Behind The Scenes: Spaceship Illustration

I'm nut much of a nostalgic person, but I have a soft spot for 80's American cartoon shows like M.A.S.K, Transformers, or Silverhawks. I remember watching them almost a decade later on satellite TV in eastern Europe, waking up at six to watch in a language, I didn't understood.

And that much higher was my perception of visuals in the shows. I was taking in every last frame of the animation. Every environment illustration and every technical and vehicle design detail. They had all something in common, and it was that 80's boxy and smooth design of the tech. Insets, panels, glowing buttons, rich HUD elements and uncomfortable chairs.

It might be a good practice to watch something in a different language without subtitles. You can do that as a creative exercise, to attune to a visual side of things and deepen the perception.

Visit the full Pinboard here

So my inspiration was clear and I decided to build a large spaceship bridge, something like the Arch from Transformers. But I avoided the direct cartoon references on purpose. I knew what style I wanted to capture, but wanted to build something unique, just transfer those hazy visual memories onto my own work. Not build a fan art.

So I gathered a Pinterest board from a different sources, mostly some sci-fi environments. The style wasn't important that much, I just wanted to create a palette of structural elements I can build the spaceship interior from.

So I focused on different control rooms, cockpit panels, stairs and platforms. Anything that could be used to build a new piece of interior.

Armed with a palette full of elements I took my sketchbook and started playing with the layout. The result you see here is a bit refined and outlined version. There are always more versions with rough lines and several attempts. What I'm traying to say again is, you don't need to know how to draw. This is purely your visual brainstorm, nothing more.

I wanted a bit slanted front window, so I tried to slant both walls and then continued up in opposite angle. I wasn't sure if it works (and I'm still not completely sure), but I liked the fact it's different and that I'm trying something new.

To give the design some verticality, I placed the pilot workstations on the ground, did the elevated platform with some railings and command module and used ladder to create one more level over the bridge, for some additional roles, like navigation.

You can watch the process video on Youtube