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Thomas-Peters β Fat Trader in Port
Published: 2012-10-24 01:00:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 15076; Favourites: 221; Downloads: 424
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Description
Pencil on Bristol Board. This is the ubiquitous Subsidized Merchant starship from Traveller, slightly re-imagined by Dave Dietrick (in the Traveller Adventure) and myself. Originally I did this drawing for myself, just trying to work out what a starport pad might be like. It was later published in Starship Operators.Thanks for taking a look!
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Comments: 34
DGP's crew did the best Traveller artwork, period. I can't recall a single image what wasn't gorgeously evocative. Well done.
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I like your icon, Porco Rosco. Β I love this sketch. Β Do you accept commissions for Traveller deckplans?
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Oh wow, so you're the guy who did some of the DGP illustrations. Β Incredible work.
There's a sketch of a half submerged scout that came with the Mega Traveller's referee's screen. Β It has some of the crew up topside feeding parrot dragons. Β I'm assuming that one is your's too.
Is there any chance you could do a full render of that scout ship? Β I thought it was really incredible.
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Yep, that was mine! Its humbling that the image stuck with you all these years! That is actually a piece I've wanted to revisit for years. Stay tuned...
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Very cool 
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Nice drawing. I love the game, haven't been able to play in years though since moving to the middle of nowhere.
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Oh the trouble you can get into piloting one of these..... π: 0 β©: 0
One of the first Sci-fi games I ever played. and I have to admit one of my favorite commercial ships to this day.
Tom, this is awsome. Well I actually complimented about that illo (from the Operators Manual) more than once.
I am so grateful that you put it up here, as the illo in my book has very light lines and even postworking on the scan never brought the details out correctly. Now I can start remodelling my clumsy Type R variant with proper reference art (something that's been on my to do list for ages).
You definitely branded THE Traveller Fat Trader design. I just love it.
The Image has been a favorite of mine since the times we were actively playing Traveller from the moment I held the Operator Manual in my hands. The book itself however looks a bit overused these days, I must regretfully admit.
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Thanks! I never was terribly happy with the reproduction in SSOM. By the time it was reduced to size, it lost a lot of detail. The original is 18 " long, so you can imagine the problems reproducing it with a half-tone screen. Actually finding the original and scanning it has made me go back and rework my own Lightwave model of the Fat Trader!
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This is the best illustration I've ever seen of that ship.
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I'm glad you like it!
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that's why it seemed so familiar i have that book!
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One of my favorite projects. I was on the conceptual design team for that one.
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Love the R-series 'Fat' Trader! Well done, Drell-7!
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Thanks! I will forever be a big Traveller geek, I guess...
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Great drawing of a beautiful ship!
I'm impressed.
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Nice ship design! Well developed perspective and shading to this piece. Appears to be off-loading some personal transports? (I'd take the one with the spoiler, probably turbocharged).
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Yeah, that's my "Grav-Porche". I've actually modeled that one in Lightwave and used in several illos. The other is a standard Traveller air-raft. Probably much more market for that one!
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Oh, I'll have to look out for it here. I recognized the ship in a few other illos as well like [link] . Ha, the air-raft prob has better hover mileage.
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Actually, I remember a design like this in a very old merrionette animation series called "Fireball XL5". Way earlier than Traveller or even The Thunderbirds' series.
Of course really it is a ubiquitous design, it even has some lines and planform from the recently retired NASA shuttles, but instead of rudder on the centerline, a set of winglets at the tips of the main wing.
The drawing is beautiful with the hatches open and the vehicle in a very detailed loading bay with lots of automation in use.
Would look cool if colored!
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I was a big fan of Fireball XL-5!! I've never consciously thought of the resemblance to the Fat Trader, but you are absolutely correct!
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Wicked!!! Love this style of ship design. I will risk showing my age and say I remember playing the original game very fondly
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Thanks, Ben! Me, too! I actually met Marc Miller (the principle author and force behind Traveller) only a few months after it came out, and I was hooked! I was lucky enough to do a lot of illustrations for the game over the years.
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Lucky you, he was a pioneer into the brave new world of RPGs and the like. Bet that was pretty cool.
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