Space Art by Christopher Doll

Tag: planetopia

  • Planets Project Update – First Color

    Planets Project Update – First Color

    The scale model of the solar is coming together and here’s the first color on each of the planets. I’ve also test-painted the rings for Saturn, which is fun to see in 3D. More below, and please pardon the dust – these shots were taken in my art studio and there’s a lot going on.

    Planet Hemispheres, all with base colors

    Each of the planets has their base color tones as of this writing. Some of the planets are painted inside the clear acrylic hemisphere, which will give them a bit more depth. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Venus will make use of this effect. Except for Uranus, clouds will be painted on the outside, but some light will scatter through the acrylic and bounce off of the inside layer.

    Process for painting the inside of the planets

    After the base color is applied, I went over them with white primer. This provides enough light blockage to prevent them from glowing too much. There was still too much of a glow, so I covered the white layer with a deep black. I don’t have a photo showing the effect, but it’s very similar to Uranus above (which is pretty much ready to be sealed as-is.

    Jupiter

    Jupiter North Pole

    The cloud bands were mapped out using an airbrush and several colors. Additional cloud details are needed, some to cover up that unfortunate splatter from my airbrush. Or, I just call that part a storm.

    Jupiter – South Pole

    The recent images from the NASA/JPL Juno mission have provided high resolution detail of Jupiter’s south polar region. I’ve started here by getting the colors more into a gray-purple realm. A good base for many whirling clouds.

    Saturn

    And finally my favorite of the bunch, Saturn. I’m thrilled with how the rings turned out, courtesy of my friend and colleague Joe “Faust” Graziano. Shown here are one of the prototype rings we cut to my original design.

    Base Color for Saturn and Rings

    While there’s still a lot to finish on each of these, it’s fun to see them come alive.

    Let me know what you think! And if you like this, please share at your leisure. Thank you!

  • Latest Project – The Planets

    Latest Project – The Planets

    Recently, I was approached by someone who saw my painted planets from a few years back. They wanted a new set of planets, in a larger scale, for an installation at their home. I am happy to announce that this project is now underway.

    My previous planet set – each 2 1/2″ across

    Previously I offered Jupiter, Mars, Earth and its Moon. Each was approximately 2 1/2″ across, and far more round than the actual planets they were depicting.

    I’ve always wanted to upscale the planets that I made before, and render them in a more accurate fashion. This is a perfect opportunity to do so, and to perhaps offer these updated planets to others. Especially Saturn, which is by nature a difficult planet to depict in 3D due to its beautiful rings. I’ve had my own ideas on how to make a scale model of Saturn, but they required tools that I did not have easy access to at the time. And frankly with the bakery business that we were running, I didn’t really have the capacity to make any progress on them. But I did manage to knock together a concept model using smaller wood hemispheres and a shape I cut on our Cricut Maker.

    Original Prototype – 3.5″ across – wood and chipboard

    I’m pretty fond of this size Saturn, but the details would be quite hard to see. And the thickness of the rings is a bit distracting. This design was a test of the rings that are suspended from a single ledge behind the planet (not shown in the photo). It’s effective when viewed from multiple angles.

    As luck would have it, a good friend and colleague of mine started collecting some clever machinery that would help make this project a reality. And this week, after some back and forth about the details, we have our first Saturn prototype ready to go:

    Full Size Saturn Prototype

    The main body of Saturn will be two acrylic hemispheres, 4 1/2″ across. The rings were laser etched and cut by my friend Joe Graziano. We will be working together on these and I am thrilled with the results so far. Overall Saturn will be just over 10″ across with the rings.

    Outer Planets (L to R) Jupiter 6″, Saturn 4.5″, Uranus & Neptune 4″
    6″ Hemispheres for Jupiter – clear acrylic

    The largest single planet will of course be Jupiter, at 6″ diameter. Uranus and Neptune will each be 4″. As much as I’d like to scale these with 100% accuracy, I am at the mercy of available hemispheres. At least until I can manufacture my own at a later date. Each of the hemispheres will need to be reduced in height to match the proper profile of the planets.

    Inner Planets (L to R) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter (for scale)

    The inner planets will be mostly at scale with each other, but for the sake of the display, they will each be larger than they should be compared to the outer planets. As of this writing, I am considering bumping up their scale a bit as they may be a bit small when viewed in person.

    For my client, these planets will be suspended from the ceiling with a dedicated light fixture. I will be working on stand-alone sets as well, either wall-mounted or tabletop. Either way, I am excited to share this with all of you and I will be updating as things progress.

    Let me know what you think!

  • Planet Globes Are Now On Sale!

    Planet Globes Are Now On Sale!

    UPDATE: OCTOBER 2019

    Updated note – this post was originally intended for my original planet globes, which are no longer available. At the moment I am working on a new line of planets, which are not yet ready for sale as of this writing.

    My apologies for any confusion. You can follow my progress on my blog, and as soon as the new globes are ready to order I will post them.

    Thank you for understanding – Christopher Doll

    Original Post:

    Planet Globes are now available in the Space Art Store! I am making these available now after the wonderful feedback I’ve received from everyone about these little planets that I’ve been painting.

    Painting Jupiters
    Painting Jupiters

    I am starting with three planets – Jupiter, Mars, Earth  (with a small moon in scale) – and the Earth’s Moon. Each is 2 1/2″ in diameter, painted with artist-grade acrylics and sealed. The core is a hardwood sphere that adds a nice weight to it.

    Mars_Size
    2 1/2″ Mars Globe (Click on Image to order) $24.00 – $35.00 USD

    Each globe comes with a small ring for desktop display, and I’m offering two additional display options – an eyelet for hanging the globes, as well as a larger deluxe display.

    Earth with Deluxe Base and Moon
    Earth with Deluxe Base and Moon (Click on Image to order) $30.00 – $40.00 USD

    I have a number of these ready to go now, but I’ll also be taking pre-orders over the next few weeks. Be advised that once I run out of the globes that I have on hand it may take up to two weeks for your order to be completed.

     

    Jupiter Globes
    Jupiter Globes (Click on Image to order) $24.00 – $35.00 USD
    Moon Globe
    Moon Globe (Click on Image to order) $24.00 – $35.00 USD

    What’s Next?

    I am working on several variations of these globes, different sizes and a set that will be roughly in scale with each other. These will be posted to my various social outlets as they are finished so be sure to follow me on Space Art by Christopher Doll on Facebook, Christopher Doll on Twitter, and Christopher Doll on Instagram for updates.

    And to give you a hint:

    Coming Soon?
    Coming Soon?

    Visit my Space Art Store now, while they last!