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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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 (37)
choronr
I've got to try out that new World Machine soon. Your work has grown leaps and bounds Mark. This one is special; not only the post work, but also the composition, placement of the point of view and the elements you've added to complete it. As for vegetation, jump on the Planetside Forum and ask them what it would take for them to program Terragen 0.09 to add populations (or single objects) into the software. I'm sure they would answer you.
M2A
Huge render. You did a perfect TERRAGEN burn. The color tones are superb. Excellent balance between details and aspect/textures. Very nice.
RGUS
Amazing stuff.. love those blues!!
fluffgirl
wow this amazing... what can be done with terragen these days.. i gave up trying years ago..this looks really great
faroutsider
Marvelous - I love the colours, terrains, composition- everything!
zmarek
Beautiful scene, super image
Savage_dragon
Awesome job, Mark. The idol is a nice touch! ***** ")
DeathTwister
Wonderful lighting and PS post work as usual /winks
DreamersWish
The image is fantastic and adding the idol fits just perfectly. Well done!
Thelby
Yeah WM2 is Super Cool, just like this image!!!
brylaz
Fantastic scene!!! Just awesome!!!
tetsu-pino
Very beautiful scene and splendid work!!
gerberc
Superb! Excellent work on terrain and textures!
Iraya
Very beautiful image, excellent scene. Have a nice day.
Porthos
Outstanding work, beautifully done!
neo_primal
good one
bloodnok
Superb! You really are a Master of this genre. Among other things the way the foreshore slips off into the depths is brilliant.
DAVER2112
Excellent work!!! 5+++++ :)
WeeLaddie
Excellent surfacing on this distinctive terrain; love the deep water, and the idol head is skillfully integrated.
artgum
Very cool concept Mark- another excellent render!
DarkStormCrow
Excellent!
azrabella
Yep, I totally agree with Bob C. These works just get better and better. I too love the head.
thecytron
Great scenery!
herbstliebe
Ah, you're still rendering. Very nice scene. PW is also fine.
mikeerson
didn't notice the face right away - but I like the touch... an anchient old image lost on the shore.
X-PaX
Another good one Mark. I like your postwork. The idea with the idol is very nice.
Rich2
You need to start writing stories to go along with these images - what a tale they'd tell!
lumi
Aweful! I like the cascaded a lot!
scifibabe
Cool work - love the textures and setting. Great addition of the sculpted head. Really adds mystery to this scene. Wonderful colors too. Nice work!
inkydigit
love the stone(d) face!