KDF E-7 "Blood Honor" (quv 'lw) class battlecruiser wip...Need your help

[Raven Night]

Before the short background...I started on some of the ships ive completed, and realized that I needed to start with something easier to get back into the texture mode. So I picked up my D-7 Ktinga replacement, the E-7 quv 'lw. I can do the textures on this mesh with much more ease than my other meshes.

Ok...this is the replacement for the aging but reliable D-7 class. The ship is around the same size, about the same menuverability and has a similar  crew compliment. That is where the similarities end. This vessel is faster (though the same speed at impulse, much faster at warp), has more armor, more weaponry and stronger shields than its predecessor. Overall a marked improvement.

This vessel has a single torp launcher aft and fore, 4 medium long range disruptor cannons (ventral wing pods), 4 fore and 2 aft short range light disruptor cannons, and 10 very short range defensive disruptors located in key positions on the hull, mainly used to defend against drones and torpedoes.

The ship has 2 hangars, one aft that contains one small drop ship and 3 fighters, and one just to the rear of the ventral crew module with 4 shuttles. Like the D-7, this ship can carry up to 200 ground troops.

The vessels main strength over its predecessor is the addition of extra armor plating without reducing impulse speed and the 4 long range medium disruptor cannons, making the ship much more effective against capital ships. The cannons have a slow firing rate however, so the ship still has to rely on hit and run tactics to stand up against ships outside of its class. The D-7s weakness on its ventral rear hull has been eliminated.

Ok, this mesh is currently in the texture process. Working on it over at BCC, thought I would get some feedback here as well. I think im going to go with a mix of the original D-7 from the movies, the Q1 and the Vorcha/Neghvar, leaning more toward the old D-7. Since im better at more modern Klingon textures, this might be a tough one.

Sofar im not real happy with the result, but that could be because I dont like the TMP pattern. Or it could be that I stink lol. They look a bit cartoony to me, Let me know what you think sofar. The first pics are of the clean mesh, then the current texture progress.

[Raven Night]

Part two. Updates will follow, would like your input.

[Klingon Fanatic]

Although my preference is TMP Trek, Kudos for cranking out a non-Federation ship! 

It reminds me of the ENT D-4, tension cables and all.

If I had the talent and tools, I might cover the command boom in armor plating and make the command pod less round. IMHO, there are too many flat-head style, soft, curves on it. It should be more like a flying knife IMHO, LOL.

Yet another possible shining example of the TNG Fed-Klingon alliance at work...

Nicely done though! We definitely need MORE Klingon vessels.

Qapla'

KF

[Raven Night]

Your going to like the Hammer of War then hehe.

Ok, more updates...this texture section still needs a few edge tweaks...improper or rough cut-offs exist in certain spots, which I will correct, but this section, save any major complaints is pretty much complete, and sets the theme for the look of the ship overall.

[Fallen_Warrior]

nice level of detailing keep it up

[Raven Night]

Thanks. Do you think it needs more weathering? Im not as good at TMP stylish textures, so this one is new to me. I do TNG/NE better. Any suggestions to make the textures more realistic would be welcome.

[Norsehound]

Most Impressive!

Typically most TMP Klink ships aren't rendered in the same 'enemy green' that most TNG alien ships seem to be colored (roms, Klinks). The BOPs are, but ships like the K'Tinga and D-7 don't seem to be painted green unless they're in a game.

Some links for references;
http://www.startrekkie.com/screenshots/motionpicture/gallery.php?galnum=1  (Klink battle, TMP)

http://members.aol.com/IDICPage/TMPKlingon.html  (Kronos-1 References)

Hope this helps. The ship looks really nice

[Raven Night]

Yea, I used the studio model as a base (hence the TMP style aztech) but you might be right...I might have gone too green. I could try washing it out a bit more to grey, but I would want it to still have at least a slight green hue. Ill try washing it out more (lowering saturation) and post some pics to see what you guys think.

How about realism? Does it need more weathering?

This is the pic I was using for color reference...is the hue incorrect?

[Fallen_Warrior]

more weathering would be good add some chipped paint if you feel adventurous, more gray would also me nice (maybe a twin version 1 green, 1 gray) and yes those hues would look great on this model

[Norsehound]

Klink ships from TMP and before are usually painted grey. I think your source image might be color-distorted slightly because it's a photograph... on-screen the TMP K'tingas look grey to me. Had I the TMP DVD on-hand I'd screencap some shots for you to get pictures. The reference links I posted were the best I could get.

It's only after the TNG BOP issue that the Klingons adopted "enemy green" as their standard hull color, starting with the Vor'Cha.

[Rod ONeal]

Might try WZ's Klingon texturing tut. It's for PSP, but should translate to other apps OK.

http://drs.battleclinic.com/tutorials/tut_klinktextures.htm

[Fedman NCC-3758]

NICE !!   


Must plant thread device here. ---------> 

[Tulwar]

I like!  It looks like a pre-TNG ship, but I agree with the tension cable comment.  That does make it look like an ENT abomination.  Never mind me, though.  Everyone's a critic.  The body definately looks like a modernised D-7.

[Norsehound]

I don't know what you guys are talking about

She looks like a great light cruiser / heavy cruiser one-off to me.

[Raven Night]

Im working on weathering, I appreciate the link. It should help alot.

Here is my latest work on the pattern. Let me know what you think.

I dont know if I mentioned it, but I designed this ship around 2001 or so, so this design existed long before ENT. It is unfortunate that some of their designs are similar to some of mine....believe me, I dislike the series as much as most of you. That goes double for the ship designs.

[Fallen_Warrior]

colouring looks better, if i were you... a sort of Matt Gray as your base colour (main aztec) then darker gray, some variances on the green your using, and some of the classic dark red the klinks love so much and maybe even some browns for the panels themselves and the detailing. Not only would it be a nice cross over from the classic gray they used to use but its also a start in the leaning over to more modern style (i know the BoP pioneered the green been used in the klink fleet)

[Raven Night]

I was thinking of adding some red accents at the end, but I was going to concentrate on putting them on the ventral hull. Can you take the above pic and show me what you mean?

[Fallen_Warrior]

okies if i were to show you all of it i might aswell texture it for you, which i cant do, your paneling is better than mine. but i did a bit.

[Raven Night]

Ah. The item at the end of the spar there is actually the impulse engine, or to be more exact the cowl around the impulse engine. I think I could do it in red though...isnt it red on the Vorcha or the Neghvar?

[Fallen_Warrior]

i thought it was yellow on both... no i was using it just to show if it were just another panel, gray base colour and various greens and dark reds for the panels themselves, it would still have an overall green colour as theres so many panels, but the closer you get you would make out the gray... would look pretty neat.. i might even try it out on your C9 unless you have another model mapped that you want me to play about with?

[Raven Night]

...I was actually going to redo the textures on the C9, being as how the current textures, with all the gold accents and the overabundance of red is because it is a "Qonos 1" ship. If you want to tackle that one, Id love to see what you do with it.

One point I would make, or that I wanted to change besides removing the gold accents was changing the red armor plates on the side of the neck to green.

[Norsehound]

Personally I'd keep looking to TMP's K'tinga for inspiration as a 'standard' klingon TMP cruiser for coloration and markings. I always felt Quo'nos-1 was a specially decorated battlecruiser, which fits with SFB/SFC since they have a special "diplomatic cruiser", which Quo'nos-1 appears to be (obviously sans the photon torpedo though).

[Rod ONeal]

Personally I'd keep looking to TMP's K'tinga for inspiration as a 'standard' klingon TMP cruiser for coloration and markings. I always felt Quo'nos-1 was a specially decorated battlecruiser, which fits with SFB/SFC since they have a special "diplomatic cruiser", which Quo'nos-1 appears to be (obviously sans the photon torpedo though).

I like this thinking! I'll now go searching for a nice D7 diplomatic cruiser to add to my game. Thanks!

[Raven Night]

Personally I'd keep looking to TMP's K'tinga for inspiration as a 'standard' klingon TMP cruiser for coloration and markings. I always felt Quo'nos-1 was a specially decorated battlecruiser, which fits with SFB/SFC since they have a special "diplomatic cruiser", which Quo'nos-1 appears to be (obviously sans the photon torpedo though).

No doubt. The C9 I released was actually the "Qonos 1" version, the Heart of Kahless, one of two sep ships on the Qonos 1 super battlecruiser. I had intended on created a plain version but never got around to it.

[Raven Night]

Ok, here is the latest, a pic of the bridge module, as well as the work on the lateral edges of the mesh.

[Fedman NCC-3758]

                         

[Furyofaseraph]

You've gotten way better at texturing.
I am curious as to what method you use to ensure uniform thickness between panels. Do you eyeball it?

[Raven Night]

Eyeball and copy cloning. Most of the detail is hand done, though I do use the topography tool to raise panels up when I start in some places.

Generally, I use pictures of engines, machinery, current ships (studio models), as well as my own concepts, finished models and such to make the texture set.

When I do an area, this is how i begin. I start with a base color, a few points off from an area around the area im doing...panels rarely match in color, and the ever so slight patchwork coloring adds to the realism. I then use the lasso and normal box selection tool to select my desired panels, increase the brightness of the color about 10 points and delete, creating the panel base. I do it again for a third stage panel if I want one.

Next is either adding shadow and highlight myself (15 points lower and higher for the lines, one thick) or the topography tool. Now I use the multi-tool set to lightness down, with different sizes and densities to add shadowing, concentrat