Contest: ENTER January 2025 Art Challenge -- Timekeeping

[Starscape]

It's time to welcome you all to our first contest of 2025 and also the 234th Trek BBS Fan Art Forum Challenge!

As most of us across the world have recently been marking the passage of the time it is fitting that this month’s theme, chosen by community vote here, is:

Timekeeping
We know our Starfleet crews get themselves into all sorts of temporal scrapes, but how do they (and other galactic citizens) tell the time wherever they are? Apart from stardates, the odd PADD/viewscreen display, Sisko's Saltah'na clock, and a couple of "antique" 20th century watches, what do contemporary timepieces look like in the Star Trek time periods? Especially those from worlds other than Earth? After all, not everywhere has a 24 hour day...

This one is wide open with lots of room for interpretation and imagination. Maybe we could also think about how people and technology interact with time and/or timepieces, using them for navigation or, perhaps, even worship. Where might timepieces be used or displayed, would they still be wore on the wrist or incorporated into buildings and towers? Perhaps we might see an ancient clock preserved in a futuristic cityscape. And how might an alien or future horologist act or appear?



The Rules

• the artwork you submit should be created during the month of the challenge
• only one final image can be submitted (although it may contain multiple views)
• your final entry should be posted in this thread (although dedicated WIP threads are appreciated)

The winner gets to wear the golden “Fan Art Challenge Winner” badge on their profile for the following month. Please help to decide on next month’s theme, in February's suggestion thread.

You have until Friday, 31 January to share your final entry here in this thread. As always, if you have any questions or if you need more time, just let us know in this thread.

Looking forward to seeing your art. Have fun!

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I'm still thinking about possible clock entries for this contest, but in the meantime, I had the ridiculous image in my head of somebody standing in front of the Guardian of Forever like a soccer goalkeeper, trying to prevent would-be time travelers from using it.

 

[Cyfa]

^ Ha ha!! That's hilarious, @Laura Cynthia Chambers! I hope you'll draw that scene anyway, even if you don't enter it in the challenge.

Surprising myself - and some of you, I should think - I've already made a start on mine (started sketching on the 4th). It's definitely not what I was going to do when I thought of this theme nearly two years ago, but it's an idea I had that fits, I think? I'll update my art thread with what I've done so far.

 

[Cyfa]

Here it is: My poster for Lower Decks season one's "Temporal Edict" - an episode in which timekeeping is a major plot point, and it features various circular LCARS timers and a 16 hour(?) clock.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

"No timelines were harmed in the making of this episode."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

A Starfleet ornamental clock

Ship = Hours
Moon = Minutes
Satellite = Seconds
Top slider = Day
Bottom sider = Month

 

[Cyfa]

@Laura Cynthia Chambers, your ornametal clock is just the sort of thing I was hoping to see when I suggested this theme - thank you!

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

To think it was the work of a few minutes.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Is anybody else working on their project still?

 

[Starscape]

I've got something in the works. I'll hopefully be finished in the next day or two.

How is everyone else getting along. Does anyone need a deadline extension?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

An idea I had that was beyond my expertise was a Tamarian clock that had images of people eating, sleeping, etc instead of numbers - so an extension of their metaphor language. It's not 9 o'clock pm, it's "Marcua, her eyelids heavy".

 

[Cyfa]

That sounds like a great idea, Laura! I seriously doubt it's beyond your expertise - look at that fab "EggNog" drawing with Quark in that horrible jumper that you did

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Nog in an ugly Christmas sweater.

Which reminds me - we need a Ferengi emoji - something about money. @Michael

 

[Cyfa]

Oops! Sorry. Yes, Nog

 

[Starscape]

There were a few ideas that appealed to me for this contest, I liked the ancient clock in futuristic city idea or some kind of astronomical clock maybe, but if I was going to do an alien design I didn't want to fall back on the traditional circles and pointers thing. So, I was a little stuck until one last idea came to me this week.

And, okay, it's a little uninspired but I had fun tinkering in Blender creating a...

TOS wrist-comm-watch:

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Sweet. Does it come in pocket and broach versions?

You could get hypnotized staring at that swirly thing.

 

[Michael]

Seriously love all your entries, folks! Such cool and inspiring ideas. I also had one for this myself, but I don’t think I’ll be able to really work on it before the end of next week or so because of work-related stuff. So unfortunately I’ll have to skip this one.

@Starscape, kudos for even going so far as finding a font like the one used on the ship’s chronometer, IIRC.
@Laura Cynthia Chambers, would love to see your clock concept realized in 3D, complete with animated elements.
@Cyfa, the layout on your poster looks spot-on and the rendition of the colors is superb. How hard was it to do a Lower Decks related work that doesn’t put a sexy Rutherford front and center for once?

 

[Cyfa]

Starscape, kudos for even going so far as finding a font like the one used on the ship’s chronometer, IIRC.

~That's what I thought, too!

Cyfa, the layout on your poster looks spot-on and the rendition of the colors is superb. How hard was it to do a Lower Decks related work that doesn’t put a sexy Rutherford front and center for once?

~ I broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't stop shaking for days! I made up for it though, I created another one of my Rutherford Action Figures on Saturday (it's in my art thread - he looks a bit too beefy though as I made his head too small. Or his body too big...?).
And, thank you!

 

[Starscape]

Seriously love all your entries, folks! Such cool and inspiring ideas. I also had one for this myself, but I don’t think I’ll be able to really work on it before the end of next week or so because of work-related stuff. So unfortunately I’ll have to skip this one.

@Starscape, kudos for even going so far as finding a font like the one used on the ship’s chronometer, IIRC.

Thanks, @Michael. I can't take much credit for that font, it's Blender's default. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a reasonable match for the ship's chronometer.

I held off the vote for a few days hoping you might have the opportunity to join in, hope you get your work stuff sorted soon.



Okay then, I'll make this a final call for entries and aim to post the voting thread tomorrow.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

@Michael thinking on it, the date/month sliders probably should have been deltas (maybe it's customizable).