Archive Page 42

06
May
09

the end of enterprise ep. 97

 

the moon base

the moon base

the mobile mining rig

the mobile mining rig

 

one of the rigs in the distance

one of the rigs in the distance

this was just about the end of the series!!! So close to #100 but just didn’t make it. Thedrawing projects were big up to the end and #97 called for a fun mobile mining rig and nifty little moon base. The base was almost a direct reuse of a mars scape done For John carpenter’s Ghost of Mars. The illustration was to grand for john’s film and it was great to be able to pass the lines on to this episode,  this ship was one of the heavily credited to Ron Cobb pieces and it was a very intense drawing that I really got my pen work into.  I don’t remember who modeled this one so Hopefully I can find out and get some grabs to go along with this one.

06
May
09

to boldly go!

 

Space,,,The final frontier

Space,,,The final frontier

 

these are the voyages of the starship Enterprise

these are the voyages of the starship Enterprise

 

it's continuing mission

it's continuing mission

to explore strange new worlds

to explore strange new worlds

 

to seek out new life

to seek out new life

and new civilizations

and new civilizations

 

to boldly go

to boldly go

 

where no man has gone before

where no man has gone before

Well the night finally came and My wife and I went to the cast and crew screening of Star Trek. The room grew dark the curtains were pulled and a quick video of JJ appeared on the screen,,, Most of his message was in silence do to a sound problem but once audible he thanked and welcomed everyone for working on the show and hoped everyone would have a good time.  To hear my feelings about this incredible night we have to open the discussion up correctly. This movie has been wanted and anticipated by the fans for many years. It’s very conception has been surrounded by hate, speculation, harsh critiques, bashing on levels, fear, and it has also been followed with excitement and hope. Star trek is such a huge part of everyones lives just based on fact of how long it’s been around and what it’s impacts have been on so many people from around the world. Trek has such a huge fan base and from the sad comments from so many the feelings towards the franchise were mostly of disappointment with the production of each new outing starting in the late 90’s to just a few years ago. Trek was slowly dyeing from within from the last couple of series and feature films,,, It was breaking it’s own rules and the strong driving force of the stories and the constants followed were widdling away with a dull mediocre downward spiral and all the fans were dropping away, all the fictitious histories and time lines were being compromised and it got to the point that the producers themselves couldn’t even keep the deck counts right for their  series major flagship. 2005 brought the end to Star trek as we knew it…  The new CBS and Paramount quickly saw what the fans wanted and from their point of view $$$$$ what was needed to get the studio back on a good footing.  With JJ Abrams success and energetic driving force behind his own movie projects and shows. Paramount or whoever made the call did the right thing by approaching him to revitalize this legendary series. This was a long movie in the making and an incredibly large set of shoes had to be filled. After seeing the film last night I can see how JJ thoughtfully jumped into those shoes with full force….. If you take the “to boldly go” monolog  from the Original , this is exactly what JJ and his writers did with awesome class and reverence. You could not start Star Trek today with a Voyager or Enterprise feature film,,,You could not do another TNG and move into yet a farthur future with this Human Adventure,,, You had to start at the beginning and make it a new beginning,, Just this challenge alone is a great under taking especially with everyone watching your every move.  JJ’s writers, crew, his own creativity and the bringing on of Leonard Nimoy created a brilliant cornerstone to embark on this new adventure. faced with redesigning something that has deep roots in a whole new way, yet be respectful to the original idea was definitely what was seen on the big screen last night. I can see now why the rule was created that no one from the previous shows were invited back to be a part of this one,,, I am still amazed and very thankful that that rule was broken in my case and I was allowed to be a part of this film. without giving a full fledged review here is what is coming…. This movie is all about attitude,,, your going to walk out of the theater with exatly what you take into it. If you are expecting to hate it going in that’s what your going to leave with,, If you follow Gene’s idea of to boldly go,,, YOU WILL NOT LEAVE DISAPPOINTED… JJ has a vision that he so elegantly has translated on the screen.. The opening (before the credits) plays perfectly as an emotional visual opera. His use of sound, silence, and performance sets the pace as one of the best opening sequences I have ever seen. ILM’s Jeff Olsen and John Goodson (ST Veterans, have really blown our socks off) along with Digital Domain, & accompanied by Ben Burt’s Brilliant sound, have gone into a new realm of Visual Effects. The Starships have a gritty look that is seamless in their perfect execution. Space in the new film has no left and right plain restrictions and you never now which way is up. The model work,,, can’t even be called that because visually the starships have such a look and weight that they are not a VFX image but a REAL full sized spacecraft. My hat is off to the incredible achievements these folks have put on film. Ryan Church’s  Enterprise, Kelvin & Jellyfish are masterfully perfect, All three ships are brilliantly poetic on screen and they cuts thru space with an incredible elegance, James Cline’s Romulan vessel is jaw droppingly gorgeous in a very evil kind of way. Alex Jeager From ST first Contact was back creating the background armada and his designs score big once again… This is going to be a kit bashers paradise!!! Anyways the credits role and the movie begins… Awesome casting and great character performances rule here and the actors have added a very energetic youthfulness to each of their given roles. The story is strong and defines the time changing issues elegantly as they set the way for a new future as only a Star Trek film could. The movie is graced with a very rich score by  Michael Giacchino, and the production design and art direction By Scott Chambliss , Curt Beech, and Keith Cunningham, is gorgeous. I walked out of the theater overwhellmed with what I saw and can’t wait to see it again.. There is a lot to take in and you really can’t prepare for where this adventure is going to take you. It is vastly different on every level and it has JJ’s great storytelling talents and action pacing down pat. So to put it bluntly,,,I LOVED IT!!!! To all the gang behind this one and Especially  JJ.  A big thanks and a tip of the hat to you.

05
May
09

I just won an official space patrol Rocket club house!!! What a lucky kid!!!!!

this is just to cool

this is just to cool

I would have died if I saw this coming down the street!!!

I would have died if I saw this coming down the street!!!

the police had to arrest over 400 wild space cadet kids so that this quiet Middle American neighborhood shot could be taken

the police had to arrest over 400 wild space cadet kids so that this quiet Middle American neighborhood shot could be taken

it's Ricky Walker day!!!

it’s Ricky Walker day!!!

this is the club house

Way back in the early 1950’s an awesome TV show aired and it was called “Space Patrol”!!!! This was one  exciting sci-fi program, full of campy and adolescent space adventures that took place in a beautiful retro styled rocket ship called the Tara V!!! Ralston Purina was one of the big sponsors of the show and to advertise the weekly Television adventures, the Ralston group made traveling rocket ships for kids of all ages to walk thru. The rockets would tour the Country side exciting children from ages 1 to 94. One day the ultimate Ralston contest took place and the grand prize was to win one of these traveling rockets for your own club house!!! Kids all over the country entered the contest in hopes of winning this sacred space ship. A young boy by the name of  Ricky Walker would be the one to win this MAJOR AWARD, and as far as everyone was concerned, Ricky was the luckiest kid in the world,,, In later years Ricky was tracked down to be interviewed about the greatest day in kidom and to everyone’s surprise  he declined the offer,,,,,,,,, A little more research into the issue showed that Ricky sold the ship when he was a bit older and as far as the neighbor kids went they all said he was a selfish creep and hogged the prize to himself. He was rarely seen playing in it… When I read about young Ricky further I had to say, WHAT!!!!  This Ding Dong won the greatest prize a kid could EVER want, and you sold it!!!!  Then you don’t even want to talk about it!!!  Well to me that says the wrong kid won,, After reading all the accounts of this historical event I was left wishing that all the Scott Farkus’s and neighborhood bullies had ago with Ricky Walker everyday on the way home from school,, Clearly Young Ricky was the wrong one but looking back at all these pix I can’t even imagine a show offering such a prize in the world we live in today,,,  For more on this awesome show from the early days of “THE SPACE PATROL” go to

http://www.solarguard.com/tchome.htm and have a good time in the past!

05
May
09

the crazy ships of Catwalk #38

 

the first versions

the first versions

 

a glimmer of a possibility of a big maybe that this might be considered but only if the moon was in line with pluto

a glimmer of a possibility of a big maybe that this might be considered but only if the moon was in line with pluto

the next two ideas

the next two ideas

 

and the last two ideas,,, the bottom right "catamaran" won the audition and got a single show contract and it's own bungalow

and the last two ideas,,, the bottom right "catamaran" won the audition and got a single show contract and it's own bungalow

wee wee, Pierre has done it again. Top view

wee wee, Pierre has done it again. Top view

 

oww-wee, et se ent twa!!!! MMMMM-WAAAA!

oww-wee, et se ent twa!!!! MMMMM-WAAAA! = where is the car wash

 en twasss eu de la amore est, jaque le blue mon cherei!!!, = would you like to go for a ride on my barge lil cutie-pie

en twasss eu de la amore est, jaque le blue mon cherei!!!, = would you like to go for a ride on my barge lil cutie-pie

where is the car wash!!

yoplet!!!!

yoplet!!!! or look at my big gun.

 

aw vweesai mwah! or front belly view

aw vweesai mwah! or front belly view

This was a fun little episode and the scheduling was a quiet so these versions got to have a little more time to be rendered out nicely. The sideways flying pick was milled over for a while but in the end the Catamaran made the finals and it was a beauty when Pierre finished his fab modeling!!! I missed this episode so I don’t recall if it had much screen time. OK off to the drawing table so have a great Tuesday fellow bloggers!

thanks Jorg!!!! screen shot 1

thanks Jorg!!!! screen shot 1

shot 2

shot 2

shot 3

shot 3

 

and shot 4

and shot 4

Thanks to the all mighty Jorg for sending over some screen grabs of this little ship next to the NX!

05
May
09

more shovel-ships by Pierre

 

3/4 front

3/4 front

 

bottom view

bottom view

It tis a wonder what is lost in the ol computer!!!!! had these Pee-Air beauties with me the whole time and came across them last night!!!

04
May
09

the ss conestoga

 

the two choices for the conestoga

the two choices for the conestoga

 

This little chuck wagon in space comes from one of the early Enterprise episodes called Terra Nova. The premise of the show was that this ship crash-lands and the survivors make homesteads from the wreckage. here are the sketches that were worked to best utilize usable shapes for dwellings constructed from panels and debris

how many things can you make with a 12 piece box of legos

how many things can you make with a 12 piece box of legos

 

a bizarre perspective topo view of structure placement

a bizarre perspective topo view of structure placement

 

 

the producers pick

the producers pick

04
May
09

the rejected drawing of the cardassian ship yards

 

wow this was a huge one, it took  6 scans to get it all HAAA!!!

wow this was a huge one, it took 6 scans to get it all HAAA!!!

cu1

cu2

cu2

cu3

cu3

cu3

cu3

 

cu5

cu5

I had forgotten how big this drawing was,,,, I tried something bigger than the usual 11X17 (which was the max size of the copier) and tried a big 24X36 marker piece and this is what came of it!!!  A giant marker nightmare!!! Haaa! The story behind this one was this,,,  This was for the first show of season 7 and I was up at ILM on a project during the DS9 hiatus. The project went over and I got Greg Jein to fill in for me while I was away. Greg is not only the Miniature Giant but he is an outstanding artist as well. He was thrown into a concept nightmare with this Cardassian ship yard that was going thru some pretty rough approval sessions. Greg also hit a huge union snag that sadly cancelled his drawing stint in the art department. (Greg’s art from this episode is coming soon) My show got cancelled early and I got back at the same time they were kicking Greg out!!!! It was a bad time to say the least!!!! Greg’s pieces were brilliant with sweeping platforms and      docks full of ships under construction. all were getting the boot but in the long run a kluge of his work came to be the final design. To go in a totally new direction is what is shown here. It is a spin off from DS9 architecture stylized to be a huge shipyard. This too was quickly rejected but made for a fun marker sketch. here are some close ups to go with the big view. Also this is going to be a hugely busy week. Deg and I have to get the Shatner project going in full force and Wonderfest is next week and I am not ready,,,so with that the blog will most likely go slim for a day or so but if time allows I’ll keep putting things up even if I can’t get on to chat and comment back. Ok then and thanks to everyone again for a great week last week and for all the entries and links to your awesome modeling and Animations. Thanks mostly for the prayers for my daughter and for everything else. OK have a great Monday.

01
May
09

project update for Friday 5-01

It has been an insane week to be sure and the response to the Shatner Project was huge,,, Thanks for all the links images and fantastic models sent over. There were skills and talents on all levels of excellences from the beginners to the hard core 3D-ers. When I have time I have to organize everyone and everything sent over  so the next time a project comes thru I can send over your links to the project bosses. I mentioned earlier this week that these jobs come all the time and I am so glad that I can start passing on your info as potential hires.  The Shatner project is fairly small and in the begging stages but has the potential to be a big project. There was a lot of great stuff sent over in a whole variety of different ways and formats. unfortunately it is hard to show what you are capable of with one or two images and with little to no personal information or work ethics and programs used . As a word of creative advise to anyone who wants to seriously use your talents to get work. A real nice organized web page with a bio, work history, and what and how you work in, followed by some of your best images would be the ultimate force in pushing what you can do to get onto future prospects. As discouraging as it can be to not catch a job, never get down, or give up. Keep making your stuff better and learn from others on how to keep current, reinvent yourself as things change, and find the best way to present yourself. We can all learn from each other here and I can’t think of a better group of talent to be surrounded with. In a quick note this project will probably go to one of these guys,,,,Deg, Matt Boardman, or Vector. The producers were very impressed and their work was right in line with what they were looking for. next week i’ll try to send over a note to everyone individually in regards to all that has been received and I already have a couple of projects in line for some of you.  Thanks again and keep the stuff a coming!!!

01
May
09

the pirate ships of Anomaly #54

 

here are the 1st three versions that were considered to aggressive and not piraty enough. the upper left ship had to be rendered in a more buoyant fashion and that is where the grouper fish idea came from,,,boy I was glad that it was a catch and release on that idea!!!

here are the 1st three versions that were considered to aggressive and not piraty enough. the upper left ship had to be rendered in a more buoyant fashion and that is where the grouper fish idea came from,,,boy I was glad that it was a catch and release on that idea!!!

 

these where the final two ideas and the bottom right struck a positive cord.

these where the final two ideas and the bottom right struck a positive cord.

here is a close up of the sketch

here is a close up of the sketch

 

here is a view of Pierre's model of the Ktarian maurader

here is a view of Pierre's model of the Ktarian maurader

Anomaly #54 was the first outing that took the Enterprise deep into space to fight the Xindi  threat against earth. The following are sketches of a pirate vessel that has inhabited (illegally) one of the space anomaly creating spheres. This was to be a one time alien encounter so there were no guidelines to follow on what their ships would look like. Pirate to me is sharp, dark, wicked, fast, mean ,and crude, so I tried that mindset with these outings,,, In final though it looks like the shovel version made the grade, and as we have learned about Star Trek bad guys yard tools make the best reference….. remember Insurrection!!! HAAAA! have a great weekend every one and thanks for all the fun and awesome entries sent in for the Shatner project.   Next week, the Cardassian ship yards. my review of the new Star trek film and by popular request, the SS Conestoga, the Sarajevo and more from Insurrection with the shuttle, the Cousteau, and Data’s scout ship.  Coming  soon the ships of nemesis and the variations of the Enterprise E

 

 

 

Inspired by the Grouper fish, this is the chicken of the sea version

Inspired by the Grouper fish, this is the chicken of the sea version

30
Apr
09

project update

I just got back 7 approved sketches for the Shatner gig.  I have to now go thru and take them to a more finished presentation illustration before the modeling stage can start. I will go thru the images that everyone has sent and try to determine who would be right for what. If your modeling talents include animation as well be sure to add that in your notes.  there are a lot of great artists here that would like to be a part of this one so I’ll do my best to spread it out accordingly,,, If yours doesn’t make this project remember there will be more to come.  In a quick read of some of the comments the best thing for everyone to do is to YES!! keep a current portfolio and resume/gallery of your work so when the phone rings you can answer. IT’s another swamped out day so when I get time I’ll hit all the comments from the last few days.  Thanks.

j




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