mars2nicomartin-hahn

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Sketches/Final Outcome (5/2/25):

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Other research:

Ai art for spaceships does look cool at times, but you can definitely see where the elements of the ships have been taken from. Star Wars and Star Trek are mainly the media that can be spotted within the designs as you recognise those silhouettes from those franchises.

Ai art isn't just taking the jobs of artists who design, but it is extremely more harmful than using the normal amount of data that we use on our phones. Creating a single AI image can consume anywhere from 0.01 to 0.29 kilowatt-hours of energy, and in March 2024, the carbon footprint of generative ai is 626,000 pounds.

How it works:

Image take from:

Ryan Nagata's spacesuits keep the attributes that any spacesuit has, but then add details to make it different from others, too.

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Robot research 3:

Andy Reynolds has designed the robot heads in a simple shape but has added details to make them engrossing, and using metallic paints for certain features makes it stand out even more.

In Sci-fi, we create such interesting designs for robots and spaceships, but when it comes to the ones we use, they are simply shaped. An example is Alexa, which looks like a hockey puck.

Thomas Burns changes this by dissembling an old black and white TV and Amazon Echo whilst creating his own animatronic for the eyes of the robot. Individually, they work well, but when seeing it altogether, it is fascinating to see that this is what can be achieved if we try creating robots in this fashion.

This robot is purely made out of wood, which reminds me of the little versions that you'd get as a child. When building the robot, it looks very plain even though there are details being added to it to intrigue people, but you start seeing it as a proper robot once the colour is being added.

Unlike the other wooden robots, this one is made of simple block shapes, but it is connected together via rope. What makes it interesting is the decision for using marbles for the eyes as it gives more character and pushes it towards a younger audience.

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Creature/Alien research:

Many of the details added onto the slug and skull were used with one sculpting tool. The majority of the model is based upon tin foil, which does mean that when baking it, it will take less time. A cool feature of the model is that the astronaut skull is removable from the rest, which may be a part of the story behind the model. Using a slug as the alien/creature is very interesting as we see them as being harmless to us but a danger to our crops; by having the skull on its back it may foreshadow the demise of humans.

There are many bevelments that create the texture of the armour, which is very much intentional so that the audience gets the idea that it has come from the remains of another alien species/creature. Having the chest plate displayed as a skull is a redeeming feature though it wouldn't fully work in actual combat as the enemy could slowly hack away at the small elements to create cracks in larger areas which will then create openings for strikes to get through.

The main body of the model is very thing when it comes to the legs and arms as he has just used wiring for them, it does mean that those areas won't weigh to much but it means that other areas when applying the clay will lead to areas getting weighted down, which he did experience. This does mean that he can build up the arms and legs however he wants. For the antennas, he took intricate ones from bug toys so that they had less of a chance of breaking away from the head.

The video explains many different techniques for ways to add texture to your models using a popsicle stick, easy mould, and rubbing alcohol to create desired texture or clean up mistakes.

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Robot Research 2:

https://www.mrjakeparker.com/blog/2023/9/15/the-10-

The robot designs by Jake Parker keep to the cartoon style but you are able to see all the little details he adds to show off what the outer workings of how the robot characters work.

Emerson Tung draws the majority of his robots in large compact designs which are memorable in anime RPG games.

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Robot research 1:

The Wallace and Gromit robot is powered the same way as a machine at an arcade, which was the reasoning for it to stay stuck on the moon and quite a large flaw to its power system. Mobility wise, having the legs as skis and using ski sticks allows it to easily move when going up or down hill tops. There are a few features that I think I've resembled in my robot design without knowing of this design first. They both use their arms for manoeuvring around, the box shape, and having compartments that open up.

The build of Boston Dynamics robots resemble many animal walks and can survive a fall from 20 feet, which is very impressive and could be useful in military missions. I've known about these robots for a long time as they have been developed on whilst I've grown up. They are well known for falling down and sometimes having a hard time getting up, but with the developments made, they now have motors in them, which allows the legs to rotate and widen their stance that makes it easier for them to stand back up.

There are many retro robot toy packages displayed that give insight on how each company at the time were marketing towards children. All of them seem to connect to the space theme and vibrant colours for backgrounds.

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Astronaut Model research:

This gives an understanding of how you can implement detail just by using clay and everyday things to create a completed helmet for an astronaut model. The only tool that isn't so excess able is the sanding tool, though if you only wanted to use excess able items, you could use sanding paper instead.

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Other spaceships:

The design for the ship is pretty simple, as it is drawn like many space ships, though the inside of the ship is different from how others look as Wallace wants to keep it like his living room. The simple design also made it easier for the animators to apply within the animation.

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Apollo space craft:

Watching the video I learnt that the majority of space rockets is just fuel to get the astronauts into space, whilst they are at the very top contained in the actual ship that would then land on the moon. It means that much of the rocket gets wasted within the travelling process as it is just used to either contain the ship at the top or only be used to launch it to its destination.

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Perspective and building tutorials:

The ships that are physically built go off many of the process that previous models have used though Mr E Models uses bottles that you can find around your house for his bases and then adds panelling to them with other materials.

The drawing versions allow you to understand where shading would come from as well as different colours that can be used within their designs.

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Maya spaceship:

There are many ways to design ships in maya, but the method to do it is usually the same all round. As many use the sphere or cylinder and then scale them in different ways and cut out areas using the bootleg tool. Many of the designs created in Maya are rounded, as I’m guessing it is harder to create sharp pointed areas without there being a curve to connect it too.

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Star Wars ships:

It is explained that in the Star Wars universe, there are three principles to the design process: Iconic silhouette, correct materials and proper inspiration. Instead of Star Wars ship only having recognisable designs but they also have the characteristics of computer icons, as each ship has a unique silhouette like symbols used for computers so we’re able to understand what is what.

For using the correct materials, there would be small imperfections to the builds that led them being left in the designs themselves. The reasons for these imperfections would be that the materials didn’t always line up or weren’t able moulded into the way that the artists wanted it to originally. The ships are rooted to the idea that they can be simply engineered and assembled by hand using materials at small scales and can be reproduced easily at many different scales.

Star Wars ship base their designs with the link of vehicles that have existed or designed in the real world. Many being based off old military planes and ships/boats.

In the second video, the design created goes off of similar ideas and references being that it is a cargo ship. As the artist describes that parts go off the look of trucks, lorries and vans that are used right now, whilst also linking to other ships from the Star Wars franchise.

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Spaceship build and design research:

The first video explains similar ideas to Adam Savage’s demonstration video. Though instead you see it from somebody else’s view and that he creates a complete spaceship. He even gave a story to the ship, which helps explain why he designed it the way he did. He even 3D printed resin sections of the build and took apart toys. He thought more about why each part that he was sticking onto the base was there.

In the second video it explains that most space ships in media create designs that are appealing to the eye instead of being built to fit its purpose. Though the video main looks into modern space ship designs and ones that maybe created in the future but unlike the sci-fi designs. It turns out that creating the ships and launching them usually goes over the budget that was given for the project, as each part of the ship and fuel is very expensive.

Ships built now-a-days are worked on much longer than other electronics, as the company that create them never want failure after launch. All spaceships are built to prevent radiation to come inside the ship. Many are built bigger than they need to be depending on the amount of cargo they are holding so that the volume and mass of the ships is stable.

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Robot Character Outcome:

Process:

Complete:

I’ve changed the shading slightly so that it looks darker as it is night time and added some ants, as they’re his companions.

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Model Maker Research - Ryan Nagata + Adam Savage Demonstration:

Panelling for spaceships:

In the video he demonstrates how to design sections of the ship out of polystyrene sheets. I’ve used a similar thermal plastic before in DT back at high school, so I had some understanding of why each step was taken to create the basic form. Though he uses a weld bond to add texture to the base, the weld bond works like glue but instead it melts the plastic together to form a strong connection.

Adding panels to the design implies extra texture to the build and a more interesting design. Then notching some of those panels gives a more realistic approach to the design. It allows scale to be communicated via different artists as well.

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Working on Robot character sheet (27/1/25):

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Working on Robot character sheet (27/1/25):

I photocopied the sheet so that I could start adding colour without messing up the original sketches.