In Syfy’s new series, Dark Matter, a crew of six wake up from hibernation with no memory of who they are or what their mission is. But they’re not alone in space, which is run by multi-planet conglomerates. The major policing force is the Galactic Authority, and we’ve got an exclusive look at how the production created their intimidating military ships.

Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi sent us the Galactic Authority ship, from concept art to finished project:
Amid the rivalries of the multi-planetaries that “run” colonized space is the policing powerhouse known as The Galactic Authority. We wanted a look for these ships that would rival those of the multi-corps. Former Stargate Production Designer James Robbins did the honors on the concept and design…

James Robbins: The GA is the central policing force of the Galaxy. My thoughts here were to make them feel a bit more like standard military and the twinned hull was an instantly recognizable feature. The open bays on the sides and front are hangars that would be contained by a force field for fighter craft.

James Robbins: The only note was that the ship needed to be longer to not look quite so “stocky”. I turned to Modo – a 3D modeling/animation program for the Galactic Authority Cruiser. I built this model in a few hours. Revisions are simpler in a 3D environment and obviously I generate all angles for VFX to work from, hopefully making their life a little easier.

James Robbins: Almost there.

At this point Joe requested that the Cargo bays be eliminated on the sides as he felt it gave the ship a cruise ship appearance.

James Robbins: Back to the pencil again – The GA Destroyer looks like a flying weapon.

We turned the designs over to our visual effects department. VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson and his team took over from here.

Building the model…

Adding the detail…

And finalizing the look…

Dark Matter premieres at Friday, June 12, at 10 PM

Source: io9 How Syfy’s Dark Matter Created the Ultimate Police Ship