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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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.Â
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 (21)
Savage_dragon
Always did love that terrain. Cool work, Mark! ")
mgtcs
Beautiful terrain, very nice view!
Minaya
Great work and beautiful lighting!
shayhurs
Great work as always!
kasalin
Yes, cool work.... like this terrain !!
DarkStormCrow
Excellent image, well done..
mikeerson
Your stairway to Heaven lighting is unique with a moon under it.
scifibabe
Very cool scifi scane. Love the rays of light coming down from the sky. Beautiful composition and color.
NefariousDrO
Wow, this has to be one of your most spectacular scenes, the sky is magical, the water is hypnotic, the colors are all so enticing! Wow!
Vidar
Wow,amazing work!!!!!!!!!
neo_primal
nice one
Danny_G
Great rays, fantastic surfacing and water settings
artgum
Beautiful colors and atmosphere.
ppetersen
WOWsers... OK I know this terrain as I've used it often enough Mark so you know it's up there with my favorites to play with. What you always get from it blows me away. Not only is the POV superb, but the surfacing so different and unique. Those rays are super as is the POV and the lighting just adds to the drama. PERFECT in my eyes...
shingleboot
Very nice image, love the contrast
SIGMAWORLD
Wonderful!
X-PaX
Very nice lighting and cool terrain. Well done Mark.
prutzworks
great atmo & rays, like the caustics fx as well
BenBischop
Awesome Work....!!!
stardiver
Weird rock formations and nice background glow
clemens-k
awesome artwork! I like the old terragen more than TG2.. the best choice for making landscapes with plants nowadays is vue in my opinion.. when I look at the vue-gallery.. although I don´t have it myself :( but tg9 is still top choice for making artwork like this.. spaceart, dreamscapes, surreal landscapes and so