John Eaves' STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Designs For Weapons & Props
Hit the jump to check some concept art that John Eaves created for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness. Come see designs for the U.S.S. Vengeance hand phaser, as well as props made for the inhabitants in the opening scene, on the Red Planet.
John Eaves, is a veteran to the Star Trek universe, having begun with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and then contributing to several Star Trek television shows, and even the most recent films. In July, Eaves participated in an interview with StarTrek.com, which I and many seemed to have overlooked. But it contains some of his Star Trek Into Darkness artwork, and he explains what he worked on and what it was the process was like.
John Eaves: Almost as soon as I started to put pencil to paper I was asked to start working on the new Dark Enterprise (U.S.S. Vengeance) hand phaser. The early designs were based on a handyman’s all-in-one pocket tool that had inspired Scott's imagination.
John Eaves: As time went on, script changes started coming in and the grand alien nation and village shrunk in size drastically to fit budget constraints. By the time the film came out there was not much more than a chase scene through the jungle and the interior of a massive volcano. A great deal of the props we designed also got the axe and very few got any screen time. As in any art department, the process is design away like there is no limit and then, as budgets start to be put in place, the art is toned down by leaps and bounds.
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS was directed by J.J. Abrams ("Super 8"), from a screenplay written by Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Returning for the sequel are Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Zoë Saldana, and Anton Yelchin. Joined by new cast members Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve and Peter Weller.