ARCHANGEL II

MARS LINE

Using the rendered model to create travel posters.

Archangel II Mars Line side view

A first render

It's always a great feeling to get those first renders done. After all that time spent modelling and building, it can really feel like you have taken to the skies.

Archangel II gathering speed and altitude.
Archangel II gathering speed and altitude.
Archangel II making its run to break free of Earth.
Archangel II making its run to break free of Earth.

A first concept

I love the image below. It's the Space Shuttle breaking through the cloud layer on its way to low Earth orbit. It was a fantastic machine and the only thing we have ever built that comes close to doing what I imagine Archangel II can do. So my first thought was to create a version of that picture. But on reflection I realised that would be wrong. That image is owned by the Shuttle and I have a huge amount of respect for that. Plus Archangel II goes the next step - to space but then onwards. So that made me think that whatever I do should show that next step - the journey on out into space.

The Space Shuttle breaking through the cloud layer.
The Space Shuttle breaking through the cloud layer.

The journey out into space has to have a point of reference, and in this case that can only be Earth. Today there are thousands of really good quality, royalty free images available courtesy of ESA and NASA. After an extensive hunt, I found the one below - by the Italian ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano on flickr. I like the fact you can see the height of the atmosphere in the cloud layer, and the presence of that gold colour which hints at where the Sun is.

An autumn sunset over Cape Cod captured by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during his Beyond mission on the International Space Station, 2019.
An autumn sunset over Cape Cod captured by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during his Beyond mission on the International Space Station, 2019.

I took that image, which is high resolution, and turned it into what I needed for the backdrop of a poster. I had to remember how to use compositing in Blender. Once I'd got my head around that concept again I was able to produce a first render. Not great, but it is a start.

Archangel II, first render in Blender using compositing.
Archangel II, first render in Blender using compositing.

After that comes a huge amount of trial and experimentation to get the look I want. The image below shows me trying out fonts. I'm sure the lighting on Archangel II isn't right - and that funny symbol between MARS and LINE - well, maybe, nah.

Trialing and testing.
Trialing and testing.

Mars?

The second poster has to feature Mars, the destination and the whole point of Archangel II. Some time ago I had come across an amazing image, again from ESA. This is a huge composite, pulled together from thousands of images taken by Mars Express. They've done a very impressive job.

This image comprises data gathered by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 19 October 2023 during orbit 25 000.
This image comprises data gathered by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 19 October 2023 during orbit 25 000.

Finally!

I think you get the idea. Once I had those two concepts it is just a matter of trialling and adjusting to get the final images I wanted. I tried just rendering the ship and then cutting and pasting that onto the background. That didn't work because the colour tones didn't match. In the end I rendered the whole poster - with compositing - in a single go. My laptop struggled a bit, but you just have to be patient. I tweaked the jpgs and then added the words.

Here they are. I was particularly pleased with the way the Mars image turned out. Might revisit the Earth poster.

Archangel II departs Earth orbit and starts its six month journey to Mars. The champagne is flowing in the Cosmos Bar.
Archangel II departs Earth orbit and starts its six month journey to Mars. The champagne is flowing in the Cosmos Bar.

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Archangel II turns to give passengers the best view of Mars. The ship will stay in orbit for a view days to let people become accumstomed to the idea they are about to visit another world.
Archangel II turns to give passengers the best view of Mars. The ship will stay in orbit for a few days to let people become accumstomed to the idea they are about to visit another world.

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So now all that reamins is Verdajuvel Galaxsia. Verdajuvel, a ship that can grab the very fabric of space-time, and fold dimensions to travel great distances independently of time.

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