Recommended Links

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Superior Art Sites

Craig Mullins is a genius. He focuses more on painting than CG but I have to include him in this list. His work is simply amazing. Go check it out!

InterfaceLIFT is one of the top user generated wallpaper sites. It allows you to submit your own artwork (3D, 2D, or photographic) and have it be seen my thousands of users every day. Resolutions are available for the PSP all the way up to 30 inch widescreens. Custom Icons and Themes for both Windows and Mac are also available. An editor screens all of the submissions and only the best work is allowed on the site. It’s a quality site and shouldn’t be missed.

Greg Martin specializes in dreamy space scenes. I first learned of Greg when he submitted his work to my User Gallery. Be sure to check out his awesome poster gallery!

Vison Afar showcases Gary Tonge’s incredible space artwork. This stuff will take you to another world. Jaw-dropping good!

3D Sceneries is Markus Gann’s wonderful Terragen gallery. Definitely some of the best Terragen I’ve seen.

Horizons showcases the stunning work of one Andrew Vaudin, (a.k.a. Androo). Androo claims that Digital Blasphemy was one of the two sites which inspired him to start making his own art. Words simply can’t express how awesome that makes me feel, because his work is truly astounding. In fact I dare say he is a far better landscape designer than I. Do yourself a favor and go there now.

Terra Galleria is Quang-Tuan Luong awesome photography gallery. I normally don’t link to photography websites, but this one really caught my eye. Tuan’s been all over the world taking extraordinary photos and has put them up on his website for use as wallpapers. He runs a membership gallery for access to his hi-res images, but I recommend you give it a look. You won’t be disappointed. First rate stuff!

Shifted Reality is Juergen Eilts’s beautiful wallpaper gallery. I first saw Juergen’s work when he submitted to my User Gallery all the way back in 2000. It been a pleasure to see his skills grow and his work improve. He has a real gift for lighting and scene composition. Great stuff (all free too)!

Misc. Links and Cool Stuff

Ars Technica is the first place I look for tech news and reviews. I’ve enjoyed lurking in their forums (user: Shalafi) since 2001. It’s a daily visit (addiction) for me.

CG Talk is one of the finest computer graphics message boards on the web. Another of my daily visits.

I’m something of a weather nerd, and Weather Underground is where I go for weather info.

One of my hobbies is collecting movies. I keep up with the new releases at The Digital Bits and DVD Talk. Both are wonderful resources.

I grew up in Illinois, about halfway between Chicago and St. Louis. Around here people are split about 60/40 between cheering for Chicago teams and St. Louis teams. I happen to swing towards Chicago (I’m a Cubs fan, my Dad loves the Sox) and to keep up with my teams I check out Chicagosports.com daily.

I love reading SF and Fantasy (perhaps you can see the influence in my work). My favorite destination for keeping up with the latest SF/Fantasy news is SF Site. Be sure to check out their reviews section.

I listen to a lot of music while creating my wallpapers. Here are links to some of my favorite bands/artists (in no particular order with a very loose genre description):

• Muse — “Progressive” Rock
• Dispatch — Alternative/Indie Rock
• State Radio — Roots Reggae/Rock/Alt
• John Brown’s Body — Roots Reggae
• Soliders of Jah Army — Roots Reggae
• Groundation — Roots Reggae
• Matisyahu — Hasidic Reggae/Rap
• Iron and Wine — Folk
• Ozomatli — Latin/World/Hip-Hop/Funk/Rock
• My Morning Jacket — Southern Rock
• John Butler Trio — Roots/Jam Rock
• Regina Spektor — Alternative Rock
• Ben Harper — Soul/Reggae/Rock/Funk
• Jack Johnson — Surfer Rock
• Dave Matthews Band — Jam Rock
• O.A.R. — Jam Rock
• Azam Ali — World/New Age Vocal
• Lisa Gerrard — World/New Age Vocal
• Loreena McKennitt — Celtic/New Age Vocal
• Diana Krall — Jazz/Swing Vocal

One of my favorite hobbies is reading, and my favorite books are mostly Fantasy novels. Yeah, I’m that kind of geek. Here are some of my favorite authors (limited to books I read in the past few years):

• Patrick Rothfuss — Author of “The Name of the Wind”. This is probably the best book I’ve read in the past five years. Harry Potter for grown-ups. Definitely read his blog!
• Joe Abercrombie — Author of “The First Law Trilogy”. Turns all the fantasy cliches on their heads. Awesome! Also a prolific blogger.
• George R. R. Martin — His “Song of Ice and Fire” series reintroduced me to fantasy literature and taught me that it doesn’t have to be cliched. I went on to read a number of his other books and they’ve all been excellent.
• Brandon Sanderson — Author of “Elantris” and “Mistborn Trilogy”. His books are just so much fun to read and his worlds are so well developed.
• Scott Lynch — Author of “The Gentleman Bastards” series. Locke Lamora and Jean are like old friends after only two books. Great caper stories and a fascinating world.
• R. Scott Bakker — Author of “The Price of Nothing Trilogy”. Great adult fantasy.
• Dave Duncan — I’ve really been enjoying his “The Kings Blades” series; crisp, page-turning, fun.
• Robin Hobb — I loved her “Farseer” books
• J.V. Jones — Check out her “Sword of Shadows” series.

I’m always on the lookout for more great reads. If you have any recommendations based on what I’ve listed above I would love to hear them. Drop me a line!