Designing the Superstructure with Sean Thurlow and Sterling Sheehy
I thought I'd give you guys a look at how designing a complicated 3D multi-cosmic alien monolith works when you are in Los Angeles, your concept artist is in Orange County, and your 3D guy is in Hong Kong. This is an email I just madly penned before getting back to writing my super secret feature.
Sean / Sterling ,
Here area some notes on the design and character of the superstructure. Some of the notes are for Sean, some for Sterling. I don't know how far Sean can take the design on the budget I have I know he said this one wouldn't very painted. I included the notes on the glowing stuff just so you guys see how this thing will work.
The superstructure is designed to direct muliti-dimensional energy conduits leading to a big bulb up top and keep them in a particular place. So the glowing elements and the physical structure are literally from different worlds. One ours, one theirs.
Anyway, I think its a neat idea, and sean has done some great work. Read my ideas here. I hope they get you excited.
SUPER STRUCTURE NOTES:
You got the shape right in the draft marked #1
which was inspired by this image:
however, i like how you made the arms look more organic ( almost like frozen tendrils) so stick with that. Also, they look like arms, menacingly reaching over the city.
I think the texture should be non-uniform, either like the shape is a composite of tons of tiny pieces. like the borg cube
The size of elements isn't important to me, just the idea that is made from lots of pieces that made shouldn't even fit together. The form should be really elegant like you've designed, but the medium should be a mishmash of shapes.
ACTIVATED! (glowing)
when the thing starts to activate lets think about bioluminescence in nature:
So, glowing blue lines that describe some of the edges of the structure, but broken up by additional glowing nub clusters, or maybe gaps of darkness. They should look designed, like something that evolved on a living thing. not random. This will make it look not like a TRON thing. When people look at it, they should think bioluminescence, not TRON.
The glowy elements should look really thought out: they are the active property of the structure: the structure exists to support them. So it makes sense that they have this organic, natural quality.
So, the energy will start at the base and travel up this spine like cord in the middle of the column. Like a throat. And as it lights up as a bioluminescent look like this:
As this moves up the column it energizes other glowing structures in the column
So as the column activates it begins to look something like this
When it reaches the bulb up top, that starts to glow. Think about that blub containing a huge bioluminescent jellyfish trapped in a series of interlocking sphere / parts
this:
inside this:
I actually think you got The Bulb right in your concept, these two refs are far more simple. I like all the concentric circles and activity going on there
IN BLOOM
When it gets fully charged it activates the arms and then the whole thing starts glowing and pulsing like crazy. Also, I am thinking that the presence of the other-dimensional energy negates or effects light in weird ways. Maybe as it activates the form of the structure sort of becomes black: a window into a void. Maybe we see stars on the other side? So the whole structure becomes a three dimensional prism filled with darkness, outlined in glowing bioluminescent cords so we can see through the thing to the energy lines on the other side. In this way it would really look like a jelly fish glowing in the darkness.
I dunno, something to show that its not just 'light' but energy with strange and powerful properties.
LETS FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT AND NOT MAKE OURSELVES GO MAD.
thanks for the awesome talent,
sims
