early WIP - Airship thing :D

Mitz

So i've always wanted to make an airship for the hell of it, and now that i have a lot of free time on my hand, i though, "hey! let's make an airship!".

So without further ado my airship (or should i say, the makings of one)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/Tetsu_Hideo/pic1.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/Tetsu_Hideo/pic2.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/Tetsu_Hideo/pic3.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/Tetsu_Hideo/pic4.png
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/Tetsu_Hideo/pic5.png

as for how many polies it's gonna be, i'm giving myself about 85-90k (i know it's seems high, but given the scale it's going to be, i pretty much classify it as an environment more than a prop)

So far, i'm kind of stuck on how to give it the "WOW factor" so if anyone has any ideas on what to make or just crits and comments, i'll be very appreciative! (please be gentle if you decide to tear it apart )

-edit- Now with real working links!

Snader

The URL's don't work for me.

jimmypopali

Ok, assuming those massive things (and the middle) are cannons, is this ship expecting to be in a war or some kind of extended battle? If so, who's shooting at it? With similar cannons? Then it will probably need some defenses. Panels, walls, guards, rails etc.

Going by the shape of the balloon and the massive fans and propellers, it looks like its going to be doing some top speeds. How can we make that more obvious? Possibly in the texture (torn apart cloth and pain on the front)?

I would probably go with the worn out look - make it look like its been in some battles previously and its tried to get out of some by throttling out of there with break-neck speed!

Mitz

Ya i'm planning to make it into a war ship, with smaller cannons scattered through out. Thanks for some idea on the wear and tear of the ship, i'm sure i can do something to make it look like it's been through some tough battles or atleast prepared for said tough battles lol

danshewan

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that you're going to make it into a warship.

Looking at your shots, I don't think that this was created with battles in mind, and the design overall seems to suit more of a grand exploration vessel or extravagant habitable craft idea, not a warship. Some rudimentary defenses may be an idea, but given the general fragility of the design, I'm not sure what it'd be going to war against with any real hopes of success.

If it were me, I'd focus on making the overall design more flowing and organic. Those fans towards the rear deck would look awesome if they were positioned a little differently and much larger, like the fins of a giant fish or solar sails. I'd make them more prominent and much larger, as they look as if they're meant to aid navigation and maneuvering. They could add a lot to the silhouette and overall feel of the design, and could add to the elegance of the craft overall.

I know it's still early, but the sense of scale isn't immediately apparent. I'd think about how deck space would be used (and for what), and what would be suitably located on-deck, as opposed to below.

This has got a lot of potential, and it'd be a shame to limit such a potentially-interesting design by slapping guns on it and going for the typical battle-scarred look that seems to dominate just about everything these days. I'd think more along the lines of some Final Fantasy / Studio Ghibli designs and make it an organic, elegant, extravagant floating palace instead of another warship.

Just a thought.