Design A Starship Competition!

[Mossie]

Just wondered if anyone had entered, or thought of entering this competition?  Basically, you design a fighter type starship & if you win, Allen Ury will kit it & you get two kits of your own.  Second prize is an Iwata airbrush kit.  You can draw, it, CGI it or build it, but it got to be an original, not based on any franchises or such & if your building there's no kitbashes allowed, I guess this is due to copyright.  

http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/StarshipD...ContestPage.htm

I've had some ideas for star fighters for years, but I'm no good at drawing or CGI & a build would take me forever, long after the deadline was due!  But if anyone else has got ideas or done anything in the past, pop 'em in he competition, it'd be good to see someone from here get one of their designs on the market!

Simon. :salute:  

[Shasper]

That sucks every idea I've ever had was based on Starwars type stuff.

Shas B)

[John Howling Mouse]

Hmm, hmm, hmm....if only there was more time in the day and more days in the week...

^_^  

[cthulhu77]

Thanks for the link!  Already sketching, although I think the payscale is somewhat weak....

[cthulhu77]

maybe some of the aerophiles here could help you out with the logistics?  

[Shasper]

Makes perfect sense Wooks, as I have the same issue.

Shas B)

[Mossie]

I know what you mean, I have the same problem.  If I was to just go ahead & start building & sculpting, I could probably pull it off.  But drawing it?  Forget about it!!!!!  If you can start putting it together, maybe that would help, or if you can describe it, maybe one of the artists here can visualise it for you?

I've got an idea for something that might fit into a 1930's sci-fi serial or even a 50's B-movie, depending on how I accentuate it.  A proper rocket-ship fighter!  Apart form that, most of my other thoughts, like Shas, are a bit 'Star Warsy'.

[HOG]

Hi Mossie , thanks for the tip, I build the occassional scifi bit for a friend whos putting a commercial project together so this might help us both.



Its to 1:24 scale and contains over 100 swear words.

[Gary]

No, I can "see" the design, it's just everytime I try to draw it that it never looks right - am I making any sense?  

I also want to do a ship by the same designer, the Phoenix, a scaled up version as a battle cruiser, but again I can't get the design to look right on paper and I've been trying for about five years!

Ummm, this may sound daft, but a method I teach students who have similar problems is to build it with pottery clay, cardboard, plasticine, leggo or anything that they feel comfortable with. The trick is to NOT focus too much in this stage. Then take some snaps at different angles and feel the process, Modify and mold until the photos and the representation 'feel' right. This stage isn't about detail and that's were most people get lost.

Once you have the basic 'feel' (again, this isn't about what looks right, it's what feels right) and you have a pic that you like, draw it at a 3/4 view, not a profile or outline shape like the three views we use. That comes last.

This process takes time and a hell of a lot of tracing paper. Eventually things will jell but it'll take repeated efforts. The thing here to remember is that for the most part we work in three dimensions with our hands and minds and what you are trying to do is reduce your brainpower into a simple two dimensional form.

With my art students I have to keep at them about working not to make something look right, it has to feel right and it's an emotional connection from the brain thru the hand to paper. That's hard as hell. Some get it, some have it, some just can't disengage their logical minds to do it at all.

[HOG]

Hi Gary,   Thats a great idea. Many many years ago I used to work in a commercial art studio after finishing a course at the St Martin`s School of Art in London. Was quite nifty with a pencil and drawing board and used to design boxes for toothpaste etc (yawn).  When I got married I decided on a career change and did somthing completely different. These days I`m lucky if I can scribble a picture to get an idea across to someone, but funny enough I can still design in plan form (garden landscapes) but not on a `puter, only wiff me pointed stick. But give me something to make a 3D example and I`m well away.

Sorry Mossie you can have your topic back now.
regards Gary[8-]

[Mossie]

No problem mate, it's all related anyway.  I love that Marines ship, 100 curses doesn't seem enough, especially in 1/24!  Good job, nice inspiration too.