Gallery: Featured Artists:
George Leonberger
With the dawning of the Internet, Space: 1999 fans were able to go online and share their interpretations of the show. Artists, such as George Leonberger, have captured the hearts and minds of many fans with their inspirational work. We first talked with George on March 20, 2000.
You can e-mail him at ghl3@toast.net. Please do not request CGI models or personally designed pictures.
Discussing being a fan of Space: 1999
What is your favorite episode of Space: 1999?
Throughout my younger years, it was always "War Games" because of the cool ships and the battles. After having a chance to see some of the episodes again within the last few years, "Testament of Arkadia" seems to stand out in my mind.
What did you find inspiring about the series?
Well, when it first came out in the mid seventies I just thought it looked great, but was otherwise rather bored with it. Only within the last year or two have I become more aware of how intelligently written much of it was.
Any favorite actor(s)? Or characters?
From the beginning, I always liked Alan Carter. I liked that ready-to-jump-into-it attitude. Plus, he flew Eagles, and that made him cool.
Discussing Space: 1999 model-making
When did you first get into CGI (Computer Generated Images) model making? What inspired you?
When I was a boy, I built plastic models for the sole purpose of "flying them." You know, pretending that they are flying by your head, recreating special FX shots from the show. CGI is just a different way of doing that. It's very neat taking a CGI model and rendering it from different angles. Plus, if it's a model you made, that is even more rewarding and fun.
I first started doing CGI in 1998. For a couple of years prior to that, I would occasionally find images on the net of the Starship Enterprise that were raytraced. I remember thinking, "How did they trace THAT?" When I finally learned what raytracing was and that it was something I, too, could learn... I jumped into it.
What software tools do you use to create these Space: 1999 models?
I model in Moray and render the images with POV-Ray. I find Moray to be simple, yet intuative and versatile. And POV-Ray is free.
What motivated you to create the model? What did you like best about the Eagle?
The Eagle was the first real CGI model I built.What mainly motivated me was the fact that I wanted to play with a computer model of the Eagle, but couldn't find one for Moray or POV-Ray. When I was first teaching myself 3D modeling, I began by trying to construct the "backbone" girder of the Eagle because it is simply a bunch of cylinders. That's all I intended to do at the time but once I had finished it, I just kept going with the rest of the ship... I couldn't stop!
What I have always liked about the Eagle is the same as everyone else--it looks real. What I am enjoying now is adding images of my CGI Eagle to real-world settings (i.e. the Eagle sitting next to the Space Shuttle). It's just another way of making the Eagle closer to reality for me.
How long has it taken to research? And how long has it taken to actually construct the model(s)?
I'll have to guess that it took me maybe three months to build it. That was almost two years ago, so it is hard to remember.
What reference guide(s) did you use to create the model?
My main guide was the Eagle blueprints from Starlog #7. I now know that they aren't the most accurate plans in the world, but they look nice. Someday, maybe I'll build another model based on more precise blueprints. I also used many of the closeup shots of the actual filming models available on the web.
Do you have any pointers/recommendations for people who want to get into CGI model making?
Well, I only do it as a hobby, but I would say the best way to learn is to try and build something specific and learn how to do things as the need arises. Get satisfaction out of finally learning how to do something, no matter how small it is or how long it took to get it.
What was the most challenging aspect of putting together your CGI Eagle?
Generally speaking, the hardest part was just sticking with it until it was done. Talking specifics, the Command Module was the most difficult. Almost the whole CGI model is built with primitives (volume shapes) and the command module took a lot of thinking about how to get it right. It still ain't perfect, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.
Do you have plans to create any additional models?
Not really. I am too busy trying to learn other things now! And I am having too much fun rendering the models I have already made.
Thanks, George!
You can view George's CGI Eagle renderings here.
You can download George's CGI Eagle model here.
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