3D Spaceship Reference art

[DhAkael]

There's a reason why you are "MADmanMike"... you've taken on a massive undertaking.
Regardless; not bad, not bad a'tall.

I know; due to constraints of Daz, a lot of mechnicals look boxy / cartooney (For the most part, you've managed to get past those limitations in your more recent works)...It's a shame that Maya / autodesk doesn't just sell a 3D modelling app, seperate from its animation package.

[MADMANMIKE]

There's a reason why you are "MADmanMike"... you've taken on a massive undertaking.
Regardless; not bad, not bad a'tall.

I know; due to constraints of Daz, a lot of mechnicals look boxy / cartooney (For the most part, you've managed to get past those limitations in your more recent works)...It's a shame that Maya / autodesk doesn't just sell a 3D modelling app, seperate from its animation package.

I'm no modeller, I'm a kit-basher, and the kits I use are the collected works of Davorama. They all have a boxy look, and I'm personally partial to it. Very few artists go for a boxy look, which I feel is more utilitarian.. I like my sci-fi gritty and utilitarian..

[DhAkael]

There's a reason why you are "MADmanMike"... you've taken on a massive undertaking.
Regardless; not bad, not bad a'tall.

I know; due to constraints of Daz, a lot of mechnicals look boxy / cartooney (For the most part, you've managed to get past those limitations in your more recent works)...It's a shame that Maya / autodesk doesn't just sell a 3D modelling app, seperate from its animation package.

I'm no modeller, I'm a kit-basher, and the kits I use are the collected works of Davorama. They all have a boxy look, and I'm personally partial to it. Very few artists go for a boxy look, which I feel is more utilitarian.. I like my sci-fi gritty and utilitarian..

LOL...fair enough.
I like a mix; "METALLLL BOXXXXXESSSsssss" have their place, but I also love me some smooth curves too
(Re; Started out in WH40K enamoured with the Eldar stuff, but over the years I've come to appreciate the Thunderhawk Gun/Dropship and the Land-Raider tank. )

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, been busy with other things; Deck 03 is slow going, as the amount of detail is heavy on the comp, so I've branched into some other projects that are easier on the resources. But here's Deck 02...

[MADMANMIKE]

My computer isn't handling the load to make the decks for the Nublid (over 200 parts on the front half of Deck 02 alone), so I'm giving it a breather on that one and I've been working on a little bit smaller ship, The Rhino Hauler. Working on deck 02 right now, hope to get decks 03 and 04 done tomorrow..

[MADMANMIKE]

Wow, over 500 hits here in the past half month. Sorry I haven't been updating much; been distracted with my health/work issues. Here's a new one though, The Long Neck Shuttle..

I think my space art is improving...

Look for UncleServo to use this one in a YouTube video some time in the future...

[MADMANMIKE]

Almost 300 hits in a week's time.. I guess I've got a bit of a following..

Here's the latest, The DurYing Shuttle. I'm particularly happy with my space background on the first image.. that nebula I think is my best yet..

With this one my DA gallery now has more space ship images than anything else...

[MADMANMIKE]

Wow, 10,000 views.. I'm got a new design on the docket, should be up before Thanksgiving..

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, gaming on Monday night until 3AM killed my productivity tomorrow. I'm still working on the upper deck plan for this new design, but we're going to Kansas City for Thanksgiving in a couple of hours; I'll work on it on the way, but I don't think my parents have wi-fi, so I may have to wait until the weekend to get this design up. I've got a portable drive so I might be able to get it online tonight or tomorrow, but otherwise look for it on Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (even you crazy Canucks who celebrate it on the wrong day!)

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, put it up last night; I give you the Xanthippe (zan•TEE•pay) Transport.

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, still uploading the last few in the set, but I've got a new one, The Kodan Shuttle. I actually did two in the last seven days, but this was the first, so it's up... The next is smaller and more military-oriented..

[MADMANMIKE]

A REQUEST:

So here it is the holiday season, and as is the case for many people, money is tight. December 8th is the one year anniversary the accident that marks the last day that I worked in a day job and the beginning of my long journey of recovery, so in other words, I haven't worked in about a year. Worker's Comp has taken relatively good care of me, but it does only pay a percentage of what I was making in that job, and that was less than I made in the job prior, so here's the request.

I'm open for some commissions, and for this deal will lower my rates. If you like any of the ships I've done (even some of the older one's that are no longer up at the previous links) and would be interested in a customized image of one (new or different weapons, different paint job, better background, etc.), and can pay via paypal, drop me a line via the Send a Note button on my DeviantArt page with which ship and what changes, and I'll knock out an image for you for a mere $15 (less than half price!). This image will be high enough resolution that you can take it to your local print shop and do up to a 20x30 inch poster print.

If you want an image of your favorite character with or in the ship, (and it's not too exotic), I can go as low as $30 for the same resolution as above.

If you want to do a party portrait, check with me for pricing, but I promise a discount from my usual rates.

Turn around should be less than a week, depending on response and complexity of the project; contact me and we'll negotiate, with payment due after negotiation.

And have a Merry Happy Holy Chrisma-Hanna-Kwanza-Diwali!

[MADMANMIKE]

I just added a new image of some of the possible weapon systems that can be added to my ships HERE. Note that using the "Download Image" button is necessary to see the full resolution image. Also, if you've downloaded any of my other images with right-click, you're missing out on the details, as those are also much lower resolution than the originals that I sell.

A REQUEST:

So here it is the holiday season, and as is the case for many people, money is tight. December 8th is the one year anniversary the accident that marks the last day that I worked in a day job and the beginning of my long journey of recovery, so in other words, I haven't worked in about a year. Worker's Comp has taken relatively good care of me, but it does only pay a percentage of what I was making in that job, and that was less than I made in the job prior, so here's the request.

I'm open for some commissions, and for this deal will lower my rates. If you like any of the ships I've done (even some of the older one's that are no longer up at the previous links) and would be interested in a customized image of one (new or different weapons, different paint job, better background, etc.), and can pay via paypal, drop me a line via the Send a Note button on my DeviantArt page with which ship and what changes, and I'll knock out an image for you for a mere $15 (less than half price!). This image will be high enough resolution that you can take it to your local print shop and do up to a 20x30 inch poster print.

If you want an image of your favorite character with or in the ship, (and it's not too exotic), I can go as low as $30 for the same resolution as above.

If you want to do a party portrait, check with me for pricing, but I promise a discount from my usual rates.

Turn around should be less than a week, depending on response and complexity of the project; contact me and we'll negotiate, with payment due after negotiation.

And have a Merry Happy Holy Chrisma-Hanna-Kwanza-Diwali!

[MADMANMIKE]

Still looking for commissions to make some Christmas money, hit me up.

Meanwhile, I put up two ships this week; links to their individual images can be found at the main pic for both: The Gator and Gelph Shuttles.

[taalismn]

Beautiful(in a workaday style) as always, Mike!

[MADMANMIKE]

Beautiful(in a workaday style) as always, Mike!

Thanks. These two introduce my Korvadyne Shipyard, manufacturer of solid inexpensive ships of all types.

[MADMANMIKE]

Today's is a very old design redone with interior added. Much happier with it now. The Sulwar Military Shuttle. I'll work up a surplus interior sometime down the road.

[MADMANMIKE]

Not sure why I continue to post these here, clearly nobody appreciates it... not one request for a commission and I'm practically giving them away..

Still, this weeks ship is a Police Cruiser.. The Hammerhead Shuttle..

[MADMANMIKE]

Slow holidays... Here's my first attempt at creating a Gas Giant planet, along with Korvadyne Station..

[MADMANMIKE]

The Minnow Shuttle, a long range survey shuttle with cargo storage below the deck..

[MADMANMIKE]

Something new but strangely familiar, The Yeti 1300.

[MADMANMIKE]

This week has two Fighter Craft, The Gadfly and the Gnat.

[MADMANMIKE]

Sickness, art contests, and my daughter's Gymnastics meets have put me a bit behind, but here's the next one, The Wedge Freighter.

[MADMANMIKE]

Well, it's that time again and I have nothing to show. Ups and downs have gotten in the way, along with a commission ship design that I'll have finished this weekend (and should be able to post next week) as well as a new direction on my Palladium Fantasy Paper Miniatures project. When I've got that licked there's probably going to be a Phase World set to follow.

[Aramanthus]

Some interesting new designs. You have turned out some great ones.

[MADMANMIKE]

Thanks. I've got more, I'm just buried under other projects right now..

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, over a month behind, but here's the latest. One for the truckers to the stars, The Mack 3K Tug.

[MADMANMIKE]

A little bit closer to my weekly schedule, here's The Starling Dropship.

[Carl Gleba]

Nice design. It reminds me of the Bronco from Manhunter. It would make a nice starter ship for a new PW group.

[MADMANMIKE]

Thanks Carl. The stress of searching for a job coupled with my commitment to doing a weekly dystopian image has sapped my creativity for ship design. Hopefully I'll finish another design soon.

[MADMANMIKE]

Well, it's been a long time.. being a bit sick this weekend, I pulled out the old virtual building blocks and put this together, The Magellan Shuttle. You may note that there's only the one image; I'm getting close to deciding to put together .pdfs for sale on DriveThruRPG. The more I think about it the more I think $3.95 is a decent price. Included would be all four exterior shots, at least one exterior shot landed with people for scale, interior cut-away(s), deck plans (full color and black and white), a basic write up and generic stats that should be easy for a GM to convert to their chosen rule system. Probably be some interior beauty shots as well.

What does everyone think of this?

[MADMANMIKE]

Asked and answered..

[MADMANMIKE]

A challenge to use the AUGG ship building rules and come under the minimum budget of 2mil and make the smallest possible ship, 5 tons:

5 ton shuttle

Base frame: 5 tons, 5 modules, 75 S.D.C...................................................COST: 10,000C

Propulsion: Anti-gravity, Factor 20...........................0.5 modules.............COST: 32,500C

Weapons: Ion Beam Turret........................................0.6 modules.............COST: 160,000C

Armor: None, too many modules to be added

Extra Features:
•Pin-Point Shields (2), 400 S.D.C. each.....................0.4 modules.............COST: 3,000C

Sensor Systems, Computer & Programs
•Basic Sensor Package..............................................0.5 modules.............COST: 250,000C
•Motion Perimeter & Collision Warning System.........0.5 modules.............COST: 5,000C

Other Spacecraft Systems
•Atmosphere Recycling System.................................0.3 modules.............COST: 250,000C
•External Cargo Dock...............................................0.1 modules.............COST: 2,000C
•Extra Modular Capacity (added 2.5 modules)...........................................COST: 62,500C
•Recreational Facility (commons area)......................2.0 modules.............COST: 50,000C
•Atmospheric Capability...........................................0.5 modules.............COST: 50,000C
•Automatic Hull Breach Sealing System.....................0.5 modules.............COST: 50,000C
•Atmosphere Tanks (6).............................................0.6 modules.............COST: 72,000C

-------------------------------------------------------TOTAL COST: 997,000C

1 Module of Cargo space left over.. I will point out that as an artist and designer, my biggest problem with the Spacecraft Construction Rules is the 1 ton = 1 foot of length for the ships. This is nonsense. granted there's obviously going to be additional feet in width and height, but the idea that a 5 ton shuttle is going to be 5 feet long is just plain absurd. So in designing a ship I only use that number as a loose guideline for bigger ships.

Instead, the dimensions of a module are what I go from, and then mostly just for the internal dimensions. 1 module = 125 square feet; that's a 5ft by 5ft by 5ft cube, easy enough; adding extra modular capacity in reality is more like taking away from the module cost of systems, but for designing a craft visually I'll use it for the added dimensions. Hence this breakdown of the interior (each block is 5ft cubed, but I've made them a little over 6ft high, taking from the sides). Now I can take the features I've chosen and do the deck plan accordingly.

Actual final dimensions: 17ft long x 8.25ft tall x 18ft wide.

So here hit is: The 5 ton Runabout

And The Interior (one square equals 5ft)

[MADMANMIKE]

The S.S. POS, the starting ship for my current Aliens Unlimited campaign. Full set of five images complete with interior.

[MADMANMIKE]

And the AUGG stats for the ship:

The S.S. POS
Small Shuttle 30 tons, 25ft wide x 32ft long x 12.5 ft tall Base frame cost: 60,000C

SDC: 450

Ion Fusion Engines, Factor 10, 9 mods 130,000C

Basics, no extra sensors/computers

Atmosphere Recycling System, .3 mods 250,000C

External Cargo Dock, .1 mods 2,000C

Trans-atmospheric Capabilities, .1 mods per ton = 3 mods 300,000C

Automatic Hull Breach Sealing System, .1 mods per ton = 3 mods 300,000C

Atmosphere Tanks .1 mods per tank 6 tanks = .6 mods 72,000C

Gateway Activation Equipment, 10 mods 250,000C

4 mods cargo space

Cost: 1,364,000C

[MADMANMIKE]

Here's Farpoint Station, where the S.S. POS is going to get its upgrades, and the Blueprint Version.

[MADMANMIKE]

Okay, the group was suspected of piracy, so when they entered the decontamination chamber disembarking from the S.S. POS they were gassed with a non-lethal sleep agent and put in cryo. As it turns out, the S.S. POS is clearly incapable of Piracy, and in fact one of the passengers is the nephew of one of the builders of the station. That character's Uncle passed away and left a cargo ship to him, located in a nearby system (10 light years away). Part of the will left 5 million credits to upgrade whatever ship he had in order to get him to the inheritance.

After they were put in cryo the accountant who is executor of his uncle's will realized the mistake and chose to have the ship upgraded before they were awakened, in order to reduce their anger over the mis-accusation.

One hitch, the station was taken over by pirates before the ship was finished. The Accountanant, a Cebus named Carven, awakens them before the ship is finished and explains the situation, offering them a reward to free the station.

The S.S. POS Upgrades

Weapons:
•Dual Light Laser Turret (+1 to strike, 6 mile range, 2D6x10+12), 1 module, 200 SDC, 200,000C, Armor: Heavy .2 mods, AR: 15, 300 SDC, 20,000C

•Dual Light Rail Gun Turret (+1 to strike, 2 mile range, 2D8x10), 1 module, 300 SDC, 80,000C, Armor: Heavy .2 mods, AR: 14, 300 SDC, 20,000C
•Ammo: 200 rounds, +1 reload (additional 200 rounds, .5 mods)

Interstellar Ramjet engines Factor 100, 9 mods, 900,000C (-value of old engines)

Shields (recharge 10 SDC per hour) 450 SDC (75 per side, can be shifted) 270,000C .9 mods
6 pin-point shields (400 SDC, +2 to parry [+4 with Weapon Systems skill]) 1.2 mods 9,000C

Extra Equipment
•Extra-Modular Capacity (15 extra mods) 375,000C
•Alumina Cloud Dispenser (2.2 mods, 12 charges) 66,000C
•Advanced Sensor Package (4 light year range) 2 mods, 1,000,000C
•Super Navigation Computer (Sub-light 60%, FTL 60%) .5 mods 1,050,000C
•Targeting Radar/Combat Computer (additional +2 to strike and +1 to dodge) .3 mods, 500,000C
•Maneuver Enhancement Package (+2 init, +4 dodge, +20% to piloting rolls) 6 mods 90,000C

only 3 mods of cargo left (took out two of the over-sized passenger seats and added a weapons control station in their place).

UPGRADES COST 4,580,000C