Tropic of Thetis

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8.53/10 rating
(249 votes)

This one started out as a doodle on my MBP while I waited for another render to finish. I put a bit more work into this second version but I wanted to retain the uncomplicated feel of the original. As the title suggests, this is a day version of my "Tropical Moon" series (set in a different part of the moon). Some have suggested a night/sunset version of this scene would look nice and I am inclined to agree...
Pickle Jar Variations what's this?

Member Comments

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Mark A.
"pickle me"
I like the original version of this one, but I prefer the pickle jar version.

Thu October 19, 2017 at 7:39 pm

Heiko
"book a flight to get there"
beatiful beach with clear blue water ... oh yeah

Wed December 28, 2016 at 11:39 am

ace
"Amazing"
love this one. LOVE IT!

Sat April 11, 2015 at 11:27 am

Blureinade
"I call this a dreamy resort "
This is well designed, realistically bright, yet vibrant and lively graphics. It just is a dreamy place, that I would love to be and in the moment of inner bliss in relaxation with nature and fresh air.

Fri May 30, 2014 at 4:10 pm

Anonymouse
"This is just beautiful..."
...I wish I were there.

Sat November 19, 2011 at 9:55 am

vtowens
" I miss Hawaii "
I absolutely love this one, favorite of the year, and favorite beach background of all time. The bright colors are great, and lift my mood when I log on to my computer. Good work!

Wed July 20, 2011 at 3:50 pm

Dominique
"This is my happy place"
Wonderful! Thank you for inventing it!

Tue June 21, 2011 at 9:54 am

nickaix
"Re: Palm covered by cloud!"
I just noticed it, too. And of course, now I can't look at anything else. Darn you, Fabio! :)

Mon April 18, 2011 at 10:59 am

Phillip D
"love the waters"
wow this is exceptional good, I love the waters, it feels like I am in the Bahamas...clean..and the clouds, wow so realistic....

Sat April 16, 2011 at 7:56 pm

Fabio
"Palm covered by cloud!"
Wonderful WP but... The tallest palm on the center island is covered by a cloud!!

Tue April 12, 2011 at 5:36 am

Basso
"Widescreen Dual/Triple in Split Files"
Love this one! I've started the vacation counter after DL-ing it! Is there any way to get the widescreen multi-mon versions in split files, or is there an easy way to split them myself? It seems to be the only way I get backgrounds to apply correctly. I have a 3x 1440x900 setup, and when I have the middle one set as the primary, it throws the wallpaper out of order (even with the screens arranged correctly in the Win7 "screen resolution" settings.

Mon April 11, 2011 at 8:07 am

Miguell026
"tropic of thetis 2K11"
i just love your triple screens Ryan! uau



pity my Apple monitor only does 2560x1600.. =P

i LOVE awesome HUGE scenarios!



im awaiting a night/ twilight version of this... it will be sweet! ( hope you make one)



PS: think you can work on the water and palm trees a little more? they don't seem natural! thanks!



cheers to all From Portugal!

Sat April 9, 2011 at 10:40 am

Gary
"Smartphone"
This looks great on my new HTC Thunderbolt... great job!!!

Fri April 8, 2011 at 9:07 am

Ryan
"@Alex"
I rendered it a bit larger than I needed because Vue's "Superior" render setting takes too long. By rendering it the lower "Final" setting, but at a larger size, I am able to size it down in Photoshop and get the same smooth results but shave about 20% off the render time.

Thu April 7, 2011 at 9:46 pm

Alex H
"Original render?"
What's this about a 9600 x 2000 version? :P

Thu April 7, 2011 at 7:54 pm

Orbulus
"Just booked my flight.."
nuff said

Thu April 7, 2011 at 5:49 pm

John
"Triple Screen"
The triple screen is beautiful. Improves nicely on the single screen.

Thu April 7, 2011 at 3:56 pm

Brian
"Bitch'n"

Thu April 7, 2011 at 3:35 pm

wraithslay
"Hurray"
I am so happy this is finally available! It's going on every one of my computers AND my iPhone. :)

Thu April 7, 2011 at 1:55 pm

Kevin
"Gorgeous!"
Now this is a place I would like to vacation! I can't wait for the sunset and night versions!

Wed April 6, 2011 at 10:43 pm

Sergio E
"Fantastic Addition"
I love this image; It's relaxing, beautiful, and imaginative. When I cant focus on my studies, I refocus by getting lost in this image. Thank you.

Wed April 6, 2011 at 5:50 pm

Ryan
"Multiscreen"
The multiscreen shows 19hrs remaining. I think folks are going to like this one...

Wed April 6, 2011 at 9:53 am

anna_writr
"Very tropical!"
Pretty scene, but I just realized why I don't like a lot of your beach scenes: I grew up in New England, where the beaches are interesting and covered with rocks and little pools full of star fish and crabs and seaglass and shells to find. I'd love to see you do a beach scene somewhere rocky!

Wed April 6, 2011 at 9:31 am

Wes
"Wish I was there!"
Unbelievable picture, aww inspiring work... except the dimensions aren't quite right with my Evo.. Just a heads up. Love your work though!

Wed April 6, 2011 at 6:01 am

Big Dave
"Oh yeah, dolphins baby!!! :)"
I love little touches like that!

Wed April 6, 2011 at 3:27 am

Roger
"Dolphins"
Took me a minute to find them. Love them!!

Tue April 5, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Ryan
"Re: Dolphins"
I wondered if anyone would notice ;)

Tue April 5, 2011 at 8:20 pm

Chris B
"Woah"
totally didn't notice them until you said it!



I spy with my little eye...

Tue April 5, 2011 at 7:29 pm

Tyler
"3 dolphins in the water..."
Just noticed that, and obviously not on the PJ version. Very nice work Mr. Bliss!

Tue April 5, 2011 at 12:46 am

Tom
"Your Best Work In Years!"
Nice work, Ryan! This is my new favorite!

Tue April 5, 2011 at 0:18 am

kaycei
"Another request for dual screen"
Please? This one is great.

Mon April 4, 2011 at 8:42 pm

Paul
"Tropic of Thetis "
Ryan, You truly out did yourself. This picture is got to be my all time favorite.

Keep up the good work!

Mon April 4, 2011 at 6:46 pm

Chris B
"Bioluminescence would be cool"
Maybe some rain in the scene making it glow. It was awesome during night dives in Bonaire. As you were swimming out on the surface it was as if you were covered in blue fire or moving at warp speed or something.



http://aquaviews.net/explore-the-blue/bioluminescent-plankton-what-makes-it-glow/



and some cool youtube videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1Yxq8KMsw

Mon April 4, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Sebastian
"Yet another tropical masterpiece"
It makes me *so* want to go there! :P



MOARRRRRRR!!!!! :D

Mon April 4, 2011 at 3:56 pm

Anderson
"Best clouds yet!"
I love this one, partly because it has the most realistic-looking clouds you've ever done (and I, for one, really like the large gas giant in the sky!)



My vote, too, for a night version of this, which would essentially be an update to Thetis Moon.

Mon April 4, 2011 at 2:36 pm

Nate F
"Wow!"
Now thats what I'm saying. Great update water is now fixed.

Mon April 4, 2011 at 12:58 am

Daniel
"Ditto on Night Version"
Perhaps with some bioluminescence in the water?

Mon April 4, 2011 at 12:38 am

Nightwynd
"Night Scene"
Make this a night scene also, please..but not too dark, hard to see some of the detail in your nightscenes sometimes.

Mon April 4, 2011 at 5:58 am

Les
"I love Thetis..."
Tropical Moon of Thetis is one of my all time favorites. Thanks for bringing it back Ryan!

Mon April 4, 2011 at 1:44 am

Darren
"Stunning, but..!"
Love the moon, water and clouds in the revised image, but the lines in the sand really need to be smoothed out near the waters edge...

Sun April 3, 2011 at 8:16 pm

James
"Wow..."
I don't post very often, but this is one of my favorites. Your recent additions were perfect. Just looking at my desktop takes me worlds away.

Sun April 3, 2011 at 7:45 pm

Jeff
"JB26354"
Ryan, I think this is one of your best renders ever! I relax just looking at it. Thanks as always.

Sun April 3, 2011 at 3:29 pm

Chris B
"Love the water in this one, you can see just beneith it."
and you can always run pandora on a different machine ;)

Sun April 3, 2011 at 2:28 pm

littlemom
"Beautiful"
This is very nice reminds me of the lazy days of summer. And the Water is great.

Sun April 3, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Mike
"Could we have dual screen?"
I would really like a dual screen version of this please.

Sun April 3, 2011 at 12:28 am

David
"Water"
Definite improvement on the water. Put a turtle swimming around under there :P Also any way we can get the water a little clearer so we can see more of the bottom further out?

Sun April 3, 2011 at 12:07 am

Dan
"Yes!!"
This one is even better, but I have nothing bad to say about the first render. This one is just as good and then some! These are my favorite of your works.

Sun April 3, 2011 at 11:46 am

Enriqua White
"Nice but.."
I like that you used darker colors and defined the lines, but I think that that wallpaper would be better without Saturn in the background

Sun April 3, 2011 at 10:43 am

ben
"noink!"
New droid x wallpaper! Hooray!

Sun April 3, 2011 at 10:10 am

will
"even better"
this is coming along great ryan! i still feel like the surf on the beach is a little off, but otherwise everything looks awesome. id love to see a sunset version

Sat April 2, 2011 at 10:21 pm

Adam M
"Wow"
Now THAT'S a nice one... I love most everything you make, but this one is right up my alley!

Sat April 2, 2011 at 10:15 pm

Jeff K
"OMG"
The update looks great! Makes me want to be there right now!

Sat April 2, 2011 at 7:21 pm

Ryan
"Update"
I've just added an updated render. There are still a tweak or two I would like to make but this is a nice intermediate step.

Sat April 2, 2011 at 7:04 pm

Simon
"Nice!"
Omg Ryan, where did you take this picture??:b



This one looks pretty neat!!(:

Sat April 2, 2011 at 8:00 am

Christian
"Droid version"
Looking good on Samsung Galaxy S, but the proportions is a bit of (picture is a bit too tall)

Fri April 1, 2011 at 1:30 pm

lily
"Tropic of Thetis "
I love it, Ryan! The colors are spectacular! Thank you!

Thu March 31, 2011 at 8:38 pm

Miguell026
"tropic of Thetis 2k11"
don“t worry Ryan!

we wait as long as necessary for it!

I'm a fan of your work since 1999 and is not 24 hours that's gonna kill me!^^



a masterpiece should never be rushed!



hey maybe you can sweeten it up bit! sometimes these bad things happen for a good reason!



keep it up!



Cheers from Oporto city - Portugal

Thu March 31, 2011 at 3:51 pm

Ryan
"Jinxed"
I think I jinxed it. Not an hour later after I posted the update below, my machine locked up. About 24 hours of rendering lost...

I think I now know what is causing the lockups, so I should be able to avoid them in the future. I will miss you Pandora...

Thu March 31, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Labanimal
"Thetis"
Thanks for the update ryan, can't wait for the triple screen render! I must admit, I'm super jealous of you getting 3x 30"monitors... dwarfs my 3x24"sammies...

I'm also super excited to see how your triple setup would influence your designs!

Thu March 31, 2011 at 2:51 pm

Ryan
"Update"
I have an updated rendering right now (about 80% finished) and I hope to have it up sometime tomorrow. The water looks a lot better and the clouds have shifted to reveal a risen Thetis...

Thu March 31, 2011 at 1:34 pm

horcruxhp
"I like it!"
Ryan does it yet again! I can hardly wait for the dual screen versions of this and Dolmen.

Thu March 31, 2011 at 10:51 am

Ryan
"@Daniel"
The watermarks in the wallpaper sized files are much smaller. Oh geez, I hope people don't think that all of my wallpapers have such a large URL! I may need to redo these preview graphics.

Thu March 31, 2011 at 10:38 am

Daniel
"my bad"
okay, I just downloaded it, and take back my previous comment about the signature. I didn't realize it would not be the same as the picture above. Wonderful job.

Thu March 31, 2011 at 9:38 am

Daniel
"beautiful, but..."
wonderful scene, but the size and prominence of the signature makes it completely unusable.

Thu March 31, 2011 at 9:32 am

Chris
"Amused"
I'm amused that this, for you, is a "doodle" ... you make me laugh, dude, because of your incredible talent :)

Wed March 30, 2011 at 10:44 pm

Brent
"Visual Therapy"
I'm up here in eastern Ontario, it's early spring and the ice'n'snow still hasn't completely melted from the yard. I needed this image on my desktop to keep my head on strait. I'd love to walk into the image in my mind and leave a few footprints.

Wed March 30, 2011 at 3:16 pm

Tom
"Tropic of Thetis - My New Fave!"
This is the perfect Rx for Spring Fever! I personally love it! Just as I thought, it was inspired by spring break. I can't wait to see the final product. This "rough draft" is good enough to be my new desktop wallpaper, and my new fave! Keep up the good work, Ryan!

Tue March 29, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Tamara
"Thetis revisited"
I love your Thetis series... this one in its incomplete state is fantastic, as I'll put it on my work computer wallpaper and let people wonder where I've been. It's got a lovely light look to it; reminds me of some shots I took in Bermuda. I eagerly await the version with the planet herself visible.

Tue March 29, 2011 at 4:27 pm

Scott
"Planetscapes Rock!"
Definitely makes me long for summer with this cold weather sticking around. Big fan of Crucible Planet, wouldn't mind seeing another render in that family. I agree with Cougz, this is why I am a lifetime member!

Tue March 29, 2011 at 2:50 pm

TGUN25
"Dual Screen???"
We need a dual screen version!! :-)

Tue March 29, 2011 at 12:13 am

Andy
"Nice!"
Queensland AUS the sunshine state! :P



Love the render by the way!

Tue March 29, 2011 at 2:19 am

Big Dave
"Dolphins and crabs!!!"
I'm really liking it so far and can't wait to see the final multi-screen version. I want to be there! Might I suggest adding a pod of dolphins or maybe some crabs on the beach?

Mon March 28, 2011 at 3:32 pm

Mike K.
" "
Cool to see you revisit the Thetis series, I've enjoyed them all.



Even without the planet I'm making this my background.



Only complaint - colors seem a bit over-saturated for my liking. Maybe tone it down a bit for the final version.

Mon March 28, 2011 at 2:52 pm

Buddercup
"Beautiful!"
I love love love this one. I could stare at it for hours.

Mon March 28, 2011 at 2:49 pm

Foz
"Just gotta do it"
Just cropped the largest version and tiled it across my duel monitors. It looks sweet!

Mon March 28, 2011 at 3:31 am

Cougz
"Thetis"
Oh yes. This is why I am a lifetime member...

Mon March 28, 2011 at 2:56 am

Miguell026
"Tropic of Thetis (2011)"
oh yeah!! this one promisses to be a sweet exotic....tropical scenario!



nice Ryan! it will be Beautifull!

Sun March 27, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Hoverwolf1
" "
Beautiful--You did this as a doodle? Can't wait to see it finished. It makes me wonder what other scenes could be found on Thetis and its moons. For that matter, it also makes me wonder if you have any other sketches just lying around that might be worth sharing.

Sun March 27, 2011 at 0:49 am

Tim H
"Awesome"
Exactly what I was hoping you would do next. Perfect time of year for something tropical. Fantastic job ryan.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 10:49 pm

Clayton
"Triple Screen"
If you can make a 7680x1600 of this that would be AWESOME!!! Love the picture either way!!

Sat March 26, 2011 at 3:15 pm

Jenanne
"You're the Best!"
Your quick doodles are other artists finished renders. Amazing! I'm looking forward to you adding one of your beautiful planets to the scene.



GeneralB says: "...have you ever done a rainy scene? It'd be interesting to see the foliage moving in the strong wind preceding a roiling storm."



I love billowing stormclouds. You did something like that with "The Fisherman"; the sky was one of my favorite elements in that render. It might work well for this one. Even better if the storm is just descending, the rain just beginning to sweep across the scape. Just an idea. Maybe in another render if not in this one.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 2:19 pm

Nate F
"9/10"
I really like this one. Nice happy colours, picturesque.



My only negative, which why i held back from a 10, is that the waterline does not seem entirely natural. A bit too linear if you ask me. If you made it a bit more 'randomized' so to say, it would seem more realistic.



Otherwise fantastic, will be adding this one to the collection promptly.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 2:02 pm

Dennis M.
"More from Thetis!"
Someone must have built a citadel here somewhere on this moon. I really like multiple images from the "same" exotic location. It fills my imagination with an entire world.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 12:37 am

Geep
"Reminds me of..."
First of all let me this is stunning. Its both simple and clean, but still breathtakingly lovely. I like it as is, but it might be even better with the planet.

Lastly, it kinda reminds me of Super Mario Sunshine. :P The sunny clean beach just makes me think of that game. I wish I could play it again, haha.

Fantastic work and I hope your vacation was awesome!

Sat March 26, 2011 at 12:10 am

BM
"Tropic of Thetis "
LOVE IT !!!!



Would also like to see another version with a few less clouds.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 10:11 am

RC
"Tropic of Thetis "
Love it. Simple, clean, uncluttered. Looks better on my desktop than some of the more "involved" ones have.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 8:59 am

SaltyPeppr
"Love It Love It Love It"
Having been to soo many islands in the tropics just like this, this brings back so many memories, I saw this and feel absolutely in love. I feel like I've been waiting for this pic since I first saw Island Time way back when.

Seriously Ryan. Don't change a thing.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 6:25 am

Atma
"Just a doodle ?"
It's just excellent !



Maybe the vegetation on the ground could be more diversified. It looks like there is only one kind of plant.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 6:06 am

Nightwynd
"Very beautiful...BUT..."
Why does your logo have to be so big? It interferes with the scene, almost making it unusable!!

Sat March 26, 2011 at 4:32 am

Byteful
"Amazed"
I know that what I see is NOT a "Photograph", But, How the heck do you make it look so GD Real?? It just amazes me when I see your work and wonder just how the heck you are able to do these WONDERFUL works when I can't even draw a straight line when even using a ruler. LOL

Sat March 26, 2011 at 3:20 am

GeneralB
"Prefer it Planetless"
Planets would detract from the scene. In a place of natural beauty like this, I think focusing on exotic wildlife (Toucans!) would more interesting addition.



Or, have you ever done a rainy scene? It'd be interesting to see the foliage moving in the strong wind preceding a roiling storm.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 2:27 am

RobO
"A note on the planets"
Tropic of Thetis is beautiful (as usual) but a bit bland.



And the planets: I really don't like them much in this kind of scenery. I think they in general disturb a nice picture. They look unreal when set in this background, usually because they are too large.

Sat March 26, 2011 at 0:51 am

Jenna
"Night scene?"
I think this would be awesome as a night scene after the moon is added. :D

But I definitely like it already. Thumbs up!

Sat March 26, 2011 at 0:25 am

WusabiWah
"Tropic of Thetis (2011)"
You have GOT to make a triple screen of this!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 9:23 pm

dejerdejer
"cool"
I love it but just like doleman it isnt finished. it still looks a little rought around the edges and not that nice sharp clean look we are use to. this is going to be great when it is finished. but not gallery worthy just yet same with doleman.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 9:05 pm

Dragon
"Love the Water"
Water Water Water

Fri March 25, 2011 at 7:26 pm

Jeff
"It's rough .. and it's already a "WOW!""
This is going to look amazing when it's done. It's already very good.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 7:06 pm

Bel
"Love it"
It is so nice...want to be there..

Fri March 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm

Lidia
"Tropic of Thetis"
What a nice image to look at after such a snowy first week of Spring! Now I want to take a vacation too...



Are your vacation pictures posted somewhere other than Facebook? I don't have a Facebook account, but I'd love to see them...

Fri March 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm

JMattner
"little bit artifical look"
Hey, good idea. This is sort of a holiday render.

But in this state the water looks a little bit "flat" and artifical. The shoreline too looks a little bit to "even".

But: great idea. Could be a very good picture with a little tweaking.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Pat A
"Just What A Rain-Weary Member Needed"
I live in northen California, and it's been raining for weeks...this is so lovely....just like a mini-vacation away from all the rain and gloom...thanks

Fri March 25, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Lawrence
"legraves"
I know you said you were not finish with this rendering but I was thinking if you were to add a beige to the sandy areas it would in my opinion be a very beautiful addition. Just a thought.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 3:38 pm

D
"Triple 30" Workstation"
I hope when you get your new workstation with triple 30" setup you'll start creating images in multi-screen format first and then just crop them for single screen use. Then we'll never have to wait for (and pester you about) the multi-screen versions. ;-)

Fri March 25, 2011 at 3:37 pm

John
"awesome"
This is amazing for a "doodle" hehe. I love the clouds by the way. Will we be graced with a dual screen version? ;)

Fri March 25, 2011 at 3:24 pm

D
"DB Multi-Screen"
I hope when you get your new workstation with triple 30" setup you'll start creating images in multi-screen format first and then just crop them for single screen use. Then we'll never have to wait for (and pester you about) the multi-screen versions. ;-)

Fri March 25, 2011 at 2:31 pm

David
"Nice"
Looks great, however the water doesn't particularly look real, IE I can't see to the bottom or any reflections or anything.. is there anything that can be done to improve it?



Multiscreen please!!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 2:11 pm

Psyclone
"It's like a little vacation on my screen! "
I freaking LOVE this series. Almost as much as Fluorescence. Maybe a little more, even. I can't wait to see this finished, but this version is going up NOW.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 2:10 pm

Jo
"Perfect"
Love it! Sun, sand and palm trees, other than being there what more could a person ask for.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Roberto
"I love it"
I love this picture Ryan. My new wallpaper!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 1:50 pm

Steven
"Finally, Sun Shine"
Living just south of Seattle, it will be nice to have some sun shine both inside and out because it has been mostly doom & gloom the last few months with short bursts of the big bright circle shinning down.



Thank you!



P.S. Not sure I can relay my thought process correctly on this but here goes... I am hoping to get more insight on what the process is to create these wonderful master peaces. I enjoy the wallpapers, but knowing how much work/time/tinkering would be even cooler. What the thought process was when creating the item? Just a couple paragraphs stating what changed and maybe why, a few simple low res images to give story board of what it started as and what it ended being would be great.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 12:38 am

Dan
"I love it!"
These are my favorite images of yours. Anything that depicts nature and the outdoors. But I really love tropical, beach like scenes!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 12:34 am

Labanimal
"Tropic of Thetis (2011)"
Looking forward to the final! Can be a little darker... better water etc...



Can't wait!!!! ;)

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:52 am

Gary
"White!!!"
The white sands are almost TOO white... but I love the water.

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:49 am

Paul M.
"Tropic of Thetis (2011)"
Ryan, "Tropic of Thetis" is very nice. I have always loved islands and blue skys. Great Job!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:44 am

Nico
"Tropic of Thetis"
Looks nice but the trees need more focusing - the water is beautiful!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:41 am

littlemom
"Very nice"
I love it!!!!!!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:38 am

Courtney J
"Love it!"
I love the entire concept of this picture, I just wish it was a little more "developed" with the trees, and lighting and such. This looks a little rough. Hope you can get a new workstation soon!

Fri March 25, 2011 at 11:29 am

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