the band state radio is the remnants of Dispatch

Definitely a great pic. I wasn't a fan of the "bets" version ;) but the 1.0 rev is terrific and the dual screen even more so.



Keep up the good work.

On the whole I like the image. It looks pretty good as my background on the desktop. I like the way the sun hits and gives you the shadows in between the peaks. Oh the fog, while in the upper right hand corner the fog is a bit heavy, I think that it is good from the stand point that not all the fog is of uniform thickness. Some areas might be light while other areas heavier.



All in all not a bad piece considering you are sill new to the Zbrush program and I believe with a little more time what you will create wtih this program will be quite awsome.

Definately not your best work, but it looks pretty good. For me I think the fog is a bit too much in the right hand corner. A little less fog and it would be about right in my books.



And by the way, Happy Belated Birthday!



PS, i give it a 7

I rahter like this rendition of a desrt with mysterious towering peaks. I became very distracted by the shadows at the bottom of the first two. At first I thought it was green forest below, but as I zoomed in and I noticed it had the appearance of ocean beating against the rocky base. That was not so when I scrolled to the bottom center where the sun meets the shade. None the less the view is breath taking and were I there, I'de be handgliding!





Al

This is brilliant CG, photorealistic work Ryan. You should be very proud of this image. However, I think this could be improved. Somehow the rocks in the middle don't seem quite 'powerful' enough, I think if the camera was not floating, say, it was positioned closer to the ground, it might make the image just that little bit better. The fog is pretty cool. I like it except for the 'rounded' fog at the back. Brilliant texture and sculpting work though. I give it 7/10.



Oh and, hope you had a Happy Birthday!

Excellent job with the rocks, they look more real than in any other picture I've seen. I also feel the practice was necessary... I say mission accomplished; of course it doesn't make this the best wallpaper out of your bunch, but there is definitely advancement in quality to be seen in this picture (my gripe with some of your earlier pictures is that certain rocks/stones just look too phony). I agree that adding a little bit of life would put the size into perspective a bit and give it more of an "ooh, ahh" feel. Don't take too much time messing around with this one though, for the most part it has served its purpose and you should move on soon.

To be honest, 'Shrouded Desert' is just one of those disappointing exceptions between a lot of very good artworks made by you (although I didn't like the last one either). I find this one not interesting, not convincing, even boring.



Maybe the texture of the rocks look very realistic indeed, but to me it isn't. Somehow 'Shrouded Desert' looks different from your other artwork, and it's definitely not an improvement.



I renewed my membership for one year, because I trust you will create a lot of those high-level fantastic artworks like last year. And these two disappointments in a row - well, that just can happen.



5*

I do like this image quite a bit and agree that a life form somewhere in it would perhaps add sense of dimension. Personally, though, I'd rather see an eagle or several buzzards than the rock climber suggested repeatedly; I think adding a human would diminish the impact of bleak, remote barrenness offered by the picture.

May your comming year be full of joy and laughter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Ryan, while this isn't my favorite image, I do really like it. The texturing and surface imperfections are amazing! The lighting is pretty good, I like the light source being behind and off to the side of the buttes. One thing that bugs me is the way the clouds are too well-defined sometimes towards the background.



Also, this has a very monochromatic feeling to it, almost depressingly so. A faint glimmer of a green object or even a figure to demonstrate the scale might make the over-all image more majestic.



Good job though!

Looks awesome and it kind of reminds me of a more whittled down Grand Canyon. By the way, Happy Birthday!

This almost looks like you need three-d glasses to view...

As an OJT image, not bad.

Re some of the comments about the "Sunset"



This looks much more like it would be a scene just after dawn. In which case fog is rather appropriate.



I wonder if the feeling that something is a bit amiss is that the ground cover seems to be all rock. There is usually some loose debris on the lower flat surfaces. Even in the badlands (Which this seems to be modeled after. With a little of the Dragons Fangs mixed in) there is a fair amount of dirt and sand in the low lying areas.

The teeth don't seem all that wind scored which would lend to the lack of any dirt / dust.

I just rated one of your images with a 10 for the first time. I'm stuck by the level of details on rocks. Moreover these details make light effects and shadows much more realistic.



Greetings & happy birthday

...the splashes of green and other colors in the rock formations.

Hey, you have the same birthday as me! Sorry about what happened six years ago. Yours landed on a round number just like mine so I know what that feels like. So in spite of all that, happy birthday and I hope you had a great day!

This one's OK as a picture but it lacks a strong point of interest. I can't use it as a background though. The textures are good but it's too bright along the top which is where I keep most of my on-screen widgets.

this picture is pretty good i guess. the textures look great and it is realistic. however, it is lacking some kind of general shape that could make it interesting. as it is its just a bunch of pillars in the desert. it kinda reminds me of Cloud Canyon, except with less awesomeness.

I've loved most of what you've posted in the past year, but this is a glaring exception. Just not my thing I guess.

This is really sweet. Sort of reminds me of the Southwestern US.



To give it some perspective, you might consider adding a rock climber or something to show just how massive these rocks are. Just a thought.



:)

Such a richly textured piece...



It kind of reminds me of when I visited the Grand Canyon as a young boy over ten years ago.



Happy Birthday, and great job.

Happy 36th Birthday!



Awesome...

I have to say I've been waiting a while to see what was going to be produced after over a week of nothing. I like this one alot; it is one of my favorite types. Thanks DB.

This is one is pretty good. I think it looks very realistic!



Happy Birthday!

The detail and the textures are great. I think this one might look good if it were set in a rain storm type of setting (being that it's the monsoon season out west...)



Happy Birthday!

If ZBrush has anything to do with creating textures then I must say it looks fabulously realistic.



I must say its pretty good as a widescreen, but I believe you could make this unbelievable as a dual monitor wallpaper.



*cough* patiently waiting for the dual widescreen! :)



If when you do expand it, an idea might to be incorporate a small river such to give the idea that this was carved by water. You have great peaks here and then to widen it out to include a canyon.



Keep up the great work!



Love the new notification service by Feedburner. Just what I needed to let me know when you update!

This one really does not attract any interest for me. It is just kind of dull. I also agree that there is no sense of scale with it, though I don't think that would make it any better. There is just something about it that doesn't do it for me. Hopefully your next one is something I like better.



P.S. Happy birthday!

Have a good one!

Hey Ryan,



Nice work, once again. However, there are far too many peaks in the background, out of the fog. And they seem to have some kind of pattern, it looks a bit unnatural. The foreground is very nice..



Happy B'day.. Have a blast :)

Is it just me, or do your images seem to be getting better...I.E. more realistic? I like!

Yet another nice picture. Happy birthday!

First off, The foreground area with no fog looks great. The shadows are a little too stark considering the brightness of the sky, but still very nice.

The foggy area has way to many peaks....doesn't look natural. I agree with the other comments....a sandstorm would look better.



The foreground peaks are very realistic, though. Good job with those.



Happy Birthday!

Yes, the colors are dull, but so are deserts. And, in fact, many dry deserts around the world do get fog (the Atacama and the Namib for instance), that's how the few lifeforms that can bear the harsh landscape survive. Many of the commenters mentioned that they lived in a desert environment and based their detractions on the dissimilarities between this image and their experiences. I would wager that the deserts those people lived in were in the American southwest, which is quite different in appearance to many other desert areas around the world. In short, I see nothing to complain about with this image---great work!

First, I'm a new member but long time viewer. I am happy that I finally got to subscribe.



Next, I'm not much for desert scenes... too hot for a girl from Puget Sound... but it reminds me of Dune. I think it evokes that kind of almost sci-fi feel. I agree that it needs some mark of civilization.

Hope you have a good one!

Happy birthday!! And aren't WE the ones supposed to be giving YOU gifts? Another fantastic image!

Another Excellent work of art! Keep up the good work and Happy Birthday!



(any chance you could add a rock climber?)

So, I live in the desert too...



As has been pointed out, fog doesn't belong in the desert. Dry = no humidity = no fog! As that same observer pointed out, we do get sandstorms, but they are more uniform - like a wall of dust, no smooshy like fog :)



I think the biggest thing missing is some kind vegetation, even if its just scrub. Arizona is half desert but it still has vegetation all over, even if its just low scrub and saguaro ...

Happy B-day!





This is not one of my favorites in all honesty, but still cool none the less!!!

Great as usual but a little contrasty. (that's a word!) The finishing just seems off.



Great picture though! Love it

First off, Happy Birthday.



I don't know what it is, but something seems off to me in this picture. I don't know if it is the color or the grainyness of the landscape. It is just off to me.

Happy Birthday!!!





I hope you have a good one.







I like the new art too. I probably will not use it myself, but I do like it.





either way, I hope you have a very good birthday.

(Long time subscriber here, haven't felt the urge to post a comment before. Delurk.)



This is terribly cool. Love the fog: realistic enough to make you believe in it, yet unexpected enough to make you think "this is nowhere on Earth". It also happens to match really closely my current D&D campaign setting... ;-)



But it could do with a focal point -- with nothing human in it, there's no sense of scale. Perhaps a caravan trailing along the furrows between the peaks?

Happy birthday Ryan,



In light of what you said about this being an experiment I'm aim my comments i nthat respect and say you have done a really good job here. I opened up your largest render so I could take in all the detail and you have certainly got the hang of this technology.



With regards to how much like a real desert it looks or how suitable a wallpaper it is its purely down to user preference and certainly nothing that would be your fault.



Looking at this I reckon a good example at testing it would be a rugged coastline with waves and rockpools etc, have you tried anything like that before? To be honest i've not seen many digital artists do coastlines much as I guess getting water to look good is a hard job.



Enjoy your birthday,



T.

Ryan this looks fantastic as always, and happy birthday! :)

Is it just my imagination, or does it look grainy? It could just be because I'm really tired. Anyway, all your images are 10s in my mind. I just give high marks for the ones that I'd like you to do more of. I know, selfish.

A very happy birthday to you Ryan.



I would just like to say that I really like this piece. I really like the gritty feel to it, and it all looks great to me.



If you're missing anything in this piece I think, its a point of reference. I find usually theres always something that we can relate to for the size of your landscapes, and it does feel absent in this one. However, it's otherwise top notch if you ask me.

This piece is satisfying to me because the front buttes resemble the Devil's Tower national monument in North Eastern Wyoming. One of the greatest parts of visiting that site is watching climbers scale the enormous cliffs. Perhaps the addition of a climber would enhance the photo by adding more tension and interest in the piece - bowing to some of the comments that it is uniteresting.



Just a thought



All in all, I do enjoy the resemblance to one of my favorite locations to visit. Thanks for all of your time and dedication... your talent is truly a marvel.

I love the foreground. Every detail makes the two big rocks in the center and the ground surrounding look fantastic. I don't like the background very much though, the fog looks grainy and the angle of the distant rocks looks a bit off.



Anyhow I really think that the majority of the picture is great. I would love to see the background touched up but that's just my opinion.



Happy birthday!

Its ok, but probably not much better (sorry!).



I lived in a desert most of my days, and it just feels wrong.



The Camera is definitely suspended in the air, and it feels wrong for this piece somehow. Most of your other pieces are ok like this - it's never felt wrong before.



The fog in the near distance is also a complete non-sequitor in this piece. It might be more appropriate to have a sandstorm blowing through.



The sky also seems a bit off for a desert sunset. I've seen harsh desert sunsets, and this just doesn't seem like one of them - yet the angle for the shadows suggest that it might be getting late into the evening.



Overall, the piece is ok. I like the detail and textures. I like the landscape, and think I may have seen things like it in Utah.



I think the landscape has some potential, to be quite honest. If you choose to proceed with this picture (and feel free to, it won't affect my subscription! I constantly get amazed compliments on my background selection at work), then consider doing something different with it.



Have a great birthday, and remember the *good* comments!



Be well,



Mark

I have to agree with Sean W and Jeff that this is a bit uninteresting. It's loads of weird shaped rock formations and some mist in the background (strangely none appears near the viewing point). It's also really hard to get a sense of scale as there is no real life reference. And the colors are quite sickly. I'm beginning to wonder if Zbrush is causing you to neglect other aspects of scenery composure that you had going so amazingly well :-(



Anyway, have an awesome birthday! :-)

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!



I usually love this kind of stuff. For some reason it reminded me of cottonmouth, which is one of my favourite pieces.

http://members.digitalblasphemy.com/content/mshow.shtml?image=cottonmouth.jpg&&hr=0&mr=0&ws1=0&ws2=0&y=1999&p=ds2

But this one, just feels like theres something missing. I feel like theres too much shadow which kind of takes away from the amazing texture.



Overall, just feels incomplete.



Relax at bit, enjoy your birthday with the family!

First off, Happy Birthday to you! Congrats on your 36th year. :)



I can't truly enjoy this piece since I personally have an almost pathological aversion to deserts, but viewing it as another work of art, it does not stand out amongst your others.



The angle is a bit odd; it shows the perspective of the land, but it feels like a camera was dangled above the scene, angled 135 degrees downward, and snapped a shot.



The other thing is that the colors and textures do not vary a great deal. It's pretty much all orange and yellow, with the look of Devil's Tower after having a pebbled texture applied to it.



The atmospherics help soften the piece up, which helps. It seems as if the area should have some meager vegetation if there is cloud/fog moisture so near the land. The sunlight is harsh, as sunsets in a desert can be sometimes. I do like the unique but not entirely impossible nature of the formations; it looks like something Mother Nature would create to shake things up.



Again, not my fav, but as you stated, you're still brushing up on Zbrush. (Sorry, had to pun.) Anyway, have some good time off, and enjoy your b-day. :)

First off, let me wish you a Happy Birthday!! I hope you and the family have a great day planned.



Ive lost track of the number of years Ive been visiting your site. I remember back to the Bryce days. This latest effort just doesnt do anything for me. Its just kinda dull. It almost looks like a closeup of a jaw with rotting teeth. Im sure your next effort will be much better.



J

Think I posted in the wrong place.



Can you tell me what kind of screen saver can play your new MPEG files on Win. XP?



KeyCpo@sc.rr.com



Thanks in advance



P@

For a man so young you are very, very good!! Happy birthday there young feller!



Question from a new member.



What MPEG screen saver program can you reccomend to play your new animation on? I'm using XP.



Thanks in advance & I hope you were able to blow out all the candles "wink"



P@

First of all, happy birthday! Hope you have a great day, spend some time with the family and all.



The new picture looks really great, and I'm actually going to change my wallpaper/theme to this right now. The only thing is that I find the sides facing us of the closest two formations a little flat looking. That's minor though. Really a great piece. Thanks and happy birthday!