Posted on March 24, 2015

Project Shadowfax is now underway!

I’ve ordered the following parts this morning…

• CPUs: 2x Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 Haswell 2.6GHz LGA 2011-3 (14 cores each)
• Memory: 16x Crucial 8GB (128GB total) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC DDR4 2133 (PC4-17000)
• GPU: 1 Nvidia Titan X for Shadowfax and GTX 980s for Bucephalus and Arion.
• Case: Phanteks Enthoo Series Primo
• MB: ASUS Z10PE-D16 SSI EEB Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 R3
• Display: 3 BenQ BL3201PH 32″ IPS LED 4K Monitors
• Boot Drive: SAMSUNG 850 Pro Series 1TB SATA III (SSD)
• Data Drive: Seagate ST4000NM0024 4TB
• PSU: SeaSonic X-1250

The fundraiser was so successful that I’ve been able to purchase a 3rd machine (a Bucephalus clone) that will act as a third renderer! I will be calling this machine “Arion“.

My plan is to have three machines with each one hooked up to a 4K monitor on my desk. The actual machines will be in a room below me in my basement (keeping cool hopefully). Then I can just switch between them and work/render 3 projects at a time!

I will shut the fundraiser down when 48 hours elapse between donations. All funds that I’ve received beyond the initial goal will be used to update my software arsenal and generally help keep DB running for another year.

All support is appreciated but keep in mind that GoFundMe takes around 8% of your donation whereas if you give through my site directly I only pay around 3% 🙂

Lifetime Members looking to continue supporting my work can check out my homebrewed Patrons program or my new Patreon page.

Huge thank you again to everyone who helped with Project Shadowfax!! I will post pics here as the pieces start coming together.

 

Posted on March 23, 2015

I blew past my Project Shadowfax funding goals yesterday with one well-timed email to my Lifetime Members. Thank you!!

What will I do with the extra funds? I have a lot of ideas. Upgrade my software (new version of LightWave 3D, Octane, Helios, CityEngine, GeoGlyph are all on my list).

I would love to move my workstations to a (much cooler) room in my basement and work on them from my office upstairs. I would love for my office to not sound like the deck of an aircraft carrier and be 15 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. Beyond that I might have enough to to build a third machine to house the 48 GB of RAM that I just pulled out of Bucephalus. In short, the extra support will go to good use!! Huge thanks to everyone who donated. I had to order another 500 “Highland Spring” Thank You cards this morning!!

 

Posted on March 10, 2015

So many folks have requested a green Fluorescence for St. Paddy’s day over the years. Why haven’t I done it before? Good question. I just remembered today because I wanted to use a green version of “Fluorescence” for my Facebook Page Profile Pic but saw to my chagrin that I didn’t have one!

Rather than simply shift the hue of the blue version using Photoshop I chose to re-shade and re-render the mushrooms using “shamrock green” (#009E60). Since I went to all that trouble I thought I should probably post the wallpaper for my Members (multiscreens available too!).

Please enjoy responsibly!! Stay tuned for the multiscreen version of “Weirwood” and something new…

Posted on March 5, 2015

 

“The weirwood’s bark was white as bone, its leaves dark red, like a thousand bloodstained hands. A face had been carved in the trunk of the great tree, its features long and melancholy, the deep-cut eyes red with dried sap and strangely watchful.” — A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

I’m a huge “Song of Ice and Fire” fan and I’ve wanted to do a render of a “heart tree” for a long time. I’ve posted a series of “making of” photos on my Instagram account if anyone is interested.

As with all of my Vue d’Esprit renders lately, this one took an extremely long time to finish at 5K. Of course I am planning to do a multiscreen but it may be a while. If you are already a Member and a fan of my multiscreen renders I ask that you consider supporting my “Project Shadowfax” which should greatly speed up the process of bringing you artwork for your multiple screens!!

Posted on March 4, 2015

Here are the exclusive “Highland Spring” thank you cards that will go out to everyone who donates $20 or more to Project Shadowfax. Each card will be hand-signed on the front by myself and on the back by the whole Bliss family…

I hope to have my newest render up tomorrow so stay tuned!!