So, I need something non-organic on my reel. It can be a cybernetic body part (cliche), or a weapon toting soldier (cliche), or something else. I've noticed folks don't usually put ships in their reel unless all they have on it are vehicles or vehicles and buildings. So, I decided to make a ship of some kind. Thinking through it, I probably won't use it for my reel but I do want to learn how to do this stuff, since I don't normally do that type of model making. With that in mind, I made the image attached. I tried detailing it in ZBrush but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this sort of thing and most ships these days have loads of tiny things called "greeble", which I would have to model by hand if I wanted it on my ship. Also, I don't think this is the kind of ship that would benefit from greeble  (think little boxes and doo-hickeys all over the hull to give the apperance of detail).

So any help/suggestions and what not on how to go about detailing this would be sweet!

more angles...

I'm not really attached to the details I did in zbrush, so don't hesitate to suggest something else.

It's a cool looking ship. A couple of thoughts though,

As something non-organic for your show reel it's pretty organic looking :), something a bit more square and chunky might be an idea?

IMHO the eye jerks a little on the rear engines/thrusters (not the ones underneath), The tail swoops down in a nice smooth way and the pipes just seem to stick out, as though they're not meant to be there. Maybe selecting polys at the back of the ship and extruding them inward a little to create a lip and a flat surface at the back that the thrusters then are mounted on?

It looks quite good as it is now. But I seldom model this type of things myself!
Maybe some flashing red lights as airplanes have on their wings (as do buildings) for foggy conditions etc. Or some searchlights (or whatever they are called).
BTW is it an aquatic machine, or space ship? The shape suggests (to me) a deep sea fish, like the one Neo encountered that has the thingy with a light hanging from its head.

If I could make a tiny suggestion...

Why not take out a small portion on the sides of the ship... and then add in random pipes and guts in there? Greebles and nurnies don't have to go on everywhere, but if you concentrate that kind of detailing in one spot I think it would raise the already high "coolness" factor of this.  :biggrin:

Cheers! — Möe

Thanks gang! Lots of great points and ideas! Much appreciated. :) I'll hop back into Silo and try my hand at some side and rear greeble/nurnies.  My thinking was it was some kind of space racer or something - Fatal Inertia or WipeOut style but  I guess it could be a sub too, come to think of it. I was inspired by the form of a shark, so that may explain the fishy feel that comes from it.  Thanks again!

Okay, so I've started to implement your suggestions.  I have a long way to go though.  I just found a neat Lightwave tutorial on creating details on space ships, so I'm going to try and incorporate that for the greeble on the back and the sides.

Again, thanks for the great suggestions!

Great changes, look forward to the next version :)

Thanks. Started the greeble...hope I'm doing it right. lol.

How about a communications dish or two?
Or maybe one of those 'mesh' radar dishes. You know,the half cylinder ones that look like nets and have a center spike.

Nice design. Something to keep in mind when working on machinery with an organic slant is to add details that accent the flow of the lines. Harsh-edged details play against those lines, and tend to break up the overall flow. The eye stutters at those points, rather than sliding along a nice, continuous curve.
Details that follow the main lines of motion in a design will greatly enhance the functional look of your ship. For example, a hood scoop that follows the main lines of the front end of a car are much more pleasing to the eye than a blocky protrusion that looks like more like an afterthought. Things like pipes, tubing, vents and such are easy enough to model along a body line.

Just a few thoughts.

Looove that 'waistline' it looks so cool. I would add fine grills to the front  to intimate grill type of mouth and more to the indent at the side to intimate more grills, like over the front wing.

I think I agree with the comment about the rear , it could be a bit more merged into the hull, perhaps extend a lip around the rear motors.

I dont think I would greeble at all m a fairly sleek ship like that wouldnt have much but I would use a hullplate texture .