos into the strategic center of Krailla, irreversibly crippling the Dominion’s military capabilities and central leadership.
The particular shot I chose is the moment at which Thraos begins its crash course toward Krailla on Moisianar. The battle still rages on, both inside and outside Thraos, but at this point the Dominion has realized the intentions of the Resistance and is quickly trying to flee the impact zone. Several battleships, destroyers, and cruisers can be seen evading the planet’s surface and traveling past Thraos. Two executive battleships can be seen docked in the lower port of Thraos that initially were prepared to invade the city. Realizing that Thraos is almost entirely abandoned already and is now on a crash course for the planet they desperately attempt to disengage from the port and withdraw the invasion of the city. In the foreground is Suhan Fornala, governor and guardian of Thraos, looking out across the city toward Moisianar from the balcony awaiting his inevitable end. Content with the sacrifice he has given by offering his home and his life to the cause he embraces the end of Thraos assuredly realizing that the Prime civilizations will forever be changed by this moment in history. He knows that it will all be over soon. Also in the foreground is the fleeing ship the Nuclite Scorpian, piloted by Beck Spire and Kellen Fourora as they make their final departure from Suhan’s presence.
I thought this piece would be ideal for the contest because it contains a variety of elements from both a visual and thematic perspective. Thematically, it contains galactic struggle between forces of good and evil, sacrifice, honor, and fear. Visually, it allows me to illustrate an epic space battle over a planet, present an innovative environment inside the asteroid that is both natural and synthetic, and show the drama of Suhan Fornala awaiting his end on the balcony overlooking the conflict.

I’ll continue to submit updates every Saturday evening as I progress. I’ll try to respond to any suggestions or critiques as often as possible. Any constructive feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks.

#3

what can i say…but wow…nice extensive story and a nicely extravagant sketch

#4

Thanks funkeymunkey90 for the feedback. I hope that once I start uploading my modelling progress that I’ll get more responses. I’m currently modeling the asteroid and should have some images of it soon.

I’ve also rethought the concept somewhat and decided that I’m going to emphasize the foreground element a bit more by making the balcony enclosed as if it were part of a throne room. I’m also thinking that Suhan Fornala’s presence might be bolstered by the introduction of another character to the foreground. Originally in the story, Suhan Fornala meets his end alone, but I’m thinking that I might add an antagonist to the room to create a more dramatic conflict. It’s funny how an image can actually drive the story. I guess it goes both ways. Anyway, I think I might add chief executor Gephin Tisirius. It could be interesting to have him approaching Suhan from behind only revealed by his reflection in the glass panes.

I’m still going to have to work on this.

#5

So far I’ve been working on the asteroid geometry. This is just the basic framework. As soon as I get the UV’s layed out I’ll be able to add detail. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to use displacement maps in the end for final surface detail if my machine will allow it.

#6

nice start there engineeredvision … nice to see someone goin underground here in this challenge … a lot of potential for massiveness in the confines of a cave

keep the updates coming and poly’s flowing :thumbsup:

#7

excellent! like pigwater says, its good to see a different kind of image, underground can be equally as massive as space i think! i was considering some kind of cavern myself, and had all but given up on the idea until i saw your entry, so may go back to thinking about my scene that way again.

the modelling looks like its made a very nice start, i cant believe people have gottent his far already, im still desperately trying to find the time to get my concept sketch up to scratch before posting it!

my one critique may be that the oimage as a whole could be a little symmetrical for my liking, i would maybe consider moving the planet in the background right over to one side, so we just see the outline down one side of it, giving you more space to play with inbetween the holes in the cavern wall if you know what i mean?

very much looking forward to see developments…

#8

Thanks guys for the feedback. I was thinking of taking your advice Dr. Evil Bear of offsetting the planet so that I have more black space to work with in the openings of the asteroid. I don’t want to offset it too much though because I still want to leave the impression that this asteroid is on a collision course with the planet. If the planet is offset too far it may appear that the asteroid is simply cruising by it. Anyway, I’ll play around with it. It’s entirely possible that the asteroid could simply be rotated differently while still on a direct course, but I’m not sure if someone viewing the image would necessarily understand that without a description.

Thanks again.

#9

i see what you mean, maybe the answer could be to still have the planet pretty much central, but have it a little further away, giving you more black space…? just an idea :slight_smile:

#10

Hey again,

I thought I would take Dr. Evil Bear’s advice and try a less symetrical composition for my scene. Since I already have the basic framework of the asteroid created now I just used the model and some dummy ship objects for the new scene rather than creating a new sketch. After some experimentation I came up with this arrangement which I feel is much more dynamic and interesting then the original. However, I’m still interested in feedback and would like to know whether you guys prefer this new composition or the original.

Thanks,
Matt

#11

i like it, i think it adds more depth, as you can now see stuff that is flying in space, bedhind the planet, which adds a better sense of depth in my opinion. which do you prefer?

#12

Thanks for the feedback Dr. Evil Bear. I definately prefer the second composition and feel that it’s much more dramatic without compromising the oringal story. I’m currently working on foreground elements and should have some more posts soon. I was planning on developing the city next but thought that it would be more efficient to do the foreground and figure out which areas in the scene will even be visible in the final shot.

After viewing some of the progress a few individuals have made, I’ve come to realize that they are probably working on this contest full-time, which is exactly what I would be doing if I didn’t have a job. I’m lucky if I can get 3 hours in a day. My only redeeming time is found on the weekends when I can put in a good 10-12 hours a day if I’m not interupted. It’s frustrating to know that what takes me 2-3 weeks to get accomplished can take someone else only 1 week if they are working on it 8 or more hours a day. I guess I should have come to expect this. Maybe I was a little naive when I first entered the contest. Anyway, I’m just going to do what I can with the time I have and in the very least use this challenge as a learning experience. Ultimately, the experience and final product will be of greater reward than the recognition or the prizes. I know that most of the contestants probably hold this same oppinion. At least I hope.

I think it would be interesting however to see how everyone would compare if they were given the same allotment of time. Of course this would be nearly impossible to enforce, which is why things are the way they are.

Good luck to everyone. =)

#13

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