Grand Space Opera 3D Entry: Rob Chapman

#25

thanks Pro,

im still going to be working up sketches until im happy. looking at what you said and proverbally ‘stepping away from the vehicle’ I think what I best need is to have some kind of archealogical ‘dig’ going on. I also need to somehow combine the perspective of sketch 8 + 9, perhaps mentally shift the camera into the foreground of 9 to get more of a sense of scale to the colony and also allow more details of the colony and also of past civilisation to be made out in the exposed craters and perhaps have an abandonded alien city in rubbles part exposed also. it would be good to explore the pic a litttle bit and with such a huge resolution available i should hopefully be able to get some human interest around a dig in there somewhere. also am unsure about the neutron star being that way with the bright reds and blues, more subtle and menacing is needed and not looking as though it is in mid explode and venting massive amounts of gas like the pic reference I was using. For the ancient ‘inhibitor’ aliens I want to show a potential to destroy again but not mid destroy as it seems at the moment.

cheers!

#26

sketches for dig and machinery

#27

just keeping busy in the sketch book :slight_smile: lots of little sketches joined to one image

#28

more composition testing

#29

composition testing still

#30

composition testing yet again

#31

and some more tests… im getting warmer

#32

Rob, in order to convey the importance of the events in your scene I think you need to pull your shot in close, right in amongst the astro-archaeologists (or whatever they’re called), and focus on a key moment of discovery – something that perhaps has indicated “this is a trap,” so you can feature the horrified look of dawning recognition on the faces of the scientists. In film script terms, this would be “plot point one” – a moment that changes the direction of the film. I haven’t read the particular work you’re referencing, so I’m not sure how closely you plan to stick to the novel in what you portray, but let’s presume there’s something about the artifacts (or the arrangement of key items in the scene) that gives a strong sense of “there’s something not quite right about this” – the precursor to that “OH … MY … GOD” moment.

The visuals that popped into my head when I read your synopsis about the planet being essentially a “lure” for other species was of this vast dig that has turned up skeleton after skeleton … and all of these skeletons turn out to be arranged radially … pointing in towards this weird alien artifact that the scientists have just uncovered … and, in uncovering it, activated it, sending off some visible signal to the older Borg-like species. And the dawning look of horror on the faces of the scientists is that the alien skeletons they’ve uncovered are actually evidence of an assault on this signal device, trying to turn it off!

Anyway, the point of this bit of “imaginative apocrypha” being: I think the key to excavating an iconic image from the storyline you’re working from is to key in on that image – a “reaction shot,” or whatever – that best represents a plot-point in the novel. What you seem to have at the moment are a lot of nice sketches for some promising “space art,” but your source material begs to have a dramatic moment brought to life … and, in doing so, I think you’ll stand apart from all the bits of eye candy the rest of us are feverishly working on.

However you decide to approach it, I can’t wait to see how you manage some of the fx in XSI. Should be a real treat!

#33

Alot of concept work but im not sure what your making …

#34

Nuclearman,

thanks for the pertinant advice, I have had the feeling that the ‘eureka’ moment for the archeologists does need to be potrayed. what im wrestling with is capturing an image of ‘everything’ in the scene. Yes in the book there is an artefact that is like a large black stone block with anient text that points to and describes the neutron star and there were alien skeletons found around, although not so dramatic as all pointing to the artefact :slight_smile: good points you have made and was planning something in this direction already. my difficulty iis trying to portray this ‘moment’ alongside a growing space colony, on a devastated planet with near light speed ships docked overhead and the original threat above that! perhaps ive picked too complicated a scene and trying to capture this in one go is too hard for me. - although i havent given up yet or so easy. I also should concentrate on the foreground depiction to get that right then perhaps the rest will fall into place. its hard to get the perspective right for an underground hole whilst also trying to show a larger section of the planet and ships overhead. :slight_smile:

vrhead - im not sure what im making yet, thats why im still ‘conceptering’

cheers

#35

ok cracked out the 3d program, trying to work out composition with default humans and simple shapes

Dirtmap render

#36

trying to work it more

#37

moving things around a bit

#38

more tweaking. at least I can experiment with placements and camera angles a lot easier in this dimension :slight_smile:

#39

This is a nice concept & progress!
Hope to see the other stages!:thumbsup:

#40

cool~ this is a cool way to play around with composition plus u will get perfect perspective~!

#41

tried stuff out in photoshop moving stuff around

#42

Rob, I’m a bit confused as to what the light sources are in the scene. I assume there would be a need for artificial lighting in the excavation area – ala the uncovering of the monolith on the moon in 2001 – but other than that, you’ve got the neutron star and its companion, and what else? Maybe the key thing to doing the 3D prelims is to work out the lighting, as that may really dictate the composition.

#43

Rob have a happy new year! Keep at it. Try your hardest to get it finished.

#44

ive had terrible deadlines the last month, thanfully they are all dealt with, I have been thinking about this CG challenge though and trying composition sketches out, basically my problem is that I am trying to capture a foreground group of people who are essentially underground with their associated ships / machinery above ground, whilst portraying a vast city and huge spaceship in the distance !! ive reached the conclusion that I have bitten off way more than I can chew with this and didnt even get past the composition stage! :sad: so in the vain hope I might reach a submittal in the next 10 days or so I am going to concentrate soley on the foreground aspect in the composition and simplify everything down, this way it might reach a conclusion :slight_smile: all the best to all !