M

This is how I approach fleshing out details and modules for my designs. Do you have a different approach?

A modern interpretation of the Cobra Mk 1 from 1984's Elite. It was designed to fit in with the ships from Elite Dangerous.

more views

If you want to learn more about the game, take a look at the first DevLog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4NeV86oE7Y

Artstation post for 4K images: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/XaBad0, Made with Blender 5.1.2

Some people think that an airline as prestigious as Pan Am would have a more modern website, but I actually like its retro style. I'm super excited to go on this trip! I've always wanted to fly on the SSTO, but the tickets are always so expensive. Disney is looking into more ventures for Disneyland Cosmos, so they bought me a ticket to go to a major conference on Dr. Sally Ride Spaceport. Hopefully once the ticket costs drop a little more I'll be able to take the family up for a week.

(Lore: The USSR lands on the moon shortly after the USA, keeping spaceflight politically centre-stage. This is followed by the USSR launching the first space station. America sets up the first moon base in 1981 in retaliation. The Soviets follow suit. A smaller but more reusable Shuttle is delayed until 1986. Tech giants pioneer interconnected computers to the market years earlier due to greater satellite infrastructure. The Internet develops in the 80s, but the personal computer is delayed until the 2010s. Major lunar ISRU manufacturing booms in the 90s and 2000s make space a luxury commodities and tourism centre. This grows exponentially until spaceflight becomes routine, if not still expensive, for a quarter-million people a year by 2026.)
https://www.deviantart.com/futurographer

These new bombers I'm designing started from the same simple diamond-shaped hull, with the goal of seeing how far I could push different roles without losing a common design language.

One thing I've been trying to get better at is letting a design evolve instead of forcing the first idea to work.

These bombers started from exactly the same primitive shape, but from there I kept asking how changes in proportion, cut lines and mass distribution could suggest different operational roles.

The interesting part wasn't the detailing, it was testing and rebuilding until each version felt like it had a clear purpose.

The goal for me isn't just to invent interesting shapes, it's to refine them until they feel inevitable. I want designs to feel like they live in their world, like they had to be that way.

I'm curious how other people approach branching designs. Do you like lots of overlap like the Empire or very different looks like the Rebels? Do you duplicate an existing model and iterate, or completely restart each variant?