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 updated 01/25/128.29/10 rating (100 votes) comments (32) |
02/21/12
First, I have brought back the Digital Blasphemy User Gallery and am now accepting submissions again. If you've been inspired by my artwork or just feel that my users would enjoy your 3D renders please feel free to submit your work!
A few of items to mention today.
Second, the consensus seems to be that "Annuli3" is the superior wallpaper out of the different options I've made available. It will now represent this fractal in my gallery while the rest will remain in the Pickle Jar.
Lastly, I have a new landscape project going now so I doubt I will do any versions of this one. No ETA yet but it is showing promise!
02/18/12
I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of Annuli to the Members Gallery this afternoon. I've added a free version for Facebook Timelines as well.
I've also added a version in the Pickle Jar with the focal point a little closer to the camera. What do you think? Should I add a few color variations too?
Lastly I wanted to share this short video of Ian playing with my Dad. I shot it back in 2006 and times like this were the reason I moved my family cross-country 7 years ago.
02/17/12
I've added "Annuli", my third Mandelbulber abstract, to the Members Gallery this morning.
I've gotten in the habit of playing around with Mandelbulber on my Macbook Pro while my other workstations are busy rendering Vue or Lightwave graphics. It seems to be the only 3D art program I can use on my MBP without crashing the video card.
I'm still learning Mandelbulber so my early renders are still all about trying different aspects of the program. I was learning how to use different light sources for this particular render (rather than shading the model directly).
I should have a multiscreen render up shortly.
02/16/12
I've added one final version of "The Floating Garden (Twilight)" to the Members Gallery this morning.
I've replaced the orange sunlight with moonlight and brought back the green water. It's quite a bit darker than the Pickle Jar versions (all with orange/pink sunlight) but I think it fits better with the original.
Dual and triple-screen versions are available for Members and I've added a free version for Facebook Timelines here.
A couple of other items to mention.
First, I've added "Hidden Forces" to the Free Gallery. If you like the wallpaper check out the dynamic PS3 theme from Disruptive Publishers (YouTube).
Also, I have put together a small sampling of my late Father's artwork here if anyone is interested.
Dad went to Illinois Weslyan University on a football scholarship but injured his knee early in his freshman year. He never played college football again but while he was recovering he took up painting.
I'm not sure if he ever took any art classes, but he enjoyed being creative until the end.
02/14/12
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
For those that who haven't yet signed up I've added "Hybrid" to the free gallery today here. Members can find a few more resolutions here and my two other "Valentine's Day" wallpapers here.
Enjoy the roses and feel free to share them!
02/13/12
I've added one more version of "The Floating Garden (Twilight)" to the Members Gallery this morning. This one is somewhere between the first two.
I've cut back on the sunlight a bit and turned back on some of the lights in the water. I'm sticking with the blue for now.
I haven't, of course, had a whole lot of time for artwork these past couple of weeks but I am looking forward to being creative again.
02/11/12
I've also added the dual and triple-screen versions of "The Unveiling" this morning.
You will also find a free version of "The Unveiling" for use on your Facebook Timeline profile here. The multiscreen took a bit longer to render than usual since my Hydra workstation shorted out last month and I am down to my 3rd string renderer.
02/07/12
It has been a very difficult past week for me and my family but having all of these great pictures of my Dad really helps.
A lot of people thought (and still think) that I was crazy to move my family from sunny San Diego back to farm country. It seemed like an easy decision at the time because I was infected by the joy my parents shared at the arrival of my son Ian.
As I wrote on this page back in 09/2004: "Those of you who live in the Midwest may think that I have gone crazy. We are giving up the best weather in the country and moving back to blizzards, ice storms, and sub-zero temps (and the opposite extremes of heat and humidity). It does feel a little crazy, but Jessie and I have decided that it is more important that Ian grow up with an extended family who loves him."
I've been looking over the photos of my Dad and two boys over the past 7 years and I still think we did the right thing in moving back to Illinois. I am happy that I got to reconnect with my Dad but I don't know if that makes his passing easier or harder. All I know is that I will miss him dearly and I am glad he was a big part of my life these past 8 years.
Be on the lookout for a possible "sunset" version of "The Floating Garden" in the days ahead. I am really looking forward to making new artwork.
02/04/12
I haven't had a lot of time for making artwork this past week. I had a few moments alone yesterday however and I used them to put together a multiscreen version of "The Floating Garden". Members can download it here.
A free version for Facebook Timelines is available for all to use here.
I still consider this scene to be a work-in-progress so don't be surprised if another version or two supersede this one. I have already posted one Pickle Jar version from early on.
The whole creative process was horribly interrupted.
I also wanted to mention that the fine folks at Disruptive Publishers have released a new dynamic PS3 theme based on my "Hidden Forces" wallpaper. Here is the rest of their collection.
Their work keeps getting better and better!
01/31/12
I would just like to say thanks to everyone for the kind words posted here and on my Facebook account regarding the recent sudden loss of my father. I am still reeling from all of this but it helps that my four brothers and my sister are all together now sharing stories and laughing/crying through our memories.
The hardest part of all of this, for me, is thinking about what my two boys are going to miss out on. I feel like I am greiving for the three us. Seven years ago my wife and I made the decision to move our family from sunny San Diego back to my hometown in Illinois so my kids could grow up with two grandparents around. Rather than rue the past however, I will try to be thankful for the few years we did have together.
One thing that I always knew about my Dad was that he loved to make things, whether it be music, painting, or Christmas presents for his grandkids. He loved telling stories.
I would like to think that his creative spirit will live on in my work. I am looking forward to sharing some of his paintings with you in the weeks ahead.
I've added "The Floating Garden" to the Members Gallery today. I've been working on this project for the past week or so and the render finally finished yesterday. Now I haven't decided if I am truly finished with it or not, but I thought it looked nice enough to post as is. I am not sure when I will be able to pick up work on it again.
I had thought to dedicate this to my father, but decided against it. I will create something more fitting in the future. Thanks again to everyone for the condolenses and prayers. They have helped more than you can possibly know.
01/29/12
I just learned this morning that my father, Thurman Bliss, had an accident at his house last night and is gone. He was 66 years old. I am thankful that my last words to him (a few days ago over the phone) was "I Love You Dad".
My Dad was a farmer, a musician, an artist, and a great friend to his grown children. I know he was extremely proud of DB and the fact that so many people around the world enjoy my work.
I know he wouldn't have wanted anyone to be sad at his untimely passing, but then he doesn't get to make that call.
01/25/12
I've added "The Unveiling" to the Members Gallery this morning. This is a sequel of sorts to Enshrouded which I have put together to test out Vue d'Esprit 10's "Advanced Cloud Modulation" techniques.
Basically it allows me to contour the cloud layer to the curve of the terrain, so they appear to drape naturally over the landscape. It's a tricky procedure which I hope will be made simpler in future versions of Vue (so I don't have to edit height maps in Photoshop hopefully). To be honest I'm not even sure the effect is all that noticable in this render.
It is a powerful tool however, and one which I hope will bear more fruit in the future.
Your thoughts?
01/17/12
Thanks to everyone who voted for me in Lifehacker's "Top 5 Wallpaper Sites" poll! The poll closed late last night with DB leading Wallbase by 544 votes. You are now reading the web's "Most Popular Wallpaper Site", according to the readers of Lifehacker.
It's pretty amazing that a site with only 12 free wallpapers and a creaky interface can win out over over ones with the latest designs and millions of free files.
As a token of my appreciation please enjoy "The Fisherman", my first release from 2011 in the Free Gallery. If you would like to become a Member then please use the coupon code "lifehacker" to save 25% off all Memberships and Renewals until midnight tomorrow!
As a show of support my friends at DecalGirl are offering 38% (my the percentage of the vote) off my entire skin collection. Use coupon code "LIFEHACKER" to get the discount.
Thanks again for all the support!
01/15/12
The readers of Lifehacker have selected DB as one of the top 5 wallpaper sites online. It now comes down to a simple poll question to decide "the best".
I'm in some pretty good company so I hope you will have a look at the competition and then vote for your favorite!
As for me, I'm just thrilled to be in the top 5 given that my site is Member supported and I am the only "single artist" on the list.
Thanks for all the nominations!
01/11/12
Last week I added a set of free images sized for use as "cover images" in the new Facebook "Timeline" profile layout. In the process I was going through some of my older work and came across "Moonlit Oasis" from 2009.
I remember it was a bit controversial when I posted it because quite a few of my Members said it was too dark. I stuck to my guns at the time, but now I can really see their point.
I opened up the scene file (in Vue 10 this time) and tweaked the lighting and atmosphere just a bit and re-rendered it. The new version is now available in my 2009 gallery (I'll have to put an asterisk or something) and Members are welcome to download it.
Dual and triple-screen versions are available along with a free version for use as a Facebook profile cover image.
You can also find it in poster form on Zazzle.
I will let you be the judge as to whether or not it is better than the original.
Art is never finished, only abandoned. . .
01/09/12
I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "Archaea" to the Members Gallery this morning. I chose to zoom in a bit for this one so the "object" would span across multiple screens. Hope it works for you!
I've also added a free Facebook Cover Photo version for use on your Timeline. Enjoy!
01/08/12
I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "Gotham Garden (Winter)" to the Members Gallery this morning. This one was a bit tricky to convert because moving the camera completely changed the lighting solution. I tried to match the single-screen as best I could but you be the judge.
I've also added a free Facebook Cover Photo version for use on your Timeline. Enjoy!
01/06/12
One more addition the Members Gallery before the weekend. "Archea" is a Mandelbulber experiment I started on my Macbook Pro while I waited for my other machines to finish their renders.
I own a MacBook Pro which I use for "light work" while my main machines are rendering. I really should have picked up a Windows notebook, because I have all kinds of problems running Vue and Lightwave through Boot Camp. It crashes constantly!
The problem is with the mobile Nvidia 3D card, but since I am one of maybe a handful of people trying do 3D work in Windows on a MacBook there aren't many resources available to fix the problem.
One program that does work is Mandelbulber. I created this fractal while my main machines were busy with "The Gardener" and "Gotham Garden (Winter)". I "finished" it and rendered at 7680 x 4800 on Bucephalus.
The term "Archaea" refers to a group of single-celled organisms similar to bacteria. They don't really look like this (that I know of) but I liked the name. It's not easy naming these abstracts.
I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to check out my free Facebook Cover Images.
01/04/12
I've added dual and triple-screen renders of "The Gardener (2012)" to the Members Gallery this afternoon.
The astronomically observant will notice that I've removed the glow around the planet for this version. The single-monitor version will be updated soon. Hope you enjoy it!
I should also have the multiscreen version of "Gotham Garden (Winter)" finished shortly.
I also wanted to mention that I have added 248 images sized 850 x 315 to be used as Facebook "Timeline" cover images. You can check out an example at my own personal profile page.
These images are free for everyone to download and use. I haven't slapped a huge watermark on them (as I've seen on just about every other downloadable Timeline image) but I would certainly love it if you would include a link to DB (http://digitalblasphemy.com/ is fine) with the image.
As I said, they are free for all to download (look under the 850 x 315 image links under "Free Mobile Wallpapers" on my image pages). Members do have access to a zip file collection containing all 248 files here.
01/01/12
Happy 2012 everyone! I added "The Gardener (2012)" to the Members Gallery this morning. This was either going to be my last project of 2011 or my first of 2012.
It continues themes that I first explored with "The Gardener" in 2000 and 2002 and "Atrium" in 2004.
I hope you enjoy it!
Also wanted to report a bit of a setback in the hardware department. My Hydra workstation (pictured on the right here), which had been my main renderer from 2006 to April of last year, bit the bullet hard last week when the motherboard shorted out. I'm trying to decide right now whether to try salvage the system with a new MB (and potentially dodgy memory/components) or put together an all-new alternate renderer.
Regardless, your Memberships and Renewals are needed more than ever. Thanks!!
PS: Hoping to have the "Gotham Garden (Winter)" multiscreen finished within a day or two!
12/28/11
On Christmas day DB Member "Puritania" asked if I could possibly complete my Gotham Garden seasonal series by adding a winter version.
It took me about a year to get back to it but I am happy to report winter has finally come to Gotham. The changes needed for winter are a bit more complicated than for the warmer seasons but I think it turned out pretty well.I hope you enjoy it. I will try to have the multiscreen up shortly!
12/25/11
Taking a few minutes out of building Legos with the boys to post a new "night sky" version of "Blue Christmas" in my Pickle Jar.
I still prefer the sunset version myself but it's nice to have options. You could also load the versions into ChronoWall and have them change with the clock. Which do you prefer?
All of us at DB (myself, Jessie, Ian and Jason) wish you all the happiest of holidays and a wonderful 2012!
12/22/11
For my part; I chose to add some color because so many of my Christmas tree wallpapers have been under black skies. I wanted to do something a little different. Maybe Christmas isn't the time for "different" though. I tend to think that sometimes polarizing is a little better anyway, because it may be a stronger feeling for the people that do enjoy it.
What do you think? Either way I do think a second render will go up before I am completely finished with this one. The multiscreen in particular needs some nip-tucks before I am fully happy with it. I sort of rushed a few things so it would be ready in advance of the Holiday.
12/19/11
I finally managed to finish my Christmas render today and I've just added it to the Members Gallery.
This is, of course, an update to my "Blue Christmas" which I rendered first using World Builder in 1999, then again using Lightwave in 2002. This is my first version using Vue d'Esprit.
It would be an understatement to say that this was a difficult render to produce. Without getting too technical I will just say that you can really get yourself into trouble by cranking up the quality settings in Vue. Also, I've found the new version of Vue doesn't even begin to accurately estimate the render time remaining. I don't want to spoil the Holiday spirit with any further rantings so I will leave it at that.
Fortunately I was able to finish the render (though I had to restart it a few times) and I think it turned out pretty well. I do see a few things I would like to tweak but I might wait until after the Holidays to do any re-renders.
The multiscreen has been rendering on my alternate workstation for the past few days so it should be up shortly. I hope you enjoy the new wallpaper!
PS: Did you know that I offer Membership Gift Certificates?
12/10/11
I posted it anyway and set about re-rendering it with some new atmospheric settings to compensate for the wide-angle. That new render finished yesterday and I've updated the dual and triple-screen versions in my Member gallery.
My new Christmas render is nearly finished (!) and I hope to have it up in the next 24 hours.
Also, my 25% off coupon (good for both new subscriptions and renewals) expires at midnight tonight! Everyone (not just redditors) is welcome to use the coupon code "redditor" to get the discount.
12/8/11
On December 2nd I was sitting and waiting for a render to finish which I decided it would be fun to do an "IAMA" (Ask me Anything) on Reddit.com. Redditor "poker_face" asked if I could "draw" a Reddit Alien (TM). My answer was "We'll See", which was taken to mean no.
As my kids know, "We'll See" can sometimes mean yes. I had a such a nice visit with the Reddit community that I thought it was the least I could do to try my hand that the iconic Alien.
Most Redditors seemed to know me from my "Fluorescence" mushrooms so I thought it would be fun to combine the two. Especially since my Christmas render is still churning. I roughed this out and rendered it on my third-string workstation using Lightwave 10.
I've posted this in my free gallery and my Members gallery. I've also submitted to the Reddit here (Upvotes will help the entire community see it)
I'm also making good on all of the requests for a Reddit discount. Redditors can use the coupon code "redditor" to save 25% off all Memberships and Renewals until midnight Sunday.
This one is dedicated specifically to Redditor "Rethread". As requested: Something "warm and fuzzy" for the Redditors.
Christmas Wallpaper Update: This render is still churning away. The good news is that it will go much faster once the radiosity calculations are completed and I can save this calculation for future re-renders. Soon I hope!
12/05/11
I am still waiting for this Christmas render to finish. Thousands of tiny luminous objects on a 400MB mesh makes for a very complicated radiosity pre-gather...
Lastly, I was floored by the response to my AMA on Reddit last Friday. I only mean't to write answers for a couple of hours but it turned into an all-day affair with me re-connecting with a lot of fans who, for whatever reason, lost track of my work over the years.
Anyway, I had a blast answering as many questions/posts as I could and may have a little something for the Redditors coming up by way of thanks...
12/02/11
While I wait (and wait) for the Christmas render to finish I have decided to participate in a Q&A in Reddit. Feel free to ask your questions for the next hour or so.
Edit: 9 hours later it is the top rated AMA of the day. I've had a blast answering literally hundreds of questions. Will be doing clean-up replies for the next hours or so then movie night with the family.
11/28/11
Happy Cyber Monday! A few items to report today.
First, I've added a daytime version of my "Elegy (Winter)" scene to the Members Gallery this morning.
If you are using ChronoWall you can now set the night version to display in the evening and this new version during the day. Please give ChronoWall a try if you enjoy my time-of-day variations. For the rest of today the developer is offering 25% off if you use the coupon code blackfriday.Speaking of discounts, I am running my first ever "Cyber Monday" Special for today only.
New Members can save 25% or current Members can save 30% on any renewal by using the coupon code "cybermonday".Lastly, on the subject of "Cyber Monday", here's a rundown of my partner's deals today:
Zazzle is running a big sale for the next few hours. Their coupon code is "ZCYBERMONDAY". DecalGirl is also running a 25% off sale today (and has a couple of my Christmas designs available). Their coupon code is "TWENTYFIVE". Finally, Murals-Your-Way is offering 35% off any mural in stock.
Hope to have a new Christmas wallpaper up sometime this week so I hope you will check back!
11/23/11
What would you guys like to see next? Are you ready for some new Christmas art, or maybe a winter scene, or something else?
11/21/11
11/19/11
After rebuilding my "Octopus's Garden" file last weekend I decided to step away from it and work on something else for a bit. I hope you've enjoyed my Mandelbulber experiments. After the fractals went up I set about correcting some of the issues in my underwater scene.
I've posted a new version of "An Octopus's Garden" in the Members Gallery that moves the sun angle a bit lower, loses about half of the fish from v.2 and adds some strategically placed shadows in the immediate foreground. I hope you like the changes!
Now to get the multiscreens rolling!
PS: Here's a page I set up listing all of the new dynamic PS3 themes available.
11/17/11
I've been spending the last couple of days doing further experiments with Mandelbulber. It's truly an amazing program (and free to boot).
I've added one last new version to the Members Gallery this morning where I've moved the camera a good deal closer (this image shows the area I focused on). One of the defining characteristics of fractals is that the more you zoom in, the more detail appears. I suspect that the Universe operates in much the same way.
Thanks for everyone's patience while I learn something new. I hope to have a final version of "Octopus's Garden" up shortly. I needed to step away from that one for a bit.
PS: Check out ChronoWall!
11/15/11
And now for something completely different...
Fans of my work know I am fascinated by fractals. They appear, in one shape or form, in just about everything I do. Recently I learned of programs that allow you to explore them in three dimensions and finally was able to dig in and play with one (called Mandelbulber) over the weekend.
My first render is now up in the Members Gallery for review. I call it "Helios", suggested by my son Jason (5) who said it looked like a sunrise. My oldest son Ian felt it looked more like a Sarlaac.
I rendered it at 5280 x 3295 and the details (IMO) are just astounding.
This is all the result of only a couple of hours playing with the program so I feel like I have only really scratched the surface of what it can do. I would certainly love to figure out a way of exporting the 3D data to other programs. Maybe Bucephalus could handle it, but then again maybe not.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it on your desktop! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
11/14/11
I spent the weekend rebuilding my broken "Neptune's Garden" scene and have posted the updated render in the Members Gallery this morning.
The first change you will notice is the new title. "An Octopus's Garden" is, of course, borrowed from one of my favorite Beatles songs. It was the title I had in mind when I started the project but my original scene file was corrupted before I had the chance to add much in the way of sea life. Instead I chose a temporary title for the first version (which will remain in the Pickle Jar).
The sun angle is a bit different in this version so there are more shadows. I've also tried to vary up the corals in the foreground. There are also quite a few more fish this time around. Maybe too many?
I hope you like the changes!11/10/11
A few items to report today.
First, I have good news and bad news regarding my latest render. The good news is that I've added "Neptune's Garden" to the Members Gallery this afternoon. The bad news? Let me explain...I've always loved underwater scenes and was thrilled to learn that Vue 10 had a new water rendering engine. I've worked on this scene for about a week through quite a few different revisions. Light and color behave differently underwater and this has been a learning experience for me.
My latest render finished this morning and I would say that I am around 80% happy with it. I started in to fixing the last 19% (mostly changing some of the colors on the corals and adding some misc sealife) when tragedy struck. Vue crashed and for some strange reason refused to reopen the scene file that I had just saved 15 minutes before. The backup appears to be corrupted too. What's up with that?
Fortunately my kids were at school when it happened because I get in trouble when I swear in front of them.
Anyway, I am talking with the folks at e-onsoftware about investigating what happened to my file. They asked me to send it to them but I am not hopeful. I decided to post what I had while I waited to see what could be done about my broken scene. 80% is better than nothing after all. In the meantime I guess I will try to recreate what I can.
Second, I am increasing my regular 20% military discount to 30% in honor of Veterans Day. Active and retired military (of any nationality) may use the coupon code "liberty" to get the discount on all new Memberships and Renewals. The offer is valid until midnight 11/11.
Third, I wanted to mention that I have added two free browser themes for Chrome. You can check them out here. They were coded by Pim Vermeyden last year and have been available for Members only until now. I hope you enjoy them!
Lastly, I have added the "Mystic Halo" Live Wallpaper to the Amazon App Store for Android. It is currently the #5 paid theme and I would love to see it go to #1 (that seems to bring in a lot of sales all by itself). The app is only $.99 and can also be found in the Android Marketplace. Hopefully we will have one ready for Christmas...
11/3/11
11/2/11
I've added updated versions of "The Grand Design" to the Members gallery (because even the grandest design can be improved). The new version incorporates some of the suggestions I received in the feedback (adding nebulae, star clusters, etc). I've also added new dual and triple-screen renders that pull back on the zoom a little and show a bit more of the vertical energy streamers.
Hope you enjoy the changes! Check out my Zazzle store for the print and canvas versions!.
If you have a PS3 you can now log into the Playstation Network Store and purchased animated "dynamic" XMB themes based on my work. You can check them out on the Disruptive Media home page or log in the PSN store and find them under New Releases>>Premium Themes.
Hope to have the multiscreen of "Elegy (Winter/Night)" up soon and be looking for a new underwater render in the near future...
10/30/11
I've added a "Winter/Night" version of "Elegy" to the Members Gallery this morning. I put this one together shortly after I rendered the original Autumn version but it didn't seem right to post while the weather was still somewhat warm outside. This one fits the Halloween mood a little better I think.
I do plan on adding a brighter winter version at a later date.
Reminder!
I am running a Halloween Special until Midnight tomorrow! All Memberships and Renewals are 25% off if you use the coupon code "trickortreat".
Speaking of Halloween, you will find "All Hallows Eve" added to the Free Gallery today. Enjoy!
10/28/11
A couple of items to mention today. First I am running a Halloween Special until midnight 10/31!
All Memberships and Renewals are 25% off if you use the coupon code "trickortreat". If you've been waiting for a sale this is as good as it is going to get for a while.
Also, I've added dual and triple-screen renders of "The Grand Design" to the Members Gallery this morning. For the multiscreen I tried "zooming" in on the galaxy so it spans the entire horizonal frame, however I am not entirely convinced this worked out for the best.
I am planning on implementing a few of the suggestions made in the feedback section so if you would like to see the revised multiscreen framed differently please share your thoughts.
10/26/11
I added a new space wallpaper to the Members Gallery today. This one is called "The Grand Design" in homage to Prof. Stephen Hawking.
I hope you will all continue using "Dracul" (or one of my other Halloween wallpapers) through the holiday and know that I have you covered for Nov. 1st.
10/20/11
A few items to mention today.
First, I've added dual and triple-screen renders of "Dracul" to the Members Gallery this morning.
Next I wanted to mention something that happened a few weeks ago. I was notified by a fan that someone was selling one of my images as an Android "Live Wallpaper". Live Wallpapers, if you didn't know, are interactive animated graphics that can be used in place of static images. They are only usable (to my knowledge) on Android devices.
I was actually pretty blown away by what the developer had accomplished and apparently the app had become pretty popular in the Android Marketplace. It's called "Mystic Halo" and here's a video of it in action:
People have been asking me to create Live Wallpapers for a while now, but I've always been too busy making my 3D scenes. I made an arrangement with this young coder to share the proceeds from the app and now we are looking at creating more. I whole-heartedly encourage every Android user to check it out here.
Last, but not least, I am happy to report that my alternate box (Hydra) finally finished my print render of "Poseidon's Playground" today. I was afraid the prints would be too dark if I used my original scene so I brightened the colors and lighting a bit before rendering. I also added some depth of field blur to make things look a bit more 3D.
I've posted this render in the Pickle Jar if anyone would care to take a look. It's quite a bit different from the original 2009 piece and would love to hear your feedback.
If there was only going to be one version, would you rather I keep the DOF blur or use the original focus?
10/14/11
Here is one more render of "Dracul" that just about splits the difference between versions 1 and 2. Maybe the lightning was a bit much in V.2 but it is always fun to render.
Which version do you prefer?
10/13/11
I've been working on an update to my "Castle Dracula" project for the past 4 or 5 days and it is finally ready to share with my Members. Fog and firelight sure do take a long time to render!
As you can see, it is a pretty radical change from the first version. Perhaps it is a bit over-the-top now but I was sort of going for that to be honest. I know when you make this many changes there are bound to be a sizable number of folks who do not approve. I will be satisfied if you enjoy even one of the versions available.
I also wanted to mention that back in April 2010 I was asked by my rep at Zazzle to sign a release so that my "Last Light of the Sun" print could be "featured" in the upcoming prequel of "The Thing".
Well, the film comes out this weekend and I am tempted to see it if only to find out if they ever used the print. If you are planning on seeing "The Thing" this weekend perhaps you could post here if you spot the print in the background somewhere.
Here's the wallpaper (newly available in the free gallery) so you know what to look for.
Thanks!!
10/05/11
I know Halloween is still a few weeks off but I don't like to wait until the last minute. This year I thought it would be fun to do my own version of "Castle Dracula".
It's still a bit in the early stages so I'd love some feedback.
I hope you enjoy it!09/30/11
I've added the dual and triple-screen versions of "First Blush" to the Members Gallery this afternoon.
The multiscreens for the very red V.2 is available in the Pickle Jar.
You may notice that the color pattern on version 4 is a bit different than the single screen version. Since I used Photoshop to create the effect in #4 it would be difficult (though not impossible) to replicate exactly. I chose instead to create a new distribution. Hope you like it!
I also wanted to mention that Rush Frisby, author of the popular "Flickr Wallpaper Rotator", has written a Windows utility to update your desktop with my latest artwork. You can use Windows Task Scheduler to run the EXE file whenever you want to check for new images, or run it manually. Thanks Rush!!
Lastly regarding the new link menu: If the drop-down menus are not dropping for you please his "F5" or "CTRL+R" to reload the page. Thanks!
09/28/11
Playing around with the navigation on DB today. I've removed the link column I've been using for the past five or six years in favor of a "navbar" at the top. Nothing too radical but I think it opens things up a bit.
You can view the old navigation here for comparison.
Let me know what you think!09/26/11
Added a couple of new revisions of "First Blush" that I came up with this morning. I employed a little post-render trickery for these. Since my 3D software doesn't let you vary the leaf color on a "per tree" basis I rendered a green tree, a yellow tree and a more muted red tree and selectively layered them in Photoshop.
Which do you prefer? The other versions can be found here.
09/25/11
I've added a new render of "First Blush" this morning which brightens the red tree considerably and moves it a bit more front & center.
A number of comments asked about removing the fog, but it adds a sense of depth that I feel is missing without it. The original will remain available in the Pickle Jar for comparison purposes.
09/24/11
I added "First Blush" to the Members Gallery today.
This one is a "mental photograph" of sorts. I was driving on an eastern Iowa freeway earlier this week when I looked to my right and saw a green, summerlike, wooded area with this one blazing red tree sticking out like a torch.
I only glimpsed the scene for about 5 seconds, but I thought it would make an interesting wallpaper. I fired up Vue when I got home and constructed this scene from memory (with a wee bit of artistic license).
My last few wallpapers have been a bit on the dark side, so I wanted to make at least one bright wallpaper before moving on to Halloween and the seasons beyond. I hope you like it!
09/17/11
Huzzah! The long delayed dual and triple-screen versions of "Enshrouded" finally finished rendering last evening and are now available to my Members. In the end it took over 1000 hours (!) for the render to complete.
Why did it take so long? The tree models I used for this scene were designed to be used as "Hero" foreground objects, with only a handful recommended in a scene, yet I carelessly scattered hundreds of them about. What can I say? I don't like low-res objects...
There are also multiple layers of "volumetric" clouds, each casting shadows on onto each other and the scene. The more you can see through the cloud (where the trees fade away) the longer it takes for the raytracer to process.
Yes, the scene would have taken a lot less time to render on Bucephalus but I really didn't want to tie up my main machine for 2 weeks. Fortunately my old box (Hydra) chugged away faithfully in my basement and didn't crash even once. Thanks old friend!
09/12/11
The "Elegy" dual and triple-screens took quite a while longer to render than I had anticipated (115 hours!) but it is finally finished and available for Members to download. I'm thrilled that folks seem to really enjoy this latest render (it has even dethroned "Highland Spring" as my top rated wallpaper!).
I also celebrated my big 4-0 birthday yesterday by taking Ian to his first football game. We had an unforgettable time. It's hard to believe I was a 25 when I started DB!
Here's to another 15 years and beyond!
09/06/11
Back in August a Member (thanks Manu!) sent me a link to a photo on National Geographic's website which reminded him of my "Autumnwood" wallpaper. I thought it would be a fun project to make my own version of the scene and this is the result. Now, it isn't a complete copy. I didn't have the photo open in another window while I was working on it, but it was definitely inspired by the NatGeo photo however.
I call this one "Elegy" as it has a bit of a mournful feel to it. Truth be told it took me a few hours to think of a decent title. I didn't want to explicitly remake "Autumnwood" because I think that series still stands pretty well on its own. Don't be surprised, however, to see a few seasonal variations of this one.
Please click through to the higher resolution version as the thumbnails don't really represent this one very well. I hope you enjoy it!
PS: Here's a print version on Zazzle (rendered a 5600 x 4500) if you want to place an order while their 50% off sale is going. Use coupon code "DECKYOURWALL" to get the discount.
09/02/11
A number of folks have asked if I could render a few different color variants of "String Theory". I tried a few different combinations yesterday and found this one that I thought looked pretty good. It is available now in the Pickle Jar (multiscreens included).
I have also added a print version (rendered at 7680 x 4800) to my Zazzle collection.
Look for my first Autumn render of the year early next week. Hope you all have a great weekend!
08/31/11
I've added dual and triple-screen versions of "String Theory (Blue)" to the Members Gallery today. As much as I love blue, I couldn't see adding another blue abstract to my gallery so soon after "Clockwork" so I chose with a different palette for this one. Of course I am all too happy to provde options (especially when they only take a couple of hours to render).
My new Autumn picture is rendering right now on Bucephalus and I'm hoping to have it done before the weekend. But I'm still torn about whether or not to post Autumn pictures before Labor Day. Maybe I should hold onto it until Tuesday...
Last reminder! Today is the last day for students and educators to get the 25% discount. Use the coupon code "learning" to get the discount on all Memberships and Renewals until midnight.
08/30/11
I've added dual and triple-screen versions of "String Theory" to the Members Gallery today. This one was a bit more complicated to make so I haven't posted multiscreens of the blue render yet.
08/29/11
I was watching TV a few nights ago and had the good fortune to catch "NOVA: Hunting the Hidden Dimension" (the entire episode is available to watch online). I was floored! I already knew a great deal about fractals but this documentary really opened my eyes as to how essential they are to my work.
I developed this one on my MBP while Bucephalus rendered a new Autumn scene that I've been working on. It's not too early for Autumn renders is it? I hope to have that one ready before the end of the week.
Friendly reminder to students, parents and educators: I've upped my education discount to 25% for the entire month of August so you can deck out your laptop or tablet with some new artwork. Use the coupon code "learning" to get the discount on all Memberships and Renewals until Sept 1.
"Also Zazzle is offering 50% off all posters until Sept 2. Use the coupon code "DECKYOURDORM" to get the discount.
