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This helment was taken from Return of the Jedi from the character Lando. It has been seriously modified. Sometimes the best way to merge layers is to shadow them together. These straps are taken from various clothing. This is just one of many star textures. I usually use two for greater dispersion. To get a reverse reflection just copy the segment, reverse it, and then draw it back to the original in low oppacity. This entire cockpit is from an actual helicoptor. To get your controls to light up just darken the selected are and raise the contrast. These are nintendo game scores. The walkie talkie is made from a dissected piece of Nasa equipment. I don't know what this is but it came from NASA. This isn't a gun at all. It's just strips of metal I found.


Ship Design
LAYOUT

Probably the best place to start with interior ship design is to just simply have a layout. The great thing about PSP7 as well as many other art programs is that you can draw in "layers". This means you can combine several drawings and rotate them around in any order. This comes in handy when experimenting with possible layouts.
PANELS AND WALLS

Walls can easily be formed from the various panel textures that you can down load off the internet. You can easily draw your own and save as a personal texture. I prefer using mixed textures with a few real items as well. In otherwords, I'll use a textured wall and then add real pipping.
DIMENSIONAL WALLS

Once you've drawn a wall it will be necessary to angle it for diminsional purposes. (To do this in PSP7 just go to EFFECTS and select GEOMETRIC and then you'll have plenty for options. Use the HORIZONTAL for walls or the VERTICAL for floors.)
HATCHES AND DOORWAYS

Whether you get your hatches from a real spacecraft or draw them from scratch, it is important to keep a variety on hand for adding detail to your art. Remember that ship hatches are very rarely square, and even in Star Wars they were often rigid. But like hey, it's sci-fi, so anything goes!
LIGHTS

The main problem with lights is that they just don't seem to be doing thier job. Perhaps its because not all of us are Thomas Kinkaids. But there is a trick to this. To brighten up your lights on any art program, all you have to do is to first darken them, and then raise the contrast higher. The effect makes them glow.



Ship Controls
COCKPITS

Cockpits are actually kind of fun. You can either take a bunch of electronic equipment and throw it together or you can just use a real one. In this one I used a helicopter cockpit, added some NASA relics, and then gave it computer screens.
CONTROLS

Controls are easy. You can draw pieces of your own and mix it with real dials. However you do it, the main secret here is the same with the lighting. Darken them first and then raise the contrast. This will make your controls come to life.
SCREENS

The great thing about screens is that nobody can actually read them. They're just too darn small! If they could they would find out that the screen on the left was nothing more than a nintendo game score.
BLUEPRINTS

To create blueprints on PSP7 you must first cut out the image you want and put it on a black background. Then go to COLORS and select NEGATIVE IMAGE, turning your picture white. After this, go through the EFFECTS menu to the EDGE selection and choose the FIND ALL. Your picture should be an outline. To alter the color, go to the COLORS bar and select COLORIZE.
CONTROL PANELS

This might look simple but it took me some time. To start I first modified a wall segment, angled it's depth, and tilted it a little. Then I did the same for the four different screens--this time using wheather and health charts. And finally there is the base which can be made from anything--your choice. Patience is the main secret here. It takes a little bit of time to align everything.



Ship Views
STARS

Stars are easy, but hastiness can actually run this amuk. Use textures wisly or draw them in with care. A star scape can really add to the mood of the picture. For a bright star or beaming sun, most art programs have options. (In PSP7 go to the EFFECTS menu and select ILLUMINATION. The SUNBURST is what gives this effect.)
PLANETS

Planets are really fun to draw or if you want you can find thousands textures for various earth terrain. However you approach it, always try to draw it seperate and then paste it as a new layer on your final picture. This allows for flexible positioning and it makes the shading so much easier.
THE WINDOW SEAT

The bigest problem I have with windows in art is convincing people that there is in fact a window there. Many artists are great at doing the "Haze" effect as I like to call it. But I was never really good at that. So I always relied on reflections. (To do this in PSP7, use the CLONE BRUSH and put the oppacity on low).



Ship Supplies
SCRAP METAL

Alas, you might be asking why is this guy saying to collect scrap metal? In truth I asked myself that same question, but then ended up using the junk pile as a junk pile for one of my pics! My point is that a textured pipe or even some loose wires could come in handy especially in ship design. So if you find it, keep it, and if you draw it, store it. That's my motto.