Calling Dick Tracy! 48

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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.

Eyecandy 19

“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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Calling Dick Tracy! 47

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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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Calling Dick Tracy! 46

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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.