# Spaceship WIP



## Dennis E. Taylor (Apr 19, 2015)

I'm working on a spaceship for a novel I'm writing. The ship is an interplanetary freight shuttle hurriedly upgraded for interstellar flight. I'm thinking of changing the skin to a more eggshell or ceramic finish, and it needs more detail. Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

Blog entry: Blog Entry








Video of rotation:


----------



## Chris Guillory (Apr 21, 2015)

Pretty cool. I think the eggshell would look nice as well. Also, what would you think about extending the back end and adding wings?


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (Apr 21, 2015)

Chris, this thing would never go into atmosphere, so wings would be superfluous. If I get this good enough, it's going to go on my book cover, so I need the image to synchronize with the story.

I've been told on the BlenderArtists forum that the best thing I could do is make the skin a little less perfect, i.e. add some seams and maybe some dirt or corrosion.


----------



## Chris Guillory (Apr 21, 2015)

Ah, I see. Yeah, the texture recommendation is good. But man, you have to really admire my MS Paint skills!


----------



## Mirannan (May 2, 2015)

Bizmuth said:


> Chris, this thing would never go into atmosphere, so wings would be superfluous. If I get this good enough, it's going to go on my book cover, so I need the image to synchronize with the story.
> 
> I've been told on the BlenderArtists forum that the best thing I could do is make the skin a little less perfect, i.e. add some seams and maybe some dirt or corrosion.



Maybe the wings wouldn't be superfluous. Heat dissipation is often neglected in SF spaceships; maybe the wings are actually radiators?

In addition, rudimentary wings might be useful if intending to scoop fusion fuel (i.e. hydrogen) from gas giants.


----------



## millymollymo (May 3, 2015)

You're putting a lot of thought into what purpose it has, but how it's made reflects directly on the end result. Rather than randomly adding greebling effects, reverse think your design. How is it held together? Was there a great many sheets of material welded together, or was the ship stamped out in one? Perhaps even 3D printed   has it been patched up several times? What scars does it have to show off?
Just some thoughts for you!


----------



## K.S. Crooks (May 9, 2015)

It looks great. If you are unsure about the design take your cues from your story and have a design for the ship before the modifications and after. It was a freight shuttle, what type of freight, how much and how far? What was the original crew size? When it is modified what will the people aboard need the ship to be able to do that differs from before? What aspects of the original design will hinder the progress of the characters? Hope this helps.


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (May 9, 2015)

@Milly: Personally, I dislike excessive greebles. I understand why they exist though-- basic ship looks basic. I've tried to only use greebles on this WIP that I could think of a reason for. I think if I can add seams and such, I can break up the blankness a little better without adding junk.

@K.S.: Thanks. The ship developed from the story, and then the story changed a little because of the ship. Very organic.


----------



## geronl (May 23, 2015)

I can't even get a background to render in Blender, I don't think it likes Windows 8.1


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (May 23, 2015)

geronl said:


> I can't even get a background to render in Blender, I don't think it likes Windows 8.1



Has this been reported? I did a report on blender.org about a problem with the installer on 2.74 and got a response immediately.


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (May 23, 2015)

I've done an update to the design. Changed the cross-section and surface texture. The little flying things are ship-busters.


----------



## geronl (May 23, 2015)

Very nice


----------

