Who is 'Markal'?
Markal is Mark Edwards who lives in Mississippi – originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. I retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2003 after 23 years and decided to stay here in the warm gulf coast south along with my wife, two daughters and three grandchildren.
How long have you been rendering/doing computer graphics?
My last five years in the Air Force I designed and developed computer-based training. We used PhotoShop, Flash and even wrote code in HTML, so I guess I started in the late 90’s. My terragen work began in 2003.
Do you have traditional art experience?
No real art experience just the standard art classes in high school and college.
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What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a collaboration with a Bryce artist…he is making a ship for one of my space landscape images. Learning Terragen 2 and possibly Vue may be in the works soon.
What software/equipment do you use and why?
Software used is Terragen .9.43, PaintShopPro 7 and LunarCell. I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP. I was going to upgrade but, this very large screen HDTV deal fell into my lap so I had to upgrade my other love…. watching Blue-Ray movies…first. Hopefully I’ll upgrade to a quad 4 before the end of the year.
What do you think your best piece of work is and why?
One of my latest favorites is Rigel III. The foreground is a stone BMP overlay I applied in Terragen…. the shading and shadows were in-line with the sun angle and it worked very well. The only post work was the LunarCell moons and I think they also add a realistic touch. It still amazes me how computer graphics can make an imaginary place look so real and believable.
Why do you like to work with 3D software?
It’s a fun hobby for me and when I focus on the work it carries me away from the hustle and worries of this world.ÂÂ
Who/what inspires you?
All the wonderful artists here at ReRo are great inspirations. National Geographic Magazine, NASA and all the space missions has also influenced and inspired me. Of course our creator….Almighty God….the greatest artist of all.
How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning?
Not only comments but also other artists sharing their files have helped me grow artistically by leaps and bounds.
Parting Comments / Advice to other Artists?
I try to focus on what I love. I have a passion for Space Art so 99% of my work is Space art. Some may think I need to branch out and explore other areas but I say branch out to what….something I don’t love? Go with what you love and your rewards will be many.
Comments (28)
aquablue
Paysage fabuleux comme d'habitude !!!
artgum
Beautiful scene- awesome water; the planet ring is super too!
bkhook
Wonderful work Mark. I love the crispness and colors in this image.
3Dsmacker
That would make a great cover for a SF novel. Good work.
carlx
Excellent sci-fi scenery!!!!!!!!
Fahrenheit451
Fabulous!
jrsaldana
beautiful work amigo
athesdan
superb water
Petra-S
wonderful image..super Wassereffect und der Himmel pa dazu
Raven78
Stunning work :)
andres-c
wow awesome work stunning effect on the water
shantay
Splendid sky, thanks for the explanation about the planet :-) Love the muddy water!
Despo
Beautiful water
Alex_NIKO
Nice one! Beautiful water!
alf15000
Nice postwork and great idea to make rings with a fractal ;) Excellent picture !
azrabella
A view from the "surface" of Titan, maybe. Any life in that liquid? Nice work, my friend.
mamabobbijo
Amazing sky! The water has a feel to it that it should be this colour, rather dirty. BJ
Bleurelatif
Very good use of waterdrop !
Tiwiwine
A very nice scene.
Savage_dragon
Awesome! ")
kanzler
Excellent water.Love the postwork!
Dotthy
excellent in all details!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gionni
Great, as always!
PattyMD
wonderful!
superza
Cool mood!! great rings on the planet!
ppetersen
Mark, one of your best planets to date. You did a superb job on the rings. My fav here is the ripples. I've never acomplished this and each time I see someone do it right it amazes me. Beautiful terrain and POV... outstanding atmosphere.
DMoulton
I always enjoy your work but this one is just stunning.
KatesFriend
Fantastic vista!