Gagarin Scientific Research Station

…Eleven months later, we reached the coordinate point and turned on the braking engines, gently bringing the station into the calculated orbit of this majestic and massive planet. Back on Earth, at the training center for our expedition, everything was thought out to the smallest detail and we honed our actions dozens of times. Each of us knew where to be and what to do. Our station, massive and long, maneuvered smoothly, like a giant ship sailing through the vast cosmos. It took six Earth days for this maneuver. All that remained was to reach orbital velocity. Install and deploy scientific equipment to begin exploring this mysterious planet.

But suddenly something thumped loudly on the station’s hull. I can’t say what shook us, but the navigator dryly announced over the speakerphone that the station was being blown off course. The captain immediately ordered the team to check the systems and report back. The correction engines sputtered fussily, spewing beams of spent fuel into icy space. Over the comm, everyone in turn reported on the status of their compartments. A slight concussion was reported from the first compartment, but the equipment is working normally, there is no damage. One person suffered a non-critical arm injury. He was hit by the compartment hatch when it automatically closed, isolating their module from the rest of the station.

The captain ordered three men to be prepared to inspect the outer skin of the first module and asked our medic to immediately examine the injured in the first compartment. This was our first day in Mars orbit…


…Спустя одиннадцать месяцев мы достигли точки координат и включили двигатели торможения, мягко заводя станцию на расчётную орбиту, этой величественной и массивной планеты. Ещё на Земле, в центре подготовки нашей экспедиции, всё было продумано до мельчайших подробностей и мы оттачивали свои действия десятки раз. Каждый из нас, знал где нужно быть и что делать. Наша станция, массивная, длинная, плавно маневрировала, словно гигантский корабль, плывущий по бескрайнему космосу. Шесть земных суток ушло на этот манёвр. Оставалось лишь выйти на орбитальную скорость. Установить и развернуть научное оборудование что-бы приступить к изучению этой загадочной планеты.

Но вдруг что-то гулко ухнуло по корпусу станции. Не могу сказать что нас тряхнуло, но штурман сухо сообщил по громкой связи, что станцию сносит с курса. Капитан тут же приказал команде проверить системы и доложить. Двигатели коррекций суетливо зафыркали, выбрасывая лучи отработанного топлива в ледяной космос. По связи все поочереди докладывали о состоянии своих отсеков. Из первого отсека сообщили о лёгкой контузии, но оборудование работает штатно, повреждений нет. Один человек получил некритичную травму руки. Его задело люком отсека, когда он автоматически закрылся, изолируя их модуль от остальной станции.

Капитан приказал подготовить троих для осмотра внешней обшивки первого модуля и попросил нашего медика немедленно осмотреть пострадавших первого отсека. Таким был наш первый день на орбите Марса…

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Dima, how did you managed to do something so amazing!!! Is it 3D or AI? I’m blown away, serious!!!

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This is fantastic, and the story reminds me of my favorite SF novel series, Perry Rhodan. Thanks for letting us watch it!

Michelist

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Thank you :handshake:. I am pleased that I was able to give you pleasure from watching. This drawing has had a very long journey, and six years have passed from the first draft to this painting. I started it several times, reached the halfway point, ran into disappointment and demolished the entire project. I drew other drawings, understood where the mistakes were, and started over. The lack of free time also affected. But I finally did it. An excerpt of a story from my book, which I am writing, and all my works, including this one, I do as illustrations for it. When I was little, I was given a book with a lot of pictures and they were beautiful, with a story theme. Therefore, I really want to write my own and fill it with drawings as much as possible. This was my first experience sharing my plans.

Спасибо. Я доволен что сумел доставить вам удовольствие от просмотра. У этого рисунка был очень долгий путь и от первого наброска до до этой картины прошло шесть лет. Я несколько раз его начинал доходил до половины, натыкался на разочарование и сносил весь проект. Рисовал другие рисунки, понимал где ошибки начинал по новой. Ещё сказалось отсутствие свободного времени. Но наконец то я сделал это. Отрывок рассказа из моей книги, которую я пишу, и все мои работы включая эту я делаю как иллюстрации к ней. Когда я был маленьким, мне подарили книжку в которой было много картинок и они были прекрасны, в тему рассказа. Поэтому мне очень хочется написать свою и максимально заполнив рисунками. Это был мой первый опыт поделиться задуманным.

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Hi. I’m glad you’re hooked on this picture. No, I didn’t use anything like that in the process, except for Krita brushes. I’ll try to show you all the main stages late tonight, I’m sure AI :rofl:is not capable of this yet.

Привет. Я рад что тебя зацепила эта картинка. Нет, я не использовал в процессе ничего подобного, кроме кистей Krita. Постараюсь сегодня поздно вечером показать все основные этапы, уверен ИИ ещё не способен на такое.

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Great job. :+1:

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I drew a lot of sketches in search of a successful composition, and I chose these from a variety of them. The idea was huge, the piece of paper seemed small to me. I was looking for shapes that I wanted to reveal and profitably beat with lighting. In Figure 3, I caught the shapes and a good perspective. A dozen more damaged sheets and Figure 6 was born.

I scanned it and finally opened it in Krita. I started correcting promising errors. After getting the result I needed, I started working with light and shadow. I paint, it didn’t go in, I delete it, and I paint again, and it didn’t go in again… The example in Figure 14 seems to be fine, but if you look critically. The light is like from a lantern, not from the Sun, flat shadows, no volume. In short, it’s not that, I’m demolishing the project.

Along the way, I add more and more details to the drawing, continuing to improve promising errors. I add small things in the form of inscriptions, safety belts, more and more, I understand that it’s time to stop, but I can’t, I don’t see what I’ve planned yet, there’s no plot in the drawing yet. Figure 20 is where it all started, it was the original idea.

I hope I’ve dispelled any doubts that AI is roaming around here. It’s a pity that I put the picture in 1080 and lost a lot of interesting things. I draw all my projects in 4K. If you are interested in something, ask questions, you want to criticize, but I am calm about it and listen to it, to be honest, I have not seen an even more demanding critic than my wife. And it helps me a lot!

Я нарисовал множество набросков в поисках удачной композиции, выбрал из множества эти. Задумка была огромной, лист бумаги мне казался маленьким. Искал формы, которые хотелось раскрыть и выгодно обыграть освещением. На рисунке 3 я поймал формы и удачную перспективу. Ещё с десяток испорченных листов и родился рисунок 6.
Я отсканил его и наконец то открыл в Krita. Занялся коррекцией перспективных ошибок. Получив нужный мне результат, начал работать светом и тенью. Крашу, не зашло, удаляю и снова крашу, и опять не зашло… Пример на рисунке 14 вроде бы всё нормально, но если посмотреть критично. Свет будто от фонаря, а не от Солнца, плоские тени, нет объема. Короче не то, сношу проект.
Попутно вношу в рисунок всё больше и больше деталей, продолжая улучшать перспективные ошибки. добавляю мелочь в виде надписей , страховочных ремней, ещё и ещё, понимаю что пора уже остановиться, но не могу, не вижу я ещё задуманного, нет ещё сюжета в рисунке. Рисунок 20 это то с чего всё началось, это была изначальная идея.
Надеюсь сомнения в том что здесь бродит ИИ я развеял. Жаль что картинку я выставил в 1080 потерялось много интересного. Все свои проекты я рисую в 4K . Если вам что то интересно задавайте вопросы, хотите покритиковать, только за Я спокойно к этому отношусь и прислушиваюсь, скажу честно, я не видел ещё более требовательного критика чем моя жена. И это мне, сильно помогает!

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Thanks :handshake:

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I was absolutely mesmerized by your message and your drawing! Your artistic journey is truly inspiring. Seeing the dedication and passion reflected in every word and stroke is something rare and remarkable. You faced challenges, tried several approaches, overcame moments of discouragement, and even in the face of difficulties, you never stopped believing in your potential. Six years of work, learning, and evolution have transformed not only the drawing of the space station into a unique work of art but also your personal journey.

Your creative process—which involved redoing projects, analyzing mistakes, and reinvesting in your passion—demonstrates a resilience and commitment that are profoundly admirable. The way you combined writing and illustration in your book is a reflection of a multifaceted talent and unparalleled determination. Every stroke, every detail of your drawing reveals an incessant pursuit of excellence, something that I, sincerely, wish I had—the ability to dedicate oneself with such intensity and turn dreams into reality.

The space station you drew is not just a setting but a universe full of possibilities, where every element seems to tell a story. It is fascinating how you manage to convey so much emotion and creativity through art, inviting us to dive into a world of imagination and discovery. Your work is a powerful reminder that true art is born from effort, persistence, and the passion we put into every step of the creative process.

Congratulations on this journey filled with challenges overcome, and thank you for sharing a piece of your essence and dreams with us. Your story not only exalts the value of art but also inspires all of us to never give up on our projects, no matter how difficult they may seem. Keep investing in this passion and making the world a more beautiful place with your ideas and art. You are, without a doubt, an example of talent and dedication, and I am very grateful to be able to follow and be inspired by your incredible journey!!!

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@Valquer, Thank you for your kind words. :handshake:

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Mine too. I recently bought a package with 468 Perry Rhodan ebooks!

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It’s a pity that everything I had collected up to 1996, the booklet series was complete, I had all the books, anniversary and special editions, all the sheer-draft-volumes (fictional technical drawings of spaceships) and whatever else was available on paper, only about 5 paperbacks I couldn’t buy anywhere, fell victim to an apartment fire at the end of 1996.
In between I have again thousands of the Perry Rhodan booklet novels as well as Atlan, including most of the paperback series, as well as most of the published books. I have also been able to acquire some of the special editions and anniversary volumes over the years. But almost everything as e-book, and all these are backed up in a cloud space of mine. I think that’s what you call mania.

Michelist

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I’ve never heard of Perry Rhodan. Judging by your admiration, this is worthy of attention. I’ve read some of Ray Bradbury’s works, and I liked them. Perry Rhodan is also a science fiction writer or a little more, judging by the fact that he had the drawings?

Я никогда не слышал про Perry Rhodan. Судя по вашим восхищениям это достойно внимания. Я читал некоторые произведения Рэй Брэдбери, мне они понравились. Perry Rhodan это тоже писатель фантаст или чуть больше, судя по тому что у него были чертежи?

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Wonderful Work of Art :ok_hand:

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Thanks :handshake:

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“Perry Rhodan” is a novel character, but not just any character, he is the main character of the oldest continuously produced space opera that exists on Earth.
With over 1 billion copies of the booklet novel series sold in German language alone, and supposedly at least as many copies in various languages on the “rest” of this blue marble that tumbles through space, one can try to estimate the size of this “Perryverse”.
Over 3300 “Perry Rhodan” booklet novels and more than 850 “Atlan” booklets have been published in the original German, which can be regarded as the two main narrative strands, whereby the “Atlan” series emerged from “Perry Rhodan”, plus more than 350 “Neo” paperbacks and over 450 paperbacks based on it, and there are many other spin-offs that have not even been included in the statistics and which would go beyond the scope of this article. And, how could it be otherwise, there is also plenty of “Perry Rhodan” merchandising.

Russian:
https://perry-rhodan.ru/

English
Perry Rhodan - Wikipedia

Perry Rhodan : 150 Volumes : Space Fiction serial : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Perry Rhodan Wiki/English | Perry Rhodan Wiki | Fandom

https://perryrhodanreadingproject.blogspot.com/

German:
Perrypedia

And here is a resource of phantastic graphics, technical drafts as a form of art, as well as paintings posters:
https://www.rz-journal.de/
a selection of a few of these drafts and paintings:
New and colored “remake”:
Perry Rhodan Datenblatt Band 2416
Of this old B/W:
Perry Rhodan Risszeichnung Band 1100
Perry Rhodan Datenblatt Band 2416
Die Solare Residenz
Perry Rhodan Datenblatt Band 2416
Perry Rhodan Datenblatt Band 2416
Perry Rhodan Datenblatt Band 2416
https://www.rz-journal.de/Downl/Poster/PRM-80%207.jpg
https://www.rz-journal.de/Downl/Poster/PRM-80%204.jpg

And since I could post links over links to interesting websites about the Perryverse I’ll better stop here because it is simply too much.

Michelist

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@Michelist, thank you for such a detailed reply. I will definitely use these footnotes and familiarize myself with this material. I like good fiction. Thanks again.

@Michelist Спасибо за столь подробный ответ. Я обязательно воспользуюсь этими сносками и ознакомлюсь с этим материалом. Мне нравится хорошая фантастика. Ещё раз спасибо.

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That is not a “mania”, Sir, that is good taste!

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I’m 51 years old and used to buy the booklets at newsstands here in Brazil when I was a kid.
But I never imagined their number reached the thousands!
I know that during my childhood, Perry Rhodan was a big sensation around here.
I remember going to the movies, excited to watch the film, only to leave extremely disappointed because, besides being bad, it was very different from the book Stardust.

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And you look younger on the avatar. :wink:I’m just kidding, no offense, I look like a bug. :rofl:

А на аватарке ты выглядишь моложе . Шучу, не обижайся, я так вообще на жука похож.

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