Star Destroyer #3

[ringa]

Thanks! Lighting is EVERYTHING in making a model look its best. In my opinion, the best example of lighting space vehicles can be found in the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Most of the time the models are back lit, with the dark side lit with the appearance of reflected/diffused/ambient light. That reflected light usually has a blue hue to it, like this cap from the film:


I never get tired of watching the effects work done on that film. It's just a masterpiece of cinema.

In response to your question, I looked through my photos to find a good example of how I do this. Below is a photo I originally posted at the bottom of page 7 of this thread. With it are two of the shots I took for use in that composite.

I use an old, overhead projector for lighting. I have a large roll of black backdrop paper, which I used in these photos below. This is an older photo, taken before the model was finished, and before I bought a huge piece of black fabric.

First, I matched the position of the light to the Deathstar picture I wanted to add my Star Destroyer to. Just out of camera range on the left side, I use a large, white piece of foamboard mounted on another stand to reflect the projector lamp light coming from the right side. I chose this as an example because it has a similar back lighting that I like so much.

I'll take several photos with the reflector in different positions, some even without it. You can achieve 2001-like effects by using a blue foamboard instead of white to reflect the light (or whatever color you want). You could even use colored gels (carefully) placed in front of the light depending on what kind of effect you're going for. Since I am compositing all elements in Photoshop, I use the photo filters in the program. There's much more control over the desired effect (see last photo below).

I'll choose the one shot that works best in the composition I'm creating, then silhouette the model and copy it into the background. In this case, I airbrushed engine flames, kind of like the classic production still of the Star Destroyer.

This shot has the reflector close to the model. I felt it was too bright. It might have worked this close if there were a planet above/left, which would make more sense in this shot.


But, since this was 'deep space,' less ambient light was the way to go...


Here's the final composite...


For a more 2001-like look, a blue photo filter is added to the reflected light...


That's how I do it.