Google SketchUp time!

I'm about to start doing something I have been talking about for quite some time.

Using Google SketchUp (soon to bee Trimble SketchUp) to model the major elements from my novel. I'm going to start with the Daedalus, even though I should probably start with a building since the program was originally created for the Architectural and Engineering industries.

But after seeing the work of KaranaK and the way he uses SketchUp to make amazing vehicles and spaceships, I know that I need to follow my gut and right now my creative juices are firing off at the thought of having the Daedalus fully modeled and view-able from multiple angles.

I know my model won't be as detailed as the stuff Alexey makes, but it will be a start for me toward a greater goal.

Wish me luck!

First Imperial Dreadnought Class Warship

A medium sized vessel with frightening firepower.

Introduced during the closing days of the war. This warship was one of many that comprised the First Imperial Fleet of Aerial Warships (First Fleet for short). Estro never intended his published discoveries to become such tools of death, but Tiberius always had a passion for ambition and conquest.

I won't spoil any of the story by elaborating how this terrifying ship ceased to exist, nor why another like it was never again built, but lets just say it went out with a bang.

You'll notice that this vessel lacks the balloon's that are a major part of the Daedalus' profile. Tiberius never cared about the environment or the damage his fleet could cause to it. The simple truth was that having the ship completely outfitted with high yield turbines granted it better mobility. Anyone who knows about war will agree that this is a key fundamental to a successful offense.

I'm surprised I was able to knock this one out in only a couple of hours. Probably because I've come to terms with the direction of the Airships in my story.

There will be more to come.

Consequences of using Arcanium

As it stands; the use of Arcanium technology in my story is relatively trivial. It needs to be more costly. On the one hand the mineral is rare enough that only the wealthy will have unhindered access to it, but there needs to be some environmental impact.

So I need to consider pollution as a viable way to increase the social impact of the use of technology. Arcanium is not a volatile mineral, but if agitated with a proper catalyst it can explode.

I need to think about gasoline or coal. Both are commodities in the real world that can serve as great parallels to what Arcanium will be.

Introducing pollution into the story can add some much needed sub-context to some of the guilt that  will inevitably weigh down on Estro's conscience, mainly because his discoveries brought about the dependencies of technology within the empire.

This new concept will affect my designs going forward. I will start by adding some exhaust ports to the recent Daedalus concept.

Here's The Daedalus with the addition of smoke stacks. The design isn't affected much, but the implication of the thickness of the exhaust works well. I can already imagine heavily populated cities, that use much Arcanium having purple smog choking the sky and casting a violet hue across the land as the sunlight intermingles with the particles in the smoke.

That's all for now.

Also, Yohann Schepacz will be a great influence to my design ideas.

I am proud to unveil "The Daedalus."

Here she is. The Daedalus.

As some of you, those who read my blog, may know. I decided to go in a different direction with the design for the airships in my novel. The new aesthetic invokes the majesty of European Galleon's of the 18th century and also showcases the influence that games like Final Fantasy 6 had on me growing up.

The book still opens with the First Imperial Fleet of Aerial Warships being advanced vessels, complete with Arcanium turbines, heavy armor, and powerful weapons (imagine a flying battleship with the look of a 19th century ironclad).

But this ship, The Daedalus, belongs to Estro Salius, the world renowned engineer. Estro is responsible for most if not all the technology found in Giaos, but he witnessed the cataclysmic destruction of the First Fleet and as such has made an active effort to balance the use of Arcanium technology with an ample dose of humility. For this reason The Daedalus makes use of wind currents and often only uses Arcanium turbines to create lift. The stern of  the ship is, however, outfitted with a pair of high yield turbines in case of an emergency.

So I am completely happy with the look of this sketch. The next step is to draw a front view so I can then start the most challenging step, modelling the ship with 3D software. This process is something I haven't done in ages and I'm unsure if I even have a program that I can use to do it. I know some people use Google Sketchup for this type of project. So that's probably going to be my best bet.

Until next time! Time for bed...

The technology of Echoes re-imagined!

I just had an epiphany. I am going to completely overhaul the concept of the technology in my book.

As it stands everything is leaning more towards Sci-Fi. And although I am a fan of the genre, I want to strike a better balance with my love of Fantasy. So... I have decided to redesign the Daedalus Air Ship.

Instead of being completely driven by turbines and Arcanium Cyrstals. It will make use of a series of high yield Arcanium Turbines that are only meant to keep the massive vessel aloft. And to inject logic into the overall design. I will set a rule that forward locomotion will be gained through the employ of traditional sails and wind.

This new direction gives me an opportunity to hinge an early plot device around the design. Estro, being mindful of his past mistakes and the catastrophic explosion that decimated the First Imperial Fleet of Aerial Warships, is an advocate for cautious use of technology. I would elaborate further, but that would risk giving away too much of the story.

In closing; This new direction will have some major repercussions to the context I've established with the first draft. It's very exciting stuff.

Post, post Turkey Day

I didn't blog the last few days for two reasons.

1. My computer was unplugged and the components scattered about the floor in my office. This was due to the fact that I had moved it downstairs to hook it up to the living room TV in order to watch the Kings basketball game a few days go. They lost. So it was kind of a wasted effort.

2. The day I was planning on hooking everything back up was the day that Jamie came back from Henderson with a 16 foot U'Haul truck full of furniture and other things that needed to be unloaded. It took the better part of a week to move everything.

And then Thanksgiving showed up. So long story short. I finally got my "rig" back in working order and I plan on making the most of it in the next couple of days.

I'm getting the itch to draw and I'm also going to get back to work on my website. It looks like there is a strong possibility that I may end up getting the funds together to get the domain and hosting locked down.

I need to get some work done on the book and I'm also going to revisit the Commonwealth from Peter F. Hamilton's books. Some of my fan art is still showed on his blog and it's about time I contribute another piece.

There is also a contest through Deviant Art that I'm considering participating in. More on that in a few days.

Ballpoint and paper

Tomorrow I have a conference call with Lori. She and I have conducted business for a couple of years now and she recently got me a gig doing a logo redesign, plus a t-shirt design derived from said logo. It should be a pretty simple project.

On a different, more personal note. My wife and daughter are on away for a week. Jamie went to Henderson to help my mom pack up the rest of the house before it sells. Serenity went with her. I hope my baby girl is being good, but chances are she's gonna make the entire effort interesting.

Now onto the book talk. Tonight I was going to do some digital sketching. Perspective drawings and technical cutaways of some new concepts for the Daedalus Air Ship. My creative brain is orbiting the recent Feng Zhu studies I've done and I'm itching to pop the vehicle sketching DVD back in. But instead of copying him stroke for stroke, in an attempt to replicate his concept, I will follow along only audibly while working on my own concept. This way I can allow a portion of his method to guide the ebb and flow of my idea but keeping the design unique and productive to my goals.

Tonight, however, I will be instead working with ballpoint pen and paper. Knocking out some thumbnails that I can use during the process I just described above. I'll be able to do these while I watch TV. So it allows for some productive me time.

Finally, I have a great idea for the opening sequence of images that will lead into the prologue of the book. It will be akin to Brian Selznick's master works (The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonder Struck) but with a psypher art style.

Good night.