I came across this awesome img on Google (i hope I'm allowed to link it)
http://zentapher.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/sol_wip_08-720392.jpg

I think i read that it was rendered in C4D anyways, I have been trying to recreate this look on spaceships for a while now this image is the perfect example for that and I struggle to recreate this type of lighting especially when it comes to the way this surface is highlighted, these highlights make the surface look hyperrealistic. The surface and it's bump itself is not the problem but I don't manage to recreate this look in Vue, and I don't want to say it's impossible so I invite everyone to prove me otherwise :D.

Any tips appreciated.

hm that link isn't working so I can't see to help :(

Real space scenes do look odd, due ot the peculiar nature of space (very little ambient light), and the artistic license sci-fi brings.

 Chriss Foss is my fave spaceship artists, he's awesome :)

often, form what I've scene, sci-fi spaceships are given a glossy surface, so they highlight nicely, lacking ambient/reflections etc, as a normal scene would have.

www.scifi-meshes.com is awesome site, fyi :)

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Quote - hm that link isn't working so I can't see to help :(

Real space scenes do look odd, due ot the peculiar nature of space (very little ambient light), and the artistic license sci-fi brings.

 Chriss Foss is my fave spaceship artists, he's awesome :)

often, form what I've scene, sci-fi spaceships are given a glossy surface, so they highlight nicely, lacking ambient/reflections etc, as a normal scene would have.

www.scifi-meshes.com is awesome site, fyi :)

Ok then here this is the picture from the link. It's not about Scifi objects but scifi lighting, the hull bumps just look so incredibly realistic in the sunlight.

Well if there were say a single element of sunlight hitting the hull then the dark side should be pitch black then unless it were a reflective metal but then it would be reflecting the starfield and nothing more. IMHO i think for the look of metal there should be a better case of tighter highlights as well. If this were a metal surface which i am assuming it is then the highlighting is to diffused here to me. The brightness itself is not a problem though. He probably used a 4048 by 4048 bump map because there is a ton of detail there and a good sense of massive scale. The greeble patterns probably needs a seperate map on the specular channel only and i think using a HDRI reflection map might make for good case of a metal surface with ansiotropic highlights. A bit of fresnel would look good. Also it appears that there is a slight bloom coming off of the hull which looks nice and makes a good case for a metal sheen.

nice lighting indeed :)

no idea how he did it mate, I often have problems with space scenes, and use fill lights etc
one test I did, I rendered the object with an HDRI background, for lighting too, and then without it, and composited it, gave very nice look.

maybe I'm wrong, but perhaps the original render of that scene there, was done VERY large, like 4000 pixels, then reduce din post, to let quality of lighting show?

maybe also post work?

as said try scifi meshes, so much I don't know about space scenes :/

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Looks like the 'fill' light may be that of a reflection off of a planet. Like some shuttle photos I've seen.

...Insert some witty or thought provoking comment here...

Quote - Looks like the 'fill' light may be that of a reflection off of a planet. Like some shuttle photos I've seen.

That is quite possible and a realistic scenario.