03/05/21

Hideaway (Sunrise)

Multi-Screen Render

It occurred to me that the best way to learn how to light these new cloud models is to make a few different versions of "Hideaway". I know some folks thought the first version was a little too dim so hopefully this will work better.

I will probably also do a night version next before moving on :-)

Also check this out this amazing visitor to my bird feeder earlier this week (stay for the end if you want to see him fly away)...

02/28/21

Hideaway

Multi-Screen Render

I hope folks don't think the scene is too dark, as the sun has yet to rise and all the light is from the clouds. Most of the light in the scene is in the background but I did try have some foreground illumination. I just got a new monitor however and it's very bright so your mileage may vary.

Trying a different way of rendering big puffy clouds in Vue here. These are VDB objects and they render a lot quicker than Vue's built in clouds. I happen to think they also look better in certain instances. They will be part of my work flow going forward.

Let me know what you think.

02/22/21

Daedalus Animated

Here's a looping animation of Daedalus I rendered that's suitable for use in meeting backgrouds or as an animated wallpaper... On desktop, right-click and select "Loop"

What do you think? More animations??

02/19/21

Daedalus

Multi-Screen Render

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These were the kinds of renders that I enjoyed creating with Lightwave before they stopped updating the software and it became tedious to use. There's a lot to re-learn with Blender but I feel like I'm starting to get a handle on it and I think the skills I'm developing will really improve my future landscape renders.

2/21: Here's a short animation I rendered to test out some things in Blender...

02/04/21

Accelerator (2021)

Multi-Screen Render

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Pickle Jar Versions

My learning with Blender continues. After I created "Fabrica" I knew I could use the same technique to update one of my favorite Lightwave renders from the '00s and in the process do a deep dive into Blender's polygon modeling, UV editing, particle system, shader editing, volumetrics, animation and lighting systems.

I'm also getting used to a new renderer (two of them actually) that can use either my CPU or GPU. Most sources say using the GPU is faster but then most of those sources don't have a machine like "Rochallor". That said, working with Blender has seriously made me want to upgrade my 2080TI to a 3090. If only I could find one for sale :-(

Update: 2/13...

After creating the animation it was more evident than ever that the particles were not casting any light open the scene. I had thought to move on but instead I decided to do one more version and see just what sort of shading I would need for the particles to do all the lighting. This new version has no light sources other than the particles themselves wherein the first versions I "faked it" using point lights.

NEW ANIMATION...

01/27/21

Philomath

Multi-Screen Render

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My brother and I were raised by a single-mom who worked long hours as a nurse. We did not have money for all the latest toys but she told me often that "I will always buy you a book". She spent a considerable amount on a set of encyclopedias that I read pretty much cover-to-cover.

Her guidance shaped me into a "philomath" (lover of learning) and this render is dedicated to her in the same way that Portals is dedicated to my Dad. She bought my first PC which I used to create my first renders. She's nurtured and invested in my creative spirit at every turn. Her library isn't quite as orderly as this one however :-D

I should note that the title has a bit of a double-meaning because this is the my first render in my gallery created using "Blender". This is a fairly simple image but I've had to re-learn a LOT to create this. I still have much to learn!

01/18/21

Fabrica

Multi-Screen Render

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Pickle Jar Versions

For a while now folks have been asking that I rework one of my earliest abstracts. That one is particularly tough to recreate though because it's actually not a 3D render at all. It was one of my first attempts at visual artwork on the computer and I used a set of 2D filters in an early version of Photoshop. This was before I had a copy of Bryce and knew anything about 3D rendering.

The first step creating a new 3D version was for me to learn how to create a convincing "woven" mesh. Fortunately I found a method using Blender that produces pretty excellent results. This particular render is my practice with that method.

Obviously I need a lot more practice but I'm sure this method can be used to create lots of other interesting effects :-)

01/14/21

Siblings

Multi-Screen Render

This is a bit of a warm-up exercise after a week or so away from rendering. I noticed recently that my son Ian has been using other wallpapers on his machine. He told me my work was "too high-res", which I took to mean he's looking for something more minimal. I certainly can caught up sometimes in adding too much detail so consider this render to be a study in restraint :-)

In a normal year Jessie would have dragged me away from the computer for a trip or two. That didn't happen last year and if I was home chances were I was rendering. I told myself after posting my last render that it was time for a break. This will be my 24th year running this gallery so I've learned how to monitor and maintain my creative batteries.

I may linger with this scene for a bit so stay tuned :-)

01/04/21

Shinrin Yoku (Night)

Multi-Screen Render

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When I added lanterns to the pathside in my bamboo forest I'm sure you all knew that I was going to attempt a night version. I didn't actually know if it would work or not but I like how it turned out. I hope you agree!

12/29/20

Shinrin Yoku

Multi-Screen Render

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Pickle Jar Versions

My mother sent me an article earlier this year about how being in nature can boost your immune system and mood. The Japanese even have a term for seeking this benefit..."Shinrin Yoku" or "Forest Bathing". It isn't news that being in nature can be good for your health, but I like that there's a word for it.

Everything is very brown and dormant in my part of the world right now so I wanted to create something inexorably green and (hopefully) peaceful to close out the crazy year that was 2020. If you can't get to a forest I will bring one to you :-)

12/21/20

Snowglobe (Fluorescence)

Multi-Screen Render

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Hard to believe that it's been 20 years since I posted what will probably always be my most famous render. I thought it would be fun to mark the occasion with a special Christmas version. The idea came to me as I was exploring Blender and discovered its very useful "Real Snow" addon which I then used to add snow atop my mushrooms.

I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful holiday!

12/16/20

Ornament (Comb)

Multi-Screen Render

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An idea struck me as I was arranging the lights outside my "Comb" scene. What exactly ARE the lights? Well...now you know. Hopefully it will make one look at the abstract in a new light (lol).

The plan was to render this in just a few days but unfortunately VUE's depth of field is a little tricky with this sort of scene. Arranging colored lights is also more complicated than plain white. Finally, I decided to use the "expensive" settings so it looked best but took a bit longer.

I may have one more Christmas scene in me before the big day. Stay tuned...

Video #TBT

DB was mentioned on TechTV’s excellent “The Screensavers” a few times. Here’s one that I saved on tape and recently unearthed...

12/08/20

The Comb (2020)

Multi-Screen Render

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Pickle Jar Versions

For the last week or so I've been learning how to use the modeler in Blender (starting with an excellent tutorial) and then how to import, texture and render those objects in VUE. It's been a while since I've attempted an abstract so I decided to go with that theme.

My goal with Blender is to use it as I used Lightwave; to model geometry for my VUE scenes and use it to render abstracts, interiors and planetscapes.

Some folks may remember that I rendered some of my early Lightwave modeling practice using Bryce back in day before I dug into the native renderer. This particular scene was created using techniques similar to what I used for "The Comb" so I chose to re-visit that title as well :-)

Next up...something for Christmas.