More color tweaks. I’m proud to say this k-beam corridor is complete! There is a lot more going on behind the camera right now, more to come.

Some serious progress has been made in the lighting and color accuracy.

More details…

More details added.

Now with all the signage ready to go, I’ve started the “beauty pass.” I’m starting to lock in some colors, the render settings, etc. Just a little preview while I get started. The walls haven’t been done, they are still the mock up geometry. They’re next.

The saga continues! In my quest for perfection, I’ve discovered a new aisle of study. I’ve started preparing the various graphics for bulkheads, doors, and control panels. No doubt, a project in itself. In the findings of several other talented artists on the internet that have covered this subject extensively, there are but two font faces to be used on Star Trek materials. Helvetica, and Swiss911. If you take a spin over to Michael Okuda’s site, you can see his examples of the various signage is indeed Helvetica! Open and shut case, correct? Not so fast there, wordsmith. Being the meticulous man I am, I’ve poked some serious holes in that artwork, at least for The Next Generation series.

Allow me to present my evidence. Below is a second season screen shot of a door sign. While I agree, the weight is a tad thin, Compacta Light matches the best of the three here.

Up close, Helvetica and Swiss911 do not match at all. But they are similar. I’m sure from far away (even in 3d) you’d easily mistake them for the same face. Consider this next shot from Season 3, Wesley’s terminal in the lab. Again, the font seems a tad thin, but the shape of the face fits perfectly.

Lastly a printed sticker for a bulkhead, I can’t tell you where it originated, sadly. But it does appear to be authentic. Again, Compacta matching perfectly with almost no kerning at all.

I don’t presume to know why a switch was made, or when. Just to be sure the switch was not made to Helvetica sometime within the later years of the show, I tested screen shots in season 7. In the episode “Genesis,” there are several opportunities to see signage that shows the same font face. While it is not perfect in weight all the time, adding a 1% stroke, or faux bold makes up the difference in some cases. I think the television resolution for NTSC could easily be blamed for some of that. (Hence the many LCARS jokes that would never been readable on a standard television.) Take this as a grain of salt, I am nearly adding my opinion into the community. But my project will be using Compacta! It’s not terribly expensive, and you can pick up a copy here. I welcome it to my library.