HMSS Invincible

[JimCrafton]

This is another model I've been working on, and at the moment I'm kind of stumped. I'm happy with the basic shape (it's vaguely reminiscent of the ship from the "Fifth Element"), but I'm coming up blank while trying to detail it. Any suggestions, crits, techniques on doing something like this? I'm not working from any kind of reference, and maybe that's the problem. Anyhow here she is:

[budweizzer]

I like massive details on back engine. Ship hull lacks details though. I think plates alone are not enough.

[solarkid]

Some real-life reference to get you going -
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall...11-373-001.jpg
http://www.oa.uj.edu.pl/apod/apod/im...sts126_big.jpg
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/...al_sunrise.jpg
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0204...s_nasa_big.jpg
http://radarsat.space.gc.ca/images/dextre_figure1.jpg
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ima...sts113_big.jpg

[JimCrafton]

Thanks guys, here's some more updates:

[JimCrafton]

A couple more updates:

[inkblaze]

The front seems too exposed and unprotected. I think a more aerodynmic front might look more visually appealing. IMHO.

[JimCrafton]

I'd agree, but I haven't put in the gun batteries yet, so there will be protection. That's a various ships will land, a sort of internal carrier deck.

[zero_hour]

details on those engines are pretty nice, but would look 10 times better with a decent clay render

[JimCrafton]

OK, so I spent the weekend working on this thing, added a lighting setup for a clay render that uses ambient occlusion and GI lights in Houdini. Fixed some of the engine detail, added more depth (I hope) to it. Added a lot more detail on the hull plates and setup 2 main bays for large gun mounts, with doors and flooring rigged for animation. The last bit shows off one of the cool features of Houdini. The plating is setup in such a way that if I can tweak the details (for example make them more prominent by scaling in the y axis, or change which top faces are used to bind the details to) at will and have it all generated on the fly without having to tear down and rebuild the geometry from scratch (which is what I would have to do with Modo). C&C most appreciated!

[JimCrafton]

Some more shots of the hull with details