I may crop out pieces of this as darker or lighter backgrounds with different flavors to them. I hope that's not blasphemy! ;-)

Like Carysta - I wonder what the person standing on the shore is thinking. If it was me- "Wow, well ya don't get to see that every day.. !"

I always love your planetscapes, Ryan. As usual, I'll put in my vote for a PJ without the little guy. Also, and maybe it's just me, the colors of Accretion and Exoplanet, when put together, don't complement each other as well as they might. If the Accretion section was a deeper red in tone I think they would go better. The clouds do make a nice barrier between the two, though. Otherwise, awesome!

Very nice indeed. I actually like this one better than the latest Moonshadow (in all its versions). The 'busier' sky lights up the foreground more, which in turn makes the sea area more interesting, and overall the whole scene seems warmer and more engaging. Also, the overall orange/blue colour scheme just works nicely. Very good!

I love this render. And seeing the person on the shore, I keep thinking, I wonder what they're thinking right in this moment? Is it "well, there goes the neighbourhood?" :)

Total Eclipse means Moon-Shadow and Running-Shadows by interferences on the ground around the viewer - who is placed in the midst of powerful cosmic forces - a place to start awareness: Lead Your Life

There's many elements from other of your alien planet vistas appearing in this one. That's no bad thing.

I particularly like the floating luminous jelly fish.

It made me wonder what a view from below the surface would look like.

A like that your visitor is in some sort of protective suit. Those massive sun explosions would be full of radiation!!

So many of your works are just gorgeous but for me, to have a person in the picture, ruins it. I know that's just my opinion but would you please consider doing pickle jar versions w/0 people? please?!

This is nice, but I think I actually preferred the composition of the 2014 one, with the water, and the boy sitting on a cliff. In this one, the figure seems... less purposeful. Also, the other scene seemed peaceful, almost serene. In this one, the scene reminds me more of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Which is a little weird, since the color scheme is the same. Anyway, I love all your work, but I'm hoping you keep the 2014 one, if not both. :)

I like the figure/person placement in the 2014 one better, but this one cool.

Needs a 5760x1200 resolution

I see the multiscreen versions, but where is the 21:9 version?

Dreamy and relaxing. Will there be a 1600x1200 version? Please put the previous versions in the pickle jar.

Dreamy and relaxing. Will there be a 1600x1200 version? Please put the previous versions in the pickle jar.

Thanks for the multis, Ryan, it's great to see them so quickly after the singles! I'm still hoping that you'll make multis of the 2014 version as well. :)

could you make a version without the dude standing? im not a big fan of you putting people in your work unless its like a wizard or something. but just a regular dude just chilling... not a fan. Id highly appreciate if you could make a version without him. other than that, its fantastic!!!!

The three versions are quite different. In the 2104, the boy is showing us that this is his planet and he is quite comfortable. I like the dark, "Cambrian Ocean" effect here with the bioluminescent jellies. I'm ambivalent about the space explorer - such figures have, of course, a venerable history in space art, but I wish this was a little more obviously a spacesuited figure, emphasizing that perhaps the atmosphere is not yet breathable.

I still find the 2008 version very compelling and the most "artistic" of the three.

I do like the newest render, but my favourite is still the 2014 version. I really liked the framing of it, and the contemplative boy taking it all in.

I think you should keep both of them, progress is progress and its good to see how your work evolves. Have you ever considered doing more of your work in photoshop - it would allow you much more freedom to finish your work and would also reduce render times.

I love what you've done with the jellies and the apparent depth of the water. I like that more of the eclipse is showing, and the water's reflection is much improved, too. But I hope you'll do a PJ version without the little person; then this will be perfect. :)

Love the improvements. The jellyfish look much better. I'm one that's a fan of the explorer in your renders, so thanks for adding him/her. Still hope you keep both the 2014 version and this one. I see them as different images.

The third render is actually very interesting, particularly because of how very much better the water is. Before, it was all really indistinct and you couldn't tell what the blue blobs were. Now, they actually look like jellyfish. Moreover, the water's surface just looks better in general (crisper detail) and the extra reflection of the colourful rays helps too. As for the figure… for me it's a positive in this instance, though I don't have strong feelings either way. Certainly, with or without the figure, the foreground has a lot more interest than before, which is a good thing, and to me this is by far the best of the three versions to date. Overall, I do still prefer the 2014 version, and that's not likely to change because I simply prefer the composition of that image (including the delicate colour palette and overall brightness level), but this latest 2015 image is now a much more worthy complement to it. A good improvement. (I'd still love a 5K version of the 2014 image, though!)

... the explorer. The jellyfish look the best in this render plus the shadow of the moon.

I like it better than the first render overall but I don't like the space explorer.

I really like this final version! It really popped after I got it on my desktop.

Yes, I think the new render is better. The reduced cloud level lets more of the colourful rays be seen, and there's more 'blue interest' at the bottom (plus a little reflection). Even having said that, though, it doesn't make me feel any different about the relative merits of the versions. It isn't that I don't like this 2015 one; I just like the 2014 version a lot better. Actually, I'm glad that I've got both 2015 versions, given that the first render hasn't been retained as a pickle jar variant! (I collect those, too.) Regarding the figure, which seems to be quite divisive, I don't mind that much either way. Usually, I prefer scenes without figures. However, in the 2014 version, having the figure seemed to me to add not just a sense of scale but also a feeling of awe (as you though you could relate to the stunning vista being witnessed by the figure); that's something missing from the 2015 version. Anyway, I can't see anywhere to put a figure in the 2015 scene, so it's fine without one. But I do find the 2014 version both more interesting and more beautiful.

Very nice render :-) !!!

Second render of the 2015 version is better than the first. That said, I hope you keep both the 2014 and the 2015 in the gallery. I love the 2014 version and think both are worthy of the gallery.

This image is absolutely beautiful. I like it a lot more than the 2014, honestly. The foreground in that one was significantly busier, taking away from the wondrous eclipse. This has the feeling of an endless abyss.

Much improved since more of the aura can be seen and the reflection shows in the water. The jellies are growing on me, too. What if a few of the jellies were rising out of the water, as if drawn up toward the eclipse? Not realistic but it would clarify what the jellies are. Just an idea.

I haven't really liked having a figure standing in the foreground, so I like this better for the lack of a humanoid. I agree, the foreground was too dull and needed something to justify the space it takes up. It's a great image, and it does exactly what it set out to do. I wish I could see the jellies better, and it would be so cool if the planetshine made the moon's surface subtly visible (that happens with eclipses sometimes).

I like it but, sorry Ryan, I liked the 2014 version better, although it needed a bit more work and I'm not a fan of the little people. I like the idea of this one -- the jellies being drawn to the surface by the rising of the fiery orb and so forth -- but I agree that the clouds cover too much of the rays, and if you hadn't said so I wouldn't have known they were jellies. Maybe your new monster will show us the meaning of haste?

The 2008 "Moonshadow" is still my favorite, even with the extra moon and the little loinclothed man. Behind that is the 2014 version and then this one. I do like the reflection in the 2014 water and even the reflective little boy (pardon the bad pun) and the right-hand rocks vs the left-hand side, per another poster, but the 2008 version continues to be my favorite.

Please see my comments for the 2014 version. Sorry, but I don't like this one nearly as much as the 2014 version. Overall it's too gloomy, and too great a proportion of the colourful rays are hidden. The lower part of the scene is just dull and uninteresting, with no reflection of the colourful rays in the water. I like the idea of the jellyfish, but they seem too blobby and indistinct. And there's just not enough detail to capture the interest overall. The 2014 version was really beautiful, both for its lovely backlit clouds, its water reflections and its more interesting shoreline in the foreground. I particularly liked the waves on the shore in that version and also the foreground figure. This new version lacks all that, and just seems rather dull, I'm afraid. Sorry! For me, the 2014 version is easily the better of the two, and I just wish I could have a 5K version of it!

The one you did last year told a story, or at least suggested one. This? --Blurry dots where a dream used to be. Pretty sure it's not my eyes this time. Sorry...

This version is great in a lot of ways (lighting, new composition, et cetera), but I liked the 2014 version with the figure as well. He added scale and personality to it (in my opinion). I would still like to see a dual-screen with the figure if you have time.

I love this, but it was really hard for me to tell what the jellyfish were. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said what they were.



I wonder what would happen if you made the water still and clear... maybe reflect the eclipse itself in the water a little? I love the clouds though.... This version. Definitely. I want the dual!