Posted on October 8, 2007

• Added “Indian Summer” to the gallery this morning. Around this time of year I usually like to do Fall scenes and/or Halloween images. I started a couple of Halloween projects last week, but didn’t feel they were progressing so I decided to do an Autumn scene instead. I will go back to the Halloween projects later this week and see if I can work one of them out.

  Users with large monitors might notice a bit of grain in the “Indian Summer” render. There really isn’t a way to render volumetric clouds and light in Vue without having some grain present. I did try to minimize the grain as much as possible, but outside of using ridiculously high quality settings (such that the render takes 4 to 5 days to complete) I’m not sure there is anything that can be done about it.

Posted on September 28, 2007

• I’ve added dual and triple-screen versions of “Haiku (2007)” to the gallery this morning.

  I’ve also added my own Haiku to the comments section. Feel free to post yours if you feel inspired.

Posted on September 27, 2007

• I’ve posted a new revision of “Haiku (2007)” on the new images page. I’ve lowered the camera angle a little, changed the ripple pattern, and I’ve brightened the water and rocks a little. I didn’t want to add too much brightness however because I liked the contrast of the bright leaf on the darker surface. The version I posted on the 24th will remain in the Pickle Jar.

Posted on September 24, 2007

• I’ve been receiving a lot of requests lately to post a widescreen or updated version of “Haiku”. No problem, right? Actually, yes. Haiku was created back in 2000 with an older version of Lightwave using a water shader that from a company that is no longer updating their software. Long story short, I couldn’t seem to render it and have it look exactly like the 2000 version.

  So I decided to do a new version. This was a tough call for me though. The original “Haiku” is probably my favorite image out of all that I have done and I didn’t want to redo it unless I was certain it could be improved. Whether or not I have succeeded is up to you now. The 2007 version is up on the new images page.

  I’ve added some reflected trees and sky to the surface of the water and for these reflections to be visible I’ve darkened the rocks under the surface.

  It’s always tricky messing with an old favorite (as I found when updating “Chamelea” earlier this year). I hope you like the new version at least as much as the old one.

Posted on September 18, 2007

• I’ve added a poster version of “Dispersion” to my Zazzle collection.