Rick Sternbach is the Senior Illustrator on "Star Trek: Voyager." Rick is also the co-author of the just-released "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual" with Herman Zimmerman and Doug Drexler.

Question: Will we see a Deep Space Nine Interactive Technical Manual on CD-ROM?
jaTV

RS: The CD-ROMs are, of course, up to Pocket Books and/or S&S Interactive, so we'll have to wait and see.

Q: Rick, I really loved your TNG Tech Manual. I was so happy when the TNG Movies book came out, but was disappointed when it didn't cover the series. I got your DS9 Manual, and love it, my question is will there be anything else released for TNG?
Grafix

RS: Again, the book projects are up to Pocket Books, so if there's something you want to see politely pummel Margaret Clark over at Pocket and ask for it.

Q: How come we don't see Soverign class ships on ds9?
Dramacyde3

RS: The ship classes are pretty much under the control of our esteemed writers and producers and if they want to show one in a particular show you'll see it. There's also a slight matter of keeping some of the content separate from DS9 and Voyager that is, there isn't a lot of crossover of ship types and other hardware.

Q: I love your work.
some guy by the lake

RS: Thanks for the kind words. We have a ball doing this stuff from week to week and it's kinda hard to think of anything more fun than creating new ships and future hardware.

Q: Do you know how many original Voyager crew members were killed when they were brought to the Delta Quadrant, and how many Maquis joined them? Also, do you know how many crew members there are now?
Amy

RS: I can't tell you in exact numbers but we sort of started with 150, and in dialogue we seem to be down to about 136. I'm sure that if you track the casualties over the last four years, you can keep a running total.

Q: Hi Rick. Which series did you find the most fun to work with?
Joel

RS: Well, it's kind of difficult to say since all three have been amazingly fun. Each has had a wealth of hardware, astronomical phenomena, and hand props to work with that it all becomes a single, overall creative effort.

Q: I, being a "sort of artist" of spaceships, etc., am intrigued by how you have created these designs. Where do you get your ideas?
Colin

RS: Ideas for hardware design comes from all sorts of places images in the media, doodles, biology, etc. and for Star Trek in particular, it has a lot to do with existing design and evolution which really launched our efforts on TNG, since we did attempt to evolve the hardware from TOS.

Q: Do You think you could send me one of those comlinks. I would really like one. thanks
Perry

RS: Boy, I wish I had a real one, too! ...or did you mean the prop? ;)

Q: Mr. Sternbach, I am working as a graphics artist at a television station using quantel paintbox, and some Macintosh programs. May I submit some of my art to your department for evaluation of free-lance opportunities?
schooler40

RS: Unfortunately, our particular department has been fully staffed, as they say, since we began in 1987, but you can certainly find various studios and effects houses that use specialized video and CGI personnel.

Q: With the recent (and long-awaited) release of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, when will we see a Voyager tech manual???
Scott

RS: The mythical Voyager TM is also one of those projects controlled by Pocket Books and the studio. The exact timing will be determined by minds wiser than mine. This is not to say that some of us haven't already considered assembling images and proposal text. We certainly have a lot of new material to cover!

Q: Any advice for an aspiring illustrator/artist?How does one get into Hollywood in this particular field?
John

RS: A lot of it is timing, a lot is making contacts in the industry and another big chunk involves talent for drawing, painting, CGI work, and so on. I scouted around the different studios back in 1977 for about two weeks before getting a nibble over at Disney, because they just happened to be making a space movie (The Black Hole). Part of the equation is also the IATSE, the big union structure here and it is worth doing some homework about the IA and the various locals which handle illustration, scenic art, makeup, construction, and so forth. We've had a lot of folks approach us willing to do anything, which is nice but not practical, since most of these jobs are somewhat specialized.

Q: When you start designs for a ship ie Voyager and then you put all of the basics in, how long does it take you to do all of the decks for that ship.
Chris

RS: We don't usually do a full deck breakdown, but more often do a rough sizing, based on the type of ship, its mission, etc. We can get a rough number of deck or other breakups of the internal space and then proceed to work up hull shapes, systems, and outer surface textures and details.

Q: I AM A BIG FAN OF ALL THE STAR TREK SERIES AND I WILL LIKE TO KNOW WHY THEY HAVE NOT USED TO AMBASSADOR CLASS STARSHIP IN RECENT SERIES? I WILL LIKE TO KNOW ALSO WHY HAVEN'T YOUR UPGRADED THE MIRANDA CLASS STARSHIP?
andre

RS: Again, the exact types of ships used in the show is up to the writers and producers and we have little to do with the use of a certain type in a story. In the manuals and such, it's a different matter.

Q: Hello. How are you? I was wondering, what exactly does an illustrator do?
Marco

RS: My work on the show involves doing sketches of things *behind* the camera, as opposed to the scenic artists whose work appears on screen. I do drawings of sets, props, spacecraft, and bits of furniture. Check out some of the little art bits appearing on your screen.

Q: What is the purpose of having nacelles that move up when traveling at warp? It seems like just a gimic to me. Who's idea was it anyway?
Nate

RS: The producers really wanted something on the ship to articulate and so the engines were picked to be that bit. I did some design studies that looked at moving ramps the landing legs (which we did get also!), and even swing-wings. The pivoting nacelles might also be rationalized as necessary to decrease warp degradation of galactic space, but I don't buy it. :)

Q: what is a parsec
mad max

RS: It's an Earth-based measurement, about 3.2 lightyears, based on parallax. So there.

Q: can you send me a free copy of the tec manual?
Enlego

RS: Sure, if you send me a free $24.00

Q: I'm glad that you give us the opportunity to ask various questions here and in other internet mediums. What are some of the oddest questions you have recieved?
Carl

RS: Oh, there aren't any odd questions in my business.

Q: Hi Rick , Thanks for being here. My question is about the Delta Flyer, who originally created the need for the flyer, you or the writers. Second after the need for the new ship is decided do you get a free hand in deciding how it looks and works? Thanks
carol

RS: The writers dreamt up the need for the Delta Flyer, and over the last hiatus the effort began to design the ship. Usually, when I get a tentative go-ahead from the producers to flesh out a certain early sketch, I get a pretty free hand to fill in all the usual details like bridges, phasers, torp launchers, transport emitters, and the like.

Q: With all of the ship classes that you've designed or participated in designing, which one are you the most proud of?
Nelson

RS: It used to be the Klingon Attack Cruiser, but these days I have to say Voyager, followed closely behind by the basic structure of Deep Space 9.

Q: "The Last Starfighter" is a great one any more coming?
Mysteryguest

RS: Supposedly, after we got almost done with the CGI stuff for the first one there was talk of a sequel, but nothing ever happened. Atari didn't even release the video game. Phoo.

Q: Will we see more new starships in the final season of DS9 like the prometheus we have already seen in Voyager? Do you also design the computer generated ships?
jaTV

RS: As far as DS9 goes, John Eaves has been doing a bang-up job doing ships for the last few seasons, and I've been concentrating on Voyager. So you'll have to ask him about the last eps of that show. I do some of the initial design on a lot of the CGI vessels and other widgets, and have wroked closely with our Visual Effects supervisors and the CGI vendors around town.

Q: How does the multiphasic shields work?
Dario

RS: Very well, thank you (a line stolen from Mike Okuda). Actually, I haven't a clue! But if we do a Voyager TM, you can bet I'll find out!

Q: Rick...What computer platform and graphic art programs do you use to assist you in your designs?
Steven

RS: Mac apps, like Extreme 3D, Lightwave, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and sometimes Poser for storyboard help.

Q: Rick, Star Trek the Experience is an outstanding adventure. What was your contribution to the design of the ride? How many shuttles are there? BTW The "Beam out" was a virtual gas!
7Red7

RS: Didn't work on that one, I'm afraid... so I couldn't tell you any of the details.

Q: Hi, my name is Ryan Greening and I am from Sedro-Woolley High School and I am doing my Senior Project on Startrek. I would like to know who I could use as a Mentor.
Ryan

RS: That's not terribly easy to say; I woud say that with all the books out on Star Trek and the studio personnel (as in Stephen Poe's Star Trek Voyager: Vision of the Future) you can glean quite a bit about the way the show works and the minds behind it.

Q: Do you ever think you will make blueprints for the USS Voyager?
Paprika789

RS: Also not easy to say; the publications are the province of Pocket Books and some of the other periodical licensees and real detailed drawings do take quite a while. In some cases, we need to create good *looking* drawings for the show, to be seen on the set, but we can't take a lot of time to work out all the measurements needed for book or poster publication.

Q: How goes the Imax Film?
Klath

RS: Also, another project I'm not involved with, so I can't say.

Q: How did you get involved with star trek, and what do you like most about it? P.S. I love all the encyclopedias and stuff--great job!
Amie

RS: Thanks for the thumbs-up. I got involved during ST:TMP many months after I originally came out to California from Connecticut and I wanted to be a part of the scenario because of the future designs and concepts which have always been fascinating to me. This to me was a natural extension of the astronomical and science-fiction art I had done for the book and magazine market back east.

Q: With the increasing amount of CGI being done, is it impacting your design work in terms of "liberating" you from physical limitations associated with miniature construction? Some designs, I would imagine, look great on paper but are impossible to build.
Jim

RS: Oh, you bet! There have been a lot of ships which, had we gotten into CGI sooner would have looked a bit different. The Cardassian Galor-class warship, for example, had a bad spot in the back where the aft disrupter was a bit of a pain to shoot, but the CGI version has no such problem. The CGI ships certainly make the existing familiar ships easier to shoot, and have gotten us a few more dramatic moves. Of course, a lot of the close shots of the CGI ships have to be hyper-detailed in places. Check the Species 8472 crawling over Voy's hull, that area had to be kicked up in detail a lot, as in the docking ports.

Q: When will the new feature "Star Trek: Insurrection " be released? We are anxiously waiting.
Sheri

RS: The North American release is scheduled for 11DEC98.

Q: How is Voyager replenishing torpedos? Is Voyager going to get home this season? Is voyager going to bump into the dominion some how?
JEREMY

RS: Torp casings can be replicated and fueled from onboard supplies. Voyager coming home is certainly up to the producers, so you'll have to ask them. The ends of the two different wormholes are at least 80,000 light years apart, so no way can Voyager get anywhere near the Dominion. To clarify, the two ends of the wormholes away from Fed space.

Q: Do you use much science to help conjure up a space vessel design? Or are most of your designs purely based on imagination?
Gido

RS: A little of both, actually. The science in ST is peppered with "bogus" concepts (and I say that lovingly) but the science and technology are consistent, which is a hallmark of the overall ST scenario.

Q: Are you willing to make convention appearances? If yes what would be the best way to make arrangements for such?
Carl

RS: I've been at numerous cons, but these days I can't seem to get out from equally numerous family responsibilites, so the convention appearances will have to wait a bit.

Q: Mr. Sternbach, Did you design the Delta Flyer? If so, what were your inspirations in the creation of it. It looks like a good ship, but it seems a little crowded from the inside (maybe it's me). Anyways, good work!
Lee

RS: I did the overall vehicle exterior configuration design integration, but not the interior sets and the inspiration/directives described a streamlined vessel able to fit in the shuttlebay, fly through atmospheres and be an all-around cool little ship. We're still fooling around with the exact dimensions and you may notice that it's a bit larger on the inside than it is on the outside! Chalk it up to subspace compression.

Q: How could I send a starship design I have made for a concept Vulcan ship.
Emanuel

RS: Sorry, but you can't. Legal doesn't like us looking at those sorts of things, but I can say that if you keep drawing, keep working on designs, and refining your skills, there are always possibilities.

Q: Hi, Rick. I love the work that you do on Voyager but my question is: Do you do most of the illustrating on computer or do you just draw evrything? And also tell the computer effects department that they are doing a great job if you could.
James

RS: I love working with blue pencil, Pentel Sign Pens, Pilot rolling ball pens AND the computer. They're all wonderful tools. AND the airbrush, some years back. AND really nice clean white paper (like slick laser paper).

Q: I have enjoyed looking at production sketches in different books and magazines. Would you be interested in releasing a book dedicated to your different artwork that you have produced for various trek series?
Carl

RS: Ah, a book question again (grin)... the books are still the territory of Pocket Books, and with all the Voyager material awaiting print, you never know.

Q: The new DS9 Tech Manual is SO much better than the TNG manual. I love all the foldouts and awesome illustrations. How long did it take you to produce this excellent volume?
Steve

RS: We budgeted about a year to get all the material together, deal with our day jobs, and write & illustrate the thing. Much of the text took about six months; Doug Drexler had been continuously working on the illustrations since we first pitched the idea.

Rick, thank you very much for joining us here tonight. And thank you all very much for participating in tonight's Special Event.

RS: Huh? You mean it's over?

Well, it really has been fun, and we've got to do it again REAL SOON.