John Eaves | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1962-04-09)April 9, 1962 (age 63) |
| Occupations | Illustrator and model maker |
| Known for | Star Trek designs |
| Notable work | USSEnterprise-E |
| Website | johneaves |
John Eaves (born April 9, 1962) is a designer and illustrator best known for his work on theStar Trek franchise, starting withStar Trek V: The Final Frontier. He served as a production illustrator onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine andStar Trek: Enterprise and was involved in all fourNext Generation movies, specifically being responsible for the design of theSovereign-classEnterprise-E. He also worked on a variety of films, such asTop Gun,Terminator 2: Judgment Day,Valkyrie andG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
The first film Eaves worked on wasTop Gun, as a model maker. These included theF-14 Tomcat andNorthrop F-5 models which were used for the special effects shots of the aircraft. Prior to his work on the film, he had been working as a produce clerk atBayless Markets.[1] Eaves also worked as a model maker on a variety of other films, includingSpaceballs andTerminator 2: Judgment Day.[2] He also worked on the television seriesSeaQuest DSV.[3] His first work on theStar Trek franchise was onStar Trek V: The Final Frontier whilst working atGreg Jein's model shop inMarina del Rey, California.[4] His first design was the wing cannon for theKlingonBird of Prey.[5]
Eaves was introduced toHerman Zimmerman through Eaves' friend Phil Edgerly. Zimmerman was looking for someone to put together a display ofEnterprise, and Eaves drew up a plan for the display. Zimmerman was impressed by the artwork, and asked Eaves to join his design team forStar Trek Generations.[6]
After the work onGenerations ended, Eaves returned to his work constructing fibreglass models. When a job became available on theStar Trek: Deep Space Nine art department during season four,[2] Zimmerman invited Eaves to join the team.[6] At the time, Eaves was working on aBoeing 747 model for the filmExecutive Decision.[3] Eaves spent the next twelve years working on one incarnation ofStar Trek or another.[6] During this time, his work included the designs of thePhoenix, theEnterprise-E and the Vulcan ship fromStar Trek: First Contact.[2] The initial model of theEnterprise-E was constructed by Eaves.[7]
His design work featured in theDeep Space Nine episode "Far Beyond the Stars", during the part of the episode set in the 1950s.[3] After working onStar Trek: Insurrection, where his designs included theSon'a vessels, Zimmerman brought Eaves onto the team behindStar Trek: Enterprise as Production Illustrator.[2] Whilst working on that series, he started work on theEnterprise (NX-01), as well as theSuliban vessels.[8] His work on the finalTNG filmStar Trek: Nemesis included the design of the Reman starship, theScimitar.[9]
Eaves has most recently been known to have worked onStar Trek: Discovery and the 2009Star Trek film, and he was also involved withPerpetual Entertainment as a production consultant and illustrator on their now defunctMMOG,Star Trek Online, though many of his contributions remain intact within the version that was developed byCryptic Studios.[5][10] He also provided the designs of the spaceships for thescience fiction themedsocial networkMyOuterSpace.[11] He was also in charge of art direction forStar Trek: Renegades, a fan produced pilot funded throughKickstarter and made by the creators ofStar Trek: Of Gods and Men.[12] He worked on several films as an illustrator followingStar Trek, includingTropic Thunder,Valkyrie andG.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.[13]
As of 2015, he is also a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Science Fiction Museum.
