Surrounded by references, Rawlings puts the finishing touches on a painting of the first footstep on Mars.
Surrounded by references, Rawlings puts the finishing touches on a painting of the first footstep on Mars.
Thorough research is the most important element in Rawlings approach to a space image. Often when discussing a future mission with an engineer or scientist, he will discover some unusual point-of-view or quirky detail that will provide the art with an uncanny realism. For example, while discussing the Mars Pathfinder landing sequence with a project engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the artist realized that the mission was landing at night. This detail, not described in any of the routinely distributed PR material, completely altered the picture's composition. Instead of using the sun as a light source, Rawlings illuminated the landscape with three solid rocket engines in the aeroshell that fire just as the airbag covered lander is released.
As photo references for "Hard Science," a painting of a space-suited geologist on a Mars cliff face,
the artist modified a toy action figure and posed it on paper towel cliff face.
After completly understanding the part of the mission being depicted, Rawlings then develops models of the elements in the scene. Some of these geometrically precise models are created from foamcore or plastic, while others are constructed using modeling software on the artist's 8100 A/V Macintosh. The spacecraft models are based on engineering drawings produced by the artist or provided by the client. The setting models are usually based on US Geological Survey topographical maps and/or orbital photography.
IMAX Films and Walt Disney Television Productions have commissioned conceptual spacecraft designs from Rawlings. In the just released IMAX movie, "Destiny in Space" he produced a detailed design of a tethered spacecraft for computer animators. In "Cosmic City" an IMAX production for The 1996 World Cities Expo in Tokyo, Rawlings designed a detailed space colony with all its associated systems, numerous spacecraft, and an EVA pod designed for use on a comet. For a Disney production "Plymouth" (ABC Sunday Night Movie-1990) Rawlings designed all the spaceships, space stations, spacesuits, and lunar surface vehicles.
By matching Viking panoramic images of the site with transparent overlays made from gridded line drawings (Figure A) Rawlings was able to lay the grid over the rocky surroundings. Rawlings then scanned a rock map (Figure B) created by Viking scientists into a 3-D modeling program where he added a grid that matched the "overlay" grids.
Now the Lander had to be incorporated into the landscape. Viking 2 images with tilted horizons showed that the one of the lander's legs had come down on a rock causing an 8 degree tilt. A properly tilted "stick figure" lander was modeled and locked onto the computer landscape (Figure C) The scene was then rotated until the "stick" lander's perspective matched a reference lander mockup photo. From this base, numerous photos and engineering references Rawlings created a full-size drawing (Figure D) and transferred it to the painting surface using graphite paper.
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Working with the gridded color images and other detailed Viking surface images as reference, Rawlings applied acrylic paint using airbrushes, paint brushes, sponges paper towels and his fingers. The colors, based on Viking lander images and tones, are adjusted for the time of day. During the painting process, Dr. Alan Binder of the Viking Imaging Team reviewed the position and scientific accuracy of the landscape. Dust and frost are added to reflect the lander's age and the early morning setting. The flag, carried by the closest person, is silhouetted in order to raise the question, "What country will land on Mars first?"
Pat Rawlings is an Art Director for Science Applications International Corporation, and has produced art for NASA for over 17 years.
S91-25381 Lunar Base S95-01415 Space Physics S91-25382 LUNOX Pilot Plant S95-01416 Mars Launch S91-25383 Automated Mars Lander S95-01417 Lunar Lander/Base S91-25384 Autonomous Rendezvous S95-01418 Mars Rover Repair S91-25385 Lunar Garage S95-01419 LUNOX Pilot Plant S91-25386 Lunar Simulation Lab S95-01420 Jupiter Lasercraft S91-52337 Viking Visit S95-01421 Adv. Control Center S92-49969 NEP to Mars S95-01422 Voyager/Milky Way S92-49971 FLO/NTR @ LEO S95-01424 Lunar University S95-01399 Lunar Discovery Orbiter S95-01425 Telescope Walker S95-01400 Comet Rendezvous S95-01426 Mars Sample Return (MISR) S95-01402 Salute S95-01561 Lunar Arecibo S95-01405 Pluto/Charon S95-01562 Lunar Industrial Park S95-01406 Late for Class S95-01563 Mars Sim. on moon S95-01407 Mars NTR @ Ascraeus Mons S95-01564 Artemis Lander/Rover S95-01408 Mars Surface Exploration S95-01565 Orbital Debris Robot S95-01410 The Journey S95-01566 Mars Geologist on cliff S95-01411 Interior Lunar Rover S95-01567 Mars Lander w/chutes S95-01413 Lander Factory S95-07707 Lunar Medical Emergency S95-01414 NTR at Mars