Prospecting an Icy Mass by NefariousDrO
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Description
I am still working on ways to make something like the strange (and ever stranger!) masses we commonly refer to as "asteroid" or "comet" that float about in myriad and often unpredictable orbits about our central star.
Bryce is, admittedly, probably one of the worst things I could be using to try this, but it's what I have so I try to make-do. Textures are definitely a plus, to be sure. The surface of these icy-and-rocky bodies are entirely my own, built in Adobe Photoshop and then imported into Bryce. The asteroid/comet shapes were made with Bryce's "Metaballs" which have some really cool attributes, but also some maddening limitations as well.
The habitat on the asteroid is re-using some models I've previously done, I like the idea of mass-produced modular systems that can be adapted as needed to a wide range of functions. The two spacecraft are also my own creations, which I've used many times before. Sorry about the lack of anything truly new, but I'm adjusting how I use these in subtle ways so that I can make these things without having to spend so much time on the post-working phase.
Background stars and nebulae were made in Photoshop, compositing was also done in Photoshop.
Thanks for taking a look and as always, comments, critiques and suggestions are definitely welcome.
Comments (11)
MagikUnicorn
SUPER COOL
Faemike55
Great work on this scene I misread your metaballs as meatballs and was wondering when Bryce started doing them...
grafikeer
Very well done,I really like the desaturated look to this,almost has a vintage photo feel. The rock textures turned out very convincingly, and your starfield background is also well done. I always like your ship designs and modelling, especially with them being Bryce models! I would suggest that you give Sculptris a try for creating asteroid meshes, it is a free intro-level Zbrush program that I have used to create rocks with,and has a very easy user interface!
NefariousDrO
Thanks for the suggestion, I just downloaded it and will try it out over the next few days.
peedy
Excellent image and modeling. LOL@Mike. :-D Corrie
giulband
Absolutely fantastic image from the space !!!!!!!!
woodywoo
Awesome work.
johndoop
Awesome image!!!!!!!!!
kjer_99
Like your concept here but I wonder if placing a permanent structure; i.e, human habitation on such a rock with so many asteroids so close. With so many erratic orbits it would seem likely that sooner or later--and probably sooner!--that one of the neighboring rocks would crash into it. Think the miners' permanent settlement would have to be floating/orbiting off by itself a bit. Of course, those buildings may just contain machinery and be self-running and servicing. The asteroid miner's life would seem pretty drab: A distant, dim sun; dark surfaced rocks; and the blackness of space. I wonder if the interiors of their habitats and ships are wildly colorful and bright to compensate. I suspect depression and suicide do in more miners than mining accidents. Cheerful thoughts for Christmas time, huh? Hope your holiday season is joyful, happy, and spiritual. Oh yeah! I really like the render too.
RodS
I'd say you did a magnificent job on the textures for the asteroids - and of course your ships are outstanding as they always are, Mike. I think kjer_99 is right... That would be a pretty drab existence once the thrill of space travel wore off - which it would pretty quickly, methinks.
su_liam
Nice! You could export your Bryce objects to mesh, save as .obj and do further manipulations in Wings3D, which is free. The latest version doesn't play nice with my OS, but my computer is getting a bit elderly... Based on the Philae pictures and pictures I've seen of asteroids, there will be much less variation in albedo across the surface of most real rocks. In full sunlight they'll look quite light, and in shadow they will get profoundly dark, but the inherent coloration is, as kjer_99 says, quite drab and dismal. I'd love to see some interior shots of your spacecraft. Are the brightly painted? I could imagine something like the Star Trek Enterprise on acid crossed with some of the bolder graffiti I've seen on trains. Except the military vessels. The only thing that prevents suicide on a ship of the Raumpatrouille is the requirement to fill out a PTD-1034j Permission to Die form at sign it in triplicate...
geirla
Nicely done! Yeah, metaballs. They work, but they're not exactly intuitive. Try a negative metaball if you want to make a crater in your object...