Posted on May 14, 2012

I was very pleased to read your comments on Atoll but I also felt bad for my multiscreen users.

They knew, correctly, that I wasn’t going to tie up Bucephalus for another 3 weeks to produce a 7680 x 1600 version. However, as I was working to produce a high res version of “Blue Christmas” (for my longtime partners at Art in Design) I stumbled across a possible reason for the astronomical rendering times.

I discovered that if I use standard terrain meshes instead of “procedural” terrains the render times went way down. I bit the bullet and tore down my “Atoll” scene and rebuilt it using the standard terrains. Lo and behold, the new version rendered in under 14 hours!

I’ve added the new version of “Atoll” to the Members Gallery this morning. The water should be less grainy and I’ve made it a bit more transperent to show a bit more of the corals I had placed there. I’ve also brightened the gas giant a bit and tweaked the lighting on the planets a bit. You can still find the original version in the Pickle Jar for comparison.

I hope you like the new version. I am going to get cracking on the multiscreen (and perhaps a night version) right away!

Posted on May 9, 2012

It took far longer to render than I ever dreamt possible, but my new version of “Atoll” is finally finished and posted in the Members Gallery for your review. Vue d’Esprit will let your render very realistic looking mist, but be prepared to wait for it.

I hope you find it was worth the wait. As Shakespeare said: “All’s well that ends well”. It may be a little while before I can get the multiscreen up however…

A couple of other items to mention this morning:

I did a brief Q&A with DecalGirl that they featured on their Facebook page here. Give it a read if you are interested.

Lastly, Zazzle is having a big sale this week in conjunction with teacher appreciation week. Posters and calendars are 60% off if you use the coupon code “TEACHERSWEEK” at checkout.

I purchased this one during the last sale.

Looking forward to getting busy on some new projects now that I have Bucephalus back!

Posted on April 26, 2012

I’ve added the dual and triple-screen versions of “Synthestructure III” to the Members Gallery this morning. A free version for use on your Facebook “Timeline” cover photo is also available here.

My posters are 60% off until midnight (use coupon code “CANVASMOMENT” at checkout).

Still waiting for Vue to finish rendering my tropical scene (sheesh!).

Posted on April 25, 2012

I’ve add my final “Synthestructure” update to the Members Gallery this morning. I’ve tweaked the metal textures a bit so hopefully they now have a bit more “luster”. I’ve left version 2 available in my Pickle Jar for comparison. The multiscreen should follow soon!

I also wanted to mention that all posters and canvas prints are 60% off today and tomorrow on Zazzle if you use the code “CANVASMOMENT” at checkout. Enjoy!

Posted on April 24, 2012

I’ve added “Synthestructure II” to the Members Gallery this morning. A number of you saw the first version and remarked on how it metallic it looked. I took this theme and ran with it for the second version.

I’ve zoomed in a bit (to better accommodate the future multiscreen version) and inserted some little “filigree” items for contrast.

I hope you find it an improvement.

The new tropical render will be posted just as soon as it finishes rendering. I’m not sure if it is a Vue 11 bug or not, but this render is taking far longer to complete at 3277 x 2048 than my preview renders had lead me to estimate.

Did I mention that I was looking at building a new renderer? As soon as the right memory becomes available I will be building a companion machine for Bucephalus so I can keep designing while these “epic renders” complete uninterrupted. Hopefully the GTX 480 survived the short out that took down my “Hydra” workstation in Jan so I won’t have to purchase a new video card.

Lastly I wanted to mention that those of you on Pinterest can follow my latest artwork here. Happy Pinning!