New Fanart: Valkyrie Approach

[TheElf]

LSO: "107 Call the ball..."

Pilot: "107, Valkyrie ball, 2.8"

LSO: "Raaaaager Ball...."

Valkyrie 107 Of SVF-41 makes it's approach to ARMD-07 During a shakedown cruise following the latter's refit in Lunar orbit. Pilots were expected to maintain proficiency in all types of recovery, in this case the traditional CV Pattern to an arrested landing, similar to the Prometheus. One of the Refits to the ARMD platforms was to replace steel cable arresting gear with gravity control technology from the exploitation of the Super Dimensional Fortress. Additionally the Maneuver Verniers on the Valkyrie figured into the way the Mecha flew a similar 3.5 degree glideslope ingrained in all Naval Aviators on Earth aboard Aircraft Carriers.

SVF-41 was one of the many Valkyrie units to be formed as a last line of defense against the feared return of the Zetraedi fleet. Carrier qualifications during their shakedown were a priority while the SDF-1 Was away from Earth on her epic journey homeward from Pluto following the tragic fold that stranded over 70,000 civilians in deep space.

Black Ace 107 is a VF-1J in a standard RDF Brown Combat livery, replete with yellow squadron markings and Blue Modex (107) . The CAG jet carries a light gray overall scheme and is typically flown by the Commanding Officer.

[Mr March]

Wow, I like it. This is a frame composition we don't see often. Well done!

[nel2012]

great "shoot" ... very original, the perspective is fantastic

[TehPW]

only (ONLY) complaint? because they are in space, i would imagine no flight surfaces would move since they dont impact movement (its all veniers in space) other than that, very impressive work, sir.

[SchizophrenicMC]

only (ONLY) complaint? because they are in space, i would imagine no flight surfaces would move since they dont impact movement (its all veniers in space) other than that, very impressive work, sir.

Obviously, standard landing practice

Looks good, Elf.

[TheElf]

only (ONLY) complaint? because they are in space, i would imagine no flight surfaces would move since they dont impact movement (its all veniers in space) other than that, very impressive work, sir.

Concur my friend, but consider this...

If you were a Software designer, such as the guy responsible for programming the Valkyrie for landing, whether aboard ship in atmosphere or in a vacuum, would there not be a benefit to exercising the control surfaces in the same manner regardless of airflow or vacuum? From a simplicity perspective, it matters not whether the flaps are down or not in deep space no? But from a coding perspective if you tell the Valkyrie..."You are landing", then it behaves as such and it takes no extra lines of code.

Typically landing configurations in modern aircraft are determined by a couple things. Primary among them is the position of the Landing gear handle. "Up" means the craft is configured for high speed flight. "Down" means the craft is configured for drag and low speed flight with an intent to land. If the primary method of selecting one or the other is gear handle up...or gear handle down, would it not make sense that the configuration is one in the same?

Thanks for the insightful commentary!

Obviously, standard landing practice

Looks good, Elf.

Thanks Schizo...Standard indeed. And then there is always "well....it looks cool" ; )

[Macross_Fanboy]

Really nice, I though it was going to be as seen from the cockpit. Will you make that too?

[TheElf]

Really nice, I though it was going to be as seen from the cockpit. Will you make that too?

Interesting suggestion. I love cockpit views...I'll consider it!

[the white drew carey]

To begin: That is awesome. Great work!

I am, however, a bit curious about the lighting source for the valk and the ARMD. Based on the lighting of the moon/planet object, there is a strong light source coming from the bottom right.

[TheElf]

To begin: That is awesome. Great work!

I am, however, a bit curious about the lighting source for the valk and the ARMD. Based on the lighting of the moon/planet object, there is a strong light source coming from the bottom right.

There are two light sources, the moon, and the Verniers.

[the white drew carey]

I got that, but my point is that the light from the moon is just albedo, and that there is a primary source that is lighting that moon- something that is strong enough to light that moon would also have some effect on the bottom side of that ARMD-07 (but definitely not the topside of the valk), yet you have very strong shadows underneath the ARMD.

However, you have two verniers going off on the valk, but there is a strong shadow on that part behind the cockpit that is being created by the vernier to the left, although I would think that the vernier directly behind it would counter that shadow.

Don't get me wrong, it is pretty damn awesome. But us artists gotta help each other out!

[TheElf]

Yes, the Sun is illuminating the Moon. Based on the perspective of the viewer I figured the Sun would be somewhere down and to the right of the ARMD and the Valk. But those are areas of the Valk and ARMD that are not visible to the viewer. Or do you see it differently?

The moon is of course albedo, but I guess I figured that one of two explanations were at work, either the proximity of this shot to the moon and the angle that the sunlight came from was such that the light reflecting off the moon was perceptibly more intense than the Sunlight. Or...the ARMD and Valk were in the Shadow of the earth on the night side. The intent was to create a sense of darkness where the only natural light came from the moon. oh and I wanted to stay within the typical animation scheme of simple lighting and what I call "shading to the third order". In other words a base color and three levels of shading or highlighting.

Anyway, thanks for the constructive criticism! I appreciate your point of view and you DO have a point!

[the white drew carey]

Here is what I would suggest. I hope you don't mind me grabbing it and doing this. It is very rough.

I know I may be being over-critical here, but these are some of the first thoughts that came to my mind when I saw this. Something about the lightsourcing didn't rub me right.

[reddsun1]

only (ONLY) complaint? because they are in space, i would imagine no flight surfaces would move since they dont impact movement (its all veniers in space) other than that, very impressive work, sir.

Killjoy.

[TheElf]

Here is what I would suggest. I hope you don't mind me grabbing it and doing this. It is very rough.

I know I may be being over-critical here, but these are some of the first thoughts that came to my mind when I saw this. Something about the lightsourcing didn't rub me right.

Don't mind at all! I appreciate the honest assessment. One of my goals was actually to make this piece quite a bit darker. I wanted to impress upon the viewer how dark it can be landing on a ship in deep space. I also wanted to capture the look and feel of the DYRL ARMD. Perhaps I should remove the Moon altogether and move the moment in time narrative so just outside earth orbit or...enroute to Mars so as to give the darker lighting justification?

Still your points are fully onboard, and I will be keeping them in my toolkit for my next work...

[the white drew carey]

Good ideas. I'm excited to see what you have come up with. You have really caught that anime coloring in a way I can never seem to emulate.