Posted on May 21, 2012

A couple of items to mention today. First, I’ve been working on an update (of sorts) to “Anemones” from 2001 and I’m at a good point to share a render. The update, “Anemone“, is available for my Members on the new images page.

This one is a bit of a departure from the 2001 version I know. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

 

Secondly, quite a few folks thought my first render of “Atoll (Nightfall)” was a bit on the dark side. I rendered a special version for print (which requires a brighter image) and decided the new version was also an improvement as a wallpaper. You’ll find the new render here (with the first version still available in the Pickle Jar).

Which do you prefer?

Posted on May 17, 2012

I’ve added dual and triple-screen versions of “Atoll (Nightfall)” to the Members Gallery this morning. I’m still deciding whether or not this is the final version but I am leaning towards moving on for now…

Facebook users can download a free version for your “Timeline” cover photo here.

Posted on May 16, 2012

There were a number of reasons why it made send to tear down my “Atoll” scene and rework it to render faster.

One reason (see below) was that I wanted to produce a render for multiple monitors. Another was so that I could create the much-requested nighttime version. After posting the multiscreen day version this morning I set to work on the night scene.

My first crack at it is now available in my Members Gallery.

I’m not sure this is going to be the final version of the night scene, but I thought it looked nice enough to share. Let me know what you think!

One of the main reasons I tore down and reworked my “Atoll (2012)” scene was so that I could render a proper multiscreen version in a reasonable timeframe. I’m happy to report that the dual and triple-screen versions are now available to my Members.

The free version for your Facebook Timeline cover can be found here.

The scene took a mere 32 hours to render at 7680 x 1600. I think it turned out rather well myself. What do you think?

Posted on May 14, 2012

I was very pleased to read your comments on Atoll but I also felt bad for my multiscreen users.

They knew, correctly, that I wasn’t going to tie up Bucephalus for another 3 weeks to produce a 7680 x 1600 version. However, as I was working to produce a high res version of “Blue Christmas” (for my longtime partners at Art in Design) I stumbled across a possible reason for the astronomical rendering times.

I discovered that if I use standard terrain meshes instead of “procedural” terrains the render times went way down. I bit the bullet and tore down my “Atoll” scene and rebuilt it using the standard terrains. Lo and behold, the new version rendered in under 14 hours!

I’ve added the new version of “Atoll” to the Members Gallery this morning. The water should be less grainy and I’ve made it a bit more transperent to show a bit more of the corals I had placed there. I’ve also brightened the gas giant a bit and tweaked the lighting on the planets a bit. You can still find the original version in the Pickle Jar for comparison.

I hope you like the new version. I am going to get cracking on the multiscreen (and perhaps a night version) right away!

Posted on May 9, 2012

It took far longer to render than I ever dreamt possible, but my new version of “Atoll” is finally finished and posted in the Members Gallery for your review. Vue d’Esprit will let your render very realistic looking mist, but be prepared to wait for it.

I hope you find it was worth the wait. As Shakespeare said: “All’s well that ends well”. It may be a little while before I can get the multiscreen up however…

A couple of other items to mention this morning:

I did a brief Q&A with DecalGirl that they featured on their Facebook page here. Give it a read if you are interested.

Lastly, Zazzle is having a big sale this week in conjunction with teacher appreciation week. Posters and calendars are 60% off if you use the coupon code “TEACHERSWEEK” at checkout.

I purchased this one during the last sale.

Looking forward to getting busy on some new projects now that I have Bucephalus back!