# Meloncov's Sci-Fi Illustrations



## Meloncov (May 10, 2006)

Well, looks like I have to start over after the server failure.

All of these images were made using the DOGA line of products (either L2 or L3), terragin, and photoshop. For the most part, they are intended as illustrations for my sci-fi campaign, which can be found here.


A few things I did while the boards where down:

A Darian Capital ship:






And the spacesuit used by the characters ship:






If anyone wants to see something in particular, feel free to ask. Depending on my interest and the time it would take to model, I may be able to do it for you. I will also take commisions for more demanding requests.


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## Meloncov (May 10, 2006)

Here are the illustrations I did for Knightfall's DragonStar/Forgotten Realms story hour:


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## Knightfall (May 10, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Here are the illustrations I did for Knightfall's DragonStar/Forgotten Realms story hour:




Hey Meloncov, check out my first ever forum dedicated to my roleplaying campaigns, including Arcanum of the Stars.

http://walktheroad.s1.bizhat.com/walktheroad.html

It's brand spanking new.

KF72


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## Meloncov (May 10, 2006)

Hey Knightfall.

Did you comment on the new texturing of the Dragon Runnership before the boards crashed? If so, I didn't get to read it, and I'd like to hear what you think.


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## Knightfall (May 10, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Hey Knightfall.
> 
> Did you comment on the new texturing of the Dragon Runnership before the boards crashed? If so, I didn't get to read it, and I'd like to hear what you think.




Yep, I did. The new texture is great. Very cool. So much so that I made it the front page image of my Arcanum of the Stars yahoo group.

Cheers!

KF72


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2006)

Several warships of the Darian Star Empire:


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2006)

A Darian Hovercraft:


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2006)

The Valient in an asteroid field:


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2006)

The Valients escort fighters:


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2006)

Knightfall1972 said:
			
		

> Yep, I did. The new texture is great. Very cool. So much so that I made it the front page image of my Arcanum of the Stars yahoo group.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> KF72




I'm honored. If you haven't already, could you make sure you credit me? A link to this thread would be apreciated as well.

Thanks!


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## Knightfall (May 11, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I'm honored. If you haven't already, could you make sure you credit me? A link to this thread would be apreciated as well.
> 
> Thanks!




Already credited, and here's the link...

*Knightfall's Arcanum of the Stars Yahoo Group*
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/arcanumofthestars/


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## Meloncov (May 12, 2006)

Ah, thanks for the link. I looked around for it a while last night, but couldn't find it.


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## Meloncov (May 12, 2006)




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## Meloncov (May 12, 2006)




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## Meloncov (May 13, 2006)

A few images of the Valient, both new and old:


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## Meloncov (May 16, 2006)




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## Meloncov (May 17, 2006)




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## Knightfall (May 18, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> A few images of the Valient, both new and old:




I really like this one!


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## Meloncov (May 19, 2006)

Thanks.


The Bridge of the Valinet:


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## Meloncov (May 19, 2006)

The landing image is popular, but their were a few little things about it that bugged me (notably, how the equirment on top got mangled in photoshop) so I redid it:


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## Meloncov (May 21, 2006)

I'm feeling burnt out on ideas right now, and would greatly appreciate it if someone could submit a request to get the ideas flowing again.


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## Knightfall (May 21, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I'm feeling burnt out on ideas right now, and would greatly appreciate it if someone could submit a request to get the ideas flowing again.




Maybe you should try something Sat Wars-eque! Try to match the look and feel of X-Wings, B-Wings, TIE Fighters, and the like, but do you're own original Star Wars ships.

How about a TRI Fighter?

Cheers!

KF72


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## Knightfall (May 21, 2006)

Plus, look at this page for starship inspiration...

*Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions*
http://www.merzo.net/


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## Meloncov (May 21, 2006)

Well, it started out looking Star Wars-y.


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## Knightfall (May 22, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Well, it started out looking Star Wars-y.




That's actually really cool.


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## Meloncov (May 22, 2006)

Thanks. Here's a back view of the same ship:


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## Meloncov (May 23, 2006)




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## Meloncov (May 27, 2006)




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## pogre (May 30, 2006)

I hope your players enjoy these amazing images. How do you use them in the game?


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## Meloncov (May 30, 2006)

Double Post


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## Meloncov (May 30, 2006)

pogre said:
			
		

> I hope your players enjoy these amazing images. How do you use them in the game?





Well, I finally got to start the campaign this weekend (finals and people being out of town had delayed it for a long time). All of the images were loaded on the campaign website, in the hopes that people would look at them before hand and be able to conjure an image when I described a ship. Additionally, I showed all of the players the 3-D model of the ship pre-game and pointed out the shuttles/weapons/warp dribe/ ect. Finally, before they encountered the only other ship they would that day, I called a break, and when they returned, I had an image of the ships they were facing on my computer screen.

Additionally, I am hoping to put together a book of house rules which I will illustrate with these images.


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## Meloncov (May 30, 2006)

Oh yes, also check out the storyhour of this campaign here. I'll have this weeks events posted by the end of the week.


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## Meloncov (May 31, 2006)

The first part of the story hour is up.


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## Meloncov (Jun 1, 2006)




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## wmasters (Jun 6, 2006)

You know, I'm relatively new to Enworld and I'm still finding new story hours and new art threads to look at. I'm consistently amazed by the standard of both. I'm incredibly jealous of your talent (my sister got the art genes, I don't have the patience for it). Absolutely stunning.


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## Meloncov (Jun 6, 2006)

wmasters said:
			
		

> You know, I'm relatively new to Enworld and I'm still finding new story hours and new art threads to look at. I'm consistently amazed by the standard of both. I'm incredibly jealous of your talent (my sister got the art genes, I don't have the patience for it). Absolutely stunning.





Thanks.


This one isn't quite done (I'm not satisfied with the texturing) but I wanted to show it off:


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## Meloncov (Jun 8, 2006)

Alright, I finished it up:


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## Meloncov (Jun 9, 2006)




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## Meloncov (Jun 11, 2006)




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## Meloncov (Jun 14, 2006)

I've been working on animating some of my models, so no new image today and proably not the next few days.

If people want, I could try and post the works in progress. If not, it might be a while before I post anything new here.


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## Meloncov (Jun 15, 2006)

I've been posting work an progress videos on another forum, so I'll cross post them here.

First shot of video (folow link):


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## Meloncov (Jun 16, 2006)

A second clip:


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## Odhanan (Jun 16, 2006)

Amazing! Your artwork is very impressive. I like the sort of organic texture of the Darian ships. Really cool. And the second movie really made my jaw drop.

Nice work. Really nice.


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## Meloncov (Jun 16, 2006)

Thanks.

I have about three more shots to do, then I can edit them together and add music; hopefully, it will be done by next week.


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## Jdvn1 (Jun 16, 2006)

Wow, those are really good! Any ideas for a full-length movie?


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## Meloncov (Jun 16, 2006)

Jdvn1 said:
			
		

> Wow, those are really good! Any ideas for a full-length movie?




At my current rate, a feture lenght movie would take about three years to animate, so don't hold your breath.

I am planning on doing various shorts that form a coherent story, each of which will be a minute to five minutes long.


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## Meloncov (Jun 16, 2006)

Another clip (this will be placed prior to the other two)




I'm not sure what causes the bump in their.


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## Meloncov (Jun 18, 2006)

A continuation of the previous shot:


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## Knightfall (Jun 21, 2006)

They don't seem to work for me.


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## Meloncov (Jun 21, 2006)

Knightfall1972 said:
			
		

> They don't seem to work for me.




They've been acting odd today: I think the host site is having some problems. Hopefully, they'll be up again soon.

It has also been giving me trouble uploading, which is why I haven't updated in the last couple days.


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## Meloncov (Jun 21, 2006)

Okay, they are working for me again. You do have to press the play button twice to get it to begin though (once to activate the player, and once to actually play the video.)


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## Meloncov (Jun 22, 2006)

I've switched over to google for video hosting. It should be more stable, and they can support larger files, but they have a couple day long turn around time between videos.


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## Meloncov (Jun 22, 2006)

Two more clips:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-831675873781741087 
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8048578412122982887


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## Meloncov (Jun 25, 2006)

A hardware promblem prevented me from putting together the final film. However, I do have a still image I created for my game tommorow:






I also have stats (dimensions, speed, weapons ect, not generally full D20 stats) for most of the ships here. Is anyone interested in them?


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## Meloncov (Jun 26, 2006)

I've started the final, cleaned up rendering of the entire movie. Currently, the program is estimating it will take about a day, though I don't trust its estimates. After that, it will proably take one more day to get online.


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## Meloncov (Jul 6, 2006)

The video is finally done, but it'll be a couple more hours before it goes live online.

In the meantime:













I'm thinking of using this ship in my second (and much more abitious) video, and as such, am especially interested in feedback on it.


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## Meloncov (Jul 6, 2006)

The video is done:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7453144881007130923


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## Meloncov (Jul 7, 2006)

No feedback on the movie?


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 7, 2006)

Cool, but the backdrop really bugs me in the tracking shot.


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## Meloncov (Jul 8, 2006)

A second model for the animation: a hover tank.


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 8, 2006)

Sweet tank, one of your best.


When mapping a bg to a sphere, the effect looks like a double fish-eye (side by side).  I don't know how to do this, but I'm experimenting with Photoshop.


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## Meloncov (Jul 8, 2006)

Thanatos1 said:
			
		

> Sweet tank, one of your best.
> 
> 
> When mapping a bg to a sphere, the effect looks like a double fish-eye (side by side).  I don't know how to do this, but I'm experimenting with Photoshop.




Thanks, but I'm actually still feeling rather disatisfied with it. The texture doesn't quite work in places, and the whole shape doesn't feel very original.

After far to long, I had the epiphany that it would be far easier to apply a background as a texture to the interior of a cylendar then it would be to mess around with Doga's background spheres (of course, it means you can't have the camera look strait up/down).

Another model, a carrier for the ship I showed earlier:


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 8, 2006)

A Cylandxiar! Genius!  I'm concerned you might run into problems with that though...

I agree the tank texture is off, but I like the sections on the barrel of the main gun, and the feel of the model in general.


The carrier reminds me of 2001




Open the pod bay doors hal...


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## Meloncov (Jul 8, 2006)

I fixed the texturing:


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 8, 2006)

Why does the beam get larger?

Testure looks like bricks.


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## Meloncov (Jul 9, 2006)

Thanatos1 said:
			
		

> Why does the beam get larger?
> 
> Testure looks like bricks.




It's a small mistake in the object placement that I'm to lazy to go back and fix.

They're supposed to be metal plates, not bricks.


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 9, 2006)

I like the bg structure


Request:

The Cathedral of Mercy, the largest and most powerful ship of The Keepers.  Armed to the teeth, the Cathedral is several hundred meters long, but this is not a battle ship; it is a ship of terror: meant to keep the population under control.  Although impressive, the Cathedral of Mercy is almost useless in battle.

I'm imagining:
Big
Shiny
Bells and whistles (it looks like it can destroy a planet, neigh, an entire system)
This ship is the face of the government, so it is flawless, i'm thinking gleaming and flawless; no cracks, dents, or scrapes.  Remember, it's built and maintained with nearly unlimited resources.


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## Meloncov (Jul 9, 2006)

Thanatos1 said:
			
		

> I like the bg structure
> 
> 
> Request:
> ...




Err, you are the Thanatos 1 I think you are, right? If so, why can't you do it yourself.

Still, I would be willing to.


Yet another re-texturing of the hover tank:


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 9, 2006)

Yes, and yes I could do it myself, but:
you are always complaining about not having enough requests,
I thought you could use a challenge,
and I have no idea where to start.

Edit: like teh new texture and the pose


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## Meloncov (Jul 9, 2006)

Well, here's something:


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 9, 2006)

cool, I like the spikeys

and the rotating bits






how about a close-up of the bridge.


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## Meloncov (Jul 9, 2006)

Those aren't spikes; they're guns. Lots of guns. I wanted to add more, but I was worried I'd crash my computer.


Currently, the bridge is just a single part, though I might redo it to add more detail.


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 9, 2006)

Anyhow, you've inspired me to do my own

here's my 15 min version

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/466/com1small1vd.png


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## Meloncov (Jul 9, 2006)

*Guymerian Space Station*


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## genshou (Jul 11, 2006)

Ooooh!  Me likey dis thread.


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## Meloncov (Jul 11, 2006)

genshou said:
			
		

> Ooooh!  Me likey dis thread.




Thanks.

A work in progress, also for my next animation:


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 12, 2006)

I really like your style. Everything is so clean and fresh, outstanding work!!! Since you are taking requests how about this one?


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

I should be able to do it by mixing outputs of multiple programs.


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## EldonG (Jul 12, 2006)

Man, you're doing some great stuff, here...finally got around to watching your launch sequence...and may I say, I'm jealous!  

I've done a short little vid, years ago, in Terragen, and binked it...but it was nothing compared to the work you're doing here.  Way to go.  Keep it up, man...sweet stuff.


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## Thanatos1 (Jul 12, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I should be able to do it by mixing outputs of multiple programs.





C'mon, you can do it all in DoGA.












I could.


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

Thanatos1 said:
			
		

> C'mon, you can do it all in DoGA.




Could, sure. However, it would take three times as long and look worse than if I combined Terragin, photoshop, and Doga.


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## EldonG (Jul 12, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I should be able to do it by mixing outputs of multiple programs.



Use a Terragen piece for the background...and there's a killer model called Dystopia...free at Renderosity by a guy I used to chat with.  It's a .3ds, so it should be easy to use...


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

EldonG said:
			
		

> Use a Terragen piece for the background...and there's a killer model called Dystopia...free at Renderosity by a guy I used to chat with.  It's a .3ds, so it should be easy to use...




That would proably work, but I have something of a "do everything from scratch thing" that prevents me from using anyone else's models in my pieces. 

Parts, however, are a different story.


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

A revision of the Assault Deployment Vehicle, after comments given on another board (I am aware the parts just above and just below the bridge are out of place, and will go back and fix them.)


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

Frukutha, does the planet you want me to show have a breathable atmosphere? In other words, should it be a set of bubbles or an Earth-like city.


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## EldonG (Jul 12, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> That would proably work, but I have something of a "do everything from scratch thing" that prevents me from using anyone else's models in my pieces.
> 
> Parts, however, are a different story.



Cool...very cool.  Ever use Wings3d?


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)

EldonG said:
			
		

> Cool...very cool.  Ever use Wings3d?




I have it on my computer, but haven't invested the time to actually learn it yet.


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## Meloncov (Jul 12, 2006)




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## EldonG (Jul 12, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I have it on my computer, but haven't invested the time to actually learn it yet.



I suck at modeling, but it felt pretty intuitive.


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## Meloncov (Jul 13, 2006)




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## Hussar (Jul 13, 2006)

I like the tank.

Question though, why would the gun turret be on the bottom on a hover tank?  One of the points of a turret is to be able to shoot up. (ok, a nitpick I know, but, seems kinda strange to place it there.)

The assualt deployment vehicle reminds me of the old Eagle's from Space 1999.  Not that that's a bad thing.  Again a nitpick though.  The rear turret is nestled down between two engine pods.  This would greatly restrict its field of fire.  Turrets should be on the highest points on a vehicle.


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## genshou (Jul 13, 2006)

I'd say it's probably because it doesn't look to be a swivel laser, not to mention there's already a turret on top.


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## Meloncov (Jul 13, 2006)

Hussar said:
			
		

> I like the tank.
> 
> Question though, why would the gun turret be on the bottom on a hover tank?  One of the points of a turret is to be able to shoot up. (ok, a nitpick I know, but, seems kinda strange to place it there.)



It's a laser, so it can't fire ballistically, reducing the need to fire upwards. If aiming at a target above it, the entire ship can rotate to point upwards.



			
				Hussar said:
			
		

> The assualt deployment vehicle reminds me of the old Eagle's from Space 1999.  Not that that's a bad thing.  Again a nitpick though.  The rear turret is nestled down between two engine pods.  This would greatly restrict its field of fire.  Turrets should be on the highest points on a vehicle.




Are you refering to the top or bottom turret? The top one, yeah, I need to elevate it slightly, but the bottom turret looks fine to me.


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## Ilium (Jul 13, 2006)

I noticed you STILL haven't really gotten any feedback on your animation, so let me say: very nice.  The music is evocative and the visuals are great.  I like the design of the ship with the "legs" that fold up during flight.  Cool.

One minor quibble: I'm pretty sure it's "copyright" not "copywrite".


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## Meloncov (Jul 13, 2006)

Ilium said:
			
		

> I noticed you STILL haven't really gotten any feedback on your animation, so let me say: very nice.  The music is evocative and the visuals are great.  I like the design of the ship with the "legs" that fold up during flight.  Cool.
> 
> One minor quibble: I'm pretty sure it's "copyright" not "copywrite".




Thanks.


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## Hussar (Jul 14, 2006)

Yes, I meant the top turret on the deployment vehicle.  Again, these are minor nitpicks.  

Having to move your entire tank to be able to elevate doesn't make a lot of sense even with a direct fire weapon.  There's always the chance that the enemy is up or down a hill.  If you are firing on the move, you would be required to always turn into your shot, meaning that unless the target was directly in front of you, you would lose a lot of control as you maneuver the tank up to allow the turret to gain facing.  

If the turret was independent of the tank's pitch, then it would make a lot more sense.  

Quibble, quibble, quibble.  THe pic looks good.  And I did look at the animation.  Very, very cool.


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## Meloncov (Jul 14, 2006)

Hussar said:
			
		

> Yes, I meant the top turret on the deployment vehicle.  Again, these are minor nitpicks.
> 
> Having to move your entire tank to be able to elevate doesn't make a lot of sense even with a direct fire weapon.  There's always the chance that the enemy is up or down a hill.  If you are firing on the move, you would be required to always turn into your shot, meaning that unless the target was directly in front of you, you would lose a lot of control as you maneuver the tank up to allow the turret to gain facing.





Well, I'm not sure it would be that much harder to tilt a hovertank upward than it would to turn the turret. The only problem I can imagine is at high speeds, where the g's could be dangerous  if you maneuvered to tightly. However, I was thinking it did need some sort of explanation as to why the primary turret wasn't on the top, and as such I was considering adding missles to the top (which would definately benefit from the elevation.)


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## Hussar (Jul 14, 2006)

Missiles on tanks=chewy goodness.  

If I could offer some advice - take a look at real world designs of tanks.  By and large, you aren't often using tanks for artillery anyway.  You can, but, it's not the primary role.  

Think of it this way.  If the target is at 90 degrees to your path of travel and elevated, the hover tank would have to do some very funky maneuvering to shoot.  That means the bad guy gets to shoot first and that is very bad in armored fighting.  THe main reason there are some current turretless designs in tanks is to have an incredibly shallow profile.  In a hover tank, that's not really going to work since you're already a few feet in the air.  

I feel really bad criticising someone's work when I couldn't possibly do half the job. :/


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## Meloncov (Jul 15, 2006)

Hussar said:
			
		

> Think of it this way.  If the target is at 90 degrees to your path of travel and elevated, the hover tank would have to do some very funky maneuvering to shoot.  That means the bad guy gets to shoot first and that is very bad in armored fighting.  THe main reason there are some current turretless designs in tanks is to have an incredibly shallow profile.  In a hover tank, that's not really going to work since you're already a few feet in the air.




I'm still unwilling to get rid of the bottom turret (I find the "treadless tank" designs rather boring), and I realized that missles would be suprememly stupid (in order to damage most shielded ships, the missles would have to blow out a large portion of the landscape). However, I did replace the anti-air turret with a second anti-armor turret:


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## Hussar (Jul 15, 2006)

Now THAT looks like a tank.  :applause:


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## Meloncov (Jul 15, 2006)

Hussar said:
			
		

> Now THAT looks like a tank.  :applause:




Thanks. As I have most of the models done, I think I'll start story-boarding tommorow.


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## Meloncov (Jul 19, 2006)

While writing the script I realized their were a couple more models I needed to make. Here is one:


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 20, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I should be able to do it by mixing outputs of multiple programs.



Sounds good. One q though: Will it be able to be printed as as tall and skinny? I am looking for it to be print worthy like that. The planet should be terrestial. Thanks for the consideration.


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## Meloncov (Jul 20, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Sounds good. One q though: Will it be able to be printed as as tall and skinny? I am looking for it to be print worthy like that. The planet should be terrestial. Thanks for the consideration.




Tall and skinny as in a portrait 8.5 by 11 or thinner? I could do any preportions you want, but I'd need to know in advance.


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 21, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Tall and skinny as in a portrait 8.5 by 11 or thinner? I could do any preportions you want, but I'd need to know in advance.



8.5 by 11 please.


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## Meloncov (Jul 21, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> 8.5 by 11 please.




I'll get to it.


More work on the holoprojector scene:


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## Meloncov (Jul 22, 2006)

Another question for Frukathka: do you want the city to be primairly industrial, or residential/sevice oriented?


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 22, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Another question for Frukathka: do you want the city to be primairly industrial, or residential/sevice oriented?



Elements of both please.


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## Meloncov (Jul 26, 2006)

How does this look?


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 29, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> How does this look?



It is okay. How about getting rid of the globe thing in the lower left and just replace it with regular buildings. Also, lower the position of the incoming vessel to be in between the lowest building and the middle building. Behind where the ship is now add the second sun halfway risen from the mountains. 

Also the buildings look like they have been there for too long, any way to make them look brand spanking new?

If this sounds like too much work to do for free, I'd be willing to pay you for your work.


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## Meloncov (Jul 29, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> It is okay. How about getting rid of the globe thing in the lower left and just replace it with regular buildings. Also, lower the position of the incoming vessel to be in between the lowest building and the middle building. Behind where the ship is now add the second sun halfway risen from the mountains.




Aww, I liked the globe thing. Still, if you prefer, I could replace it. I avoided showing both suns, as it would be a challenge to do (not impossible, though) in photoshop.



			
				Frukathka said:
			
		

> Also the buildings look like they have been there for too long, any way to make them look brand spanking new?



I could make them look a bit shinier very easily, but to really get them looking brand new would require totally retecturing them.



			
				Frukathka said:
			
		

> If this sounds like too much work to do for free, I'd be willing to pay you for your work.




I'd be happy to do some minor tweaks for free, but if you wan't me to do signifiecently more then that (i.e. retexturing, major photoshop work, ect.) email me at wbaker@nmia.com and we can talk about payment.


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## Angel Tarragon (Jul 29, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Aww, I liked the globe thing. Still, if you prefer, I could replace it. I avoided showing both suns, as it would be a challenge to do (not impossible, though) in photoshop.
> 
> I could make them look a bit shinier very easily, but to really get them looking brand new would require totally retecturing them.



Please do replace the globe. Try to get in the second sun, if it isn't too much. Shinier buildings would be appreciated. Lets see how it looks from there. If it still isn't up to par with my vision, I'll commission your for your work.


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## Meloncov (Jul 29, 2006)

Okay, this is what I'm willing to do for free:


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## Meloncov (Jul 30, 2006)

A gundeck, part of what will be a much larger model:


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## Meloncov (Jul 30, 2006)

A contest entry for another board:


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## genshou (Jul 30, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> A contest entry for another board:



Oooooh... shiny.


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## Meloncov (Aug 2, 2006)




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## Meloncov (Aug 2, 2006)




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## pogre (Aug 4, 2006)

Unlike your comment in my thread - I totally want to play in your game.  

The movie was very cool!

What game system are you using these pictures with? - I would love to get into a sci-fi game that captured my imagination.


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## Meloncov (Aug 4, 2006)

pogre said:
			
		

> Unlike your comment in my thread - I totally want to play in your game.
> 
> The movie was very cool!
> 
> What game system are you using these pictures with? - I would love to get into a sci-fi game that captured my imagination.




I trust you took the "I don't want to play in your game anymore" with the grain of salt it was intended with, right? In any case, my players generally hate it when I show them a new model, because they know that, more likely than not, they will be facing it eventually (they're stuck between two sides in a war, both of which hate them, so their enemies list is far, far, longer than their allies list.)


The original idea was to use a house ruled version of D20 Future. However, primairly due to spending more time making images then writing rules, it ended up being more freeform role-playing with strong D20 inffluences, especially in space battles. I'm not sure if its an imporovement to be argueing about physics instead of rules (my group is annoying that way) but its nice to have a change.


I should have another pic up later tonight.


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## Meloncov (Aug 4, 2006)




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## Meloncov (Aug 7, 2006)

I'm expiermenting with a new rendering setting:


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## genshou (Aug 7, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I'm expiermenting with a new rendering setting:



I think I like the old one better.  This one makes black edges appear on stuff, and it looks just like the matte lines on old sci-fi movies.  The details also look a little more like something I would render, and I've been impressed by how beautiful your texturing has been so far in all your images.


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## Meloncov (Aug 7, 2006)

genshou said:
			
		

> I think I like the old one better.  This one makes black edges appear on stuff, and it looks just like the matte lines on old sci-fi movies.  The details also look a little more like something I would render, and I've been impressed by how beautiful your texturing has been so far in all your images.




I don't deserve much credit for the texturing; their just tiled textures dropped onto the ships (which is all that Doga is capable of).

Thanks for the feedback; I'll expierment some more with it.


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## Meloncov (Aug 7, 2006)

Okay, this is normally what I find to be the best lighting settings:






By the way, are you still there Frukathka? Do you wan't a higher resolution version of your request?


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## genshou (Aug 8, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Okay, this is normally what I find to be the best lighting settings:
> [image snipped]
> By the way, are you still there Frufurka? Do you wan't a higher resolution version of your request?



It's *Frukathka*, you know, but I think he'll know you're talking to him 

I like that image.  Shiiiiiiiiiny... priiiiiiiiiitty...


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## Meloncov (Aug 8, 2006)

genshou said:
			
		

> It's *Frukathka*, you know, but I think he'll know you're talking to him
> 
> I like that image.  Shiiiiiiiiiny... priiiiiiiiiitty...




Silly me, assuming I can spell. Perhaps I shall, in the future, avoid sticking my foot in my mouth by refering to people solely as "hey you" or "that one guy."

Thanks for the complement, as always.


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## Hussar (Aug 9, 2006)

While I know the rendering in post 122 isn't as pretty as the rendering in 125, it really looks a lot like a comic book drawing to me.  Ink and pen rather than computer art.  

It's a cool effect anyway.


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## Meloncov (Aug 9, 2006)

I'm of to Gen Con, so there won't be any new updates in the next couple of days. Wish me luck that some publisher is drunk enough to think my work is professional quality, and wants to hire me  .


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## genshou (Aug 10, 2006)

Good luck!

If I were writing a d20 Future book of some kind, you'd be the artist for my starships chapter, that's for sure


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## Meloncov (Aug 14, 2006)

genshou said:
			
		

> Good luck!
> 
> If I were writing a d20 Future book of some kind, you'd be the artist for my starships chapter, that's for sure




 Thanks.

The con was great; good games, great swag, and a couple of very nice artists. It'll proably take me a couple of days to get back into the art-making swing again, though.


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## Meloncov (Aug 16, 2006)




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## Meloncov (Aug 16, 2006)

I'm not sure if anyone here also has a SpaceBattles account, but if they do, I would great apreciate votes in the animation contest there


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## Meloncov (Aug 22, 2006)

I haven't posted anything in a while, partly because I've been out of town the last few weekends, but mostly because I've been working a a massive model. By nearly any measure, it is the largest I've ever created (size of object portrayed, polygons, time spent, detail, ect.) I'm not done with it yet, but here is a preview shot of one of the three main decks:


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## Angel Tarragon (Aug 22, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> By the way, are you still there Frukathka? Do you wan't a higher resolution version of your request?



Yeah, I am here. The image is perfect. I wouldn't mind a higher resolution, that is if I can get it for free.


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## Meloncov (Aug 22, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Yeah, I am here. The image is perfect. I wouldn't mind a higher resolution, that is if I can get it for free.




Just post an email adress and I'll re-render it and send it to you; the boards limit the size of hosted images, so it's easier not to post it here.

I am also still more than willing to make further small tweaks if anything is bothering you; I just grew tired of messing with the texturing.


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## Angel Tarragon (Aug 22, 2006)

Spoiler



chuck [dot] r [dot] wenzler [at] pmusa [dot] com


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## Meloncov (Aug 23, 2006)

Sent.


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## Angel Tarragon (Aug 23, 2006)

I got the email, but you forgot to inclue the picture.


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## Meloncov (Aug 23, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> I got the email, but you forgot to inclue the picture.





Sorry, I forgot to re-attach it after correcting the adress I sent it to. I just re-sent it.


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## Meloncov (Aug 24, 2006)

Another work in progress, from the same piece:


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## Angel Tarragon (Aug 24, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Another work in progress, from the same piece:
> <snip>



It looks great. Space Station or Solar Collector?


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## Meloncov (Aug 24, 2006)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> It looks great. Space Station or Solar Collector?




Warship where the engines haven't been built yet. If I don't have too much homework, I'll start on them tonight
.


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## Meloncov (Sep 3, 2006)

And it is complete:


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## Meloncov (Sep 3, 2006)

One more:


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## Meloncov (Sep 5, 2006)

Front View:


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## Meloncov (Nov 4, 2006)

Finally, something new.


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## Meloncov (Nov 4, 2006)

An update:


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## Odhanan (Nov 5, 2006)

The texturing really makes it come alive! Awesome, Meloncov! Simply awesome.


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## genshou (Nov 5, 2006)

Wonderful, as always.  It's amazing to see how much it evolved simply by adding texturing.


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## Meloncov (Nov 6, 2006)

genshou said:
			
		

> Wonderful, as always.  It's amazing to see how much it evolved simply by adding texturing.




Thanks. I did add some hull details beyond the texture (the engines on the maneuvering fin and the upper decks) but I do love that texture. It either fails spectacularly or adds a whole lot to the image.


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## Meloncov (Nov 11, 2006)

A close up, with the gunports opened.


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## Hussar (Nov 16, 2006)

Schweet


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## Hand of Evil (Nov 16, 2006)

Fantastic models - still say you could be saling them, even un-textured!


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## Meloncov (Nov 20, 2006)

Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> Fantastic models - still say you could be saling them, even un-textured!




I suppose I might try it if I encountered a place that allowed for selling models with no capital investment. 


I'm still working on the same model. I've had to rebuild it almost from scratch in order to add all the gun ports and interior details, so at the moment there isn't much to show.


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## Pbartender (Nov 20, 2006)

These are great models.

Are you still taking requests?


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## Meloncov (Nov 20, 2006)

Pbartender said:
			
		

> Are you still taking requests?




Feel free to propose something. I can't garuntee when/if I'll do it, but I'll listen.


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## Pbartender (Nov 20, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> Feel free to propose something. I can't garuntee when/if I'll do it, but I'll listen.




Fair enough...

I just have to figure out how to describe it -- it's a bit of an odd one...  

EDIT: Got it...

The idea for this ship originated during a discussion on the Crafty messageboards about the primary propulsion system for spaceships in their upcoming suppliment, Farthest Star.

In a nutshell, the propulsion system consists of cigar-shaped pods mounted on the leading edge of the ship. The pods generate a cone of pseudo-gravity that pulls the ship along behind it.  Later in the thread, I got to explaining how, using this propulsion system, you could design a ship that can steer itself using tidal forces.  It was this concept that gave me the idea of the "Umbrella Boat".

An umbrella boat is a small ship designed primarily for interplanetary travel. It is normally used by hobbyists as a pleasure craft, or by the military as a low-profile scout and reconnaisance craft.

To envision the ship, imagine an umbrella. Remove the fabric from the umbrella ribs. Now, add one of the ciger-shaped propulsion pylons to the front of the ship (the "top" of the umbrella). Next, remove the handle of the umbrella and replace it with a pod that serves as the cockpit.  Finally, stretch cable-like rigging between the cockpit and the ribs.

The ribs themselves, are capable of being "stepped" and folded away alongside the ship, in need be, during docking maneuvers.

Here's a very, very rough sketch of the basic layout (not to scale).

The ship steers by the using the rigging cables to swing the cockpit and the enitre tail-boom out of line with the pylon and it's projected gravity field.  The resulting tidal forces swing the ship around in a circle.  The overall effect is reminiscent of piloting a sailing ship.

If you have any questions concerning details or elaborations, let me know.


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## Meloncov (Nov 20, 2006)

I could do that, though I have to finish up the gunboat and the elemental battle wagon first. It could be a few months.



How big would this thing be? Preferably broken down into cabin/cockpit size, gravitational arm size, shaft size ect.


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## Pbartender (Nov 21, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I could do that, though I have to finish up the gunboat and the elemental battle wagon first. It could be a few months.




No problem.



			
				Meloncov said:
			
		

> How big would this thing be? Preferably broken down into cabin/cockpit size, gravitational arm size, shaft size ect.




There is feasibly a great deal of variation possible, depending on the intended use, but I imagine the base "recreational/racing" model like so:

The pseudo-gravitational pylon would be roughly cigar shaped -- 20 feet long with an 8 foot diameter.

The cockpit pod would probably be of similar shape and dimensions as the grav pylon (20' long by 8' dia.), giving enough space for a pilot and possibly one to three passengers.

The shaft and the ribs would basically have the same shape, configuration and proportions as a giant 100-foot long umbrella.

Altogether the ship would have a total length of approximately 140 feet, and a "wingspan" of about the same.


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## Meloncov (Nov 23, 2006)

There are a couple things I need to clean up, but otherwise this is done:


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## Meloncov (Nov 29, 2006)

I'm working on learning Wings 3D right now. I think I have the interface down, but working in it requires a somewhat disconcerting change in though process. Its sort of like the difference between building with Legos and sculpting stone.


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## Hand of Evil (Nov 29, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> I suppose I might try it if I encountered a place that allowed for selling models with no capital investment.



You may want to contact 12rounds, I know he has a store at Renderosity he may have some insight.  

Amazing creations!


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## Meloncov (Dec 17, 2006)

My first project in Wings, still a work in progress. Pbartender, I'll get to your request as soon as I finish this thing.


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## Meloncov (Dec 21, 2006)

Added the basics of a texture:


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## Meloncov (Dec 22, 2006)

Expiermenting with a change in shape. Still has a lot of mesh errors:


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## Meloncov (Dec 29, 2006)

The fighter had a lot of internal mesh errors that were nearly impossible to get rid of (the result of being unfamiliar with the program) so I ditched it.

So, I started working on Pbartender's request. How do these proportions look?





I just realized that I don't have the grav genorators at the end of the arms. Also, the wires aren't in place yet; it'll be easiest to add them as one of the last steps.


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## Pbartender (Dec 30, 2006)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> So, I started working on Pbartender's request. How do these proportions look?




The proportions look pretty good.  The pole with the cockpit could feasibly be up to twice as long as it is, but it's not a problem, and I'd envisioned the arms to be "thinner" -- more like poles, than fins -- but that's also fine.  Like I said above, there's a lot of potential variation in the specifics.

It's always neat to see what others come up with when you give them a description of something.  



			
				Meloncov said:
			
		

> I just realized that I don't have the grav genorators at the end of the arms. Also, the wires aren't in place yet; it'll be easiest to add them as one of the last steps.




To be clear...  there should only be one grav generator.  It should be placed at the spolt where the four fin-arms join the pole, at the "top of the umbrella".


It looks beautiful.


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## Meloncov (Feb 16, 2007)

Finally, an update. A robotic hand for school:


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## Meloncov (Mar 13, 2007)

A quick update. No new work for two reasons:

One, I'm learning Lightwave so it may be a while before I have anything respectable to show.
Two, I'm applying for a summer program in 3d graphics. For it, I'm re-rendering my bideo, which is eating up my computers processing power.


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## Meloncov (Mar 14, 2007)

At the suggestion of one of my teachers, I'm relighting and reposing some models for the application.


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## Meloncov (Mar 14, 2007)




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## Meloncov (Mar 14, 2007)




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## earthbinder (Mar 19, 2007)

Beautiful pictures all. 

love the animation, the concept of folding "up" the arms instead of behind took me by suprise.


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## Meloncov (Apr 1, 2007)

Another airship, for a commision by Earthbinder. Not quite done yet.


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## Meloncov (Apr 5, 2007)

The finished ship for Earthbinder, combined in an image with my old airship. I have quite a few more angles rendered if people want to see them.


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## Meloncov (Apr 11, 2007)

*Orca with a lasercannon*

No, I don't know why I did it. Still a work in progress.


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## Meloncov (Apr 22, 2007)

The head of a robot for school:


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## Scarecrow (Apr 22, 2007)

I've been following this thread for a while now and whilst i'm impressed with what you've achieved in DOGA, I think you need to seriously look at your lighting and texturing and I think you've reached the limits of what DOGA can do for you in this area.

You mentioned earlier on in this thread that you were learning Wings3D. Failing a full-scale professional package like Lightwave, MAX or Maya - I think Wings3D is an excellent next step and I think you should definately start concentrating on that.

<edit> - That said, I just downloaded Wings and had a look at it and whilst it appears to be an excellent beginner's poly-modeller, there appears to be no way to assign bitmaps to the individual material channels. Equally there appear to be no shadow settings on the lights. Both of which you'll need if you want to do anything worthwhile 

Crow


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## Meloncov (Apr 22, 2007)

Scarecrow said:
			
		

> <edit> - That said, I just downloaded Wings and had a look at it and whilst it appears to be an excellent beginner's poly-modeller, there appears to be no way to assign bitmaps to the individual material channels. Equally there appear to be no shadow settings on the lights. Both of which you'll need if you want to do anything worthwhile
> 
> Crow




There are ways to get shadows and to UV map textures, but they're a pain and often require going through a plugin or second program. 

I am working on learning Lightwave from books and DVD lessons. It's rather slow going, but I'm making some progress. I've also applied for a month long training program in Max at an art school; I'll find out if I got in in the next couple of weeks.

I'm continuing to use Doga either for commissions, where I don't want to subject the commisioner to me bumbling around a new program, or for projects for the Digital Animation club at school, where most of the members don't know any programs besides Doga, so we are working entirely within the program.


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## Scarecrow (Apr 22, 2007)

Excellent. Both Studio MAX and Lightwave are top-range packages. I used MAX professionally for five years before my company switched to Maya a couple of years back. I cursed it at the start but now I adore it - especially the marker-menus.

What is it that you do in school with DOGA? Is it just the animation club or is part of your corriculum?

Crow


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## Meloncov (Apr 22, 2007)

Scarecrow said:
			
		

> What is it that you do in school with DOGA? Is it just the animation club or is part of your corriculum?




Its just a club.


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## Scarecrow (Apr 22, 2007)

It sounds cool. How does it work? Do you get together as a team and produce images, models and animations? Does someone set a task or a theme?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what you produce in Lightwave or Studio MAX.

Crow


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## Meloncov (Apr 22, 2007)

We're working on a short movie together. Currently, we're in pre-production, doing the modeling, scripting, and storyboarding. As organic creatures are nearly impossible to do well in DOGA, and we don't have the time or recources to use a more complex program, we are creating a drama about robots. The last image I posted is the head of the protagonist.


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## sedarfaery (May 4, 2007)

I must say, you have quite a bit of talent. All your renderings are just beatiful. I wish I had the talent to pull off making digital art this good. I took some courses at my local college, but it was just too hard to understand.


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## Angel Tarragon (May 4, 2007)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> We're working on a short movie together. Currently, we're in pre-production, doing the modeling, scripting, and storyboarding. As organic creatures are nearly impossible to do well in DOGA, and we don't have the time or recources to use a more complex program, we are creating a drama about robots. The last image I posted is the head of the protagonist.



Sounds cool. Will you be sharing this flick online? :hopeful:


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## Meloncov (May 5, 2007)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Sounds cool. Will you be sharing this flick online? :hopeful:




When it's done, yes. Optimistically, that'll be near the end of this year. If you want to look over our shoulders, the groups site is academyanimation.schtuff.com.


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## Meloncov (May 5, 2007)

sedarfaery said:
			
		

> I took some courses at my local college, but it was just too hard to understand.




My secret is that I have focused on mastering one very simple program before moving on to anything more complex. Only now that I have mastered DOGA am I trying to learn the far more advanced Lightwave (which, BTW, it the reason that I haven't posted a whole lot new lately; I'm struggling to learn the basics of the new program and as such have little worth displaying.)


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## sedarfaery (May 5, 2007)

Meloncov said:
			
		

> My secret is that I have focused on mastering one very simple program before moving on to anything more complex.



I guess I should try that myself. What program did you start with?


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## Meloncov (May 6, 2007)

sedarfaery said:
			
		

> I guess I should try that myself. What program did you start with?




The DOGA L series. It's a set of three programs; the first very limited but ridiculously easy to learn, the other two progressively more difficult and powerful. Almost everything on this thread was done in L3. It's a good system, and its a good program, though even L3 has a tough time with organic shapes.


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## Meloncov (May 11, 2007)




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## Meloncov (May 13, 2007)

Mother's Day gift for my mother, a sci-fi fan and Uniterian minister.


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## Meloncov (May 30, 2007)

I started a new thread, as this one was getting too large:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3555776#post3555776


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