Ryan dening, an artist extraordinare,

WOW!!!!! I just had a moment to hang out on the computer and browse a bit and I came across a website and a blog by RYAN DENING!!!! Ryan was my boss on the Star Trek online game when Perpetual was putting the game together. We met in 06 and I started working remotely with a visit up to the bay about once a month to meet and go over all the new lists of things to be rendered. Ryan was hired to be the design boss for the game and what an awesome talent he is. When I first walked in the office, which was very tiny and very dark you could see his art work being modeled or manipulated on every screen as you walked through the halls of computers. Ryan has an incredible sense of design and his passion for Star Trek was without limits. I was a huge fan from the first day and I loved his style of color & tight perspective on how he would choose to set up a rendering. AWESOME talent and one incredibly nice guy!!!  I am so glad to have come across his pages today and so glad to be sharing some of his work with you.. I attached both his links in my blog role so be sure to go check out some incredible stuff!!! So for know hold on to your chair and feast your eyes on some of Ryan’s fantastic illustrations.

The Excalibur, STO's flagship

the sacagawea

some cool interior

Wow an Abrams which has been Denisized!!!

happy 2nd anniversary to the blog!!!

Miss Kay Jay

Hey everybody,  yesterday was the second anniversary of Eavesdropping and I forgot to do a post and thank everyone who stops by here and has made this such a fun place to meet up and share stories and pictures of our favorite things. So many great friends I have met here and I can’t thank you all enough for sharing in the topics of the day and especially for all the support that has been given to my family through all the rough times!!! This year is leveling out so hopefully the blog can get back on track and more regularly too. In honor of the anniversary today’s topic will be phaser’s and red dresses! 10 years ago last month the early days of “Enterprise” were in the works and the show was just starting to be designed. Sets props, ships costumes, everything and the art department was assembled with the same group of notorious faces from DS9 and some new ones as well. Jim Martin had rejoined the show as the key prop designer and that man put out one intensive pile of drawings and designs!!! Always a pleasure to work with Jim and I’ve always been a fan. Next month there will be a special on the art of Martin and can’t wait to get it all put together. As the went our boss Herman Zimmerman would throw so many things out at once that in many occasions we would all cross the line from one aspect of the show to the other. one day we would be doing sets then we would both be doing props and on and on. The producers of the show loved variety an so Herman always tried to show as much art as possible during the meetings. Jim had drawn up some really wicked looking weapons and Before the meeting Herman had me draw up a few as well. What you see today are three of those rough ideas which were used as fodder to push forward Jim’s very polished illustrations that Herman and the prop department really liked. Lots of fun and always interesting to see how Herman would try to work and bend the crowd towards what he was thinking. The feel for the weapons is a bit heavier and gritter that what has been seen before and loving the assault Phaser from Trek V and VI, I kind of followed that idea in more of a militaristic fashion.

So enough about Phasers, Here is a newest member of the Red Dress series, Miss Kay Jay from Phoenix Arizona. I was back in my home state  through most of the month of February and while I was there I got to do a couple of shoots with some old friends, but I was ever so privileged to work with Kay Jay for the very first time.We did a long shoot at a couple of locations and we covered vintage military pin up with both an Air Force, and an Army theme (for her Fiance who is in the Army) out at Falcon Field in Mesa AZ, and wrapped out the day with a more elegant pin up theme and ended with the Red Dress series. Kay has a magic to be sure and she so artistically paints a beautiful canvas using herself as the medium!! She has a great talent and I love what she brought to the Star Trek theme. A mixture of action, grace, and sultry fashion, really elevated what we have seen here so far!!! So with all that said enjoy the art, pics and also visit Kay’s modeling page from the link below. So stay tuned for more entries this week and More of Miss Kay Jay in the near future!!

http://www.modelmayhem.com/1889569

phase 1

phase 2, the two part unit as originally invisioned in the TOS

phase 3 the blaster version

Kay

Kay 2

forbbiden planet, the 55th anniversary

March the 15th, 1956,  MGM released one of the first big budget Science Fiction films ever,  and was a huge block buster and now is considered one of the most beloved classics that the studio has ever produced.  Sci-fi was not a theme that a major studio wanted to back financially in the early days, but seeing the reactions of audiences that would attend small budget space movies inspired  MGM to take the gamble of making a major motion picture based on a fantastic Science Fiction story set in Deep space. Obviously the gamble payed off, and the movie inspired a look and culture that we still see copied in features today. The film was ground breaking on many levels with state of the art special effects, miniature & stage work, and a very realistic mixture of hand animation intermixed with live action shots. MGM was one of the main studios that pioneered animation and live action, not only with Forbidden Planet, but 11 years earlier in 1945’s “Anchors Aweigh” where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry mouse from the famous Tom and Jerry shorts. “Forbidden Planet” was based on a story by Irving Block, & Allen Adler, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume, and masterfully directed by Fred McLeod. Starring Leslie Nielsen (who passed away last year on Nov. the 28th 2010), and Anne Francis, (who passed away a month and a half later on Jan. the 2nd, 2011) the supporting cast was a wonderful ensemble of actors that went on to have equally amazing careers. The film introduced a new character who without a doubt is probably one of the best known figures of all time and he isn’t even human. Robby the Robot, created by Robert Kinoshita stands as one of the most popular movie robots of all time. Mr. Kinoshita also designed the B9 robot from “Lost in Space” and between the two it’s hard to say which one is the top fan favorite. On so many levels this film is not only a classic and a milestone of cinematic achievement, it’s overall an awesome movie to watch. Every time I get a chance to watch this one I see something new and like it more than the last time. My 9 year old daughter Alyna loves this picture and because of the classics she’s going to be a Sci Fi maniac by the time she’s 18. She’s a lover of space drama and it is a such a treat as a parent to watch these old films with her as everything is new and amazing from her point of view.  Lots of screen grabs to see and enjoy, and I hear the new blue Ray version is the way to see “Forbidden Planet” weather your a fan or someone who wants to see it for the first time.

opening titles

George Wallace is the actor on the left, He played Commando Cody in the Republic serial "Radar Men to the Moon" in the early 50's followed by Leslie Nielsen, and Warren Stevens on the right

George Wallace as Cody

note the shadow of the 57-D saucer is created with a different color of ground

the introduction of Robby the Robot

the home of Morbius

Walter Pidgeon as Morbius

Anne Francis

the hate to love relationship begins

the big kiss

the Krell Laboratories

Help me Obi Won Kanobie,, I mean it's Anne Francis in 3D

the invisible horror approaches.

a casting of what left the prints in the sand

fighting a hidden enemy

Monsters of the ID as seen in the force field barrier

more of the ID

Morbius is made to realize that the Monsters are coming from his own imagination

morbius relaizes that to kill the monsters of his mind he has the them kill him

Morbius's last request is to hit the self destruct sequence to end the horror of the Krell, the destruct trigger is copied heavily in the self destruct mechanism aboard the Nostromo from "Alien"

reaching escape distance before the blast

Robby is now a part of the crew, and note his cardboard legs,, The actual legs could not bend this way so a quick solution was to paint them on board and hope nobody would notice.

the destruction of Altar 4 as seen from space, another scence closly copied in Alien