Developing The 'Whale Ship'

From my loose designs, I found an image I was happy with. I decided on the vessel seen from behind. I simply took this image and produced a turnaround sheet to take into maya and use as reference:

As I mentioned in previous posts, our team is having to generalise and span out of our comfort zones as   our skill sets don't comfortably span across all areas of the process. This meant that I made a very messy first attempt at modelling this vessel:

As you can see from the screenshot, the edge isn't too great. Some of the shapes have more than 4 sides, a law I didn't quite grasp when creating this first effort. Also when smoothed, you can see some small gaps indicating that some of the edges are not merged. The modelling here is generally scrappy and untidy.

For my second attempt, I started simple, blocking out the basic shape of the shuttle. From this I began adding edge loops, constantly keeping edge flow in mind . I added in more edge loops on edges I wanted to be square, and when smoothed, the results were much better. For the unwrapping process, I used methods taken from our previous alien workshop. However, I found that as the ship is less organic than our biped, some of the flat faces required projecting separately. For the texture itself, I added in wet media brushes from the photoshop presets, along with the smudge tool set to a scratchy nature brush, to try and create the illusion of dints and scrapes on the shell of the vessel:

When considering the animation of the ship, to some extent I wanted it to move like a large water dwelling mammal. I didn't design the ship in segments, as I didn't want to make it seem too organic and move away from the idea of a space shuttle. This means that all the expression is in the fins. I made a quick you tube visit and found footage of a whale swimming for reference:

I created three animations: An evasive manoeuvre where the ship banks quickly from side to side, a swimming motion where the ship propels itself forwards with it fins and a simple animation where the ship is cruising using the jet engines on its rear. I wanted to keep the animation slow and graceful like the Humpback whale in the video. After completed the animations, I exported an FBX file into Unity and created a turntable. Initially I had a problem with the right set of fins. Although in Maya after checking all of the faces were facing out correctly, when exported some of the geometry flipped. To fix this I simply reversed the culprit faces in maya, causing them to be flipped the correct way when exported. I experimented with some specular bump mapping, which I only wanted to be applied to the cockpit shield. Using a normal map, I found I was only able to control how much bump was added to the desired area. As the main ship is all one piece of geometry, I will have to figure out a way to make only glass appear reflective. For now, here is a turntable of the animated ship:

Unity Web Player | Whale_first_turntable

« created with Unity »

Keeping Things Loose

I have been talking a lot about the speed at which I work and my concerns regarding it. I am yet to return to the sketchpad, as I am currently enjoying working entirely in photoshop, but for this next set of images, I decided I would try to work fast and loose:

I was initially working with the idea of a more streamline vessel, as you can see with the first three images from left to right. For the first image I began by trying to draw inspiration from my previous ship design, whilst trying to straighten things out as appose to using the organic curves I applied originally. I quickly decided I wanted to draw something from a more dramatic perspective to make my design more exciting. With the next set of designs I tried simplifying things even further. As you can see with the top right image, I originally included a fin, and more expressive and jagged curves on the wings. This design almost looks shark-like. I felt that this would emphasise that this vessel is occupied by the antagonist in our particular piece of narrative. Re-visiting my whale moodboard however, I felt the inclusion of a blowhole style vent on the top of the ship could look interesting. I also further simplified the lines as I felt the exaggerated curves on the previous design felt too cartoon-like.

For the last design, I was looking at tails I had gathered as source material. I wanted to attempt something from an angle that drew more focus onto the rear tail mechanism of our potential vessel. I feel this design also feels smoother and more Orca looking. In one sense this contradicts the designs purpose as the lines are too soft and delicate, however, it could be debated that the silhouette also bears connotations of the 'Killer' whale. Another quality I like about this final design is that it showcases the propulsion system of the ship. Although the ship is slightly more organic looking than the streamline vessels, it doesn't appear too joint driven and more rigid as you would imagine a spacecraft to be.

I found this looser method of working much more efficient, and not only that, I felt that my ideas developed more freely. At this stage, it is easy for me to get tied down on one concept and my ideas become too laboured. With this study I felt that I developed more of a flow with my ideas. I would quickly get down a mental image I had in my had, and any ideas that were sparked from that, I was able to capture them before they were lost. Workload is not the only concern associated with my tedious workflow, it can also have a strong impact on the development of my ideas. It feels rewarding to produce images I am happy with in a considerably shorter amount of time to previous concepts, and also, to feel that my ideas are moving forwards.

Thinking Bigger

In my previous post regarding the spaceship concept, I commented on how I was interested by the idea of morphing using living organic subject matter in order to create interesting mechanical structures. I went with the wasp design inspired by my silhouette work, but found it to be too agile-looking. Reflecting on which possible living creature could best resemble a large space vessel, I decided to collect some Whale images and created a separate moodboard:

I found that I was drawn to the torpedo-like anatomy of the baleen or 'great whale' anatomy. A member of this family can be seen in the top right image of the moodboard to give an example. I took this idea and tried to incorporate it into a ship design:

I am also beginning to consider possible colour combinations for the vessel. I tried a complimentary orange and blue with the top left design. Although these two colours do work well together, they do not really fit with the context of the design. The ship is supposed to be perilous and occupied by a sinister security guard. This scheme is too vibrant warm and inviting. The obvious blue design to the right is too soft and delicate on the eyes, not really collaborating well with the dwarfing ship it is occupying. I also tried a green and purple scheme, inspired by my early crash sight concept painting. This design feels closer, as the colours aren't quite complimentary, creating an uncomfortable jarring effect. This is better fitting with the abrupt nature of the vessel. The final scheme, is the one I am perhaps the most happy with. As I had based the Guard character in my storyboard with the 'Splinter Cell' source images on my moodboard, I opted for a black and grey colour scheme with subtle dashes of bright green. This creates a generally darker mood, fitting with the villainous ship.

I believe this is a step in the right direction. This particular design certainly looks more substation as appose to the flimsy wasp concept. Still, I need to try and gradually work away from the very literal organic shape, and achieve something that looks less like the marine mammal it was inspired by. Perhaps the curvature of the design is too exagerated. A flying vessel would arguable be more streamline, although, as the vessel will be working in low gravity, perhaps it could propel itself in a similar way to a sea dwelling creature, moving it's limbs in a smooth serpent-like motion. Perhaps considering the purpose of the vessel will help better inform my design. If the ship is required to enter planetary orbits, it would need a more versatile design, likely including some form of propulsion engine. Alternatively, I could continue my experimentation until I find a design that looks aesthetically pleasing, and then decide on a purpose that fits the nature of the vessel, allowing me to further refine my design ideas.