Spacecraft concept art combines artistic design aesthetics and sci-fi storytelling in order to produce scintillating spacecraft designs. Crafting scintillating cruisers or powerful battleships requires careful consideration when crafting such spaceships for sci-fi stories.
Starting from simple line drawings and progressing into full 3D imagery is possible thanks to senior concept artist Joe Gloria using 3D-Coat and ZBrush in this tutorial.
Designing Your Starships
No matter if it be the sleek curves of a Millennium Falcon vying with a Tie Fighter or intricate details of a space station suspended in space, all good spacecraft concept art tells a compelling narrative. From 1960 artist concepts of Wernher von Braun’s proposed manned spacecraft, through NASA’s Skylab from 1972, these designs take us on fantastical journeys of our imaginations.
As a general guideline, artists typically begin with a basic shape or skeleton and then fill in its body with interesting elements – anything from wings or pistons, guns or any functional details that sit atop that basic framework.
Inspiration comes in all forms, whether that be browsing through science fiction section at your bookstore or perusing ArtStation masterpieces. No matter the source, creating a visual library to inspire and inform your designs is vitally important. Take time to play around with shapes and ideas before moving onto 2D design of your ship.
Creating a Visual Library
No matter their medium of choice – Photoshop or 3D modeling software – most artists begin their concept designs with rough sketches. These could range from simple lines to more intricate sketches depending on what fits with their artistic preferences; the goal is simply getting ideas on paper or the screen so they can be expanded upon later.
Once rough sketches have been finished, artists begin considering what general shape language they wish to express through their drawings. Do they wish for all circles or an assortment of triangles and curves for their objects? Will spiky shapes indicate an aggressive robot while soft, swooping curves show movement?
Artists need to carefully consider both the color palette and aesthetic appearance of a spaceship when creating art for it, which can be assisted by having access to an extensive visual library. A painter used to working with life models might find it easier assembling components of their spacecraft when having access to pre-built models similar to what they are trying to recreate.
Developing Your Drawing Skills
Practice is of utmost importance when it comes to drawing. Not only will you see improvements over time, but practicing also gives you a deeper understanding of form, proportion and lighting and shade.
Inspiration comes in all forms – be it movies, bookstores or even Twitter feeds like Elon Musk’s. Whatever may spark new designs and shapes is the way of the future!
Begin with rough sketches in either your sketchbook or computer, either on paper or digitally, to explore and refine your ideas into something more workable. For example, sketch out circles and ovals as ship hull shapes without worrying too much about final appearance – you can later use these sketches for reference when drawing more detailed pieces of artwork.
Creating a 3D Image
Spaceship concept art succeeds when it can evoke emotion, engage viewers, and convey its story through design. Achieve this requires originality, intricate details and storytelling prowess combined together into stunning forms – from sleek vessels that rival the Millennium Falcon in terms of hyperdrive capability to utopian visions for interplanetary colonization. Genres vary immensely in how their designs take form.
Artists were brought on board right from the beginning of NASA’s space program. One of its earliest sketches from 1961 shows just how restricted an excursion to the moon would be, showing its cutaway section with its thin wall between cockpit and cold vacuum environment.
By 1975, a reusable space shuttle had begun taking shape. Alan Chinchar’s concept sketch below depicts its completion: Freedom station orbited with Earth, Moon, and Mars visible from capsule windows; quite different than Apollo capsules used during earlier space missions!