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GLBFirefly / Serenity WIP
3,774Thread Activity
loner02Fri, Sep 12
loner02Fri, Sep 12
DarkGriffinThu, Sep 11
Luxe MuseSat, Aug 16
DarkGriffinSat, Aug 16
loner02Sat, Aug 16
ArtbyMelFri, Aug 15
loner02Thu, Aug 14
In celebration of Serenity movie's 20th anniversary, I'm trying to build my most ambitious project yet.
Planning to release it in parts starting with the bridge/cockpit (hopefully with some interiors also), 'cause I don't think I can complete it in one go.
PS. In the meantime, please come visit my store for some cosplay outfits for G8F/G9.
Planning to release it in parts starting with the bridge/cockpit (hopefully with some interiors also), 'cause I don't think I can complete it in one go.
PS. In the meantime, please come visit my store for some cosplay outfits for G8F/G9.
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Hellz ya. Best of luck on this. Many exterior Fireflys out there. Never seen interiors before.
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Fri, Apr 11Thanks! Interiors will be a challenge tho I'd have to fill in a lot of blanks, especially since I'll be basing only on screengrabs and pictures and floorplans which doesn't really show 360-degree view. 
lukon
Karma: 5,684
Fri, Apr 11Ya. And beware the whims of the set designers. I made a model of a space ship used int eh "Space: 1999" TV series, and I encountered several discrepancies between, not only the outside versus inside of the ship, but in the placement of set items inside the ship between camera shots. A bit frustrating.
lukon
Karma: 5,684
Fri, Apr 11But I guess this wasn't so much the "whims of the set designers" and more the priorities of the directors.
loner02
Karma: 2,308
Sat, Apr 12Agree on that point. As far as I know, they made sets for shooting scenes, which didn't necessarily "fit" the ship as far as the CG designers were concerned. I know this won't be 100% accurate from the get go, but I hope I can get as close as I possibly can.
Damn, one of he best shows Fox ever cancelled. Looking forward to seeing this!
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Sun, Apr 13I'll try my best! 
I've lost count how many times I've rewatched the series. Now I'm watching again just to get this model right.
I've lost count how many times I've rewatched the series. Now I'm watching again just to get this model right.
UPDATE:
I've been following the "official blueprints" as seen in previous post. The exterior proportions seem about right compared to the movie/show. The interiors, not so much.
For instance, I counted about a dozen steps for the walkway between the bridge and mess hall (as per the show), but viewed from the outside, it's more like 20meters. To compensate, I needed to modify stuff, like add more vents and spread the rooms apart.
Still needs a ton of gorram details, but getting there. Next up: the bridge.
I've been following the "official blueprints" as seen in previous post. The exterior proportions seem about right compared to the movie/show. The interiors, not so much.
For instance, I counted about a dozen steps for the walkway between the bridge and mess hall (as per the show), but viewed from the outside, it's more like 20meters. To compensate, I needed to modify stuff, like add more vents and spread the rooms apart.
Still needs a ton of gorram details, but getting there. Next up: the bridge.
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Yessssss. You are rising to the challenge of harmonizing exterior and interior with the least compromise of either. Cool.
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UPDATE:
The blueprint for the bridge seems ok enough compared to the movie, with minor adjustments. There were other challenges though:
- The movie version bridge is way different from the TV version. With only the movie as reference, we get limited scenes for screen grab.
- Since the bridge is a confined space, we don't get camera shots (e.g. wide angle) that give good views/angles of the bridge. I had to stitch scenes together, and even that is incomplete. For the gaps, I had to do some guess work.
- There are tons of little details, like buttons, switches, panels, cables, LEDs, etc. I had to find a balance between level of detail and high poly count. It won't do to go overboard on details but end up with an unusable model unless you have a powerful rig.
So here's what I have so far, for fine tuning later. I've taken the liberty to rearrange some of the panels, but I'm sure she'll fly just fine.
Next: The main body
The blueprint for the bridge seems ok enough compared to the movie, with minor adjustments. There were other challenges though:
- The movie version bridge is way different from the TV version. With only the movie as reference, we get limited scenes for screen grab.
- Since the bridge is a confined space, we don't get camera shots (e.g. wide angle) that give good views/angles of the bridge. I had to stitch scenes together, and even that is incomplete. For the gaps, I had to do some guess work.
- There are tons of little details, like buttons, switches, panels, cables, LEDs, etc. I had to find a balance between level of detail and high poly count. It won't do to go overboard on details but end up with an unusable model unless you have a powerful rig.
So here's what I have so far, for fine tuning later. I've taken the liberty to rearrange some of the panels, but I'm sure she'll fly just fine.
Next: The main body
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lukon
Karma: 5,684
Sat, May 03Looks great so far.
And now I have a question.
Will you be providing images for all those screens? And if so, how? Will you make the images yourself?
I've got space ship control screen images to make for my spaceship model too. So I'm wondering how others do it.
And now I have a question.
Will you be providing images for all those screens? And if so, how? Will you make the images yourself?
I've got space ship control screen images to make for my spaceship model too. So I'm wondering how others do it.
loner02
Karma: 2,308
Sat, May 03I was planning to make some for the screens. If the movie/show has clear enough images, i'd probably just recreate it as a texture. Otherwise, i'd have to invent some images.
lukon
Karma: 5,684
Mon, May 05Well, if it it any help to you, I found a bunch of free tech screen elements. They are made by Spiraloso over on DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/spiraloso/gallery/71290720/stock-and-resources
I asked Spiraloso for permission to release my space ship model incorporating their screen art elements. Spiraloso granted me that permission. Perhaps they would also grant you permission. It might depend on whether your Firefly would be offered for free. Spiraloso might have granted me permission only because I plan to offer my model for free. I don't know what their policy would be for paid models.
I asked Spiraloso for permission to release my space ship model incorporating their screen art elements. Spiraloso granted me that permission. Perhaps they would also grant you permission. It might depend on whether your Firefly would be offered for free. Spiraloso might have granted me permission only because I plan to offer my model for free. I don't know what their policy would be for paid models.
UPDATE:
Worked on the Main Deck, incl the Mess Hall.
While the ship's exterior proportions seem alright (not perfect, but workable), the interior proportions needed adjustments.
The mess hall turned out to be longer (as compared to the movie's), a bit narrower (squeezed on both sides by the shuttle bay), and the ceiling is higher (in order to reach those observation windows). I needed to do some creative changes again in order to match the interior to the exterior. Kinda like fitting a short and stocky body to a tall and slim dress..
Speaking of the shuttle bay, I put it on hold until I had the shuttles figured out. I mean, how exactly did they move back and forth to the shuttles? One scene shows the crew inside the shuttle, the next scene shows them on the catwalk above the cargo bay. And how do the shuttles dock? Is it just an airtight, snug-fit hole for the shuttle to slide in, or are there more intricate docking mechanism? Well, at least for the shuttle doors, to allow the crew to access the shuttles even in space flight.
Next: Mid Deck, Cargo Bay
Worked on the Main Deck, incl the Mess Hall.
While the ship's exterior proportions seem alright (not perfect, but workable), the interior proportions needed adjustments.
The mess hall turned out to be longer (as compared to the movie's), a bit narrower (squeezed on both sides by the shuttle bay), and the ceiling is higher (in order to reach those observation windows). I needed to do some creative changes again in order to match the interior to the exterior. Kinda like fitting a short and stocky body to a tall and slim dress..
Speaking of the shuttle bay, I put it on hold until I had the shuttles figured out. I mean, how exactly did they move back and forth to the shuttles? One scene shows the crew inside the shuttle, the next scene shows them on the catwalk above the cargo bay. And how do the shuttles dock? Is it just an airtight, snug-fit hole for the shuttle to slide in, or are there more intricate docking mechanism? Well, at least for the shuttle doors, to allow the crew to access the shuttles even in space flight.
Next: Mid Deck, Cargo Bay
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This looks sweet! Not only because its Firefly, but actually having a fully functional spaceship, inside and out would be amazing! Pretty easy to improvise an interior with the larger ships, but some of the mid size ships just don't make sense. No bunks, bathrooms, or mess halls but large control/cockpit areas for a 10+ man crews. Maybe their just making a quick run to the Galaxy Mart?
Are you planning on rigging the doors, hatches, etc? Regardless, I'm an insta buy once you finish it up and put it in the store!
Are you planning on rigging the doors, hatches, etc? Regardless, I'm an insta buy once you finish it up and put it in the store!
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Fri, May 16Yup, planning on rigging most doors, even the crew quarters' doors. And especially those wing engine/thrusters for some crazy ivan maneuvers.Those that I think would be needed in creating meaningful scenes.
I don't plan on rigging some doors, hatches or storage cabinets though, as I don't even know what's behind them. For example, there's actually a bathroom door at the bridge but it won't be functional.
I've still a long way to go before i can put it up in the store, but thanks!
I don't plan on rigging some doors, hatches or storage cabinets though, as I don't even know what's behind them. For example, there's actually a bathroom door at the bridge but it won't be functional.
I've still a long way to go before i can put it up in the store, but thanks!
UPDATE:
Midway thru working on the cargo bay, I realized that I needed a placeholder for the shuttles. This would allow me to figure out how the shuttle bay would look like, as well as determine how to connect the shuttles to the cargo bay.
So I took a quick detour to make the shuttle exterior, which wasn't exactly free of challenges.
- The movie only briefly showed an undocked and flying shuttle. In addition, the interiors were not shown either except for the cockpit and airlock doors. Which meant there isn't much chance of getting a decent screenshot. Of course, I could always get back to the series, which I probably should do.
- The blueprints, while providing multiple views of the shuttle exterior, only gave a top view of interiors. So (I think) they overlooked the fact that the shuttles are lacking in headroom. I'm no mechanical expert, but I'm pretty sure if the wings fold/retract the way it did, it is going to need some space to fold into. And that would take up part of the interior ceiling. The cockpit's fine since the pilot is just sitting down, but for the rest of the shuttle, people should be able to stand up.
- To fix the previous issue, I could (1) raise the dome but the shuttle shape already seems fine when compared to the movie version, or (2) lower the floor nearer to the base but this raised the question of where do we stow the landing gears. I'll deal with this issue later.
Just to clarify, I'm planning to have the wings, landing gears and airlock doors rigged. That's why I needed to figure out a solution to the above issue. Any suggestions?
For now, I have my placeholder. Back to the Cargo Bay.
Midway thru working on the cargo bay, I realized that I needed a placeholder for the shuttles. This would allow me to figure out how the shuttle bay would look like, as well as determine how to connect the shuttles to the cargo bay.
So I took a quick detour to make the shuttle exterior, which wasn't exactly free of challenges.
- The movie only briefly showed an undocked and flying shuttle. In addition, the interiors were not shown either except for the cockpit and airlock doors. Which meant there isn't much chance of getting a decent screenshot. Of course, I could always get back to the series, which I probably should do.
- The blueprints, while providing multiple views of the shuttle exterior, only gave a top view of interiors. So (I think) they overlooked the fact that the shuttles are lacking in headroom. I'm no mechanical expert, but I'm pretty sure if the wings fold/retract the way it did, it is going to need some space to fold into. And that would take up part of the interior ceiling. The cockpit's fine since the pilot is just sitting down, but for the rest of the shuttle, people should be able to stand up.
- To fix the previous issue, I could (1) raise the dome but the shuttle shape already seems fine when compared to the movie version, or (2) lower the floor nearer to the base but this raised the question of where do we stow the landing gears. I'll deal with this issue later.
Just to clarify, I'm planning to have the wings, landing gears and airlock doors rigged. That's why I needed to figure out a solution to the above issue. Any suggestions?
For now, I have my placeholder. Back to the Cargo Bay.
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This project is progressing nicely. Great attention to detail.
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Tue, Jun 10Thanks! The challenge is to find that sweet spot where you get plenty of details without going overboard on the poly count.
This looks pretty sweet. Love that you're doing both exterior and interior.
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Tue, Jun 10Thanks! Few mid-sized ships have as much detailed interiors like the Firefly. I've seen Star Wars several times and I still couldn't figure out the inside of Millennium Falcon.
VulcanStarDrives
Karma: 7,995
Tue, Jun 10lol. I've seen that observation crop up a few times, makes me wonder if the Falcon is a Tardis far from home.
UPDATE:
I gotta admit that modeling the Cargo Bay was more fun than I expected, not because it is huge, but because there are plenty of basic geometrical shapes which I found easier to model than irregular shaped ones. That and because the Cargo Bay is one of the three most used scenes/sets in the movie (the other being the bridge and mess hall), which thus gives us plenty of reference stills from different angles. Yet still, it is not one without issues.
- The path from the shuttle to the cargo bay was never shown in the movie or the series. The blueprints had stairs from the main level to midlevel, but is a bit too steep for my taste. So I made a path squeezing its way down to the midlevel. I don't exactly like it as it is a bit long but I'm sticking to it for now. If it's only up to me, I'd rather have a vertical ladder or a fireman's pole, which Inara may not like. I'd recommend she take the path thru the mess hall instead.
I could of course just skip the airlock. I mean, I doubt if anybody would be making interesting scenes inside an airlock. Unfortunately, my OCD behavior won't let me sleep if I do that.
- With that airlock design, I had to modify the cargo bay ceiling a little. Part of it was "eaten" by the airlock, just like part of the mess hall. And while on the ceiling, I thought I'd simplify it a bit. Hope nobody looks up or mind the changes.
- Remember that belly landing in the movie? That implies that the cargo bay is the lowest part of the ship. However, when going from the cargo bay to the lounge, you'd take four steps up a short flight of stairs, go thru that big round thingie they call a gravity amplifier, and down six steps another set of stairs. So the tail section should actually be lower when it comes to floor level. I'll have to deal with this later.
So here's what I have for the cargo bay.
And here's how the doors would look like:
NEXT: Tail section (lounge, infirmary, passenger dorms). Need to figure out that floor level issue.
I gotta admit that modeling the Cargo Bay was more fun than I expected, not because it is huge, but because there are plenty of basic geometrical shapes which I found easier to model than irregular shaped ones. That and because the Cargo Bay is one of the three most used scenes/sets in the movie (the other being the bridge and mess hall), which thus gives us plenty of reference stills from different angles. Yet still, it is not one without issues.
- The path from the shuttle to the cargo bay was never shown in the movie or the series. The blueprints had stairs from the main level to midlevel, but is a bit too steep for my taste. So I made a path squeezing its way down to the midlevel. I don't exactly like it as it is a bit long but I'm sticking to it for now. If it's only up to me, I'd rather have a vertical ladder or a fireman's pole, which Inara may not like. I'd recommend she take the path thru the mess hall instead.
I could of course just skip the airlock. I mean, I doubt if anybody would be making interesting scenes inside an airlock. Unfortunately, my OCD behavior won't let me sleep if I do that.
- With that airlock design, I had to modify the cargo bay ceiling a little. Part of it was "eaten" by the airlock, just like part of the mess hall. And while on the ceiling, I thought I'd simplify it a bit. Hope nobody looks up or mind the changes.
- Remember that belly landing in the movie? That implies that the cargo bay is the lowest part of the ship. However, when going from the cargo bay to the lounge, you'd take four steps up a short flight of stairs, go thru that big round thingie they call a gravity amplifier, and down six steps another set of stairs. So the tail section should actually be lower when it comes to floor level. I'll have to deal with this later.
So here's what I have for the cargo bay.
And here's how the doors would look like:
NEXT: Tail section (lounge, infirmary, passenger dorms). Need to figure out that floor level issue.
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UPDATE:
The Tail section is arguably the most detail intensive exterior part of the ship, what with all those pipes and conduits and vents. Trouble is, whenever there's a scene showing the tail section, it's either a wide shot of the ship (hence details are small) or the ship is moving or in space (details are blurry or dark). So I had to rely less on screenshots and more on drawings/blueprints and guesswork. I wonder why they didn't just put those conduits inside the chassis to make it less prone to damage in case they encounter an Alliance patrol or reavers.
The other thing about the tail section is that rotating thingie (rotor?) at what I call the waist of the ship. It looks nice watching it rotate slowly as the ship moves, but it eats up the bottom part of the tail, which affects the floor level. I haven't done the interiors yet, and maybe I can raise the floor level, but that won't be consistent with the live action version (as stated in my previous post).
The current workaround (cheat) I have is this: I have two geometries for the rotor - one rotates like that in the movie and a fake one which is fixed but provides enough space for the interiors. For exterior renders, use the default rotor. For interior renders, hide the default and/or use the fake one.
Here are previews for the tail exteriors.
I figured I have about 4 more steps before I can release the first part (i.e. complete ship exterior):
- Tail section interior (infirmary, dorms, engine room)
- Wings section (shuttle and shuttle bay, engines, landing gear)
- Exterior detailing
- Exterior texturing and rigging
Still much to do, but getting there.
The Tail section is arguably the most detail intensive exterior part of the ship, what with all those pipes and conduits and vents. Trouble is, whenever there's a scene showing the tail section, it's either a wide shot of the ship (hence details are small) or the ship is moving or in space (details are blurry or dark). So I had to rely less on screenshots and more on drawings/blueprints and guesswork. I wonder why they didn't just put those conduits inside the chassis to make it less prone to damage in case they encounter an Alliance patrol or reavers.
The other thing about the tail section is that rotating thingie (rotor?) at what I call the waist of the ship. It looks nice watching it rotate slowly as the ship moves, but it eats up the bottom part of the tail, which affects the floor level. I haven't done the interiors yet, and maybe I can raise the floor level, but that won't be consistent with the live action version (as stated in my previous post).
The current workaround (cheat) I have is this: I have two geometries for the rotor - one rotates like that in the movie and a fake one which is fixed but provides enough space for the interiors. For exterior renders, use the default rotor. For interior renders, hide the default and/or use the fake one.
Here are previews for the tail exteriors.
I figured I have about 4 more steps before I can release the first part (i.e. complete ship exterior):
- Tail section interior (infirmary, dorms, engine room)
- Wings section (shuttle and shuttle bay, engines, landing gear)
- Exterior detailing
- Exterior texturing and rigging
Still much to do, but getting there.
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UPDATE:
Thought I'd do a quick update and get this out of the way. It started with my previous post (re: tail section exterior) where I got a little carried away with detailing. Well, it didn't end there.
The Aft Hall or Walkway is normally dimly lit so you'd probably never notice the details they added on the walls. (I still wonder why scifi walls can't be plain simple walls.) I had to crank up the brightness of the screenshots just to see them. A little stretched maybe because this walkway is longer than the movie's, but they're there.
Now the Engine Room was shown only once in the movie and viewed from the door. So much for trying to get a view from multiple angles. So this one is a mix of the movie version, the tv show version and my own interpretation. Hope Kaylee won't mind the changes I made to her sanctuary. Plus I still need to make sense of that round rotating thingie they call an acceleration core, which looks like a bloody mess of wires and tubes and parts. I'll add those details in later.
Next: Tail section lower deck (lounge/waiting room, infirmary, passenger dorms)
Thought I'd do a quick update and get this out of the way. It started with my previous post (re: tail section exterior) where I got a little carried away with detailing. Well, it didn't end there.
The Aft Hall or Walkway is normally dimly lit so you'd probably never notice the details they added on the walls. (I still wonder why scifi walls can't be plain simple walls.) I had to crank up the brightness of the screenshots just to see them. A little stretched maybe because this walkway is longer than the movie's, but they're there.
Now the Engine Room was shown only once in the movie and viewed from the door. So much for trying to get a view from multiple angles. So this one is a mix of the movie version, the tv show version and my own interpretation. Hope Kaylee won't mind the changes I made to her sanctuary.
Plus I still need to make sense of that round rotating thingie they call an acceleration core, which looks like a bloody mess of wires and tubes and parts. I'll add those details in later.Next: Tail section lower deck (lounge/waiting room, infirmary, passenger dorms)
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Luxe Muse
Karma: 4,366
Thu, Jul 03I haven't commented before, but I have visited a few times. This is by far my favorite thread in the forum. It looks wonderful, and I would love for you to keep sharing your updates.
UPDATE:
And I ran into a roadblock!
This is regarding the path from the Cargo Bay to the Lounge/Common Area in the tail section.
First issue is the floor level. As I've shared before, the mid-section belly seems to be the lowest part of the ship and is a bit lower than the tail section. So how come one needs to go up 4 steps and down 6 steps to move from the cargo bay to the tail area? (Note on the pictures below: area enclosed in box shows the tail section that is covered behind the rotor housing.)
Second issue is still the floor level. The cargo bay is like a box, so it's easy to define the floor. The tail section however is circular, like a top lying on its side, and the floor be like a horizontal plane slicing thru it. In order to get a flat area big enough for the common area + infirmary, that plane needs to be raised higher.
It's just geometry and I can't do anything about it. Think of it like horizontally slicing a ball or a can on its side. If we cut it in the middle, we get the maximum area. If we slice it closer to the bottom, we get less. If we follow the cargo bay floor level, which coincides nearly with the bottom of the tail section, we'd get very little flat area.
The compromise I'm looking at is to raise the tail floor level. Which means however that instead of stairs going down to the tail section, we'd need stairs going up. A major deviation indeed!
Maybe I'll sleep on it for a while, and maybe I'll dream of a better solution. Any suggestions are welcome!
And I ran into a roadblock!
This is regarding the path from the Cargo Bay to the Lounge/Common Area in the tail section.
First issue is the floor level. As I've shared before, the mid-section belly seems to be the lowest part of the ship and is a bit lower than the tail section. So how come one needs to go up 4 steps and down 6 steps to move from the cargo bay to the tail area? (Note on the pictures below: area enclosed in box shows the tail section that is covered behind the rotor housing.)
Second issue is still the floor level. The cargo bay is like a box, so it's easy to define the floor. The tail section however is circular, like a top lying on its side, and the floor be like a horizontal plane slicing thru it. In order to get a flat area big enough for the common area + infirmary, that plane needs to be raised higher.
It's just geometry and I can't do anything about it. Think of it like horizontally slicing a ball or a can on its side. If we cut it in the middle, we get the maximum area. If we slice it closer to the bottom, we get less. If we follow the cargo bay floor level, which coincides nearly with the bottom of the tail section, we'd get very little flat area.
The compromise I'm looking at is to raise the tail floor level. Which means however that instead of stairs going down to the tail section, we'd need stairs going up. A major deviation indeed!
Maybe I'll sleep on it for a while, and maybe I'll dream of a better solution. Any suggestions are welcome!
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UPDATE:
[Serenity movie scene]: Mal moves toward the stern, passing thru the Mess hall and aft hallway, to reach the Engine room and talk to Kaylee. Going back, he meets Simon and they move ONE level down to the Infirmary where he gets his shots. Afterwards, they move out to the Cargo bay, which is supposedly below the Mess hall but is TWO levels high. So where'd the Mess hall go?
Blame movie magic! We know production builds multiple movie sets to shoot scenes, then they stitch them up in film to make it look continuous. Well, it's obvious here that the stairs should be two levels high and it's quite easy to do the modifications. In fact, that's the easy part.
The Passenger dorms is a different matter. The movie only shows the dorms in passing (and never the insides of the rooms), so I thought of using the TV version instead. In both cases, we have two corridors at a certain angle with respect to each other and (I assume) rooms on each side of the corridor.
This is where it gets complicated. Remember the shape of the tail which is curved and tapered towards the rear? So how would we arrange the rooms as it was in the show?
Let's do the math. The tail at its widest would be about 16m (53') and that's at the center axis. It gets narrower as we move to the rear and near the bottom. A room would be at least 2m (6.6') long to fit a bed. So if we simply line up two 1.5m (5') wide corridors and four rooms (one on each side of the corridors), we'd need 11m (36'). Now spread those corridors so as to form a 'V'. The blueprints have it at a conservative 20-degree angle between the corridors, but looks more like 60 to 90 degrees from the show. I tried a 40-degree compromise and it's a bit tight.
So for now, here's what I plan to do:
- Prioritize three rooms: River's (1), Simon's (2) and Book's (3)
- I'll add the rooms without issues, e.g. if it won't intersect with other rooms or the tail walls
- The rest would be just dummy rooms, i.e. doors won't open or there's no actual room behind it.
Note: I know that rendering interior scenes won't require the exterior at all. So why am I hellbent on trying to fit the interior with the exterior? Simple answer - I want to build a semi-believable sci-fi ship, not a magical Harry Potter tent.
[Serenity movie scene]: Mal moves toward the stern, passing thru the Mess hall and aft hallway, to reach the Engine room and talk to Kaylee. Going back, he meets Simon and they move ONE level down to the Infirmary where he gets his shots. Afterwards, they move out to the Cargo bay, which is supposedly below the Mess hall but is TWO levels high. So where'd the Mess hall go?
Blame movie magic! We know production builds multiple movie sets to shoot scenes, then they stitch them up in film to make it look continuous. Well, it's obvious here that the stairs should be two levels high and it's quite easy to do the modifications. In fact, that's the easy part.
The Passenger dorms is a different matter. The movie only shows the dorms in passing (and never the insides of the rooms), so I thought of using the TV version instead. In both cases, we have two corridors at a certain angle with respect to each other and (I assume) rooms on each side of the corridor.
This is where it gets complicated. Remember the shape of the tail which is curved and tapered towards the rear? So how would we arrange the rooms as it was in the show?
Let's do the math. The tail at its widest would be about 16m (53') and that's at the center axis. It gets narrower as we move to the rear and near the bottom. A room would be at least 2m (6.6') long to fit a bed. So if we simply line up two 1.5m (5') wide corridors and four rooms (one on each side of the corridors), we'd need 11m (36'). Now spread those corridors so as to form a 'V'. The blueprints have it at a conservative 20-degree angle between the corridors, but looks more like 60 to 90 degrees from the show. I tried a 40-degree compromise and it's a bit tight.
So for now, here's what I plan to do:
- Prioritize three rooms: River's (1), Simon's (2) and Book's (3)
- I'll add the rooms without issues, e.g. if it won't intersect with other rooms or the tail walls
- The rest would be just dummy rooms, i.e. doors won't open or there's no actual room behind it.
Note: I know that rendering interior scenes won't require the exterior at all. So why am I hellbent on trying to fit the interior with the exterior? Simple answer - I want to build a semi-believable sci-fi ship, not a magical Harry Potter tent.
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lukon
Karma: 5,684
Sat, Jul 12Yessss. And the challenge you have set up for yourself is such fun! Given set designs optimized for film production, integrate them for complete topology.
loner02
Karma: 2,308
Sun, Jul 13Yah, challenge indeed! I could've chosen the easy way (of not making things fit together), but then again, i aim to misbehave. 
lukon
Karma: 5,684
Mon, Jul 14And if anyone still fancies a bit of Harry Potter tent/tardis spacial warping, they can have it behind those doors that don't open, for the rooms there's no space for.
Ok, time for another UPDATE.
Major changes were implemented on the lower deck of tail section due to the issues from previous posts:
- Raised flooring: to get enough real estate. Which makes common area floor lever higher that cargo bay's, and hence stairs should be going downwards.
- Two-level stairs from Aftdeck Hall to lower deck.
- Less spread out passenger dorms and smaller rooms. Except for Book's, Simon's and River's rooms, all other rooms are empty, and some even have no actual room behind the doors.
Because of these changes, and the limited showing of these areas from the movie, these may look a bit different. The main elements are still there, but a bit different.
Common/Waiting Area:
Passenger Dorms: These were mostly from the series, as the rooms were never shown in the movie.
Infirmary: Also taken from the series, mostly from the Pilot episode, except for the chair. I still have to add those medical instruments and stuff, but for one that just hired their resident medic, they sure do have lots of medical equipment ready. Hmmm.
Next up: Wing section, including shuttles and landing gear
Major changes were implemented on the lower deck of tail section due to the issues from previous posts:
- Raised flooring: to get enough real estate. Which makes common area floor lever higher that cargo bay's, and hence stairs should be going downwards.
- Two-level stairs from Aftdeck Hall to lower deck.
- Less spread out passenger dorms and smaller rooms. Except for Book's, Simon's and River's rooms, all other rooms are empty, and some even have no actual room behind the doors.
Because of these changes, and the limited showing of these areas from the movie, these may look a bit different. The main elements are still there, but a bit different.
Common/Waiting Area:
Passenger Dorms: These were mostly from the series, as the rooms were never shown in the movie.
Infirmary: Also taken from the series, mostly from the Pilot episode, except for the chair. I still have to add those medical instruments and stuff, but for one that just hired their resident medic, they sure do have lots of medical equipment ready. Hmmm.
Next up: Wing section, including shuttles and landing gear
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! REPORT
Bobb
Karma: 608
Sun, Aug 03This is spectacular! Are you in contact with any fan groups? I'll bet they'd be a HUGE help with screenshots and general knowledge. They might even be in contact with someone from the original production who could help.
loner02
Karma: 2,308
Sun, Aug 03No, not really. Aside from screengrabs, i do look at other people's work, such as 3d models or 2d illustrations from fan pages. I'll be posting a list of my references one of these days.
This is awesome! I am amazed at how detailed this is and can't wait till it's finished and available for purchase!
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loner02
Karma: 2,308
Thu, Aug 14Thanks so much. I am getting impatient myself coz my pace is a bit slower than i like.
DarkGriffin
Karma: 104
Sat, Aug 16Well It looks awesome! Better to be slow and create quality work that you can be proud of, than to just quickly create crap. What you're creating looks like it's far from crap, so keep up the good work, we'll wait! (and we'll try to be patient about it , lol)
Wow!!! You've made so much progress! It looks great too! Can't wait to see the final ship model!!
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Luxe Muse
Karma: 4,366
Sat, Aug 16You're doing a wonderful job Loner! Keep it up, and make sure you ask a good price for all your hard work. One she's out, she will be mine
loner02
Karma: 2,308
Fri, Sep 12Haha! Just when I was about to post a new update. Took a while, but I think it's worth it.
UPDATE:
I've been working on the shuttles, which only appeared in the movie undocked/flying, along with some scenes of its interiors, for a total of about 10 seconds. Great!
So I followed its size and shape from the blueprints, which look just fine relative to main ship. But when compared to people scale, it looks small. The screen grab from Miranda makes me wonder how they can get people in there. (Take special note of the size of the hatch and the cockpit.) But I thought maybe it's just parallax. So I took another screen shot, the one from the docks, added a perspective-corrected overlay of the shuttle, and still turns out, as Inara puts it, "small-ish".
The interior shots show a much taller hatch, a higher ceiling, and a wider and flatter cockpit with shorter windows. So either the interiors are really larger than the exterior, or they have the tech to shrink people down to hobbit size.
After much debate with myself, I decided to keep to my original objective of fitting the interiors, resulting in significant changes, including uneven floor and walls. Well, everything fits except for the cargo area ceiling, which I had to raise because I needed the characters to be able to at least stand. Hence for the shuttle, it won't do to load both exterior and interior at the same time. Anyway, you don't really need to load both to render either one.
Exterior: Follows the blueprint's size and shape, with details from the series. Added landing gears (posable and can be hidden), which are never shown on the film/series, but I think is needed to support the nose. The wings are retractable, and the hatch can be opened/closed. Shuttle exterior detailing is practically finished, and is ready for texturing.
Interior of Shuttle #1 (aka Inara's shuttle):
Cockpit: I think the set designers got a little lazy here, especially for the dashboard. After all, it's got a screen time of less than 5 seconds. Still, I followed the movie version (with modifications to fit it inside the shuttle), but I think the series version is better. So I might add elements from the series later.
Cargo Area: This has to be the most elaborately decorated room in the entire ship, and its polycount is getting a bit higher than I'd like. Now, I'm all for HD models, especially for main or foreground objects, but I find it overkill for background objects which may just be obscured or blurred with DoF. So I deliberately toned down the object details (e.g. folds/pleats on the drapes) in order to reduce polycount. This should be fun (or nightmare) texturing though.
Interior of Shuttle #2:
I haven't really started on Shuttle #2, but it's just a barebones Shuttle #1
- they should share similar cockpit
- take down all the drapes and decors; remove the bed and couch
- replace with some crates, props and junk.
- et voilà, instant Shuttle #2
Now, time for that long overdue Wing section!
I've been working on the shuttles, which only appeared in the movie undocked/flying, along with some scenes of its interiors, for a total of about 10 seconds. Great!
So I followed its size and shape from the blueprints, which look just fine relative to main ship. But when compared to people scale, it looks small. The screen grab from Miranda makes me wonder how they can get people in there. (Take special note of the size of the hatch and the cockpit.) But I thought maybe it's just parallax. So I took another screen shot, the one from the docks, added a perspective-corrected overlay of the shuttle, and still turns out, as Inara puts it, "small-ish".
The interior shots show a much taller hatch, a higher ceiling, and a wider and flatter cockpit with shorter windows. So either the interiors are really larger than the exterior, or they have the tech to shrink people down to hobbit size.
After much debate with myself, I decided to keep to my original objective of fitting the interiors, resulting in significant changes, including uneven floor and walls. Well, everything fits except for the cargo area ceiling, which I had to raise because I needed the characters to be able to at least stand. Hence for the shuttle, it won't do to load both exterior and interior at the same time. Anyway, you don't really need to load both to render either one.
Exterior: Follows the blueprint's size and shape, with details from the series. Added landing gears (posable and can be hidden), which are never shown on the film/series, but I think is needed to support the nose. The wings are retractable, and the hatch can be opened/closed. Shuttle exterior detailing is practically finished, and is ready for texturing.
Interior of Shuttle #1 (aka Inara's shuttle):
Cockpit: I think the set designers got a little lazy here, especially for the dashboard. After all, it's got a screen time of less than 5 seconds. Still, I followed the movie version (with modifications to fit it inside the shuttle), but I think the series version is better. So I might add elements from the series later.
Cargo Area: This has to be the most elaborately decorated room in the entire ship, and its polycount is getting a bit higher than I'd like. Now, I'm all for HD models, especially for main or foreground objects, but I find it overkill for background objects which may just be obscured or blurred with DoF. So I deliberately toned down the object details (e.g. folds/pleats on the drapes) in order to reduce polycount. This should be fun (or nightmare) texturing though.
Interior of Shuttle #2:
I haven't really started on Shuttle #2, but it's just a barebones Shuttle #1
- they should share similar cockpit
- take down all the drapes and decors; remove the bed and couch
- replace with some crates, props and junk.
- et voilà, instant Shuttle #2
Now, time for that long overdue Wing section!
REPLY
! REPORT
