Hi all - If you are a GM and planning a scenario in a hive somewhere you might enjoy this: www.malleus.dk/Ordo/Articles.aspx

My own printer is very, very jinxed so if anyone can comment of the quality of the printed result it would be great i.e. all comments are most welcome as useual, thanks

Regards

Krauze
The Malleus Malificarum Syndicate

Krauze, I have to say that your site produces the BEST fan art I've seen, not just in Dark Heresy, but in ANY RPG. Well done, sir!

That's truly fantastic artwork there. And such detail! I am in awe

Can't fault the production quality, but isn't it a bit light in there? Unless it's the upper level, in which case there should be more luxury and less production.

The multi-layer hives is one of those things I have a hard time picturing in my head; It's not like a mall, it's not outdoors and it's not just very tall buildings. If there's no sunlight, all light is artificial, ranging from torches and fires to small artificial suns under the top of a dome.

If any have some pictures that captures this I'm very interested.

Not to slight your effort Krauze, I have to say your work on Scintilla Prime and the vehicles are some of my favourite 40K resources. Very impressive, expecially considering it's Fan material.

Krautz, I salute you for the work you (and your crew?) put up!

Might you give us a little inside on just HOW you made this? Is it a program freely available? If so, do you know links to good tutorials?

Anyway, I join the critic about "not crowded enough"...but then again, the whole perspective wouldn´t have worked.
Thanks for the good job, I am sure to use it somehwere, somehow!

Darth Smeg said:

It should be noted that the Kormag Sector was introduced in our adventures as an inbound traffic hub of goods from orbit. It is therefore located on the outskirts of the taller spires and at the foot of them. Meaning there is actually SUPPOSED to be daylight in the picture, as the airspace above the sector is open and cramped with inbound cargo vessels. (Think West Berlin during the days of the Allies air-bridge re-supply effort).

Hope it clarifies things a bit

Yes, true - the vast majority of the population lives inside the spires but in this case, as Restaroth (the author of this sector) explains it's a space port and therefore placed on the surface of the Spire. I have tried illustrate it with another image on the site.

I'm also cracking my head trying to figure out how to illustrate the interior of a hive...hopefully I can come with some suggestions in near future.

Gregorius21778 said:

Yes, of course - most of the work you see on the site is made with different kinds of 3D software (3D Studio Max etc.). If you are not familiar with 3D I can strongly suggest Vue which is a 3D fractal landscape designer. I use it a lot and it's very easy to work with - also for newcomers to the field. Furthermore it's quite cheap in comparison to 3D software in general....

Regards

Krauze

Krauze said:

First of all, many thanks for providing the links for "Vue". I didn´t tried it yet, but it looks nice & easy to handle. The "permanent usable trial versions" are a very fine thing, as well as the packs for "Enthusiasts".

Talking about "how to pict a hive", I might have an idea (althoug I do not know how "workable" this is).

Start out with the "from above view" to give an "overall map" of the area. Ensure that the building/blogs go up to the ceilingOnly take not of those "main streets/aterias" whose room actually go up to the ceiling.

Then provide a number of "small images" which give a view of the street / the buidling from the "viewpoint" of some-one "looking down the street" or "standing in front of it on the other site (standing at the foot & looking up). This will give both the perspective of the actual viewer as well making the hive looking "crowded". Of course, you can only doing this for the major "spot lights" and some "sample places". Otherwise, you will end up with to many "shots".

Perhaps, the idea is helpfull

This is definitely fantastic looking. Truly amazing.

Just to level a little constructive criticism, I think it looks a little too "generic gritty sci-fi." I think it needs more gargoyles and flying buttresses to look really "40K" to my eyes. Also, I don't see the church. Just my 2 demi-thrones.

Krauze said:

Best image I've ever been able to conjure for myself: take the interior of a gothic cathedral, like Notra Dame, maginified to an even more massive scale. Inside this huge space, instead of pews and altars, you have two-four story ramshakle buildings, instead of doors you have access roads running into the walls. Along the walls, you have elevated galleries with buildings and other roadways. Then plunge all of it into smoky darkness, lit only by by the buildings and vehicles, street lights along the main roads of the settlement and stab-lights at the local church and enforcer precincts. That's my image.

Thanks for the comments guys. You defiantly have some good ideas I can work with here. It appears that we all have the same basic idea of how it should look...and thats the most important step I think - A small step for mankind but a giant leap for Krauze!

You might be right LuciusT - this place could use some gargoyles and stuff. Initially it was just meant as a quick depiction as a handout for the group, but I have added some more gothic structures now, to give a more 40k payoff. And yes - I have completely forgotten the Adeptus Ministorum. I have placed a Cathedral in their honour in the middle of it all Check it out

Enjoy
Krauze

Krauze said:

This is your idea of a quick handout. My players are lucky it sketch something not terribly to scale on a white broad. You don't take requests by any chance?

Nice cathedral, BTW.