CGSociety - Star Trek Next Gen

To create this and other planets for The Next Generation, Gabl used a mixture of hand-painted textures, as well as terrain maps he downloaded from NASA’s website. Using Maxon’s CINEMA 4D, Photoshop, After Effects and a bit of Trimble’s SketchUP, Gabl was able to bring to life celestial bodies and planetary environments that are at once incredibly gritty and detailed while remaining ethereal and breathtakingly artistic.

http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/star_trek_next_gen