Yggdrasil: Generation Starship

Editorial Science / Sci-Fi Illustration • Symmetry Magazine • 2024
Digital painting of a starship flying out of an asteroid field and into a colorful molecular cloud. This generation ship's body is shaped like a maple seed, intersected by two large wheels that would generate artificial gravity along their interior. Art by Olena Shmahalo for Symmetry Magazine.

FOR
Symmetry Magazine / Sandbox Studio, 2024
Thanks to AD Michael Branigan

WORK
Concept design & illustration

TOOLS
C4D, CSP, Procreate

INFO
A stylized generation starship flies away from an asteroid field and into a colorful molecular cloud. The ship, named "Yggdrasil", is shaped like a maple seed and intersected by two large wheels that would generate artificial gravity along their rims.

For a Symmetry Magazine article by Aspen Stuart-Cunningham: Science fiction inspires a new astrophysics university class.

Rough sketches: a starship design and scene of the ship flying out of an asteroid field and into a colorful molecular cloud. The ship's body is shaped like a maple seed, intersected by two large wheels that would generate artificial gravity along their interior. Art by Olena Shmahalo for Symmetry Magazine.

Rough concept thumbnails

Given its name, "Yggdrasil", I designed this spaceship with an organic form in mind. The main body was inspired by maple seeds. The dual wheels are based on the Stanford Torus and similar "rotating wheel" designs.

3D model of a spaceship. The ship's body is shaped like a maple seed, intersected by two large wheels that would generate artificial gravity along their interior. 3D model by Olena Shmahalo.

3D Model

Maquettes can speed up the illustration process. Although it takes time to create, the model can then be tested in a variety of lighting and camera setups before committing to a final scene — much faster than redrawing.

Rough color comps of a starship flying out of an asteroid field and into a colorful molecular cloud. Art by Olena Shmahalo for Symmetry Magazine.

Color Comps

Quick paintovers to test the scene. Initially I planned a subdued color scheme like those above. But in the end we went for a more colorful approach, informed by hues in the Orion Nebula, Rho Ophiuchi, and similar molecular clouds and nebulae.

Screenshot: Digital painting of a starship flying out of an asteroid field and into a colorful molecular cloud. Art by Olena Shmahalo for Symmetry Magazine. Title text below the illustration reads 'Science fiction inspires a new astrophysics university class', subhead: 'A professor at the University of Tennessee reimagines the way we teach STEM with a science-fiction story-based class.' 01/09/24 By Aspen Stuart-Cunningham

© Olena Shmahalo