I've been trying to create procedural systems for adding detail to objects, and
I think I've got something good now :)

The spaceship is just simple CSG. The clever bit is a very complicated pigment
(creating the panels, the text, and the colours), and a couple of objects
scattered over the surface of the object (aerials and docking ports). The whole
lot is done entirely in pov script, including all textures. Oh, and for some
reason it renders really quick (unlike practically everything else I've ever
rendered!) so I'm thinking of making an animation using a few spaceships built
this way.

This style of detailing is inspired by sci-fi art, particularly the art of Chris
Foss. For those who don't know his work there's a pretty good fan site here:
http://www.altanen.dk/

I still want to add lots more details, but I couldn't resist posting this early
version :)

So, what do you think?

--
Tek
http://www.evilsuperbrain.com

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Attachments:
Download 'foss1.jpg' (105 KB)

Preview of image 'foss1.jpg'

Tek <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message
news:3cacc99d@news.povray.org...

Regarding Foss. I've got to say that I am not impressed.

Your texture, however, is really nice. The realism of your picture could be
improved by having areas on the ship which are not paneled.

 -Shay

Post a reply to this message

Shay wrote:
> Regarding Foss. I've got to say that I am not impressed.

Tch.  Dude, Foss rules!  His stuff is classic!
-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.scifi-fantasy.com

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PGP-(--) t* 5++>+++++ X+ R* tv+ b++(+++) DI
D++(---) G(++) e*>++ h+ !r--- !y--
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Post a reply to this message

It DOES look very "foss-ian."  What about thin, slit-like window sections?

Very nice.


"Tek" <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message
news:3cacc99d@news.povray.org...
> I've been trying to create procedural systems for adding detail to
objects, and
> I think I've got something good now :)
>
> The spaceship is just simple CSG. The clever bit is a very complicated
pigment
> (creating the panels, the text, and the colours), and a couple of objects
> scattered over the surface of the object (aerials and docking ports). The
whole
> lot is done entirely in pov script, including all textures. Oh, and for
some
> reason it renders really quick (unlike practically everything else I've
ever
> rendered!) so I'm thinking of making an animation using a few spaceships
built
> this way.
>
> This style of detailing is inspired by sci-fi art, particularly the art of
Chris
> Foss. For those who don't know his work there's a pretty good fan site
here:
> http://www.altanen.dk/
>
> I still want to add lots more details, but I couldn't resist posting this
early
> version :)
>
> So, what do you think?
>
> --
> Tek
> http://www.evilsuperbrain.com
>
>
>
>

Post a reply to this message

Wow, that is very well done!

I like that classic quote from Chris Foss, when asked were he got the 
inspiration for his artwork he said 
"I just make drawings of them as they fly overhead."

;o)

Tek wrote:

> I've been trying to create procedural systems for adding detail to
> objects, and I think I've got something good now :)
> 
> The spaceship is just simple CSG. The clever bit is a very complicated
> pigment (creating the panels, the text, and the colours), and a couple of
> objects scattered over the surface of the object (aerials and docking
> ports). The whole lot is done entirely in pov script, including all
> textures. Oh, and for some reason it renders really quick (unlike
> practically everything else I've ever rendered!) so I'm thinking of making
> an animation using a few spaceships built this way.
> 
> This style of detailing is inspired by sci-fi art, particularly the art of
> Chris Foss. For those who don't know his work there's a pretty good fan
> site here: http://www.altanen.dk/
> 
> I still want to add lots more details, but I couldn't resist posting this
> early version :)
> 
> So, what do you think?
> 
> --
> Tek
> http://www.evilsuperbrain.com

Post a reply to this message

"Tek" <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message news:3cacc99d@news.povray.org...

9/10 on the foss-scale

Post a reply to this message

"Shay" <sah### [at] simcopartscom> wrote in message news:3cacd474$1@news.povray.org...
>
> Tek <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message
> news:3cacc99d@news.povray.org...
>
> Regarding Foss. I've got to say that I am not impressed.
>

You know that this means war....

Post a reply to this message

> Regarding Foss. I've got to say that I am not impressed.

I didn't know who he was, so I browsed the net and found his pics. Some of
his work looks very nice and at least quite original (I think) though I
wouldn't design in that way.


Hugo

Post a reply to this message

Maybe I'm missing something really great in his art, but to me it looks very
simple. I'm not saying that I could do it, but I have seen many on the net
with similar styles whose work it much more complete and detailed.

BTW I really wish that we could get a good sci-fi oriented IRTC topic. I
would like to how some people's styles would appear in that genre.

 -Shay

Tom Melly <tom### [at] tomandlucouk> wrote in message
news:3cad66d6$1@news.povray.org...

Post a reply to this message

"Shay" <sah### [at] simcopartscom> wrote in message news:3cadb4b5$1@news.povray.org...
>
> Maybe I'm missing something really great in his art, but to me it looks very
> simple. I'm not saying that I could do it, but I have seen many on the net
> with similar styles whose work it much more complete and detailed.
>

Who pre-date Foss? Where do you think they aquired their style from?

Post a reply to this message

Tom Melly <tom### [at] tomandlucouk> wrote in message
news:3cadb9a1$1@news.povray.org...
> >
>
> Who pre-date Foss? Where do you think they aquired their style from?
>
>

I have never seen anyone surpass van Gogh or Coop in their respective
styles.

 -Shay

Post a reply to this message

"Shay" <sah### [at] simcopartscom> a écrit dans le message de news:
3cadb4b5$1@news.povray.org...
>
> Maybe I'm missing something really great in his art, but to me it looks
very
> simple. I'm not saying that I could do it, but I have seen many on the net
> with similar styles whose work it much more complete and detailed.

Perhaps you should try to get a copy of his book, "XXIrst Century Foss". It
was published in the early 80s. All the Foss pics I've found so far on the
net really don't do justice to his work, because they are poor scans of this
book. Personally, I've always found Foss' sci-fi art much better and
imaginative than the dreadful military-looking designs that have become the
norm since. Too bad Hollywood was never able to use his work. His concept
art for Dune (the aborted 1975 version, not the Lynch one) is still
incredible by modern standards, but I guess that it came too early.

G.


--

**********************
http://www.oyonale.com
**********************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray and Poser computer images
- Posters

Post a reply to this message

Gilles Tran wrote:
> Perhaps you should try to get a copy of his book, "XXIrst
> Century Foss". It was published in the early 80s.

I remember getting that or a similar book from a nearby town's
library when I was young; the ship designs stood out in my mind,
and I never was able to relocate the book.  Then I discovered
some pictures on the internet by 'Chris Foss' and thought, "BINGO!".
Truly impressive stuff.  (I remember some of the pictures being
verious huge ships hovering over normal cityscapes, haven't been
able to find those yet, though.)

-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.scifi-fantasy.com

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PGP-(--) t* 5++>+++++ X+ R* tv+ b++(+++) DI
D++(---) G(++) e*>++ h+ !r--- !y--
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

Post a reply to this message

Gilles Tran <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:3cadc759$1@news.povray.org...

> the dreadful military-looking designs that have become the
> norm since.
>

One thing that has been often imitated but never duplicated. Most ships look
to me like knock-offs of the battlestar in "Battlestar Galactica." A
horrible film, but the battlestar is the most detailed ship I have ever
seen.

The ship I *really* don't like is the gimmicky borg ship. I could make
something similar in about an hour in Pov-Ray. I am not a big
science-fiction fan, but have always liked the art. It's a shame that so
little of it is interesting.

 -Shay

Post a reply to this message

"Timothy R. Cook" <tim### [at] scifi-fantasycom> a écrit dans le message de
news: 3CADDEAE.895A836D@scifi-fantasy.com...
> I remember getting that or a similar book from a nearby town's
> library when I was young; the ship designs stood out in my mind,
> and I never was able to relocate the book.

I just checked and the book is available at amazon (do a search on Chris
Foss). He didn't released many books (3 I think) and I know that he has
refused to have his work appear in a Sci-Fi art anthology (to the
anthologist's dismay).
There's a Foss mystery, actually. He was a very influential Sci-Fi artist in
the 75-85, at least in the UK and France, doing an incredible number of book
covers, got involved in 3 high-profile movies (Jorodowsky's Dune, Superman
and Alien) but his work wasn't used in the latter two. And then he mostly
disappeared. In 1991, he published a book than didn't sell. I've found later
(post 1981) images of him as posters on the internet, a few book covers, and
some passing reference of him attending a sci-fi convention in the 90s but
it looks like he's retired. The lack of fan base on the internet is sort of
sad, in fact.
I'll probably do my own Foss tribute one day.

G.

--

**********************
http://www.oyonale.com
**********************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray and Poser computer images
- Posters


> -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
> Version: 3.12
> GFA dpu- s: a?-- C++(++++) U P? L E--- W++(+++)>$
> N++ o? K- w(+) O? M-(--) V? PS+(+++) PE(--) Y(--)
> PGP-(--) t* 5++>+++++ X+ R* tv+ b++(+++) DI
> D++(---) G(++) e*>++ h+ !r--- !y--
> ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

Post a reply to this message

> The ship I *really* don't like is the gimmicky borg ship. I could make
> something similar in about an hour in Pov-Ray. I am not a big
> science-fiction fan, but have always liked the art. It's a shame that so
> little of it is interesting.

You could say I'm a huge Star Trek fan.. The Borg ship is not beautiful but
quite realistic for a species that has no appriciation of art.. Today I've
seen some Foss ships - and I thought I had seen everything - but his style
is original.. It would be worth to try in Trek, as more variation would be
good.. hmm, how do I set followups to off-topic?  :o)


Okay never mind..
Hugo

Post a reply to this message

I disagree. The borg ship is a very illogical design for a robotic race. Why's
it a cube? That's a fairly profound artistic statement! Though their model
builders obviously did just knock it together from the spare stuff they had
lying around. :)

--
Tek
http://www.evilsuperbrain.com

Hugo <hua### [at] post3teledk> wrote in message news:3cadf3bc$1@news.povray.org...
> > The ship I *really* don't like is the gimmicky borg ship. I could make
> > something similar in about an hour in Pov-Ray. I am not a big
> > science-fiction fan, but have always liked the art. It's a shame that so
> > little of it is interesting.
>
> You could say I'm a huge Star Trek fan.. The Borg ship is not beautiful but
> quite realistic for a species that has no appriciation of art.. Today I've
> seen some Foss ships - and I thought I had seen everything - but his style
> is original.. It would be worth to try in Trek, as more variation would be
> good.. hmm, how do I set followups to off-topic?  :o)
>
>
> Okay never mind..
> Hugo
>
>

Post a reply to this message

> One thing that has been often imitated but never duplicated. Most ships look
> to me like knock-offs of the battlestar in "Battlestar Galactica."

IIRC the battlestar was a knock off of the ship designs in Star Wars! :)

--
Tek
http://www.evilsuperbrain.com


Shay <sah### [at] simcopartscom> wrote in message news:3cade472@news.povray.org...
>
> Gilles Tran <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
> news:3cadc759$1@news.povray.org...
>
> > the dreadful military-looking designs that have become the
> > norm since.
> >
>
> One thing that has been often imitated but never duplicated. Most ships look
> to me like knock-offs of the battlestar in "Battlestar Galactica." A
> horrible film, but the battlestar is the most detailed ship I have ever
> seen.
>
> The ship I *really* don't like is the gimmicky borg ship. I could make
> something similar in about an hour in Pov-Ray. I am not a big
> science-fiction fan, but have always liked the art. It's a shame that so
> little of it is interesting.
>
>  -Shay
>
>

Post a reply to this message

I only found out about Foss last weekend! I'd been thinking about sci-fi art a
lot, particularly after some nice comments on my "links" IRTC entry. Anyway, I
was at my girlfriend's parent's house helping her sort through some of her old
things, and we found the folder from a Foss Poster Portfolio. The illustrations
grabbed me immediately, though sadly we couldn't find the posters it contained.
My girlfriend's let me keep it so I can look at the thumbnail pictures on the
back of the folder! :)

I have to agree that the website doesn't do his work justice, not by a long way.
I'll have to try to locate the posters...

--
Tek
http://www.evilsuperbrain.com


Gilles Tran <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:3cadc759$1@news.povray.org...
> "Shay" <sah### [at] simcopartscom> a écrit dans le message de news:
> 3cadb4b5$1@news.povray.org...
> >
> > Maybe I'm missing something really great in his art, but to me it looks
> very
> > simple. I'm not saying that I could do it, but I have seen many on the net
> > with similar styles whose work it much more complete and detailed.
>
> Perhaps you should try to get a copy of his book, "XXIrst Century Foss". It
> was published in the early 80s. All the Foss pics I've found so far on the
> net really don't do justice to his work, because they are poor scans of this
> book. Personally, I've always found Foss' sci-fi art much better and
> imaginative than the dreadful military-looking designs that have become the
> norm since. Too bad Hollywood was never able to use his work. His concept
> art for Dune (the aborted 1975 version, not the Lynch one) is still
> incredible by modern standards, but I guess that it came too early.
>
> G.
>
>
> --
>
> **********************
> http://www.oyonale.com
> **********************
> - Graphic experiments
> - POV-Ray and Poser computer images
> - Posters
>
>
>

Post a reply to this message

> I disagree. The borg ship is a very illogical design for a robotic race.
Why's
> it a cube? That's a fairly profound artistic statement!

I consider it very logical. A cube has absolutely no artistic merit. It's
just an efficient way to place drones in a network. The same with their
spherical ships. And in space it doesn't matter what shape a ship has
because there is no air to penetrate.

Regards,
Hugo

Post a reply to this message

Tek <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message
news:3cae10a4@news.povray.org...
>
> IIRC the battlestar was a knock off of the ship designs in Star Wars! :)
>
> --

Perhaps, but the battlestar was better. More detail.

 -Shay

Post a reply to this message

I felt it was pandering to the public's perception of what's logical and robotic
without really thinking it through. If the only concerns are drone networking
(and defense) then a sphere is the only logical shape, because it is the one
that gives the most advantage. There has to be a reason to deviate from a
spherical design, and I reckon the reason is "it looks more robotic" :)

--
Tek
http://www.evilsuperbrain.com


Hugo <hua### [at] post3teledk> wrote in message news:3cae1751@news.povray.org...
> > I disagree. The borg ship is a very illogical design for a robotic race.
> Why's
> > it a cube? That's a fairly profound artistic statement!
>
> I consider it very logical. A cube has absolutely no artistic merit. It's
> just an efficient way to place drones in a network. The same with their
> spherical ships. And in space it doesn't matter what shape a ship has
> because there is no air to penetrate.
>
> Regards,
> Hugo
>
>

Post a reply to this message

Well, you guys got me thinking about macros to make Borg cubes, and I played
with it a little.  This is not exactly Borg, but "borg-like".  It still needs a
lot more, like some intelligence in the macros because they are very literal and
stupid right now.  But overall, it has a nice feel to it.
    Not Foss, but okay.

Cheers!

Chip Shults
My robotics, space and CGI web page - http://home.cfl.rr.com/aichip

light_source{0#macro k(_)sphere{13*z+i*_.5pigment{agate}finish{phong.3}}#end
1}#macro _(s,i,g)#if(s)k(1)k(-1)_(s-1i+g,g)#end#end _(3x+3*y<2,-2>)_(2x,y)_(
2x-y,x)_(4x*3,-y)_(4<3,1>x)_(2x*6,-y)

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'Borgthis.jpg' (154 KB)

Preview of image 'Borgthis.jpg'

In article <3cae686a@news.povray.org>,
 "Sir Charles W. Shults III" <aic### [at] cflrrcom> wrote:

>     Well, you guys got me thinking about macros to make Borg cubes, and I 
> played with it a little.  This is not exactly Borg, but "borg-like".  
> It still needs a lot more, like some intelligence in the macros 
> because they are very literal and stupid right now.  But overall, it 
> has a nice feel to it.

1: Borg cubes aren't shiny. ;-)
The larger parts could use some more detailed texture, and the big 
highlights look off.

2: Your ship is glowing. It appears almost completely evenly lit, but 
there's nothing to light it. Drop ambient down to 0 and use a single 
bright light source for the sun, and maybe scatter a few lights with a 
short falloff distance around the ship itself.

-- 
Christopher James Huff <chr### [at] maccom>
POV-Ray TAG e-mail: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg
TAG web site: http://tag.povray.org/

Post a reply to this message

Yes, this is a first step test of the macros and their results.  I had the
ambient set high enough to make out the details all around.  I wanted to be
certain of seeing what the textures and parts would look like before going to my
final settings.  Once I have the mechanical placement and arrangement worked
out, I will put everything back to a dull finish and maybe even a negative
ambient to heighten the shadows.
    In a final rendering, it seems that the things you cannot directly see make
a great deal of difference.  In real photographs, there is far more detail than
"strikes the eye", so to speak.  I always enhance my lighting at first so I can
be assured that those details will be present.  Then, when I go to a more
realistic lighting, the details blend in almost to invisibility, but definitely
add an atmosphere of realism.
    Perhaps our perception of what is real and what is rendered is delimited by
those details that we perceive subliminally, without actually "seeing" them.

Cheers!

Chip Shults
My robotics, space and CGI web page - http://home.cfl.rr.com/aichip

light_source{0#macro k(_)sphere{13*z+i*_.5pigment{agate}finish{phong.3}}#end
1}#macro _(s,i,g)#if(s)k(1)k(-1)_(s-1i+g,g)#end#end _(3x+3*y<2,-2>)_(2x,y)_(
2x-y,x)_(4x*3,-y)_(4<3,1>x)_(2x*6,-y)

Post a reply to this message

In article <3caf79c9$1@news.povray.org>,
 "Sir Charles W. Shults III" <aic### [at] cflrrcom> wrote:

>     Yes, this is a first step test of the macros and their results.  I had 
> the ambient set high enough to make out the details all around.  I 
> wanted to be certain of seeing what the textures and parts would look 
> like before going to my final settings.  Once I have the mechanical 
> placement and arrangement worked out, I will put everything back to a 
> dull finish and maybe even a negative ambient to heighten the 
> shadows.

If you just need lighting for details, try a light_source at the camera 
position. This shows a lot more detail and contrast, because you still 
get shading from surfaces at different angles instead of a flat "base 
level" of illumination, but everything visible from the camera is 
illuminated.

-- 
Christopher James Huff <chr### [at] maccom>
POV-Ray TAG e-mail: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg
TAG web site: http://tag.povray.org/

Post a reply to this message

Good idea.  I'll try that now.

Cheers!

Chip Shults
My robotics, space and CGI web page - http://home.cfl.rr.com/aichip

Post a reply to this message

I've got a couple of those books - they are pretty good.

I'd agree that viewing on the web doesn't do the book justice.

To all of you who don't have the book: BUY THE BOOK <G>.  The web is great
but pictures of a hot tub don't relax the back.

                  == John ==

"Gilles Tran" <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:3cadc759$1@news.povray.org...

> Perhaps you should try to get a copy of his book, "XXIrst Century Foss".

Post a reply to this message