Posted on June 11, 2021

Misty Mountains (Moonlight)

I haven’t decided if I want to add more lighting to this but I thought you guys should be able to use the dark version (like I have been) while I tinker. Some folks I’m sure would like to see the moon in frame, but I chose to keep it higher in the sky so the moonlight would fall on the mountain.

Let me know what you think. Dual and triple-screen versions available.

Posted on June 6, 2021

Misty Mountains (Sunrise)

I will probably also do a night version of this scene but I also wanted to do one with the mountain lit by the “break of day”. This one actually took twice as long to render due to the shadows on the clouds and the sunbeams.

“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.”
~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I hope you enjoy the scene! Dual and triple-screen versions available.

Posted on June 1, 2021

Misty Mountains

After rendering many nebulae and other ethereal forms over the past week I felt the need to step back and create something relatively solid. The mountain was modeled using Gaea and the scene was rendered using VUE. Yes, I am invoking Tolkien with the title (though I sure some are hearing Zeppelin right now) 🙂

“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.”
~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I hope you enjoy the scene! Dual and triple-screen versions available.

Posted on May 24, 2021

Interstellar

I’ve spent the last week or so learning how to use Blender’s volumetric system. My goal is to create 3D nebulae but I still have quite a bit to figure out. This first attempt is pretty rough yet and not quite what I initially had in mind, but I think it’s a nice proof-of-concept for now.

I’ve seen some really interesting things done with Blender’s volumetrics so stay tuned 🙂

Posted on May 14, 2021

Tropical Moon of Amatheia

I designed “Amatheia” in Blender (my first Blender planet) with the end goal of doing a “tribute” to the 20 year old “Tropical Moon of Thetis“. The “day” version was a bit of a departure but hopefully this scene will evoke the original.

I rendered quite a few different atmospheres before settling on this one and I will share some of those in the Pickle Jar down the line.

I hesitate to call this a “night” version, because the sun angle here implies that it’s still day time. How is this possible astronomically?? Easy! Off frame there’s another moon eclipsing the sunlight momentarily 🙂