Howdy there, friends and readers of the new StarTrek.com. This is John Eaves, and I am one of the concept artists from the Star Trek art department. Having worked on Star Trek for many years – on The Final Frontier, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis, DS9, Enterprise, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Star Trek Online, as well as a bit on TNG and Voyager -- I am very excited to see this site have a comeback. The never-ending love for Star Trek is amazing and from what I have seen, whether you have somehow worked on the films and shows or are a part of the audience, we are all big fans and have created one huge family from all walks of life.
I, too, am a big fan and have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of five movies and four of the shows, from both the model and prop shops to the working in the art department. One of the best parts about working on Trek has always been the crew. From top to bottom the folks that put the productions together are some of the nicest and most talented people in the galaxy. Every day, the talent and inspiration is unbound and what has made it to the screen doesn't even come close to all the hard work and details that were put in to every set, makeup appliance, or VFX shot. The quality craftsmanship and fine eye for details are truly amazing to see firsthand and I am so glad that I’ve been able to be there and witness everything from the inside.
With that said I am very happy to be here on the site and am looking forward to sharing these experiences with everyone here. What's to come? A look behind the scenes, with photos, art, interviews, as well as a peek into the fan-created worlds of Star Trek -- from the garage kit world to those incredible sci-fi meshers that make so many incredible 3D scenes and depictions of starships in new and imaginary worlds. Doug Drexler convinced me to start a blog last year and one of the features that has drawn a big following is the red dress series, which is a modern style of pin-up photography featuring a lovely model wearing a classic Star Trek outfit set against an exotic location. So for this introduction article, my friend Lacy Lane did the honors of posing for the first of the .com Red Dress pin ups. Mrs. Lane is one awesome model who specializes in classic, modern pin-up and rockabilly, and she made the trek all the way from Nebraska to the Mojave Desert for the shoot. Lacy graced the dress and style with sleek elegance and she really knew how to handle that phaser! Keep an eye open, because she'll be back.
I was hired to work on my first Trek film way back in 1988. It was The Final Frontier, and I was working for the world-famous Greg Jein as a model maker. While doing so, Greg let me try my hand at illustrating some of the models we were building -- and I’ve included in today’s post my very first Trek drawing of the details for the wing cannon for the Klingon Bird of Prey. Lots of fun, and oh so long ago. Haaaaa! Those were the days when I had hair. So, with this short intro done, it's time to sign off. Enjoy the images and I can't wait to start my next blog entry.
