USS Lexington in drydock

[lexington1709]

Just wanting to get opinions on a scene I'm working on for the Lexington's first episode.

scene-1-setup.jpg (http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/general/2007/12/-25-6442491.jpg)

scene-1-setup-2.jpg (http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/general/2007/12/-25-6442494.jpg)

scene-1-setup-3.jpg (http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/general/2007/12/-25-6442493.jpg)

scene-1-setup-4.jpg (http://www.foundation3d.com/uploads/general/2007/12/-25-6442492.jpg)

[Niteshift]

Looks good, but one thing u can change is Endor :)

[lexington1709]

Looks good, but one thing u can change is Endor :)

It's just standing in for another planet we're creating right now. :cool:

[Alec Trevelyan]

Make sure that planet it HUGE. Drydock and Spacedock tend to orbit a bit lower than you have them at the moment ;)

[Rigel]

Not too sure about the texture on the light panels of the dock.

[Flying_Eagle]

Not too sure about the texture on the light panels of the dock.

Thats what im thinking. Ive never seen the series but it does look a little off to me.

[bmckain]

I tend to like #1 the best,

Like Nays, I would make the planet larger and I am with Rigel on the light panels. I would also work over the lighting, I am not a big fan of the over saturated light. If you can find a way to work in some good spec lights that would really help set off the paneling on the E. And even with all of those lights, there's going to be some shadows plus some abmient color reflection from the planet.

[Alec Trevelyan]

Oh, and as for the light panels, they should be pure white and luminous, no texturing, reflection, spec, etc :) Just glowy white panels :)

[Nadesico]

Looks interesting. However as mentioned above, spacedocks are usually in low planetary orbit - look at the ISS for example.

[brownfox]

Good point, Nadescio. I like it when science fiction sticks a bit to science.

brownfox

[lexington1709]

An update of that scene, changing the lighting and planet size.

:tu:

[Alec Trevelyan]

2nd image ....is that a cloaked Bird of Prey, or just a weird starfield distortion? :eek:

[lexington1709]

I'm using StarPro 1.5, so it might be a setting I've yet to work on.

[Kionel]

I like the second set, particularly shot number 3. The play of shadows across the hull is really nice.

Regarding shot 1, I'd consider playing with depth of field to de-emphasize the spacedock in the distance. Also, I'd consider moving it more off-center, and further away.

Lastly, even though it's not realistic, I'd throw more glow over the light panels. Yes, I know, light shouldn't diffuse from them in space...but it more closely matches what we expect to see, and as such it actually helps with the authenticity.

Of course, those are just my opinions. Feel free to tell me to bugger off! :) You've done good work!

Tony

[CAClark]

I think the lighting is a bit too uniform and bland, and somehow I don't get the sense of immense light from the drydock.

Cheers!

[Han Kiang]

This is looking good.

I'm not sure of the shadow/light borders on the ship... seems, considering distance, the borders should have a softer tone.

Nadesico? GEKIGANGER! [just wanted to get that out :p ]

[DaveK]

I believe detail helps sell the image. I think the panels would look better with some kind of pattern to break up the uniformity and imply that the panels have some multifunctional purpose, not just to dry the paint. Other than that minor detail it looks good.

[Oscaron]

Thats what im thinking. Ive never seen the series but it does look a little off to me.

Yah, it's reflecting the wrong POV.

[Masterjedi]

Looks nice. I like the camera angles. I think that the lighting is a little flat... the spread on lights this size would eliminate the window-pane effect you are getting and the overall light coverage would be more smooth.

Keep it up.

-MJ

[Alec Trevelyan]

I'm using StarPro 1.5, so it might be a setting I've yet to work on.

Maybe a little Easter egg they put in there :D

[lexington1709]

Right now, I'm rendering sets so it'll be a while before I get back to this. Sorry gang!

[robin123]

Outstanding work

[hayling99]

I think the first picture in set two is the best.
Although i think a little traffic around,would look good, not to much, maybe 1 or 2 shuttles,workbee's etc.
even so it looks great.

[Bobanort]

The scene looks good, but there's something off with the lighting. From what I remember from TMP the drydock lights were really bright, but the sides of the ship in your later pictures don't seem to look like they're being illuminated by the drydock lightpanels. In TMP Enterprise always looked WHITE (It almost looked like a star from a distance as Kirk and Scotty were in the travel pod going over to her from spacedock.) The ship should be bathed in light with those Lightpanels on, but the "Lex" looks like she's in the shadow of the drydock.

The later pictures you did have the dock about the right distance from the planet. The spacedocks are all in geosynchronus orbit (which is a lot higher than say Low Earth Orbit where the spaceshuttle flies).

Everything looks great except for that lighting issue!!! Hayling99 is right though. You need more traffic moving around her. There would be traffic around her right up to the departure time. If work was completed on her they'd move her out to clear the dock for another ship. Outstanding work, other than the lighting that just needs a tweak!!!

[Beavercorp]

Nice model. TMP will always have a special place in my heart. I've seen some of the clips. How did you get the engine glow off then turn on like that?

[Airwolfnight]

Cool.^^

[karlo1981]

Like the blue lighting from above. Works well./

[DaAan]

bobanort has a point, if those light panels were real they'd be throwing out massive amounts of light and the lex would be extremely overbright, but other than that its a nice image, like the blue light from above, i also really like position 4 from the first post, has the most interesting composition in terms of shadowing

[lexington1709]

I'll be revisiting this scene when I get some work finished on Episode 1. :)

[Kayden]

Looks good, though some worker bee's would be a nice addition.

[monodox]

The drydock itself is throwing things out a bit.

I've attached an image of the original TMP drydock. The panels seem to be a bit smaller, more blue and have a pattern rather than just a plain luminosity. I actually wonder if they are the actual source of illumination in the dock - seems to come more from the spotlights marked by lens flares and the swing-in lighting arm - the illumination on the Enterprise seems to come more from these lights and it's own self illumination..

I'd agree with earlier comments that the lighting is a little flat overall. Perhaps markedly reducing the fill lighting and using interactive lighting from the dock and the ship itself will help to sell the image better.

My thoughts anyway...

[IvorTheEngine]

I'd have to say that the lighting DOES look Flat, turn down the ambient....in a seen like this, contrasts and darkness are your friends.

The lighting setup your using may have worked for the original series, but remember that there is NO ambient light in space. The Enterprise would pick up reflected light from the planet (so make a light the colour of the surface pointing from the planet to the ship) and light from the nearest sun...and thats about it really! You need to rack down the ambient quite a bit. Oh, and the light from both should have a nice subtle shadow....not a harsh one.

Heres a pick I did in 1999..... http://www.foundation3d.com/plugins/p13_download_manager/images/703.jpg

That used a week blue area light from beneath, and an area light to represent the sun.

Cheers

Ivor

[lexington1709]

I know this is a bit off-subject but Lexington will premiere a new, live action trailer at OmegaCon in Birmingham, Alabama from 14-16 March 2008. Internet premiere to occur on the same weekend. It has CG made by myself and Neo F/X. Check out http://www.starshiplexington.com for more info.