Bio-Diversity Department – The “Shroomies” With John Teska

The appearance of the Shroomies was an eerie moment on “Enterprise”. With their crab-like eye-stalks and bubble helmets, they had a wonderful 1950′s feeling that I would have like to have seen more of. Alas, we never found out what they were up to.

John Teska is known far and wide as being one of the top CG wizards in this and all known parallel dimensions. One day Dan Curry came in with a special project for him…. a departure for Star Trek… an alien-alien sporting a tad more than a bumpy forehead! You couldn’t pick a better guy for the job… in fact, John was responsible for Species 8472 and the Borg Queen assembly sequence on Voyager.

(Above) Species 8472 – Another startling Teska creation from Star Trek:Voyager.

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Suliban Helix

The Suliban Helix: Remarkable.

The more I dig through my Enterprise files, the more I realize that some of the most far out and science-fictiony stuff was created for this series. Enterprise was the first Trek series to have all the power of CG imagery available to it, and it was used to wild advantage. Keep in mind that these images do not illustrate the structure with it’s full complement of cell ships attached. With it’s enormous assemblage of cells in place, it would have been an impossibility to construct as a physical model, and we would have ended up with a design much more conventional.You’ll see what I mean when you get to Jörg’s screen caps at the end of the entry. The final build is a fragile, multitudinous assemblage of bubbles that defy gravity, possible only within the CG realm. John, how many dozens of drawings did you do before a final design was approved?

I’m awaiting more info on who actually built this model, and will post that here as soon as I have it.

Correction!

 

I had reported that the Romulan Bird of Prey from Enterprise was built by Pierre. It was actually that mad genius Koji Kuramura! Hi buddy, and Banzai!

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SOTL 2008 – Ambush! –  by  Koji Kuramura

  Coming soon: The 2010 Ships of the Line Calendar! Let the countdown begin!

From Pocket Books, where all eras of Star Trek live!

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Extra! Tracy B-Day Special For Dea! Ep 50

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Yep! Today is Dea’s birthday! Being one of our biggest Tracy fans, she has requested an extra installment! Dea! Your wish is my command! Extra Tracy tech on the next page!

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Virtuality VFX and the Good Ship Phaeton – UPDATED!

(Above) A test render of the Phaeton. On “Virtuality” the ship is self illuminated with starlight fill only, making for very moody and mysterious imagery.

We’re proud of how Virtuality turned out, and  most people seem to have enjoyed it. In fact, James Poniewozik of Time magazine said, “…it’s better than any network drama pilot I’ve seen so far for next fall.” You can read it here – http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/06/26/virtualitys-bold-lonely-mission/

I just did a Q&A with John Folden of  http://virtuality-tv.info/  You can read it below in it’s entirety with some new images to boot, so Enjoy…

Romulan Bird of Prey – Enterprise

Bird is the word – The updated classic made the episode “Minefield” a special event  for fans and the art department.

Unquestionably one of my favorite Enterprise ships, the iconic Wah Chang design as it was restyled by John Eaves. John embued the Praetor’s pride with a candy coat of elegance, it’s updating complimenting the restyled NX-01 Enterprise. The one missing element we all let out a collective sigh over, was the predatory bird painted on the bottom. How does THAT get left off?! Well, that order came from on high, and all we could do was scratch our heads and go about our business.

Usual brilliant modeling job by the internationally revered Koji Kuramura, who also happens to be my hero.

Watch “Virtuality” Here

http://www.fox.com/fod/play.php?sh=virtuality

http://www.hulu.com/watch/80030/virtuality

Chewed Out! Another 1950′s EC Great!

(Above) A fantastic Wally Wood cover for this issue, and on the inside, a fun-tastic Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein masterpiece,  illustrated by Joe Orlando… and one I would never forget! Read “Chewed Out!”

Malon Tanker

Brandon is akin to a sci fi Santa! You never know when the sound of the sleigh is going to thump on the roof, and a shiny new toy is going to  will drop down through the chimney! For the first time ever, we get a really good luck at the Malon shuttle, hinted at about a week ago here : http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/toxic-tanker-voyager/ where the rascals can be seen escorting Toxie. This ship was designed by Brandon and Dan Curry. Let’s see what B has to say about it -

I remember that I came up with the design for the Malon shuttle directly in the 3D application, and Dan Curry approved it in house.. we needed something quick.  My thinking was an industrial looking steel hull construction meant to shield the crew from toxic gasses and radiation.

Dan was always fun to work with!  His understanding of art always had a positive impact on the show.  To be frank, some some of the Foundation Imaging supervisors where intimated, but for me it was like working with a old friend from day one. He would come by Foundation once or twice a week to check up on shots, then spend the rest of his time going over details with me…  that is when he was not telling a joke or two… and he was funny! 

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2010 SOTL Closeup – Robert Wilde– “We Come In Peace For All Mankind”

 

I remember leafing through  Scifi-Meshes and coming across Mr. Wilde. I think it was a piece called “Vertical Combat”. I put a check next to that name… this guys got something…

  

Almost a year ago, when Doug contacted me by leaving a private message at Scifi-Meshes.com, my very first thought was “You gotta be kidding me.” I have been doing a lot of Star Trek images just for fun for several years now, and the Ships of the Lines Calendar has always been one of the many sources of inspiration. There was always this little spark of hope that some day, somehow, one of my images would get printed in that calendar. But I would have never expected that to happen. But as it turned out, sometimes, somehow, dreams DO come true.

I had a look at the previous calendars to get a feel of what had been done before, what had been hinted at and what had never been done. I had already been working on a model of the giant mushroom shaped Spacedock from Star Trek III, one of my favorite structures in Star Trek. It gives the Star Trek universe such a grand scale and it shows what mankind is capable of in the 23rd century. So I wondered how I could take something that famous and majestic and combine it with something that had never been done before and that went beyond a simple beauty shot.

(Above and below) The two rough sketches I submitted to Doug for this piece. 

With the addition of the Enterprise it became clear what timeframe this image was set in. We didn’t see the Spacedock in The Motion Picture or The Wrath of Khan, yet it was suddenly there in The Search for Spock. So I figured it would be cool to see the construction taking place roughly at the same time as the Enterprise’s refit in drydock. Thanks go to Alain Rivard for giving me permission to use his vast collection of models, from the Enterprise and Drydock to the Reliant and various shuttles.

After Doug gave me the green light, I immediately started working on the “damaged” Spacedock model.

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“D Juxtaposed E”

I found when putting the cover art together for the Ships of the Line book, that I passed by numerous cool compositions on the way to the full complement of ships that you see in the final. It seemed a shame that none of these duets would ever be heard. Just look at the beauty of these two starships in concert!

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One Note Samba

An impromptu Jam between two jazz greats, Gerry Mulligan and Antonio Carlos Jobim. It’s 1950, it’s Mulligan’s NYC apartment, it’s real, it’s raw, it’s a treaure. Watch as they noodle Jobim’s classic “One Note Samba”. Bless YouTube!

Virtuality Tonight – LA Times Gives it a Great Review

 And – http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2009/06/25/virtuality/  – Loved it as well.

Vulcan Shuttle – Enterprise

“Saturn’s rings around my head… down a road that’s Martian red…”  What does that have to do with this ship? Nothing, but Spock said it in “Charlie X”, and it always comes to mind when I study the Vulcan warp-ring technolgy.

I love the Vulcan ringships. They make the technology of our logic loving intellectuals stand out from all the other ships on Star Trek. Johnny Eaves took the ring concept and ran with it, filling out Vulcan’s space going fleet with his usual pinache. Today we take a look a John’s Vulcan shuttle, as modeled by that man among men, Pierre Drolet. The main fuselage of this small craft exhibits an almost marine-like quality, with extremely elegant lines. It is a worthy companion to the Vulcan Command ship.

By the way, in an upcoming entry we will profile the astonishing Pierre. Not only is he beloved by one and all, but he has built an armada of first class ships for both Star Trek and BSG. (Brandon, I’m coming for you too!)

2010 SOTL Closeup – Greg Stewart – “Operation Return”

Meet Greg Stewart! You’ve seen him around the drex files. He’s one of us! I mean one of the hopelessly afflicted! I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s genetic. But anything about getting “out there thataway”  just fires all our circuits and sizzles our synapse!

So Greg! Hip us, daddy!

 

I was contacted by Doug, out of the blue, to submit an image for the calendar.  He had seen a couple of my Star Trek images online and wondered if I would be interested.  At first I was skeptical, but after I researched a little, I realized the opportunity was legit!  This guy was the real Doug “freaking” Drexler!

The Ships of the Line calendar has had a place on my wall since I was a teenager.  Every year I would look forward to a new and dazzling array of eye-candy that would light the fuse of my imagination.  And to get a chance to create an image for that very calendar!  Boy, what an honor and a thrill!

 I cracked open the beautiful SOTL book for inspiration, and immediately knew my subject vessel.  My all-time favorite Star Trek ship is the USS Defiant, and she’d been under-represented in the recent SOTL calendars.  So I envisioned the Defiant doing what she does best…kickin’ some butt! 

Working with 3d models by some awesome artists (Skye Dodds, Flat Eric, Rick Snider, Ebolii), I set out to depict a skirmish on the front lines of the Dominion War.  And with Doug’s words of encouragement – “knock ‘em dead” – I was off and running.

I started with a rough layout to get a feel for the composition, then a quick render with rough effects and lighting for approval of the image.  Doug had some suggestions, which I gladly took to heart!

Then the fun part began; lighting, effects, and lots of refining!  The image was created with a mix of Lightwave 3d and Photoshop.

 

A big thanks to Doug for making this fan-boy’s dream come true!  And kudos to my fellow SOTL artists…it’s an honor to be represented with such an amazingly talented group!

 

I’m thanking YOU, Greg!

OMG! Karloff’s Frankenstein’s Monster in COLOR!

 

Doug, Since you’re a make-up guy, this might interest you.  Here’s a link to Sara Karloff’s color home movie footage of her famous father, taken during the filming of “Son of Frankenstein”.  This is the only known color footage of Karloff’s Frankenstein, and features Boris as the monster in full costume, clowning around on the set and pretending to strangle his makeup man, Jack Pierce. – Gary Kerr

 

+ 

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NASA Poster for Expedition-21 Trek Themed!

 

Thanks to Mike for sending this on!

Fine looking starship, by the way.

Hirogen Hunter and Venatic Dreadnought Class – UPDATED!

Rick Sternbach came up with a design ethic for Voyager’s Hirogen starships that invoked medieval weaponry and gothic cathedrals.

 Brandon MacDougall surprised me with some beautiful renders of the Hirogen Hunter, and one can see that he had a great time giving form to Rick’s fever dreams. I dig the twilight setting with the human figure below. It gives a teriffic sense of scale.

James Bama – American Realist – First Trek Publicity Artist

(Above and below) Four posters promoting NBC’s 1966 fall preview. I was in the 7th grade, and wow it looked exciting!

Of course the golden age of illustration was still going strong in those days. Photoshop montages simply cannot replace the finely honed beauty and energy that one of these illustrators can conjure. I’ve yet to see one do it. These are pure magic, and they sweep you away with them. Unfortunately, over the years, cheap won out.

Anyway, NBC was offering these posters as a set for something like a measly two bucks. I especially wanted that one with the different kind of spacehip, and the guy with the pointed ears. The “Get Smart” poster was drawn by everyone’s favorite, Jack Davis from “Mad Magazine”. I’d like to know who made that decision, because they deserve a medal. “I Spy” was Gustav Rehberger. He was my teacher at the Art Student’s League on 57th St. What an amazing man. I saw him give a lecture on dynamic horse drawing where he created a painting of a rearing mustang on a canvas 14 heet high, and did it with such speed, enthusiasm, and energy, that he brought the crowd to it’s feet. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”… I still don’t know who the artist is. Is it Bob Peak?  Could be. Maybe someone out there will recognize him for me and end 44 years of mystery. Sure looks like Peak.

Now we come to the very first piece of publicity art ever created for Star Trek. Illustrated by the great James Bama. It was years before I discovered who he was, but I had been seeing his dynamic illustrations at the drugstore paperback rack for years. Bama was the cover artist for over 60 “Doc Savage” novels, and they never failed to grab me by the throat.