2312 Terrarium: Capability Brown

In the novel 2312, a 'terrarium' is an artificially created ecosystem living in the cylindrically shaped hollow interior of an asteroid.

Robinson writes about the infinite possibilities for terraria ecosystems, e.g. savannas, water worlds etc.

The Capability Brown (not in the book) is the epitome of an English country garden.

(Another) Spaceship!

I can never decide on colours. My brains says muted military but my heart says lime green! 

More Ultra Puffin

Well, that was fun.

Ultra Puffin!

I had a lot of fun doing this one! Toon shaders are a great way to hide bad modeling. Maya, then keyshot. Photoshoping becomes a giggle with no perceptive to worry about. Might even do another view and make it a mini project.

The Ultra Puffin is a modern VTOL biplane used for close air support. Low and slow.

(John Wallin Liberto) Spaceship! (Tutorial)

I just ran through a John Wallin Liberto Gumroad tutorial on spaceship sketching. He clearly has an amazing technical and visual knowledge of aerospace stuff. It's really interesting to hear him talk about his design thinking as he draws. He makes it looks so effortless. Gah!

Here's the lovely little craft from the tutorial:



It was quite fun sketching with a pen with zero pressure sensitivity. 

Star Wars TIE Flanker

Just saw the Star Wars Battlefront game play, and it looks incredible! Got so excited and nostalgic that I designed a TIE fighter variant - a TIE Flanker.

More Wipeout!

300th post!

Munition Drones and Picket Deployment Sys.

Drones. Obviously a highly controversial issue with the old society under surveillance stuff - very scary.

I think the reaction to them as a weapon system is rather futile - Much like the reaction to the longbow in the middle ages. Really, we should press home any strategic advantage in the theatre of war. Our overall strategy of "killing for peace" may actually be the problem which is fueling insurgencies.

In terms of weapon systems I think they will develop a lot more over the years. Basically we are still using them as glorified aircraft. Here is a group system which has a much larger surveillance and targeting ability. Effectively intelligent mines which work together and hunt people down... I kinda wish I could un-think of this.

Avocet Concept

Hyper-Low altitude, destructive turbulence striker.

Wipeout Group B ship

Wipeout Group B racing ship in a holding crane, and below, the graphics.

The Hydrogen Sonata

Just started reading the latest, and last, Iain M. Banks culture novel. Here's a pic of the opening scene. Update: Now in colour.

C45 Super Transporter... Again

A few posts back I drew a C45 Super Transporter. Here it is again, but with a little more thought.

Jonas De Ro (super good artist type) kindly shared his awesome Photoshop brush set here, Which I used to create the scenery in this pic. Then I drew a spaceship in the scene because y'know, I just like to do that.  Jonas also has a few tutorial videos about creating mountains and snow.

Re:Views

For me, the main difference between working in colour compared to black and white is that colour is a bloody nightmare.

Books. Got to be honest: I was interested in Ann Lekie's Ancillary Justice because of the awesome cover by John Harris (Which I have clearly nicked in order to draw a spaceship). After reading it, I'm happy to say it's actually really good. Lots ideas and exploration of group consciousnesses which is really fascinating. The book's protagonist is fairly alien to a human mind, but the story is still compelling and the characters are easy to empathize with. I'm looking forward to reading some more by her.

I've just finished Old Mans War by John Scalzi, which was also entertaining, but in a very different way. It was humorously human: a Staship Troopers meets Dad's Army kind of vibe. Again, a lot of fun ideas to think about, but less subtly presented than Ancillary Justice. Most were explained in dialog rather than being discovered though the story itself. No harm in that though, and lots of really fun(ny) action scenes. Again, I think I'll pick up the sequel.

C45 Super Transporter

Once we do get into space, it won't all be Tie fighters and shootie lasers. There'll be a lot of moving stuff. Stuff like Tie fighters and lasers.

Farewell

Goodbye Iain Banks. I will miss you a lot.

Quick Ships

Here're some spaceships, just because.

Lego(s) spaceship(s)

So, as you can see my time on holiday is being well spent. Here's a spaceship with winglets which open up to expose fragile research equipment... Or something. This post is not from '82 despite what hipstamatic says.

Gif Ship Runner

Jolanta was telling me I needed to show a bit of process, so here's a quickie ship... and a process gif!

Drop Box

The Viper VPV (Variable Profile Vehicle) is a multi-purpose light chassis designed to be dropped by the NB4 Harrier Dropship. It is mainly used for scouting and special forces missions due to its speed of deployment. When transported underneath the Harrier the main gun can still be used, effectively turning the harrier into an anti-tank platform. Due to its lightweight construction the Viper can be dropped from a reletively large height. It carries a crew of two,  although it can also be operated remotely as a decoy or ambush vehicle. The Viper is equiped with Folicle Base wheels which use micro hairs to grip uneven terrain, allowing the vehicle to climb near verticle surfaces. The Viper shown is equipped with a PACE anti-armour gun, which accelerates flechette rounds to speeds exceeding mach 8. 

I know - back to greyscale vehicles! I haven't stopped that 10 project, but got frustrated with the face on a drawing. I'll come back to it after a little think.

Antenoctis Workshop are going to manufacture the Harrier Dropship as gaming a model. It will be available next year some time.

Core Overload

USC (University of Southern California) students are working on a project called Core Overload, and I'm helping out with some of the design work. It's aiming to be a buildy shooty multiplayer experience and sounds wicked. Fun times!

In other news, this is super freaky!