Jim Martin was an Art Illustrator on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He recently completed work on two upcoming science fiction films: Starship Troopers and Alien 4. Jim's work on ST:DS9 included designing the U.S.S. Defiant. He is here to answer your questions about his work on ST:DS9 and other projects.

Question: Who is your favorite Sci-Fi artist?
Mekong

Jim Martin: Moebius...definitely.. He's been doing Sci-Fi drawing since the 70's. And he's still as amazing today as he was then.

Q: Why do you no longer work on the show?
Ferengi_BOY

JM: I got my start as an entertainment illustrator on Deep Space Nine. And it was a good place for me to learn. About the job from some really talented people. Since then, I've had a lot of opportunities to explore other directions in design and I think it's important to always challenge what you're capable of.

Q: Did you work on and do you want to work on any Star Trek movies?
Marianna

JM: My complete Star Trek resume is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and also Star Trek Generations. In between seasons of Deep Space Nine, I drew for Richard James on the pilot episode of Voyager; and at the end of my last season on DS9, I storyboarded some sequences for Generations for David Carson. That was my last official job for Star Trek before heading off to work on other feature films. I went from there to the movie Contact which is coming out soon.

Q: What was your biggest accomplishment on Star Trek?
Antilles

JM: The thing I am most pleased with is the Defiant. I'm glad that that challenge came along for me near the end of my work on Star Trek so that I was completely ready to work for Herman (Zimmerman) in the design of a new Federation Starship for DS9. The Defiant has a lot of design elements that I personally enjoy and are a little different than the traditional Starfleet vessels. I also had the chance to do some interiors for the Defiant. I concepted some Bridge drawings and the Transporter room and some of the supplemental interiors.

Q: Who inspired your work the most? Is this what you always wanted to do?
MV-Smith

JM: Certainly Herman Zimmerman was a great inspiration for a young illustrator trying to understand what entertainment illustration is all about; and I know I spoke of Moebius as a strong influence, but my earliest influence was a Belgian cartoonist named Herge. I wasn't allowed to have your standard comics when I was young because my dad thought they were violent trash. But I was allowed to have Tin Tin's adventures and the illustrator of those had an amazing clean style that I used to try to copy and understand. He did it all; cars, planes, boats, rockets. And so that started me trying to draw a lot of different things.

Q: What is your favorite Star Trek episode and why?
Ariadni

JM: Favorite Star Trek episode is...

(thinking)

Original Series episode Specter of the Gun.

"The Bullets Have No Form; they have no body. They are not real."

Q: Have you done any Sci-Fi book covers? Where can we see you art outside of the movies and TV?
RedCloud

JM: You might see, if you look quickly, art that I've done for children's Saturday morning animation.

I have freelanced from time to time doing backgrounds for some shows. I continue to do it. I did some cover art for The Art of Star Trek; and some of my sketches can be seen in the current issue of Titan's STAR TREK magazine. Ironically, I was interviewed today for a possible making of Alien: Resurrection book to come out who knows when.

Q: I would certainly appreciate the guest telling us as much as he can about Alien 4 , the story and behind the scenes
EDWARD_VIII

JM: I would gladly tell you the whole plot, but unfortunately, that would severely mutilate my credibility in this town.

Q: What art work did you do on Starship Troopers? What was it like working on that project? Have you seen the Japanese animation of the book and what do you think of it?
Kwill-TEK

JM: I really enjoyed working on Starship Troopers. The production designer was Alan Cameron, a very talented Brit who has done some great films. Alan gave me the opportunity to really explore a lot of different design ideas. Everything from ships to some costume concept, prop drawings, and set interiors. We had a great Bridge set for that film on a really loaded up battleship. I was working with fellow illustrators, John Bell and Jim Lima and Giacomo Giattza. All of those guys were incredibly talented and creative. The ships were a blast and battlestation Ticonderoga was fun as well.

Q: What type of art did you do for DS9 - ships, people, etc.?
CameronMB

JM: For the first season of DS9, I was making coffee and running errands for the art department as an assistant, so when the primary sets were being designed I was watching from the seat of a bicycle.

But I did have a chance to do some art that first season. But mostly I watched Ricardo Delgado helping Herman visualize the fundamentals of the station. I worked with Rick Sternbach on the runabout design as my first task from Herman. So when the second season began, I was well versed in Cardassian design and ready to hit the ground running...

(jumping off of a bike)

Q: What, if any, computer programs do you use to generate or help you generate some of your Art/Illustrations. What computer platform do you use?
Asst

JM: I am what you call a sketch artist. A lot of concept art is meant to be rough so that you can generate a lot of ideas quickly and you haven't spent too much time on the ones that are dead ends.

Right now, that is more easily done with a pencil or paintbrush then with a computer mouse, so I would say that half of the work is loose drawing. For finished pieces, the computer is a great tool; and I know a lot of artists use it. I don't use it currently; I like to paint and marker.

But I know that it's only a matter of time before I start finding out how wonderful all of those programs are. I have my eye on a Mac as soon as I can free up some cash.

Q: I have seen the preview for the Starship Troopers, and thought the armors worn by the soldiers are quite similar to those worn by the cast of Space: Above and Beyond...any relationship between the TV show and the Movie?
surfnerd

JM: I think elements of the TV show Space are based on the novel and certainly the movie is based on the novel. But the movie and the TV show have nothing to do with each other.

You may have seen quick glimpses of the hardware in Starship Troopers: helmets, uniforms, etc.

But I can tell you that they are each unique and are related in the same way that Alien 2 and Space Marines are related to either. We know what looks cool to us today; military hardware with a futuristic edge and I think we've done that in Starship Troopers.

Q: What is your opinion of the recent work on ST: DS9, after you left? What are your favorite/least of favorite aspects of the designs since you left?
assimilator

JM: Part of me was really sorry to leave the show especially after seeing some of the great fourth season plot lines and I felt that it would have been great to contribute to them and I must say DS9 keeps getting better and better in every way. The episode Our Man Bashir was great and the episode Trials and Tribble-ations was equally great. The DS9 illustration reins are in the more than capable hands of John Eaves. John is an illustrator that I have a lot of respect for.

Q: We were wondering,,,(saw some of your art work in the book The Art of Star Trek) where you got your "inspiration" for the designs...or where you given certain parameters to work within...Also we are really interested in finding some blueprints/schematics for Klingon ships for a Klingon Assault Group that has just recently started in our area. We are really impressed with your artwork. Where do you get the ideas for the Ferengi accessories found on pages 122-123 of The Art of Star Trek. Thanks for your time.
sansjoie

JM: The parameter for any given concept drawing vary as to the importance of the item concerned.

The Defiant was heavily pondered over by the powers that be, but sometimes a smaller item like a Ferengi ear brush might be open to whatever the illustrator can come up with.

A production meeting is sometimes sink or swim and you have to have a lot of different ideas represented in drawings, so if something sinks you have another idea handy.

You see one design for a Ferengi comb and I might have done four or five that weren't what the doctor ordered.

Q: Can We Talk About the three dimensional thinking it takes to conceptionalize to make a single shot, On the spot When mega bucks are rolling, and how it feels when things screw up and the finger is pointed at YOU.
BKORIGINALS

JM: There's so much that goes into the design of a set interior; camera angles, lighting , what the action in the set is. All of these components should go into a concept drawing but the concept drawing is far from being the finished set. You may do 2 or 3 drawings, paintings, or comps to get the feel for a space. But that's a long way from the money aspect. In fact, an illustrator, in general, is used to explore different ideas before construction money is spent.

That's what we do; we previsualize. However, sometimes you will hear someone say, "Well that's how it was in the drawing."

(I want to thank our typist, Becky, for a fabulous job of typing for our guest tonight)

Q: When you design a spaceship do you take physics into consideration (e.g. the fact that there is no air resistance in space) or do you simply design them from artistic concept?
Aristides

JM: I take physics with a grain of salt. Because I am not an engineer and I'm being paid to hopefully know what looks cool. And there is a happy balance between reality and acceptable fantasy.

I know in the Star Trek universe, a lot of this stuff is very well thought out and my hat is off to Rick Sternbach and Mike Okuda. Now let me add this...good design often comes from reality.

People like to see things that look like they'll work.

Q: The Defiant looks different from standard Federation design. Did they ask you to design it differently or did you make those design choices?
Brown_Beard

JM: The Defiant started out as not intending to look like other typical Starships.

The idea for integrated nacelles was one of the early decisions made by my bosses.

The actual Defiant comes from a drawing of a ship done for an entirely different episode.

It basically had the same tortoise shell shape and we included the drawing in a batch of drawings that Herman and I brought to a production meeting.

I personally like the front snout nose which is left over from that other drawing and was once a cockpit.

Q: When you design a new ship for a new alien race, do you take into account the physiology of the characters in the design?
Zarkon

JM: A lot of interesting things go into a new ship for a new race.

Sometimes we're using stock set pieces and changing them to suit the new species.

I think what I'm saying is from a production view, the practicality of completing the set with the art director coordinating the graphics, the color scheme, the control surfaces, what the script is calling for all of these are considered right off the bat along with the notion of doing something new for a new species. While we're figuring out what the set looks like, makeup and wardrobe are doing the characters simultaneously. So, even though the departments communicate, we can't know exactly how it will all fit together. But the confidence we have in the production designer is the glue.

Thank you very much, Jim, for taking the time from your busy schedule to chat with us this evening. It has been very enlightening and entertaining. Best wishes for success in your future projects!

JM: Thanks very much. It was a pleasure. I'd like to encourage all young artists to keep drawing. Goodbye!