 |
members» | wallpapers» | 2013» | prints» | social» | site» | mobile | about |
2013 News Archive07/09/13 In addition to the dual and triple screen version of "Starburst" (thanks to Scott Rose for suggesting the new name!) there are a few of Pickle Jar renders that I wanted to highlight.
I had originally thought to put this render in the Pickle Jar (for lack of a better place) but my Members liked it so much that I've given it a place in my gallery. Maybe someday I will be able to reopen the file or have the energy to recreate the scene somehow. Hope you like it regardless!
I created these for an update of "Mystic Halo" that is in the works. 07/02/13
I might play around with the fireworks a bit more before I post a multiscreen. What do you guys think? 07/01/13
Here is the current front-runner in the DB "All-Media" Art Contest. Kathy Newman wrote... "I painted four of your pics on a block of wood. I hope this isn't too far down the limb from hi tech... But I haven't been inspired to paint lately and your any media contest sparked my creativity up. " The original renders are...Fluorescence (Bloom),Reverie, ,Tropic of Cancer, and First Moonlight. You might be able to pick up your own woodblock painting in the future so stay tuned...
First, I have added my "final" version of "Starfall" to the Members Gallery this morning. Dual and triple-screen versions are now available as well! The changes are pretty subtle. I gave the couple a blanket to sit on but decided against adding the wine. I will leave the rest for you to discover. The original version will remain in the Pickle Jar. I hope you enjoy the update. Be looking for the multiscreen soon! I also wanted to announce a new art contest! As with the Minecraft Contest, the object is to recreate one of my images. This time you can use whatever means you like. The top 7 entries will recieve Digital Blasphemy Gift Certificates (1st place is a 1-yr Membership, the other 6 are 1-month). I will choose one Grand Prize winner who will receive a Lifetime Membership Gift Certificate. The contest is open to all media and the deadline for entries is 7/5/13. I will announce the winners 7/7/13. 06/21/13 After many, many requests I have added 1080 x 1920 images designed for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One to the gallery. There are over 155 images available in the gallery plus a few more in the Zip file. Be on the lookout for a possible update to "Starfall" over the weekend! 06/19/13
This piece was inspired by a woodcut engraving that has captured my imagination for a very long time. I made use of Lightwave 11.5's excellent new instancing system to create the sky while the foreground is all Vue. 
06/14/13  The deadline for submissions is tonight at midnight, but I am going to extend voting until 6 pm tomorrow. I hope to have the gift certificate prizes delivered in time for Father's Day. If you like some of the other entries (below the prize threshold) you may add to the prize kitty by purchasing gift certificates and addressing them to me (rbliss@digitalblasphemy.com). Include "minecraft" in the notes and let me know if you wish to remain anonymous or not. Even if only a couple of people had entered the contest still would have been a massive success. To see so many entries is humbling and a testament to the creative power of this transcendent game. I've had so much fun with the contest that I am going to throw in one more treat for whoever Ian picks as the Grand Prize winner. I will display the Grand Prize winning image on the front page of my site for the rest of next week... 06/12/13
The Member who didn't approve of my reusing objects from previous projects is probably really going to hate this last update. I think this particular object fits rather well here however. This particular render took over 115 hours to render at 4096 x 2560 (4K). While it was cooking on Bucephalus I zoomed in on the little easter egg I had added on Asfaloth to render an interesting Pickle Jar version. The main render actually finished a few days ago but Vue d'Esprit's "Glow" pass is only single-threaded for some reason. It took forever to process but I like the results. I might fake it for the multiscreen though... Please help judge the entries in my Minecraft Contest here!. Winners will be announced by 6/16! Minecraft Contest
Recreate one of my scenes in Minecraft. Take a screenshot (F2 on a PC) which matches the camera from my wallpaper and email it to me. You can also post it on my Facebook page if that is easier for you. Special points will be awarded by me if you can build it to scale... The contest will run until next Friday. Minecraft only (mods and texture packs allowed, but no renders). If you use mods or texturepacks please include them in your description. My kids may ask to play in your map after the contest is over so I may contact you about that... I will post my favorites here and on my Facebook page. The one with the most likes will receive a DB 1-year Gift Certificate and up to 4 runners-up will receive 1 month gift certificates. One Grand Prize winner will receive a Lifetime Membership gift certificate. This award will be chosen by my son Ian. I saw this contest as a way of showing him the connections between my work and his game and it has succeeded beautifully so far. Pictured Above: A version of "Temple of the Leaf" that my boys have been working on... Redditors: Please upvote my contest notification on Reddit! Try the coupon code "redditor" when you sign up for a bonus... Would you like to fund a contest?: Simply purchase the prizes as Gift Certificates and address them to rbliss@digitalblasphemy.com. Include any instructions you would like (and if you would like to remain anonymous or not). 06/03/13
Still exploring my options with this one. Let me know what you think of the update!
05/28/13
For this one, though, I thought I would get away from the placid tropical scenes. I wanted instead to depict a world on the very edge of being ripped apart be the tidal forces of a huge nearby planet. The result is finally up in the Members Gallery this evening. I call it "Asunder". Of course, a planet this large will have many moons and not all of them will look so strange as this one... 05/13/13
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 together 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 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. Anyway, 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 original). 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
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
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
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
"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!! 03/19/13
I've added some more glow to accretion disk in this version. I've also brightened the shadow on the gas giant's ring system. The first version can still be found in the Pickle Jar. I will most likely add a version without the planets before all is said and done. UPDATE:I've posted a version without the planets by popular request. Here's a page comparing the 2013 version with the 2001... 03/17/13
This is where I render a space scene using Lightwave (or Vue) and then use it as a sky object in a Vue scene. That render took Vue a little longer than I had anticipated (84 hrs!) but it is complete and now available to my Members. I'm calling this one "Singularity Rising" (for now) bit that may change as I make some revisions. I hope the issues that were pointed out for "Singularity" are minimized (or at least partially explained) in this planetary render. Perhaps I will go back and render a version without the planets? 03/14/13
"Phraxis", for example, looks great by its own but "Phraxis Moon" is rated higher. The new piece is an update to one of my old favorites, "Singularity". I am already working on a view from the ground but I thought the space view looked nice to enough to compete for a gallery spot all on its own.
Let me know what you think in the comments! 03/13/13 The fine folks at Disruptive Media have added four new animated PS3 themes to the PSN Store. Themes are listed under "Games" if you want to find these for yourself. I love the animated effects!
Any requests? 03/08/13
A lot of folks have been asking me if I could create a new St. Patrick's Day wallpaer, and I thought it would be fun to do a night version of my "Cloverscape" sort of in the same mode as my "Pandora" version of "Satori". I've zoomed in quite a bit on the four-leaf clover from the original scene and gotten a bit fanciful with the lightning. A lot of people never noticed the four-leaf clover in the 2010 version so perhaps this will help point the way. The title, by the way, is borrowed from my 2001 Lightwave render but you'll probably agree that the two images are quite different. Hope you enjoy it!!03/01/13 Here's a little something for my abstract fans. I've been playing around with a free program called Jenn3D this week and produced this render in Lightwave 11.5 using some of the shapes I created. I call it "Geomancy" (abstracts are so hard to title). I hope you enjoy it. Have a look at the 4K render if you are running multiple portrait monitors. 02/26/13 I have long provided images designed to fit multiple monitors. Over the past few years, however, more and more folks have been using multiple "portrait" oriented monitors and those (with their increased vertical resolution) were harder for me to provide. No longer! As of last evening I have started added "4K" renders to the Members Gallery. These are sized at 4096 x 2560 and should accommodate up to 3 1200 x 1920 monitors placed side-by-side. I have 27 uploaded so far but I will be adding more today and tomorrow. I don't have every image available at this resolution but I will add the ones I have and all new uploads will be available at this size. So, can you use the larger images? 02/21/13
ALSO: I have extended my "New Member Special" until Friday. Use the coupon code "firsttime" to save 30% on the Membership of your choice. (Protip: Anyone can use the coupon, not just first timers. Returning Members, however, should note that the "iamback" coupon code will save you $10 off rather than 30% and is a better deal on the yearly Memberships.) 02/18/13
I thought this one was a pretty good candidate for "Nightening" but it actually turned out to be somewhat complicated. My original idea for this piece was the bottom of a cenote and (to be honest) the scene is still set up that way. This means I am a bit restricted in how I can place the moonlight. I hope it doesn't look too dark. I did some fireflies to brighten things up a bit. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I will be rendering the multiscreen shortly and then onto new projects! Site News: I wanted everyone to know that I enabled PayPal's "Bill-Me-Later" program over the weekend. It allows you to take up to 6 months to pay for purchases $99 and up and can be used to acquire the Lifetime DB Membership you have always wanted!. In addition, if it is your first time using "Bill-Me-Later" they will knock $10 off the price. 02/07/13
This update was created and rendered using Vue d'Esprit 11 Infinite. There are (as always) some things I would still like to tweak. You can find the original "Satori" in the Free Gallery here for comparison. Let me know what you think of the update!
Revisions:I cranked up the atmosphere quality settings for this one so it should be less grainy. Unfortunately that resulted in the image taking 25 hours to render (at 4096 x 2560) rather than 10 hours for the first version. I hope it was worth it! 01/23/13
I've added "The Forgotten Way" to the Members Gallery this afternoon. The weather in Illinois has been especially cold and grey recently and this piece is a definite reaction to my cabin fever. Dual and triple-screen versions are also available. I'm still working out the lighting on this one so don't be surprised to see a variation or two over the next few days. Let me know what you think! 01/18/13 Haiku Contest! I am offering a free Lifetime membership (or upgrade) to the person who writes the best haiku based on one of my wallpapers. Simply post your haiku in the comments section for the above image on my Facebook page along with a link to the wallpaper in my gallery that inspired you. The link should be in the form http://digitalblasphemy.com/preview.shtml?i=haiku2k72 (copy/paste it from your address bar is the easiest way to do this). The writer with the most likes by 5pm (CDT) will win the Lifetime Membership and the next two will win 1 year Memberships (or renewals). Yes, your haiku must be in the 5-7-5 syllable format to win. Here's a wonderful example from DB Member Michelle...
"Like this autumn leaf,
Good Luck!! (PS: Be looking for a new render shortly...)01/08/13
Added "Valinor" to the Members Gallery this morning. I've also posted a free 1024 x 1024 iPad version on Reddit. If you read J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" you will see references made to the long history of the Middle Earth. This history is laid out in a book called "The Silmarillion". Here's the short version: The first beings were the "Valar", and were analagous to the demi-gods of Earth mythology. They walked under dark skies without Sun or Moon however. Iluvatar (the Supreme Being) and the Valar made many attempts to illuminate the world, but these were opposed by Melkor (who was the forebearer of Sauron). The first light was made by two massive lamps on either end of the world, but these were cast down and destroyed by Melkor. The second attempt came in the form of two brilliant trees which shone over the Valinor. The silver tree was called "Telperion" and seeds taken from it eventually grew into the White Tree of Gondor. The gold tree was called Laurelin. A shining dew fell from the each tree which the Valar collected in wells. The light of the Two Trees was captured in three brilliant jewels called "Silmarils" which afterwards became the source of much fighting and discord. Frodo is given the Phial of Galadriel , which contains the captured light of a Silmaril (and by extenstion the Trees). The Two Trees were eventually poisoned and destroyed by Melkor with the help of a massive spider (an ancestor of Shelob). The Sun and Moon were the last attempt and were set in the sky beyond the reach of evil. The Silmarillion describes the trees each waxing and waning in brightness over their own 7 hour period: In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and waned again to naught; and each awoke once more to life an hour before the other ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice every day there came a gentle hour of softer light when both trees were faint and their gold and silver beams were mingled. This first render depicts the "gentle hour" above. My final goal is to render each hour in the cycle and folks can then use "ChronoWall" to set their desktop to a day in Valinor...The Two Trees have always captured my imagination and I've been meaning to render this scene for a long time. I'm glad to finally get it started! As always, I took quite a few liberties with this piece but I hope it is enjoyable even if you aren't familiar with the history of Middle-Earth. |
last updated Wednesday, 07-Aug-2013 22:25:44 CDT
content © 1997-2013 Ryan Bliss, all rights reserved privacy policy "we are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams" -- O'Shaughnessy |