I decided to make a short story based around some RP being held on Deviantart. This a exercise in both rendering finished images, and practicing character art, which I am quite weak with. I hope you enjoy, here is what I have so far.
Starfall -1-
[].Wideband EM signature detected[] [].Derived data .Non-entity .Gravity-field strength holding[] [].New contact reports, four hundred thousand[]
:!Wa͈͍̩͉͕̼i̙̖͈̪̦ț̣̪͕͔ ?!What͔͇͕'̩̻̲s̤̖̫̱̝ ̯͈g̦̲͕oing o͙̪͚̤͓̝n͚͚̮̥͙̭ͅ:
Starfall -2-
:!Our cre̩̭̻̲ͅw͖͔ ͕̝is still on the surface !If th̹a͇̤̫̙̻t hits the city, there is̲̮̮̣ n̝̳o chance they wi͎͎l̪̝͓͍l survive:
[].Confirmed[]
: ?What can̖̯̮̫̩ we do ...we ca͚n̞̫̜'t just let th͓e̦̭m die:
[].Advise action[] [].Unlock my controls on weapon systems[]
:!Fine̘, do it .Just save̦̪̹̘̫̫ t̗̘̞hem .Ple̟͇a̘̰̯͍͈s͉e:
[].Unlocking[] [].Targets acquired[]
Starfall -3-
[].Assesment .Incoming masses targeted and locked .Targets in excess of four hundred thousand count[]
:!Fire̼̤̖̜̻ͅ !Remove them all from̭̺͇̦͚ this reality:
[].Engaging[] [].Warning[] [].Current rate of fire exceeds missile regrowth rate[]
:!I don't ca͖̭re !We can't let them hi̠͙̟̱̙ͅt̮͔̼̜ the surf̰͕̺͚̱̤͍a̮ce:
Starfall -4-
[].Target deviation within tolerance[] [].Interceptor warheads impact in 5 tanar[]
:!K̘̥̟͚e̯̞͚̩̟ep firi̭̤̬n͓͉̝̦̲̫͈g̳̬͖:
Replies
Starfall -5-
[].Detonation[]
Individual frames start as a rough sketch.
After I have determined what details I want to emphasize, I get to work on a 3d mesh.
stationKasparov (View in 3D)
This can be used to help lock down perspective, and even establish some rough guides for lighting. The lighting is something I fake a lot tho, some parts cast shadows where they just don't look good, so I omit them.
The final lines can take a while, but its a lot of fun to add tonnes of greebles.
Finished base shading and coloring. I use a mix of game dev techniques here. I use a diffuse layer of flat color with a layer specifically painted with lighting information. That way i can fix the lighting separately without messing up the actual color information. The color information on this frame in particular is pretty simple, its more of an issue on the Mimic (spaceship) frames.
The last bit is the final fx layers. glows, bloom, and atmospherics, to tone down the lines and ensure everything is seamlessly integrated into the image.
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Sneak peek of what's coming next.
stationKasporov impact (View in 3D)
Thank you for sharing.
Starfall -4-
[].Warning, insufficient mass transition[] [].Target will still have catastrophic impact effects on surface[]
: ?!Well, kee̝̹̳̲p̖ ̼̥̯̼̬̲͈f̤̗̱̩̤̪iring:
[].Can not comply[] [].Thermal shut down detected on primary point-defense power circuit[] [].Missile hive regrowth in 300 tanar[]
:...:
[].Navigator Tive, we are out of options[]
:.No .We̖͍̮̺̯ͅ still hav͔̱e the sh̭̱̼̺̹̭i̗̫p:
Starfall -7-
[].Aproaching target[] []?Are you sure you want to do this Navigator Tive[]
:.Brea̱͙c͕̠͍̟͕͕ͅh the Mirr̫̜̣̲o͚r̤̝͔͚ coils:
[].Tive[] [].Please[]
Starfall -8-
:.I ca͇͇̰̻͖̜̺n̦̰̗̮̙ͅͅ ̳̱͍͕̥̞̜s̬̜̳ee it now. Thei̤̥̻̖̬ṟ͔̗ ͔p̖̝̦̘otential futures, dancing and gli̗̬̝̰t̻͚̫̘̣͇̳tering .Perfect on the cold, infini̮̥̤̤̯ṯ̱̞e Mirror:
Starfall -End-
: ?I as̳͙̺̭k only...how͙̯ ̤͓̠w̬͉̗͖̟̤̻i͍̞͚l̰l they rememb͇̬̯̼er...us:
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Well, that was fun, I think I learned some stuff during it, so I can consider it a success.