Here's a great way to come up with a ship design:

1. Start with an insect.
2. TURN IT INTO A SPACE SHIP!!!

I highly recommend the Mantis.

Actually, I'm kinda glad that DA used insects. I mean, wouldn't a stylized flying St. Bernard be a little disturbing?

I donno about you, but I'm still a little disturbed flying around a bumble bee. It's a good thing there are no Planets of the Flower People, or else my cargo would NEVER reach its destination.

We're all inclined to think up ship designs that resemble either airplanes or giant rectangles. It's simply what we've been exposed to through TV and such. I'm still not sure where the USS Enterprise came from (really, who'd design such a frail looking thing?) If you're looking for something sleek to be inspired by, look at new cars. Especially European roadsters. Alternatively, you can look to *gasp* sea type ship deelies. Personally, I'm trying to design a Corvette class cruiser (on paper, with pencils mind you) that looks somewhat like both the car, and the battleship.

Insects, fish (and wales, dolphins), birds. Look at them. Stylize them. This has been said before, i know

Another tip would be: turn them upside down, front-to-back, turn them the other way and try to make it look good. That doesn't always work but it sure can give you inspiration. Look at swords, pistols, knifes, even telephones, you mouse, gamepads, shoes (yeah, it can be made into a ship). Look at stuff in reallife and grab their basic shapes (its most often kidney shaped). Watch anime with mechas, space ships and all that stuff.

Try to copy other cool ship designs first for practice. That way you can get "the feel" of these. Dont stop just at copying, though. Add you own stuff. Take parts of these ships and move'm somewhere else on your model.

Oh, whilst doing that, save often, save as new file.

hope this helps any. dont let your self get discouraged, be patient and keep trying.

can you also place sips from other people if so i have also a ship for ya

i am only atacking the people who want to kill me....

do your favorite ship from some movie or other game just from your memory, not looking at a picture or anything. you will invariably make something that looks nothing like the original. then just edit little parts of it till it looks good and then edit other little parts till you think it would fit into the freelancer universe and then edit it so it looks good again, and you will have a completely new ship that you can call your own. if you have a photographic memory then it's plagiarism

in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king and the two eyed man is neglected, tormented and opressed.