MISSION ENDEAVOR

EARTH

Help design a space-faring exploration vehicle to

reach the outer Gas Giants to mine for Hydrogen

YOUR MISSION

In the not-too distant future, the United Federation of Earth is seeking a new design for a space-faring exploration vehicle to reach the outer Gas Giants to mine for Hydrogen.  The Federation needs YOU to design a spacefaring vehicle that can be manned by humans, autonomous/AI or piloted like a drone (your choice!)  They are tasking YOU, the designer - to create concept art that will help influence their design decisions and help create funding from various governments throughout the world.

STEP ONE

Create a variety of ideas to propose to the Federation - the Space Exploration Division has recently been using inspiration from two distinct sources - FORM and ANIMALS.  Create a list of 6-10+ three-dimensional FORMS (cylinders, cones, spheres, pyramids, prisms, etc.) - these figures will be used in your various designs.

Next, make a separate list of 6-10+ specific ANIMALS (squid, moray eel, peregrine falcon, bat, anemone…) you want to use as inspiration in your Spacecraft design.

image of a blue striped cat in brown cowboy style boots
image of brainstorming sheet with 10 lines to log nouns and adjectives

STEP TWO

After you’ve compiled your lists, combine different FORMS with different ANIMALS to inspire your sketches for your THUMBNAILS. These are quicks and small ideation sketches that help you come up with as many ideas as you can at one time. The more ideas you create, the more you can choose from to find the best composition! Write one of your FORMS and one of your ANIMALS in the space below each rectangle, then, inside of the rectangle, draw what YOU think your spacecraft will look like.

image of a blue striped cat in brown cowboy style boots
image of 10 rectangular boxes for brainstorming thumbnail sketches

STEP THREE

Once you’ve created 6 to 10 different sketches, pick your BEST three.  Next, we’ll be trying different ways of working with these images and how they will fill the page - we call this COMPOSITION.  Take your best three from your Brainstorm and use the format on step four below to try drawing them in different ways - turn them in a new direction, have them come out towards the viewer, move some parts around, whatever you can do to explore new options.

image of a blue striped cat in brown cowboy style boots
image of a composition thumbnail sketching template with 10 rectangular boxes for students to sketch ideas

STEP FOUR

Once you have explored your piece in different COMPOSITIONS, you should have a good idea of which is your very best sketch.  We’re going to finalize your thumbnails by exploring different THEMES and MOODS for your piece.  How do you want your sketch to come across to your viewer?  What are the best ways to show your idea off to people to communicate your thoughts?

Complete the STORYTELLING Thumbnail sketches to finalize your thumbnails - pick which you feel are your best compositions - you’ll be sharing these as we move onto our next planet and continue our journey to communicate your ideas for your Spacecraft.

image of a blue striped cat in brown cowboy style boots