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05/13/13
Lightwave 11's excellent new instancing tools put me in the mind to update one of my favorite space scenes, "Roche Limit". The render is new in the Members Gallery this evening.
My first attempt at planet rings was back in 1998 using Bryce and I last updated it in 2004 (free version here).
I hope you enjoy the update. Don't be surprised if I do a few different renders of this particular system.
05/07/13
I've decided to take my venerable "User Gallery" in a different direction. Where in the past I displayed renders by users inspired by my artwork, I would like to start showcasing some of the incredible systems put togeter by my Members. I've seen quite a few over the past 10 years and would like to collect them all in one place.
If you have an original/customized workspace or home theater featuring my artwork then please submit it here. I will be vetting all of the submissions personally and will try to only include the best submissions in the new User Gallery. Special points will be awarded for having my work on your wall though...
My ratings system works with the User Gallery as well, so perhaps some prizes might be thought up for the top rated setup. Just a thought...
I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!
05/02/13
I've added a night version of "Sakura" to the Members Gallery this morning (Dual and Triple-Screen Now Available!).
It was my original intention to create a night scene that used some of the same "bio-luminescence" from "Satori". I played around with quite a few different textures on the petals (see the blue Pickle Jar version here).
The results, however, were underwhelming. The idea struck me as I was falling asleep one night to light the scene from beneath and that's when I thought up the floating lanterns.
Fortunately I remembered my idea the next morning. I modeled the lanterns in Lightwave, imported them to my scene and set up the lights. I have to admit that my first test renders really took my breath away.
I hope you like the results! I almost prefer this one to the day version...
05/01/13
I have couple of different projects cooking right now. One is a night version of "Sakura" that I think will look really great when it's finshed rendering (fingers crossed that it finshes successfully soon!).
I did a few experimental "Sakura" renders in preparation for my night scene and one of them (a day render with blue blooms) looked Pickle Jar worthy to me. I've posted a single-screen render this morning for my Members to download.
Be on the lookout for the night version soon. I also have a bit of a space theme working on "Asfaloth"...
04/25/13
Added "Jelly (2013)" to the Members Gallery this afternoon. Dual and triple-screen images are available.
I've wanted to update my jellyfish from 2000 for quite a while now but for some reason never got around to it.
Anway, I was aiming for a bit more color this time around and to create a better sense of depth. I've played with adding more than one of these creatures to the scene but I think it works nicely with one (and works better as a homage to the orignial).
People are (rightly) fascinated by alien life from other worlds, but mind-boggling creatures do exist on our very own planet...
Let me know what you think of the update!
04/18/13
Around where I live we are still waiting impatiently for Spring to arrive. I've gotten so tired of the cold and glooom that I thought it would be therapeutic to create a new Spring wallpaper.
I've added "Sakura (2013)" to the Members Gallery this morning. I've wanted to update this piece for a long time, due to the fact that the cherry blossoms on the 2006 trees are actually 2D planes that lose detail closer to the camera.
Vue 11's new "360 Ecosystems" finally allows me to create a proper flowering tree using 3D blooms. I've used this tech so far to create Christmas lights and a few glowing blooms but this is my first attempt at cherry trees.
This render itself is actually a "first draft" and there are a few aspects that I would still like to tweak, but I thought it came out nice enough to share while I render my revisions.
If you are curious, the scene contains over 98 billion polygons and took over 38 hours to render at 4096 x 2560. I'm hoping to cut down the render time for future versions.
Let me know what you think in the comments. I hope you like it!!
New Resolution:A lot of Members have been asking me if I could cover the new 21:9 (2560 x 1080) monitors that are coming out so I have finally added around 90 of my latest wallpapers in this format. You will find them in the "single screen" column on the image pages and the zip file is available at on the Downloads page.
04/10/13
By request, here's a day version of my Arrakeen render. Of course, my original vision was far darker and more ominous but I do like to provide options. I tried to make this one as bright as the other was dark so to provide a true contrast.
If you swap between the two images quickly you would probably notice that some building and rocks have moved. The reason for this is that certain elements looks fine in the shadows but needed to be retooled for the day version. Hopefully it isn't too jarring for folks.
And yes, the center figure hasn't moved. Let me know which version you prefer!
04/07/13
Sticking with the "minimalist" theme, I have added "Arrakeen" to the Members Gallery this afternoon. Dual and triple-screen versions are also available.
This piece was inspired by one of my all-time favorite novels: Frank Herbert's "Dune". I realize it is a bit dark in spots, but I wanted a good deal of shadow between the desert and the Shield Wall.
I still have the hard-back copy of "Dune" that to my Mom gave me for Christmas way back in 1984 and I try to read it every few years. The movie was ok but no adaptation will ever compare to the sights I conjured in my mind while reading it all those years ago.
I recall that it was the first work of art that inspired me to be creative and I started writing my own stories around that time. Creative writing was my primary outlet, in fact, until the mid 90s when my Mom (again) gave me a computer on which to compose my first novel. Things took a different turn after that...
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my simple homage to one of my favorite works of art.
04/03/13
A Member recently wrote...
"Would it be possible to do an abstract at some point that is more minimalist? Generally I love the incredible amount of detail that is everywhere in your work, but for some types of wallpapers (mobile mostly) I prefer things which are towards the minimalist side, and abstracts seem like the perfect place for that."
I decided to try it out so I put together something very quickly, very "minimally", in Lightwave. I only used Lightwave's "Textured Environment" for this piece, no geometry at all, and I previewed it for my Members a couple of days ago. The feedback was generally positive so I kept tinkering.
This "finished" version is a bit more complex than I had originally intended but the construction is still fairly minimalist. I added a single 2D plane and some volumetric lights so it is technically a "3D wallpaper".
All in all it was a fun exercise and nice to render something that only takes 30 min instead of 30 hours. I will try to have a multiscreen up shortly along with some of the early versions. Hope you enjoy it!!
