Problem with a great topic like the one this month, is that it generates to many ideas. After several brain-reboots, this is what i came up with... Poser, Bryce, Universe & some PSP...

Rudolf Herczog
Digital Artist
www.rochr.com

Good image with a great sense of atmosphere. Whatever they've lost down there, they're not going to find it without a torch. My only criticism would be that the woman's headgear is cut off by the top of the pic. Maybe if the camera was tilted slightly more, or the FOV increased 2 or 3 points...?

Really cool entry! (Slight criticism agreed with - sorry).

From an artistic point of view- The woman's headgear is not cut off. It extends beyond the picture plane creating the illusion that the image continues and extends beyond the viewing area. Also, this effect enables the figure to constrain the viewers gaze to the right portion of the image by the dividing the image in half-( observe that the feet also continue beyond the picture plane. If you look at the image again, it should now become apparent that you must force your eye to move into the left portion of the image. If you moved the camera angle to see the entire headgear, the slight bit of sky which would now be visible above the headgear would let your eye travel across the entire image like water over a dam.

Nice use of cropping. Looks like you cropped this out of a larger image to get the essence of what you were going for. Good job.

Rochr, Tuttle's comment brings up a point I've been debating with myself for years - when do you cut off part of a figure's head for the sake of POV and when do you sacrifice the framing of the scene to include the whole figure? I like the overall look of this scene, and really can't find anything wrong. The lens flare effect is very well done and does not take your attention away from the rest of the picture. The contrast between the landscape and the sky is just about perfect and the tule fog adds a mystery that overwhelms me to know what's down there. as always exellent work, - TJ

I love the atmosphere but I can't figure out what's going on. Did they lose somehting? Are hey waiting for something? Are they commiting sucide? There is not enough character expression to confirm or deny any of these guesses I have made. It needs something subtle to suggest what;s actually the theme of the image. Maybe a mannerism they have or possibly an object such as a space ship? Something not too obvious but still visible. I don't want you to add anything that would take away from the feel of the scene, but I do feel it needs something more.

Hey, I think you nailed it. After all it's supposed to be planet X. I look at the scene and think, " whats that over there, Whats going on?" The one complaint I have about the girl is not that she divides the picture but that her pose/ body language doesn't give me much clue as to what she is thinking about what she is seeing. She's not shielding her eyes with one hand. She's at a high point but her hands are in much too close to her body for good balance. She seems to be rocking back from the edge. Why? Instead of rendering the moment Rocher rendered the moment just before the moment. Which only adds to the feeling of ...X the unknown. Great work!

As usual I am left inspired, in awe of your ability to portray a deul sense of simplicity and detail to tell a tale. Nice one!

Well, thanx people! Actually theres a huge, ancient, crashed ship down there (right in the middle, engine, wing with stuff hanging from it, body with the engines up). Thats the relic! :) Its only barely visible, but then again, this was meant to be a hostile enviroment, and a too bright image would take away much of the atmosphere...

Rudolf Herczog
Digital Artist
www.rochr.com

ahh...the fog makes it look like terrains to me...sort of an underpass to a cave.

Take out the hills. Then I'd know what they were looking at.

www.youtube.com/user/ShawnDriscollCG

Rochr.. you hit man!.. great image, means a lot.. great point of view.. It's like I feel that the characters are a bit disapointed.. maybe they were expecting something else.. a place to live.. "is there life here? may we stay?" 114 years in a cryogenic sleep.. and then wake up in an outland.. freeze my blood. LOL

Must admit I didn't wonder what was going on. I was just caught up in how breath-takingly beautiful your scene is.

Rochr- Saw the engine after a couple of minutes. Good job. Perhaps though, just a tad more obviousness on the ship portion? I like this concept!! (and it's non-blatancy)

Pass no temptation lightly by, for one never knows when it may pass again!

I didn't wonder what was going on either. The picture is perfect. The colors are spectacular. All in all, a fantastic job!:)