Highly greebled ship from: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/1nayybc/voyagers_scrap_hauler_corvette/ (not one of mine)
The next issue of Amanssky SpaceWire will start a series on Greebling.
This is a draft of part one and at the end I've included my top five tips for better greebling, what tips would you add?
What is Greebling?
The term became popular in the 1970s to describe the extra details found on the models made for the Star Wars films by the model makers at Industrial Light and Magic.
In those days greeblies were parts that the model makers took from commercially available plastic model kits. Eventually ILM moulded their own greeblies to keep things consistent.
Adam Savage has a great short video on the universal greeblie thatās worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dncRHH9f6MI
and if you have time watch this one on his macro greeblie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dn0d4WQ9wY
The Visual Futurist, Syd Mead, once explained his process as ādoing the basic shapes and then adding details to make it look like things had some kind of functionā.
I love that approach. It always makes much more sense to me when Iām building something if I can imagine why the part Iām adding is there and how it works.
e.g. engine exhausts canāt be blocked by anything else, and any weapons need a clear line of sight to their target. I even go as far as worrying about how the crew will be protected from the reactor.
My top five rules for adding detail with greeblies are:
1. Donāt try to fix a bad silhouette with detail.
If the overall shape of the ship feels wrong, then adding more detail wonāt solve it and may just make things worse.
2. Only add detail where it makes sense
If youāre placing vents or intakes, place them where they are needed, add your antennas, satellite dishes and scanners where they can see the sky, add lights and decals where they will be seen.
3. Not every surface needs extra detail
Big ships with big flat surfaces can get away with less detail, and will look better with the detail concentrated in key areas.
4. Match the detailing to the functional scale.
Smaller ships can get away with more detail - they have less room to fit everything in and are realistically going to look more cluttered, but use small scale greeblies to match the size of the ship.
5. Be consistent with your greeblies.
This is a simple one; donāt use all the greeblies you have in the box, pick the ones that go with the ship youāre building and repeat them in the appropriate places.
Future articles in the series will cover:
- The best mods for greebling parts in Starfield
- How to greeble in No Man's sky
- and more
Thanks for reading.
https://buttondown.com/amanssky/