Category Archives: Lightwave

Stargate 2020 (Film Version)

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Orthographic diagrams of the model
Alternate views with the chevrons locked, and unobstructed views of the Earth and Abydos versions of the inner ring glyphs
Showcase animation of the model and effects.

“Stargate 3.1 (Film Version)” for Lightwave 2020, Released March 22, 2021 (CC0) —44 MB

Conversion Kits:
FBX Version (CC0)—78 MB
FBX Animation Templates (CC0)—0.1 MB
OBJ Version (CC0)—87 MB
Texture Reference (CC0)—24 MB

Since last summer, I’ve been working on a new 3D model of the stargate in Lightwave, my third attempt. Since I last built a stargate model in 2006 (with small updates afterward), my skill as a modeler has increased, and reference material is far more plentiful. That includes behind-the-scenes photos, low-res but still useful construction diagrams from auction websites, HD home video releases of the movies and television shows, and, most importantly, high-res photos from Les Enfants de Mac Gyver, a group creating a duplicate of the SG-1 stargate setpiece using pieces of the screen-used version purchased at auction as well as their own copious research. There are many sections of this model where I simply wouldn’t have been able to even guess at what went where without their detailed and plentiful photos of their stargate being assembled, disassembled, and otherwise worked on.

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Virtual Sets and Educational Animations for UC Scout

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For the past couple of years, I’ve been working at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as part of a team producing video lectures for on-line classes in the Scout and University Extension programs. As my time there comes to a close, I wanted to post a retrospective summary of what I’ve been doing. Day to day, the majority of my time was spent assembling and editing individual lessons, though at one time or another I at least touched on all aspects of production, including filming, quality assurance, and asset creation.

As far as 3D work goes, while I did have the chance to produce short explanatory animations for various lessons, something I volunteered for in the first few days on the job was creating virtual sets for our courses. Our presenters were shot on greenscreen, and I though it would add a level of visual interest to place them in a realistic environment, rather than up against some sort of plain color or gradient backdrop. 

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100 Days, 100 Renders— Day 100

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cdcr-100-a_day_in_the_life_credits

Perhaps it’s appropriate that my final image would be an ambitious misfire. I’ve occasionally created accidental long-exposure-style images from time to time. I’ve wondered about doing a sci-fi long exposure since I saw one in the 2002 edition of the Ships of the Line calendar (which sadly doesn’t even have a thumbnail online I can link to). My big mistake was having it be a daylight image. The ships orbiting Babylon 5 are so underexposed you can hardly see them even if you know they’re supposed to be there. There were also some technical gambles I took with lens flares and antialiasing that didn’t pay off. I think the concept is worthy of a second attempt based on what I learned, though.

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100 Days, 100 Renders— Day 97

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cdcr-097-final_approach_credits

As a little birthday treat, I decided to recreate one of my all-time favorite VFX shots. I got a lot of speckling after I had to reduce the render quality to get something that I could put up today, and the decision to use a photo of the Earth with such a prominent aurora in the background was a daring choice that didn’t really pay off, but the most important part of the image to me was how the shuttlebay interior turned out, and it looks good.

100 Days, 100 Renders— Day 95

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Full-Sized Image

Another adaptation of a season 1-era Babylon 5 publicity shot. These would probably be easier to match if I knew the focal length used for these shots. Of course, it’s also unlikely that Ted’s model is a point-for-point match with the original model, especially since it’s based off of the remade model, which I’m certain has a few proportional differences.

Though I suppose I could’ve tried using Lightwave’s new-to-me camera-matching tools. It looks like there are fairly clear perpendicular lines for all three axes around the solar panels. I may revisit this in a week, when I have some free 3D-time.

100 Days, 100 Renders— Day 94

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Full-Sized Image

“It was an early Earth president, Abraham Lincoln, who best described our current situation; ‘The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. We cannot escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial though which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the last generation. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, our last, best hope of Earth.’”