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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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 (27)
Petra-S
super images!
mikeerson
I am so glad you said a brown corner instead of a brown spot - lol You come up with some cool planets - are you alien? lol ...Hey, have you checked out this "big bang machine"??? Just started hearing about it last week. I figured if anyone on this site would know some stuff about it, you would... so, do you know anything? When are they going to crash these plutons? ...if a black hole is created, what are they going to do about it? Any ideas?
faroutsider
Another excellent space vista. Wonderful!
Markal
Hey mikeerson.... Yeah, I heard about the super collider...man has been colliding atoms for some time now with a number of colliders...although this is a very big "super collider"...I'm more of a conventional, old time thinker and believe man is smart but God is smarter...man will come close to destroying this world but...Christ will return before we destroy everything...God created this planet and he will decide...not man...when to destroy it...I think it will be soon.............Peace...
Porthos
Magnificent creation Markal, and I wholeheartedly agree with you, God Bless!
choronr
Yes Markal; and, late 2012 may be the time. Life is infinite as is the Universe. The clue the Big Guy gave us is the shape we call round - no beginning; no end. BTW, your picture is super.
tetsu-pino
Woow!! Fantastic scene!!! Great work!!
neo_primal
nice one
azrabella
Another fine piece of eyecandy.
kasalin
Outstanding POV, mood, haze and surface!! Beautiful postwork !!
DAVER2112
WOW! that's really cool.
thecytron
Great scenery!
DeathTwister
Wow Fantastic bro
grafikeer
Another fantastic image...love the brown tone to this,and the detail work,especially the closest moon,is amazing.Excellent atmosphere and light.
Denisss
Superbe !!! La planete est magnifique et les effets dans l'atmosphere sont tres reussis.
lyron
Superb scene!!
amapitodd
Killer scene.
scifibabe
Since the collider thing has been brought up... :) They're supposed to collide the first atoms on my birthday - Oct. 21. So we have about another month of fun before then. On to your picture... Cool title (much better than something like 'mud world'). It does rather look like a muddy lake running between the canyons. I like the planet in the sky. A very cool picture.
artgum
Excellent work Mark.
afugatt
Gorgeous!
prutzworks
great terrain & sky fx
twistednoodle
Love that lunar cell moon/planet thingo! Nice detail - matches your artwork nicely!
KatesFriend
It brings to mind Frank Hubert's Dune.
Alex_NIKO
Looks excellent! Well done!
RGUS
mate.. those cosmic rays are AWESOME!
capitanpescanova
Excellent atmosphere for a stunning space landscape
blacq_nyght_vampyre
WOW. This is wow. So gorgeous.