Description
Shan shui refers to a style of landscape painting that originated in 5th century China. I’ve always been impressed by the ethereal qualities of these paintings and this wallpaper is my homage to the genre.
Shan shui refers to a style of landscape painting that originated in 5th century China. I’ve always been impressed by the ethereal qualities of these paintings and this wallpaper is my homage to the genre.
Shanshui: shanshui1
Matthias
…for use in the office. Which is where I need something calming and soothing that helps me concentrate on my work. Great work!
Ed
I followed your work quite awhile back… it was good then.. it is truly marvelous now. Iam genuinely awed.
Ed Conrad (returning)
Scott Wray
Ryan,
I own the Size: Huge 52.5″ x 32.81″ of highland spring, which is hanging on the wall in my office. My friends come over and are always asking me, “where is this picture from?” It makes me giddy inside everytime when i get to tell them that it is the brain child of ryan bliss! No one believes me when i tell them its not a real picture.
I recieved an email from zazzle.com this morning alerting me of a 40% discount on all prints. I would LOVE to put shanshui in my dinning room, but for some reason zazzle is only offering Large: 34″ x 22″. Is there any reason for this? You can reach me via email scottwray1@gmail.com (email or google chat). I dont know how long this discount is going to last so im pretty anxious to hear from you!
Nate
ever read J.R.Martin’s “With Morning Comes Mistfall”? it is a short story he wrote early in his career this looks just how he describes the planet in that story
felix
I think this would look amazing with the clouds slowly rolling over the mountains. May have to be ridiculously long to make a seamless loop though, plus I don’t know how hard it is to animate the clouds realistically
Sander
This render is quite impressive and almost realistic, to bad the trees don’t look all to real otherwise this would be indistinguishable from a real photo,
keep up the good work,
S.
Jenanne
I love the newest version! Bravo, Ryan!
Timelord
The 3360×1050 link is not opening the correct image.
Andy
Looks the same as the change I did to it in Photoshop with the Lab settings. Nice update.
Maelin
Hi Ryan, the 3360×1050 (dual 16:10) render is the wrong image, it’s the same as the 5040×1050 image. Curiously, the watermark is in a slightly different position between the two.
Zlynt
The links for split files is busted
Utoxin
I loved the original, but this one blows it away! Thanks for the update, Ryan!
Walo
nice update, looks sharper now.
Ryan
I am aware if the issues with the 16:9 files. I will post corrected files once my landline connection comes back up. It’s been down for two hours.
Yeoman
The 1920 x 1080 resolution is wrong, way too high and narrow. Don’t know what I’ve got but a HDTV image it is not…
Geep
The 1366×768 one comes up as 1366×1093. Just to let you know. 🙂
I like the new look btw. It looks more vibrant. 🙂
Al
Great pic. One thing though, the 1366*768, er, isn’t. You’ve got another 300ish pixels on the height. Maybe that’s intentional, and of course you can just fit to screen.
sirabbadon
I love the extra contrast with the dark mountain tops. Spectacular! Jaw dropping!
Chad
Simple, yet great!
matt
love the multi screen. right now with the storm clouds above me when i look from the right angle it looks like i’m looking through my screen at the sky haha
(the right angle is sitting on the floor looking up) :/
Christian
it looks amazeing ^^
Ryan
I was uploading the multi-screen versions just as you made your post. I hope they work for you!
Christian
This is very nice, but i hope that you can make dual moditor versions. just love using this kind of pictures on my Desctops.
rubbercake
Fantastic subject, no waterfall needed. Fantastic angle, great view. But I feel like the contrast is slightly off. i.e. Could be sharper and less ‘hazy’. 🙂 Keep up the good work, hope you’re feeling better!!
Joshin42
I really love this style Ryan. I’d love to see what else you think you can do with it but it’s already breathtaking! Can’t wait for the Multiscreens! *itch itch*
ZG
I must say I prefer this one to the Highland Spring. One reason or another.
Ali
This is going to look awesome on my LG 47SL8500, thanks to the USB port.
Scarr
Maybe something festive for the world cup as your next piece? Or something African?
Yeoman
Brilliant. Forget the snow idea, won’t achieve anything at all. An alternative for the picklejar like you used in “Enshrouded” with the cloud layer a fair bit lower would be the go.
Ali
Additions would take away from, not add to, the composition. Don’t clutter this fantastic wallpaper.
Toolsmith
It reminds me, quite a bit, of a photo taken by a friend of mine of a fog bank rolling out of the hills in Gaviota Pass California.
sigmaman
Pretty nice this one I reckon.
Rob
I defintely agree that some waterfalls would make this an even better piece than it is. Nice job tho.
anna_writr
love it, but it needs a bit of snow on the tips of the mountains. It just looks that way. That might highlight the mountaintops.
Will
Absolutely amazing! Almost makes me dizzy looking at it.
Fantastic job!
Tyler
I see the mountains… I really think this piece needs waterfalls. To me this too closely resembles Enshrouded (which I prefer). I think waterfalls would greatly improve the mystical potential IMHO. You could even make the waterfalls from the clouds…
See here: http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/~uhdoc/yimeng/Shan%20shui%20hua.bmp
Ben
The valley/clouds/mountaintop lines we’ve been seeing more of recently are just stunning; they’re quickly becoming the ones I look forward to the most. This feels like early morning on a really good vacation to me.
Nate F
Reminds me a bit of eyriepagoda. Great stuff
Sheldon
Nice. I like it.
RobRiv
Very very nice! like always Ryan!
Alex
beautiful!… I love the landscape scenes like this that you do, all mist and trees and mountains… so serene… yay!
Miguell026
Cool landscape scenario! very nice!
maybe just a bit too cloudy….. but is awesome!
Nice work Ryan! as always!
Michelle
Ryan always adds the dual and tri screens later as they take longer to render.
Rene
Hoping they will be added later??
Gandalf
Wonderous Magnificent! I vote 11
littlemom
As always a beautiful render. However I think it’s a little dark in the gray tones of the mountains. Love the clouds though.
robk64
Having seen scenes like this in real life, I’d have to say you nailed it. Throw in a few areas devoid of cloud cover and more shadows and I’d really be blown away. Not sure what you’d want to “fix” on this, though. Great job!
robk64
Having seen scenes like this in real life, I’d have to say you nailed it. Throw in a few areas devoid of cloud cover and more shadows and I’d really be blown away. Not sure what you’d want to “fix” on this, though. Great job!
David W
I like it alot! but I kind a wish you made some of the mountians snow capped. just a suggestion though… it looks good how it does now although it would be nice to see some snow! anyways……. love it! I think the Blue-green shan shui looks a little more interesting. but WORD!
Meng
Images like these just take my breath away. I get lost in a world free of care and simply enjoy nature and the respect it demands. Nature is so full of awe and wonder, but at the same time, it can be lethal. It is a very inspiring/spiritual piece. Well done.
Joe
Epic
hEADcRASH
Reminds me of flying with my father over my hometown at dusk with low-clouds (in Wyoming). Really, really pretty.
Phillip D
NIce volumetric clouds….it was frustrating to know that the render times are usually very long for those type of images, but looks like you did them successfully!
Lireoec
This reminds me of your beautiful and majestic piece, Enshrouded. I’ve always been a fan of clouds, being an avid cloud photographer (yes, I study and photograph different kinds of clouds). Australia’s never disappointed me with its abundance of amazing natural scenes featuring brilliant colours created by natural light, clouds and special flora and fauna on offer here.
I like the bird’s eye view, reminds me of the helicopter ride over Mount Kosciusko I took a few years ago. I like the perspective you took and how masterfully you used light to give your piece that grand and epic feel that every artist tries to capture, especially in this sort of work. Thank you for another awesome addition!
Mark
I left this image open as a tab in my browser for ages wondering what to do with it. While I can see why the effect is the way it is, it’s too ‘grey’ to be a lively desktop for me. Cue Photoshop and a few tweaks later and it looks much more spectacular.
Personally I’d like to see a more intense version of this, but if it’s not the effect you’re going for then hey, I’m alright with making the changes myself.
celmendo
Can’t wait to see how you tweak it!
Ian
My instant thought on this scene was waves. I’ve seen a few movies of the beach with large rocks and the waves hitting them and leaving a frothy surface, much in the way the clouds do here.
Very inspiring. I understand the reference to the Shan Shui, although many of the paintings I have seen are far less defined towards the edges, they seem to “float” in the center of the canvas. On a painting such as this, the clouds would be used to fade the image out to nothing.
Andy
Very nice. I don’t know if the colour settings on my monitor are wrong but this adjustment I did looks nicer to me.
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/9774/20478402.jpg
byteful
Yeah Yeah I know that this just arrived today, but please say that this is slated to be included as a Dual screen(split) Wall Paper.
As for my comments, I love China’s old style of Art.
Thanks Ryan, and keep up the good work.
Michelle
For some reason it reminds me of a dream, you know, the lovely ones that fade just as you wake up and you aren’t certain for a moment which is reality? Definitely a soul sighing favorite! Bravo!
Jenanne
Just when I think it’s not possible for you to outdo yourself again, Ryan, you manage to do it. If I didn’t know better, I would swear I’m looking at an aerial photo. The detail is amazing, the clouds and light perfect. It’s less colorful than most of your work, but if that’s the style you’re aiming for, then it’s appropriate. And still the overall effect is breathtaking. Bravo!
matt
This looks pretty amazing when you remember it was made on a computer :S
Just the whole thing is pretty much the same :(, However it would be hard to change it considering on what you based it on and for it to still look natural. Still amazing
Jonathan L
It’s very creative. Very pleasant to look at, too.
Fabulous job, Ryan.
This is a 9.5 in my books!
Thom
Reminds me of Morning Mist (2006). 🙂
Julie G
This is actually very typical of the style of Chinese painting you are speaking of. As I recall them, they are done with watered down inks and very loose paint brushes. Your piece calls that in mind with the muted colors and the ethereal atmosphere that you’ve created. While the view point is higher than that typically found in the classic Shan Shui paintings, all the other qualities are there.
I like this very much – I love those pieces showing panoramic landscapes, usually from a high mountain peak, that you have done. Currently your recent “Highland Spring” has been residing on my desktop monitor (usually I have it set to rotate between a selection of your wallpapers based on themes – spring, summer, fall, winter, desert, ocean/coastal, etc). I think Shan Shui will replace it for the summer.
Well done!
Julie G
This is actually very typical of the style of Chinese painting you are speaking of. As I recall them, they are done with watered down inks and very loose paint brushes. Your piece calls that in mind with the muted colors and the ethereal atmosphere that you’ve created. While the view point is higher than that typically found in the classic Shan Shui paintings, all the other qualities are there.
I like this very much – I love those pieces showing panoramic landscapes, usually from a high mountain peak, that you have done. Currently your recent “Highland Spring” has been residing on my desktop monitor (usually I have it set to rotate between a selection of your wallpapers based on themes – spring, summer, fall, winter, desert, ocean/coastal, etc). I think Shan Shui will replace it for the summer.
Well done!
Dan – NE
I did agree with Josh’s comment about it appearing washed out but if thats the style of art, so be it. My only issue was having a little more clarity or sharpness to the picture. It just seems to loose so much luster. Thats my only complaint, other than that its great. Im looking forward to seeing any further changes to this work.
Patrick
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your reply. I think this is a “growing” image, it looks better on the desktop than on the site.
Sorry about the double post earlier. Something with the site threw me.
Ryan
The paths are the mountain tops. They lead to the sunrise (threshold) which is also the heart.
Patrick
Hi Ryan,
I’m not really sold on this one, I’m sorry to say. It seems a bit too natural for Shan shui in my opinion. Maybe it’s the viewpoint, which flattens the mountains. Maybe moving the viewpoint lower would elongate the mountains.
As a wallpaper, (just put it on my desktop) it works well. Maybe a touch more colour in the top right hand corner, to give the impression of a setting or rising sun?
I’m just looking at the link to Wiki you posted. How do you feel that your work incorporates the three basic components? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shan_shui#Compositions)
I’m sorry I don’t sound more enthusiastic, but I’ve tried to make my comments constructive.
Patrick
Hi Ryan,
I’m not really sold on this one, I’m sorry to say. It seems a bit too natural for Shan shui in my opinion. Maybe it’s the viewpoint, which flattens the mountains. Maybe moving the viewpoint lower would elongate the mountains.
As a wallpaper, (just put it on my desktop) it works well. Maybe a touch more colour in the top right hand corner, to give the impression of a setting or rising sun?
I’m just looking at the link to Wiki you posted. How do you feel that your work incorporates the three basic components? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shan_shui#Compositions)
I’m sorry I don’t sound more enthusiastic, but I’ve tried to make my comments constructive.
Yanli
You never fail to amaze me Ryan :). I’ve always been a huge fan of wide landscape scenes and this one definitely takes the cake.
Travis
Oh my goodness, Ryan. You’ve done it again (your art in the last year has gone to a new level–and that’s saying a lot since you already push the boundaries!) The scale, scope, emotional connection and feel of this piece are amazing. I really want to go to a Shaolin temple in the mountains or perhaps need to get on a flight through the mountains, because this is breathtaking. Thank you!
Dan
Very cool, I love the high mountains the and wispy clouds!
William
My favorite picks from your work are the images that contain this feel of sprawling power. Each time you render a new image like this one, it becomes an instant favorite!
Ryan
Not a problem ;). Here’s a link with more info.
Josh
Ah, that makes sense. Shows how much I know about early Chinese artwork 😛
Ryan
Muted colors are a hallmark of Shan Shui.
dejerdejer
I like this I think it is really cool….reminds me of enshrouded…….this will probably get complaints about the lack of colors…..but at the scaled height of the picture it would probably loo exactly like this from an airplane….the mountains would look gray…..looks real to me….I wouldn’t mess a lot with the color of the mountains even though people will probably have some complaints….I like it!…Thanks!
Josh
While I love the cloud cover in this one, the whole picture looks a little too desaturated and washed-out for my taste. I know you said you weren’t 100% done with this one, so just wanted to get my initial impression out there 🙂
DoctorJ
I’ve always enjoyed any of the art you create that includes low cloud cover. The mystery of what lies beneath always gets my imagination going. Is there a lake at the foot of the mountain, or perhaps a small Chinese village?
Thanks again!
Walo
I’m looking at this, and I almost can see a time lapse video and hear a narrator going of saying: “Once upon a time…” lol. Great work
John
I like this one, it’s like a place I would visit to meditate on a Koan.
Wraith
Awesome! I love the vista. ^_^
Zach
This was an e-onsoftware spotlight that I found on their website, you might be interested.
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/showcase/projects/?page=10
kellzilla
I have a 1920×1080 screen, and I love bringing up the ginormous multi-monitor files and poking around at the details. This is probably my favorite part of being a member, being able to zoom into the details of the piece. Each piece is even more epic when viewed at two to four times the resolution as your monitor. (I feel “sorry” :p for those of you whose resolution don’t allow you to do this… except I don’t, because that means you have an awesome enough monitor to view it at full screen. :p )
kellzilla
Rather, “you have awesome enough monitors”, because I don’t think anyone on earth has a single monitor that has a native 7680×1600 resolution. :p