My background as me:
Though born in Cornwall in the UK, we emigrated to Melbourne, Australia way back in 1981 and have lived here ever since. Outside of creating stuff on my computer, I love to travel (Africa, South America and South East Asia), ride my motorbike (currently a Honda CBR900RR Fireblade), keep fit, go mountain-biking, rockclimbing (mostly indoor, but occasionally outdoors too), a bit of snowskiing and just generally spend time with friends. Oh, yes and work and sleep too ;-)
...and as an 'artist':
From an early age I always loved drawing. When I was about 12, I was right into boats (particularly those huge expensives ones you see docked in places like Monaco!) and would draw these ships in painstaking detail and plan out how they would look inside as well. My father served for many years in the Royal Navy and we lived close to the sea, so I was always very influenced by the water. I think this nautical heritage explains why so many of my works feature water, not to mention structures with stainless steel railings around them! :-)
After boats, I became very interested in science fiction: not just the stories, but even more so the fantastic illustrations. I always remember buying my first book of sci-fi illustrations: "21st Century Foss" by Chris Foss. That book provided an endless source of wonder and inspiration and I still have it today. I bought many other books of a similar nature and set about drawing my own amazing spacecraft. I made many drawings, but sadly I threw them all away (I thought people might think they were a bit weird! They weren't of course, but in the mind of an artistic 14 year old who was more concerned with trying to fit in, then they were weird!) I was always frustrated, however, by the fact that I couldn't bring my drawings more to life - I had the imaginaton, but not the skills to paint or airbrush like Chris Foss, Peter Elson, Angus McKie or countless other British sci-fi artists of the late seventies, early eighties.
So my next step along the artistic road was photography. I hassled my poor Dad endlessly until he bought a very cool Olympus OM-10 SLR as the family camera. Of course, it didn't belong to our family - it was mine! :-) So began a lifelong love of photography which allowed me to really express my creativity. I learned everything I possibly could about not only the creative aspects of photography, but the technical ones too - I like to really get into stuff!
Some time later, I discovered music, not the enjoyment of listening to it (something I've always loved too), but playing it myself. Though at first fascinated by electronic music, I learned to play guitar initially and then, later on when I could afford it, I indulged my passion for electronic keyboards. Here was another medium which I found to be really expressive too, but, like my drawing, I didn't have the skills to play guitar or keyboards particularly well (I could, however, make lots of very cool sounds...at least I thought so anyway :-) More frustration....
Around the turn of the Millennium (I've always wanted to say that) as I became more heavily involved with computers through work and study, I discovered 3D computer art. Though I don't recall any images in particular, I was fascinated by how these pictures were created. After a bit of searching around I discovered Terragen - I couldn't believe that such a sophistcated program could be free!! I downloaded the free version and played with it and very quickly fell in love with it - so easy to use, yet so creative and the results looked so professional! So I spent quite a few months creating worlds of my own using Terragen before discovering computer based music. Another creative outlet to fall in love with! :-) Here was a music making system that allowed me to finally create whatever I could imagine!! Yet I still needed to find the same outlet in the visual arts field...
Sometime in early 2006 I started looking at 3D computer art once more. Again, I was so impressed by what I saw. This time however, I distinctly remember those first images I saw - they were Joe Vinton's (better known as Orbital, of course, around these parts) series of images that featured a balloon in them. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - there was something so touching and wonderful about this series - Orbital had created such places of wonder that were so realistic and believable that I just had to find out which program he had used to create such works of wonder. The program of course is Bryce! Finally I had found my creative Nirvana! Not only that, but Orbital's stunning images were, of course, posted here at Renderosity where I have laid my creative hat ever since! Then, in November 2007, I finally took the plunge and bought Vue 6 Infinite and have never looked back!
The Origin of my Name:
The name SunsetHunter was bestowed on my while travelling on a riverboat along the Rio Madeira in Brazil in October 1999. I was travelling with a Japanese backpacker, called Moto, at the time. We chugged along the river for about 4 days altogether and I always remember it being one of the most peaceful times in my (already peaceful) life. I would quite happily spend the entire day perched at the edge of the boat just watching the river and the vast jungle go by. We made about 1000kms in those 4 days on the boat and the scenery was virtually unchanged all that time. A magnificent place. At the end of each day, I always made a point of standing at the bow of the vessel to watch the sunset across the jungle off our port side. My Japanese friend, Moto, called me The Hunter of Sunsets and even wrote the Japanese script for this in my travel journal which I still have. I always thought it was a great nom de plume, but had never used it until I became a member here in May 2006.
Anything Else?:
Other than I don't look anything like my avatar....ummm...no, not really - thats about it! You can go and check out my gallery if you like! I will certainly check your's out too!! :-)
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
This site uses cookies to deliver the best experience. Our own cookies make user accounts and other features possible. Third-party cookies are used to display relevant ads and to analyze how Renderosity is used. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.
Comments (28)
gattone_blu
Cool... Excellent work.
Mondwin
Looks really a fantastic artwork!!!!bravo!V:DDD.Hugsxx
brylaz
Looks very cool! Beautiful picture!!!
buckzero
Nice one.
tse60
Very interesting. I like the atmosphere. Regarding sky. I think you are able to make the sky more "3D" - more "fleshy" clouds? But it's only my subjective opinion. Good work. Mirek :)
watifeye
Excellent image. It certainly has a futuristic sci_fi feel to it but also takes ones mind back to ancient times. Superb combination. Well done!
miwi
Excellent done,klasse image!!!!!
Burpee
Oh, you are going to be good! I'm amazed at what you've created with Byrce in only a few images. Excellent!
CrimsonDesire
Beautifull and soothing ^^
aliensprog
Brilliant!!!! Great concept and render!!!
soffy
really a very beautiful creation,excellently done***
estevez
Very interesting and creative work. Excellent models and textures. Congratulations !
Kryten_8
cool render, kinda reminds me of environments in the Myst series of games.
gonedigital
This is wonderful and anticapatory (word?). I feel like I am taking my seat and waiting for the show to start. I picture a cirque de solei production or an illusionist show, or an ethereal symphony. EXCELLENT!!!
MagikUnicorn
Magnificent work Love your idea very good imagination ;-)
mac4gman
I often (but not always) work in the same extemporaneous fashion - can't say I always get results this nice, though...;^D
Druidstorm
A wonderful place to ponder the reality of time and space. You create true beauty. Bravo!!!...:))
helix3d
Holy Cow! You done something fairly astonishing here. A very imaginative composition, and the lighting is out of this world. I love it!
Xantipa
Excellent. E.
carlx
Excellent conception and render.
online_art
Excellent modeling and lighting.
VDH
Fantastic composition! Great idea!!
Naoo
Wow Great! Cool!
Pauli
A well elaborated place !
Jay-el-Jay
Fine work.I like this setting and would like to attend a performace here sometime.
NefariousDrO
You create such amazing settings. Almost surreal, but yet so real!
abstractix
Strange structures can be good. In this case really good. :) The large scale of this (and alot of your pieces) really works.
Tanglimara
A great ampitheatre and wonderful reflections on the central sphere. It gives you a sense of actually being there when looked at in full view ... Tony :-)