My Latest Pocket Covers – An Homage To Frank McCarthy

(Above) Movie posters of the great Frank McCarthy. (Top L-R) The Dirty Dozen, PT-109, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. (Above L-R) The Blue Max, Around The World Under The Sea.

When I was growing up, movie posters were usually incredibly electrifying paintings that were larger than life. They distilled in one mind blowing image all the excitement that one motion picture could possibly contain. Frank McCarthy was one of the all time greats, and his movie work is seared into my brain. When I get the occasional cover assignment from Pocket Books, and loads of action is called for, I always think of McCarthy.

The way I approach one of these novel covers is not at all the way I approach a shot for a television show. On a show, we go for as real as possible. On a novel I go larger than life, and painterly. Here are two new action covers, one for one for the big Vanguard finale, Storming Heaven, and one for Enterprise: The Romulan Wars.

(Above) Vanguard: Storming Heaven. (Below) Enterprise: The Romulan Wars.

Unused Vanguard Cover for Pocket Books

Vanguard: Precipice

(Above) My new cover for David Mack’s novel “Vanguard: Precipice”. Should be out there now. Pick it up from Simon & Schuster\Pocket Books. Thanks for everything, Margaret!

(Below) I usually give Margaret a few roughs to choose from. Here are some of the runner ups. Lookit how the juxtaposition of the hangar door and the Enterprise conspire to suggest the Starfleet delta (far left).

2010 SOTL Closeup – Mark Rademaker– “Aventine”

(Above) The image in the SOTL 2010 calendar shows the Aventine a couple of months out of space dock. A slightly updated version will probably show up on a book cover in 2010.

With two previous pages under his belt, Mark Rademaker is a SOTL veteran. Mark came to me through Andy Probert, who, impressed with Mark’s originality, thought I should give him a shot. Later, when Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark were preparing a new Trek novel series called “Aventine”, they needed a new distinctive starship…  well, Mark was just the guy for the job, and the 2010 calendar was the perfect place to launch her!

My name is Mark Rademaker, born 1980. I live in the Netherlands in a small and slow town called Silvolde. It’s almost Ba’Ku slow, but we do pay taxes and have fast-food.  Since 2008 I have created images for the the Ships of the Line calendars, I’m rather new to it but it’s great to do! My favorite era is post-Dominion War, my previous entries all show designs from that era.

After some email traffic, Marco Palmieri, Margaret Clark and Doug gave me green light to design the Aventine for the SOTL2010 calendar. I was happy, all I had to do now was to design the ship… A capital ship, roughly the size of the Enterprise E, in less then 4 months, while having other projects as well…I got slightly intimidated by that idea, but decided to go for it. My only restriction: The pylons and nacelles had to face upwards to avoid being mixed up with the U.S.S. Titan. I sketched 2 choices for the pylons, a third one (bending arc) was drawn by Andrew Probert. It would make the ship longer and more sleek. Some more mail traffic and we decided that Andrew’s suggestion was the way to go.

For me the main purpose of the design was to display speed & strength. Construction speed both “in universe” and as a 3D model came second. After the Dominion war Starfleet probably needed easy to construct, multi-role platforms that could be quickly updated with new technology. I also decided that this “modularity” would go before elegance and grace. The final shape has been heavy influenced by the Enterprise E, Voyager and the fake but useful Starfleet ship Dauntless. I also added some features from my Spirit class Quantum slipstream testbed, from this year’s calendar.

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.

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!

SOTL 2010 – More Than A Peak!

Vaal bless Margaret Clark’s little ‘ol heart! She has given us a go for throttle up on what I consider a heck of a lot more than a sneak peak of the SOTL 2010 Calendar! As I hinted at in an early entry detailing my visit to Pocket Books in NYC, this year we shook the box hard and ended up with what I think is a gorgeous array of new Trek art! Veterans have returned this year along with hungry new recruits to spice things up! This is the first Ships Calendar that takes full advantage of the considerable budding talent out there in Fandom, and they stand shoulder to shoulder with seasoned professionals! Congratulations lads!

 Robert Wilde  “We Come in peace For All Mankind”

Andy Probert and I were knocking around ideas on how to inject some new life into the Calendar when he asked me if I had considered some of the fan talent knocking around out there in Cyberspace. The minute he said it I knew it was a great idea. Robert Wilde is one of those guys. Holy smoke! I love Bob’s page, and wet my pants when I first saw it. Beautiful work!

Gregory Stewart “Operation Return”

Here is another crazy man from fandom! Greg Stewart! Step up here and get your diploma! Great sense of action and composition, and buddy, the image fairly crackles with excitment! Just a great image that you want to look at for a month. You can tell just by looking at it that Greg was excited!

Andrew Probert “Refit at Station Gray”

Well what can I say? It’s freaking Andy Probert! If I could I would buy him and keep him for my own. Here is the guy I want designing my Star Trek movie! Are there folks out there who really believe that there is nothing dynamic left to be done with this territory? I’m thrilled enough as it is, and then Andy honors me by using my Romulan shuttle design in one of his paintings! Can you believe he does this with some gooey colors on a stick? Every molecule of chroma is placed there by hand. I have to sit down.

Doug Drexler “No Bloody A, B, C, or D”

This guy is a bum, I’d take Max Rem anyday!

Max Gabl and Neil Wray “Flight Deck”

Sexy time starfleet style! This is just a superb image from the TOS remastereds, sweetened up with all the classic goodness you could ever want. I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw it! If loving this is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

Max Rem “RIP Galileo”

 

The 2010 Ships Of The Line Calendar is now ready for pre-order at Amazon.com for the rediculously low price of $11.99!  So don’t just stand there jawin’, Spock! You and Doctor Wallace get crackin’!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SessionId=192-0999871-2216949&SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=thescifannetw-20&ASIN.1=0740782134&Quantity.1=1&adid=0640B5D8YS8RHCVSKMWZ&linkCode=as4&OfferListingId.1=j5f%252BZoNjr%252F7od0109xe3pxu330UxQIuOL03fd6rVGOttMWaivyKYxjz4cg2J6kiOB3KZr%252FLeUZ1tgWXZwWFg18a3FIKkLU%252FH&submit.add.x=45&submit.add.y=11

Trekmovie is featuring a few more delightful Calendar images, so check it out - http://trekmovie.com/2009/06/21/exclusive-first-look-at-inside-of-2010-ships-of-the-line-calendar/

Revisit our visit to Pocket Books and Margaret Clark in the Big Apple! Pocket Books: The bastion of all beloved eras of Star Trek !  http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/we-visit-pocket-books/

Countdown to 2010 SOTL! 03

SOTL 2006 – Cover –  by Mike Stetson & 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!

Click for a better look.

Countdown to 2010 SOTL! 02

SOTL 2007 – “Flight of the Columbia” –  by Pierre Drollet

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

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

Click for a better look.

Countdown to 2010 SOTL!

SOTL 2007 – “Captain Arriving” –  by Andrew Probert

Coming soon: The 2010 Ship’s of the Line Calendar! Let the countdown begin!

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

Click for a better look.

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“If The Captain Had a Ready Room” – Drexler

From Pocket books… where all eras of Star Trek live!

Click for a better look

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2008 SOTL – “Dockside” – Rem  – “Center Seat” tie-in

From Pocket books… where all eras of Star Trek live!

Click for a better look

Eye Candy 03

2008 SOTL – “Hole in the Hedge” – Drexler

From Pocket books… where all eras of Star Trek live!

Eye Candy 02

Unused cover concept sketch for Enterprise novel “Kobayashi Maru”.

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

Trek Book Covers for Pocket

This cover was for “Kobayashi Maru”, written by Michael  A. Martin and  Andy Mangles. Part of the Enterprise series of novels continuing the voyages of the NX.

Here are a few of my favorite covers for Margaret Clark, Marco Palmieri, and Alan Dingman at Pocket Books.

We Visit Pocket Books

Margaret Clark of Simon & Schuster, who keeps the fires of Star Trek stoked…  past, present, and future.

There is a place in New York City where all eras of Star Trek are alive and well. High above Avenue of the Americas, in the monumental complex known as Rockefeller Center is Simon & Schuster. Here Ben Sisko, Jean Luc Picard, James T Kirk, and Jonathan Archer continue to boldly explore our galaxy and the human spirit. The keeper of the flame is one Margaret Clark, and she has been involved in nearly every significant Trek adventure in print.

2010 SOTL

Just a quick note to say that I visited Margaret Clark at Pocket Books in NYC today to go over the next Ship’s of the Line calendar, and I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say this may be one of the most exciting editions ever. New talent aboard bringing a real freshness. When I get back to LA, I’ll run some pics of my visit.

Far Beyond The Stars- Part 2

Roy Ritterhouse, the staff illustrator at Incredible Tales, was a super nova of sci-fi ideas.

The magazine office in Far Beyond The Stars was a cornucopia of oddball sketches, memos, props, and mocked up magazine covers. As I related in part one, we had more fun dressing it than ought to be legal.  Our blog buddy Jörg has since made it his business to sift through all the textures of this set, especially some of the sketches which tantalyzingly appeared out of focus in the background. In this entry we’ll bring some of these sketches to the forefront. As an extra added super bonus, Mike Okuda has contributed his notes which analyze the bullpen in detail.

If At First You Don’t Succeed…

The starship concept that never took wing.

Voyager was in pre-production, and a ship search was in progress. “So Mike,” I asked, “is there a pet idea of yours you’d like to see developed that we could pitch to the Killer B’s?” Killer B’s being out pet name for Berman and Braga. Mike rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You know those V shaped television antennas you see on automobiles? That.” So I went back to my desk, opened Adobe Illustrator, a vector based 2D program, and developed the above black and white sketch.

The design, which we all thought was a cool departure, never made it to first base. Very different, but still had that “starfleet” look. Oh well.  A few years later on Enterprise, the design was submitted once again as an idea for the NX. No dice, Chicago. Two years after that for the Enterprise J. I would sleek it  somewhat, and rebuilt it in Lightwave. No luck that time either ( although the engines would end up on the approved J ship). Phooey! Well dang it! I edit the Ships of the Line Calendar (with Margaret!), and by Crom, people would get to see this cool design.

(Above) The Altair class wing ship makes it into space for “Ships of the Line”. I was taken by the way it contrasted and complemented the shape of Any Probert’s magnificent Enterprise D. The was also something vaguely IDIC-like about the juxtaposition.

Franz Joseph Lives

Enterprise escorts a Starfleet Transport Command vessel.

An image I planned to use for the Ships of the Line calendar, but Pocket Books was not able to secure the rights to use Franz Joseph’s design. Just ran across it. Thought is was fun!

Masao Okazaki’s Vanguard Station

I’ve had the pleasure of doing several covers for the Vanguard series of TOS era novels. Pocket Books enlisted the highly esteemed Masao Okazaki, to develop an old school starbase. The Vanguard design ultimately found it’s way into Star Trek Enhanced for “The Ultimate Computer.”