09/13/13

Added "The Shaded Path" to the Members Gallery this morning. Dual and triple-screen versions also availble.

I was recently asked how I spent my birthday. When I told her I spent the day working she looked at me sideways as if to say "That's Too Bad". Actually I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday, especially when so I am so pleased with the results.

I spent that day creating the pieces for this scene in LightWave 3D and then I assembled them using Vue d'Esprit. The scene has been rattling around in my head for a long while after seeing a random photograph online.

This piece is dedicated to Jessie's Mom and Dad. We visited them recently and were blown away by their incredible hanging garden. Seeing their handbuilt creation inspired me to finally create the geometry.

I've only worked on this piece for a couple of days so check back for possible updates. I hope you enjoy it!!

09/11/13

I've posted "Hivemind (Nucleus)" for dual and triple-screen monitors this morning.

In other news I am celebrating my birthday today!

09/06/13
A couple of new renders today...
Here is a further exploration of the "Hivemind". Journeying towards the nucleus...

No lightning yet ;-)

Here's a little render I put together on my laptop while waiting on my other machines. I thought it would be interesting to zoom in on the glowing water lilies from "Satori (Alien/Night)".

Unfortunately the DOF blur didn't turn out quite as I had hoped resulting in an image that is a bit out of focus. It a shame because it took quite a while to render too.

For now it will remain a Pickle Jar extra for my Members...

09/05/13

From the "Art is never finished, only abandoned" department... It occurred to me that the underwater lighting technique I used for "Geode" might yield interesting results in my "Moonlit Oasis" scene. I wasn't disappointed!

I've rendered a version with green water (in the Pickle Jar) and one with a bluer pond. Which do you thinks works better? Dual and triple-screen versions also available!

I've also finished a multimonitor version of "Hivemind". Enjoy!

09/03/13

Added an update to "Hivemind" in the Members Gallery this morning. I've done quite a bit of tweaking on this one over the past few days but this is my first render which I felt was an improvement over the first version (which will remain in the Pickle Jar).

I'm continuing here with the "techno-abstract" theme of "Automata" and "Waveform" here. Lightwave 11's new instancing system opens up a lot of possibilities!

See also Latticework and The Comb.

I've also added a blacked-out version of "Sunburst Daisy" in the same vein as "Dark Fluorescence". What other pieces do you think would benefit from being blacked out?

Lastly I wanted to announce my first ever Referral Program. Earn between $1 - $5 for every Member you send me!

Click here for details!

08/25/13

I've added an updated version of "Geode (2013)" to the Members Gallery this morning. The first version had a rather busy cave wall texture which I think detracted from the whole. It may have worked before I put the crystals in but it definitely was too much after.

The new version has a simplified wall texture, which is also a bit darker so hopefully you can see your icons better. The first version will remain available in the Pickle Jar.

I've always enjoyed rendering caves for some reason. This piece is an update to one of my lesser known renders from 2004. I will admit the first version wasn't one of my most popular wallpapers. Hopefully my skills have improved in the 9 years since ;-)

Let me know what you think!

I've also added one more version of "Waveform" to the Pickle Jar. It was suggested that I try a monochrome version and I think it does look intriguing. Dual and triple-screen versions are available to Members. Enjoy!

08/20/13

I've added dual and triple-screen versions of "Waveform" to the Members Gallery this evening. I also have a new Vue d'Esprit render cooking which Members can preview on my Work-In-Progress page or through my new Instagram account.

Stay tuned!

08/19/13

Ten years ago this morning my life changed forever. To be honest I can barely remember life before I became a Dad. What I do know is that I could not be more proud of how Ian has turned out so far.

To my Members I want to say a special "Thank You" for allowing me to be a "stay-at-home Dad" for these past 10 years. Those times weren't always easy, but I wouldn't trade the memories for anything.

Happy 10th Birthday Ian!!

PS: I've posted a new work-in-progress for my Members to check out. Hope to have it ready sometime this week!

08/15/13

Asfaloth has been busy rendering the multiscreen version of "Cave of Arches" for the past few days and I have another new project rendering on Bucephalus. Fortunately my old Macbook Pro is back in the mix with a new logic board from the nice folks at the Apple Store so I can still do a little bit of art!

"Waveform" is my first project built and rendered on the rebuilt MBP (which I have decided to name "Silver"). The geometry was modeled using Structure Synth (the same program I used for "Synthestructure") and the scene was rendered using Lightwave 11.6.

This piece follows the same "techno-abstract" theme that spawned "Automata". This piece is a little less complicated though. I hope you like it!!

Update!

Here is the multiscreen version of "Cave of Arches" for my dual and triple-screen users. I hope you enjoy it!!

08/12/13

I've added a night version of "Festival of Dragons" to the Pickle Jar this morning. Quite a few Members requested that I try a darker version so I thought I would give it a shot. Of course, night time in a cave presents some special lighting challenges so I hope you don't mind some of the liberties I took ;-)

Which version do you prefer?

In other news, I received a set of photos this morning from a fan who had been working on a Minecraft version of "Temple of the Leaf" with her boyfriend. He mysteriously took their server offline briefly to set up a little surprise for her...

Congrats Amy and Heath and thanks for sharing!

08/03/13

Added "Automata" to the Members Gallery this morning. I created this piece as part of a possible corporate partnership with a large semi-conductor company. They asked that I put together some technology oriented images for use on large multi-monitor displays and this is my first salvo in that effort.

Dual and triple-screen versions are available!

Even if they decide this piece doesn't work for their campaign I think it deserves a place in the gallery. I modeled the structures using "Structure Synth". The textures are all Lightwave procedurals and it was rendered using Fprime.

It was certainly fun to make!

08/01/13

So I have an Instagram account...

I will post various photos there that catch my fancy, including views of works in progress before they hit the site. I may cross-post a few to my Twitter and Facebook accounts but I recommend following me if you want to see everything.

Members can still download the hi-res previews of my Works-In-Progress here, but this should be an easy way for non-Members to keep tabs on my activities.

07/23/13

Dragons?

A few weeks ago the nice folks at Rustycon (who will be flying me out to Seattle as their Artist Guest of Honor in January) asked me about a piece with dragons to be used on the cover of their flyer. The theme this year is "A Festival of Dragons" so I thought it might be fun to add some dragons to my "Cave of Arches".

Not sure if the Rustycon folks will use this piece or not, but it was fun to make even if it only ends up in the Pickle Jar. Let me know which version you prefer!

07/22/13

I've added a 4th version of "Cave of Arches" to the Members Gallery, with the focus on improving the foreground. I've added some trees, mushrooms, and other some other flora. I've also added some light action on the foreground water.

As I mentioned last time, my "Returning Member" discount has been finally discontinued. Members can still renew their current Memberships at the same discounted rates, but if you let it expire you will need to sign up as a new member.

I've also added a poster version of "Elegy (Winter Day)" to my Zazzle collection (by request). Here's a huge "premium canvas" version also if anyone is interested.

I created a brand new 7680 x 4800 render (109 hours on Asfaloth!) just for this print. For the new render I corrected some of the colors in the foreground branches and I will be replacing the version in my gallery with this new one shortly. Download it now if you want to keep this version!

07/17/13

Former Members: I just wanted to let you all know at my "Returning Member" discount will be discontinued as of midnight Friday 7/19/13.

If you are former Member and would like to take advantage of the $10 off discount you can still do so here. Just check the box and the discount will be applied to all yearly and above Memberships.

The discount works on the honor system so you need not enter the email address you used before.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

In happier news...fortune has smiled upon me and allowed me to reopen the scene file for "Cave of Arches"! I was able to work on it yesterday and rendered a new version overnight.

I've added some new vegetation and changed up the lighting a little bit. There are some other tweaks that I will leave for you to discover.

I'm not sure how happy I am with all of the changes (see my incomplete first draft in the Pickle Jar) so there may yet be one more render before I move on to the multiscreen.

Let me know what you think!