MODEL, RENDER AND PAINT A STARSHIP

Marnix Rekkers combines CAD software and Photoshop to create a detailed intergalactic image

- Marnix Rekkers

To design my starship, I used a combination of techniques across 3D CAD software Moment of Inspiration 3D (Mol3D), KeyShot and Photoshop. That's what I'll be showing you here, as I use Mol3D to create the model and KeyShot for a quick render, giving us a great base to paint over in Photoshop using the shapes, colours and light provided by the 3D model and render. KeyShot is not totally necessary if you don't have access, so any 3D render software will do.

We'll be going over the ease and simplicity offered by Mol3D, and how quickly you can make interesting shapes, and give you an idea of how this can be utilised in your workflow. The speed and quality of Mol3D is why it has become one of my favoured programs. As soon as you've gotten used to the basics, you can create designs incredibly fast.

As the render is fairly simple we won't go over KeyShot in too much detail. The trickiest part will be painting in Photoshop if you're not used to it, but don't worry about it. Most painting skills are simple layeron-layer style painting, keeping it simple and clear. The textures used in this tutorial can all be found for free on textures.com.

01 INITIAL SHAPES 

Start by making a shape using the Spline tools, drawing it from a front view or side view depending on how you envision the form of your starship. Don't worry about topology as it's CAD; Mol3D allows you to export to any 3D software available on the market. Creating a simple shape is important to get a good idea of your starship, and using this technique we'll be making a lot of simple shapes.

02 FIRST DETAILS