Jim Martin James " Jim " E . Martin , and often credited as Jim , Jim E . , or James Martin , is an production illustrator who has worked as such on , s pilot episode , , and as storyboard illustrator on . His most widely - known creations are the runabout , which he co - designed with Rick Sternbach , and later the , which he designed under the direction of Herman Zimmerman and Gary Hutzel . Martin also designed the Bajoran phaser rifle . and the prolific Jem ' Hadar attack ship . He has discussed his work for " Deep Space Nine " in several interviews , given for the seasons 2 - 4 DVD releases . A graduate from the California State University , Northridge , " Deep Space Nine " , which he joined in August 1992 , was his first professional Hollywood employment , having been tipped off by a friend working on , that a new " Star Trek " series was in the making . Hired by Production Designer Herman Zimmerman on the strength of his portfolio , Martin started out as a production assistant ( PA ) , as no other position was available at the time , but which afforded him to learn the practical trade from the ground up . He was taken under the wings of Zimmerman , and Scenic Artist Doug Drexler , the latter recalling in good nature , " " Jim started with us as art department PA , a rotten one I might add " [ remark : apparently , Martin was especially bad at coffee - making ( ) ] " , but went on to become a kick ass illustrator . So we forgive him . We had a big brother - little brother relationship , and I teased him every chance I got . ( . . . ) I used to lock him in the blueprint room , and turn off the lights , steal the wheels off his bicycle , take the microphone out of his telephone , and once even had the guard at the parking structure call and say his car was on fire . We even got into a scuffle in the art department after some heinous prank I pulled on him . He ’ s twice my size and should have had me pinned immediately , but it ended in a stalemate because neither one of us wanted to look foolish by overdoing it " " Martin himself relished these times with fondness , " " Just to clear up any misunderstandings , Doug kicked my ass ! It was a take down on the DS9 art dept . couch , and I outweighed him be twenty pounds ! ( . . . ) I really was a bad P . A . , but I meant well . My work experience before that one was freelance art and night jobs as a busboy and at Kinkos . I had to learn how to be a pro over time . At least I was with good friends in the cocoon of Star Trek where I could make dumb mistakes but learn from the best . . . Like Doug ! " " One year later Jim Martin was promoted to production illustrator , though he had already started previously designing props and , most notably , the Maquis raider model for " Deep Space Nine " , having also served as storyboard illustrator on " Generations " , under the auspices of Zimmerman , while still being a PA . Concurrently , he was asked to submit design propositions for both the exterior as well as the bridge of the new " hero " ship for the new " Voyager " television production , which was also under development at the time . As production designer of space craft , Martin was influenced by the fighter craft designs seen in the " Star Wars " franchise , which was , again in good nature , frowned upon by his mentor Drexler , " " Being a number of years younger than the rest of us , Jim was highly influenced by " Star Wars " , and often that would show in his work . Nothing gave me more excess stomach acid than that , so I would carry an eleven foot G - 95 cattle prod and used it in case the " Force " clouded his vision . " " Martin is credited for breaking away from the separated twin nacelle design scheme with the " Defiant " , a departure from the Federation design norm ( as established by Matt Jefferies for the original ) , by having them incorporated into the main hull . Jim Martin shortly served as senior production illustrator on the third season of the show , after Rick Sternbach , who held the position for the first two seasons , was permanently assigned as such to the new " Star Trek : Voyager " production . However , Martin left the franchise in April 1995 at the start of season four , and his position was filled by John Eaves for the remainder of " Deep Space Nine " . Martin has left the franchise on his own accords and on good terms . He has stated as reason for doing so , " " I really feel that you need different experiences to grow as an illustrator . You have to push yourself to do different things . I know that finishing the third season of " Deep Space Nine " I was feeling pretty comfortable with the show and with what I was doing , and I think that ' s the wrong feeling for an illustrator . I wanted to increase my horizons , and maybe I needed to leave the womb of " Star Trek " . It wasn ' t an easy thing to do , but it was good to get out and work for new people and be placed in unfamiliar design situations . " " ( ) A new phaser rifle concept art for the final season three episode , , was Martin ' s last contribution , before he left to start work on the 1996 movie " The Phantom " . ( " Deep Space Nine Companion " , p . 251 ) Martin shortly returned in 2001 as freelancer for the pre - production of " Enterprise " s pilot episode as prop designer , but has not received official credit for his input , also having worked on the subsequent five episodes of " Enterprise " alongside his good friends John Eaves and Doug Drexler before leaving to return to feature work . Together with Brandon MacDougall , James MacKinnon , and Michael Westmore , Martin contributed as " spacecraft designer " to the video game , " " ( 1997 ) . Career after " Star Trek " . After having left " Star Trek " , Jim Martin has worked a free - lance production illustrator on productions as " Starship Troopers " , " Alien : Resurrection " ( both 1997 ) , " The X Files " ( 1998 ) , " Mission to Mars " ( 2000 ) , " Artificial Intelligence : AI " ( 2001 ) , the 2002 productions " The Scorpion King " , " Spider - Man " and " Lilo & Stitch " , and the 2003 productions , " The Matrix Reloaded " , " Hulk " and " The Chronicles of Riddick " . From March 2003 until April 2008 , Martin was employed at Walt Disney Animation Studios as visual development artist working on , among others their productions " Pirates of the Caribbean : At World ' s End " ( 2007 ) , " Bolt " ( 2008 ) , and " The Princess and the Frog " ( 2008 ) , before resuming his career as a free - lance artist . Subsequent projects he has worked upon as such were " Alice in Wonderland " ( 2010 ) , the 2011 productions " Rango " , " Captain America : The First Avenger " , and " Immortals " , as well as on the more recent " Oblivion " ( 2013 ) , " Robocop " ( 2014 ) , and " Big Hero 6 " ( 2014 ) . Martin also works in computer games , and has worked at Sony Playstation , Insomniac , and THQ . Martin is currently on staff at Disney Animation Studios in Burbank , CA . Jim Martin has also contracted his talents towards Chris Robert ' s " Star Citizen " where he is responsible for the design of the Cutlass , Freelancer , Caterpillar , and Herald ships .