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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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 (27)
MagikUnicorn
Awesome landscape ! (fav)
Osper
Nicely done. Well worth the extra click to check the en larged version!
E.Houser
Really nice landscape!
Danny_G
Diggin the monochrome type surface !! Excellent work
Fidelity2
Great. 5+.
DarkStormCrow
Excellent work, well done...
azrabella
Marvellous, wonderful, etc... blah blah - Speechless.10/5 for this. MORE PLEASE, MARK.
JPSoft
(Splendid)³ ... Thanks! Very creative.
BenBischop
Super Cool....!!!
Porthos
Magnificent!!!
geirla
Very well done! The monastery blends in nicely with the terrain.
moat
Well done, very powerful landscape!
Savage_dragon
Wow... very cool. Great idea. Miss ya' since you don't stop in n' say hi anymore... "(
artgum
Perfect postwork!
NefariousDrO
That is magnificent. The terrain is awe-inspiring, and the buildings are beautiful.
mikeerson
Sweet image... my impression? An anchient civilization that is being discovered... It looks like maybe a volcano spilt ask on them causeing their extinction. COOL!
WeeLaddie
Shangri La, I presume. Would make a wonderful illustration for James Hilton's novel "The Lost Horizon". Postwork artfully integrated.
shayhurs
I think it turned out pretty awesome regardless.
LindaMcC
WOW! Outstanding work. I love the dramatic POV.
scifibabe
Gorgeous scifi scene. Fabulous ancient city and great lighting. Nice textures too.
clemens-k
wow, that´s really impressive. very good integration of the photo elements.. that really makes it
X-PaX
Excellent postwork. Well done Mark.
me109
You wanted honesty: I love the set of color you have chosen. The integration of the postworked buildings is imho perfect, as is the chosen POV! And the surface is really excellent! I am not to happy with the stars... they look very,... well, as if you yust added them in 2 minutes. This harms the whole image, imho! Another idea might be, to add some pale blue haze, to make the distant part in the terrain look farther away, but that is just a thought...
SIGMAWORLD
Excellent work!
Naoo
Great Artwork!!!
ppetersen
Amazing.... I had to view the larger one to feel it. Excellent work Mark. I love your integration here. I see a perfect work of art...
Rutra
I don't agree with a previous comment about stars "done in two minutes". I like the stars as they are. A too starry sky would distract from what's really important here, the wonderful integration between terrain and buildings. After all, it's common to see nights like that, with only a few stars. I would agree that some haze would be good for the background mountain, it would help our eyes with the sense of scale. Very good work nonetheless.