November 22, 2009

Galactus Head

Check it out! Straight from the pages of "Fantastic Four" comes Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. Just his head so far, but I did my research and tried to stay true to Jack Kirby's original version from Fantastic Four #48-50. I gave him three inter-changeable lower face components so you could alter his mood, as needed. Below is the default "aloof scowl" that all puny mortals receive as they tremble in his cosmic presence (click on the images to view full size.)

Next, I gave him a standard talking mouth. If you browse the Google warehouse, you'll see some amazingly realistic human faces that people have created. In comparison, these faces are just a few simple angles, but, by taking the minimalism road, I think I did a better job of emulating (in 3D) Kirby's style, and even a hint of Joe Sinnott's bold inking style.

Finally, here's a teeth gritting mad face, for when he's giving the cosmic backhand to the Sphinx, In-Betweener, or some other loser. This didn't take as long as I thought. The piping around the face caused the most frustration, But I lucked out with the helmet antennas on the first few attempts. Let me know what you think.

November 19, 2009

Cosmic Ray Lab

Here's another science (fiction?) based concept that I've been kinda reluctant to post because it's not as instantly recognizable as the Astronomy lab I showed you back in September, and I've been struggling with how to explain it clearly. Below is an aerial view of a laboratory complex built around a huge device that collects and contains cosmic rays for study and experimentation. The vertical tower houses the giant radiation proof containment chamber and the doohickey on the roof is what harnesses the mysterious cosmic rays and focuses them down into the chamber (click on the images to view full size.)

The ground floor entrance shows the base of the cylinder (striped red & white) that leads up to the chamber. On the right, is a network of pipes connected to storage tanks that hold the super-cooled liquids (or whatever) that, when pumped up into the containment apparatus, somehow enables the scientists to safely study the volatile cosmic rays.

What I'm trying to convey here is the sense of a building totally devoted to a single purpose, to the elimination of almost all architectural flourishes. If you've ever been to Kennedy Space Center and gazed up at the vast monolith that is the Vehicle Assembly Building, you'll know what I'm talking about. Still, I felt it shouldn't be all hard angles, so I curved the support columns on the walkway canopy which leads out to a pleasant little seating area with a reflection pool and a kitchy futuristic sculpture.

Here's another view with different shadow settings.

Back at the lab, you can see the massive cylinder of the containment chamber surrounded by several levels of laboratory space, all interconnected by stairs and walkways. You might think the yellow safety railings took forever. Actually, each tapered window section is a component in SketchUp that contains the different levels, stairs and rails. After I made and detailed one, I simply copied, rotated and placed it on the two adjoining faces of the tower. Also, any changes I made to one component, automatically showed up on the other two. Neat, huh?

Here's a few views from inside. You'll notice that, like the astronomy lab, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of action going on here. Well, it'll be a while before I get around to furnishing this space with tables and chairs, computer stations, and all sorts of cool science paraphernalia.

Up on the roof, is the giant rotating dingus that harvests the enigmatic cosmic rays. I have absolutely no scientific basis for this thing, I just wanted it to look cool and functional. At the base is an elevated circular walkway and technical shack for monitoring and maintaining the rotating mechanism.

Here's another view showing the base and a small stair access. If I want to do this right, I'll have to figure out a logical placement of AC units, elevator machinery, etc. Finally, right up against the laughably inefficient safety railing, I've placed an idiot.

Well, I hope I've managed to make sense of these images and, at least, give an overall impression of what I was trying to accomplish with this. See you next time.

November 17, 2009

Graveyard Scene

Finally! Here's that spooky graveyard scene that I wanted to have done by Halloween. Oh well, that's what I get for setting myself a deadline. The grass is what ate up the most clock. I created about a dozen custom Photoshop brushes for the grass, when I could of done fine with maybe six or seven( just need to budget my time better.) But overall, I'm pleased with the results. This is my first real attempt at doing a paint-over of Sketchup, and it lets me know that I'll have a fairly good chance finalizing my concepts the way I visualise them (click on the image to view 3/4 and then on the magnify thing to view full size.)


 
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SketchUp/Screw-up by Timothy P. Butler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.