Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 9:19 AM
Ignatz,
Wow, and I mean WOW! Those are amazing! I'm just so impressed and happy. It's turning out so much better than I ever imagined.
Regarding lighting, I'm of two minds: on the one hand, I'd really want people to see your amazing work, so I'd vote for a bright, well-lighted environment, with plenty of sunlight from the primary, and lots of spots and floodlights spaced around the cruise. On the other hand, a more realistic approach would place much of the cruise in deep shadow, maybe augmented by a few spots here and there. I don't know, maybe some sort of happy medium? A little bit of shadow, and just enough light to highlight the models?
If we figure out where external lights on the ship and frame structure should go, it might help shape the correct lighting. For drama's sake, there should be a small spotlight on the ship's name and registration number, as displayed on the exterior. I'm not even sure where those should appear on the ship. The fuel tanks would be the obvious choice, but since they're detachable (weather or not that happens very often),
I don't think it would be legal to put the ship name and number on there -- or if you do, you still would need to have it on the ship, itself.
The lighting of the star system in the final image probably shouldn't be a concern yet, right?
Hmm...
I'd say there are plenty of lights on this ship, and upon the cargo frame, that are used when they're needed, and maybe turned off when they're not. Future illumination and power efficiencies would mean that they could keep them all on, all the time, with very little drain on the system. Maybe they'd do that as a matter of course, just as a safety feature?
Yeah, that actually makes sense: the individual lights don't ever really burn out -- at least, not over the course of the average human lifespan. And powering them takes a trivial amount of juice. In a case like that, I'd say they would have them on, and leave them on, almost all the time.
If we run with that, the ship would be well-lighted. Spots and steady lights, as well as running lights. Blinky lights, safety or caution signs, and guide lights could be found all over the thing.
This comes at the problem of lighting from a more practical "how it would really be" mindset, and not from an artistic mindset.
-David