Illustration Process

 

 

I've been asked again about my illustration process. I've posted a response on a Traveller Facebook group previously, but here it is again for the non-Facebook people. This illustration is of a starship bridge from the original Starship Geomorphs book.

I draw the geomorphs in AutoCAD, so most of the work starts there. I pick a geomorph I want to illustrate and build a 3D SketchUp model. I rotate views around the model and decide on the best angle. I export multiple JPG images from SketchUp (thin lines, thick lines, flat shading, and sometimes shadows) and composite them in Photoshop. SketchUp is not a good renderer, which why things look so flat, so a lot of Photoshop work is needed. Lighting and reflections are all faked in Photoshop. Anything organic (people, animals, etc.) are hand drawn in Photoshop - usually using a photographic reference. It's pretty time consuming, but I like the results. The image above shows everything step-by-step.

 I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs

The new Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs book is finally complete and ready for download. Unlike the previous book of geomorphs, the components of this book were specifically designed to recreate the feel of the smaller, classic Traveller starship designs. The original geomorphs still have their uses, and can even be incorporated into adventure class designs, but I believe this collection is a vast improvement both aesthetically and functionally. I took your constructive criticisms to heart. Now deck plan layouts look less blocky, and the smaller size means most geomorphs are function specific, meaning fewer multi-purpose geomorphs.

Click [HERE] to download the new Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs PDF.
Click [HERE] to download the Starship Geomorphs 2.0 PDF. 

(Update: anyone with the above link should have access to the file.)

Other than size and shapes, there's not too much new here. I've omitted instructions on how to print for cutouts and miniature use, which are included in the Starship Geomorphs 2.0 PDF. This new PDF is layer enabled, allowing more print/viewing options. For example, you can turn off the A-TEXT layer to hide room names if you like nameless maps for player handouts. You can turn off the A-SHADE layer to eliminate the gray fuel and engineering areas to save on ink. You can turn off the A-GRID layer if you prefer gridless deck plans.  Note that each page of the PDF has its own layers, so this type of editing is cumbersome and non-intuitive, but it is possible.

There are a few people I need to thanks publicly that really made a difference in this project:

Eric B. Smith - You might remember Eric from his conversion of literally thousands of geomorphs into individual graphic files, not to mention the addition of his own designs, for use with virtual table tops and other graphic software to more easily create geomorph layouts. Eric is back at it again, currently converting the new geomorph. Expect to see individual graphic files to be made available sometime in late January or so. Thanks for your hard work, Eric!

Jon Daniels - Jon had been sharing some of his work with me which included his own ship designs with High Guard stats. I wanted to include ship stats as part of the Ship Gallery, but was not looking forward to it, having lost the love of that level of ship creation decades ago. Jon took that aspect of the project over and did a great job and also did some Traveller related ChatGPT training which was immensely helpful. His contributions helped me get out of a bad funk and created a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the project in me. He shared his LinkedIn profile with me and it reads like the best of Traveller character generation. Thanks for pushing me over the finish line, Jon!

Tom Mouat - I'd lost my 10 year old workhorse of a computer a couple of month ago. I didn't lose any project data, fortunately, but I did lose ALL my creative software. I struggled with various PDF editors when Tom recommended FoxIt PDF to me. This recommendation may seem like a small thing, but when you're trying to get all your ducks lined up in the eleventh hour, a good PDF editor is critical. If you are looking for a good alternative to Adobe Acrobat, consider checking out FoxIt. Those who've seen Tom's work on Facebook know Tom is a great Traveller content creator in his own right. He also sets the finest gaming table I've ever seen. Thanks, Tom!

So what's next?
Future updates: I'm always open to constructive criticism, so if you see something you feel needs correcting, please comment below. As part of Eric's file conversion he has also been kind enough to point out some graphic errors. I'll post an updated version of this PDF if I feel it is warranted.

Blank Geomorphs PDF: I'm working on a book of blank geomorphs based on the two starship geomorph books. I'll probably have that done within a week.

Community Generated Starship Layouts PDF: I've been playing with the idea of creating a book of geomorph-based deck plans created by the Traveller community. Users would submit at minimum a geomorph layout and minimal ship stats, but could also include a ship write-up, history, adventure hooks, full High Guard stats, and/or an illustration to flesh it all out. I'd create a cleaned up deck plan and format the information. Let me know if this is something of interest and I'll set up some guidelines for submissions.

I'm pretty sure I've stated this before, but I'd really like to get back to regular blog posts with a smaller scope. I'll try to make that a more regular occurrence in 2025.

Enjoy the new book and the upcoming holidays!

Buy Me A Coffee - Donations Page

 

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let everyone know I am now accepting "Buy Me a Coffee” donations.

First of all, I want to say thank you for reading my blog, whether you’re a long-time visitor or someone who’s just discovered it. Creating content for the Traveller RPG community has been a real pleasure for me, and knowing that people out there are enjoying it means a great deal to me.

Over the years, some of you have suggested that I set up a "tip jar" for readers to support my work. I’ve decided to work with the “Buy Me a Coffee” app to achieve this. This is a completely optional way for you to send me a small tip if you’ve enjoyed what I’ve created. It’s a simple, one-time donation - no subscriptions or commitments, just a little something if you feel like it. As I understand it, a "coffee" donation is $5.00, of which 5% goes to the app. I'll probably modify the donation options as I become more familiar with the process.

I’ll continue to post free content for everyone to enjoy, coffee or not. Thank you again for your interest, your comments, your constructive criticisms, and just for being part of the ride with me.

Click [HERE] if you would like to make a donation.

With the new Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs book wrapping up I look forward to getting back to some smaller projects and posting to the blog more regularly.

Thanks and Happy Travelling!

- Robert

Happy May Day! - New geomorph sampler pack

 

Happy May Day, everyone! In honor or the day celebrating our favorite game. I've been spending my day working and listening to the great interviews put out by CyborgPrime on YouTube. Great job, Frank!

To do my part to keep the celebration going, I've put together a sampler pack from the upcoming Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs book. I had hoped to have this finished by last December, but unfortunately life keeps getting in the way. I'm so close, but yet so far away.

Below is a link to the Sampler Pack, which will give you an idea of the new geomorph types, more illustrations, some sample layouts, and the entire index of what is currently in the book.

Right now the book is around 350 pages with around 1,300 new geomorphs, I do not plan to include any blank geomorphs as I did previously, but may follow up with a separate book of blanks if there is any demand. Does anybody use them? I've also got a Ship's Gallery of about 33 pages, but might try to reduce that to about the 10 ships I have modeled in 3D.

Feel free to hit me up with any comments, questions, or suggestions.

Click <<[HERE]>> to download the Geomorph Sampler Pack. Enjoy!

Greebles and Greeblies and Nurnies, oh my!

This post may not be of much interest to the typical Traveller player or referee. It is my collection of Greebles - those bits of technology modellers use to make things like starships more visually interesting. I am making my entire greeble collection available, more than 2,200 models at this point. All were created in SketchUp and the collection is over twenty years in the making. SketchUp users will need at least version 2022 or higher to use them. They can probably be imported into other 3D modelling programs like Blender or Autodesk Fusion, but I can't vouch for how they will perform. Some modification may need to be done to make them work in non-SketchUp software.

I've created four types of greebles: Add-ons, Inserts, Objects, and Decals. See the infographic for a brief explanation. Greebles are included in the linked ZIP files. A book of thumbnails - "The Big Book of Greebles" - has been provided as a reference and in case you want to see what's available before downloading the ZIP files.

Greebling - the act of applying greebles - is an art. Greebles often represent added on technology (like Add-ons) or exposed "under-the-skin" technology, like access panels removed (and abandoned) due to frequent repairs (like Inserts). For Star Wars fans, compare the amount of greebles on the "piece of junk" Millennium Falcon vs. the clean lines of Naboo starcraft. Naboo craft have very little greebling, suggesting they are newer and better maintained. It has been suggested that at most, a ship might be 20-25% detailed greebles, with the remainder of the ship either with not greebles (maybe just hull panel lines) or minimal/simple greebles. Also, the Millenium Falcon is the greatest greebled space ship ever designed. I will fight you if you disagree. :)

Click HERE to download the files.

I'd love to hear from the modelling community how well these work in other software, and see examples of your work using them. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Enjoy!

State of the Blog 2023

 This should about explain things.

State of the Blog 2021

Executive Summary:
Congratulations, traveller! If you are reading this you survived 2020, which reminded us of the dangers of adventuring on a mid TL, balkanized world during a global pandemic.  Red Zone classifications exist for your safety and the safety of others. Here's hoping for critical success rolls to those with Science, Medical, and Leader skills so the IISS can lift the interdiction. I've got a starship mortgage to pay and you can't jump when travel is restricted. When this is all over let's meet at a seedy startown bar, divvy up our treasure and plan our next adventure.

The events of 2020 had a detrimental impact on the amount of blogging and content creating I was able to do. Hardly worth mentioning in a year racked by COVID-19, economic upheaval, social and racial unrest, the impacts of climate change, and political shenanigans. In an act of defiance and hope I spent Holiday (yesterday) commemorating the founding of the Third Imperium and drawing spaceships. A small act, meaningless in the big picture, but the blog is still here and more content will come.

The Boring Blog Stats:
Total page views: 333,724 as of today. Wow. That's a third of a million! Average monthly page views for 2020 jumped from just over 5,000 to over 7,000. Were you guys stuck indoors most of the year or what?
Not surprisingly, the most viewed posts continue to be the Starship Geomorphs books and the starship deck plans.
The primary source of traffic to the blog continues to be Google, with Reddit beating out Facebook for the first time for the #2 slot.
Visitors to the blog continue to come from all over the world, with the United States, the U.K., and Canada leading the charge. Oddly, Turkmenistan made its first appearance on the list, edging out "Other" for the #9 slot. So greetings to my new Turkmenistani friends! Sorry to hear about all the ethnic discrimination, religious zealotry, police brutality, and political corruption in your country. I'm glad I don't live in a place like that.

Highlights of the Year:
The release of the Starship Geomorphs 2.0 PDF was kind of nice and I appreciate the enthusiastic response from so many people. In particular I want to thank Shawn Driscoll for his YouTube shout out  and Jeff Koenig and Bob Loftin of SAFCOcast.com for their mention in Episode18. Your kind words help keep me motivated guys, so thanks.

In related news, a print version is coming (really!). Marc Miller did a test print of the pre-final version and I received this email from him in October: "I made a hardcover of your book. It looks beautiful." I just need to make a few minor tweaks for it to be ready for the the pubic. Soon.

I really enjoyed seeing the Traveller community come together virtually. For a hobby that was built around tabletop social interaction, it was great to see so many work together to make virtual tabletop gaming more commonplace. I'm also grateful for all those who took the time to convert my geomorphs into other graphic formats to make them more accessible to the virtual gamers. Thanks again, everyone.

In May I participated in the Traveller Charity Stream in Support of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, put on by Patrick Kanouse and hosted by David from High Shelf Gaming and Hugo from The Death Die Club. They ran the Classic Traveller adventure A Murder On Arcturus Station. It was a great event and fun to get involved with others in our community to do something charitable, not to mention an awesome way to celebrate May Day! Great job, guys! I'd love to see something like this become a regular May Day event.

Lowlights of the Year:
Let's give this one a miss this year, shall we?

What's in store for 2021 (and beyond)?
It's sad that I could basically copy/paste my response from the 2019 State of the Blog. Too many ideas for Traveller content and just not enough time to do them. I'd like to make a commitment to finish existing projects before starting new ones, but as many of you know, when the creativity bug bites you have to scratch that itch, and Traveller has a way of inspiring creativity.

Best of luck for a safe and prosperous 2021. Happy Travelling!