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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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 (29)
grafikeer
Great POV through the clouds...very well done!
shayhurs
Indeed! VERY well done!
X-PaX
Looks like a vulcano. Very nice work Mark.
Coppens
Remarkable piece of work!
lumi
awesome clouds! 5+++++
shingleboot
Very impressive image
9841007
Love the clouds! It does give you the feel of a volcano. I get this intense feeling like you can sense something unseen stirring...like a sleeping giant is about to awake.
faroutsider
Lovely view through the clouds.
SIGMAWORLD
EXCELLENT!
tstray1
WOW!!! Super job with POV through clouds, nice detail!!!
rocserum
stunning creation! RS
artgum
After looking awhile, I can't help but get the impression of steaming cauldrons below the surface. Cool Mark!
Chaosphoto
very very nice :)
Danny_G
Ok here we go, I see the Markal work that I am a huge fan of coming to life through this application, It was inevitable. Keep them coming !!!
-seek-
very creative! i feel like im inside a strom
geirla
Nice! The clouds definitely give the surface a foreboding, dangerous look.
choronr
The elevated view, clouds and light are reMarkable! You are on a roll man ...keep on!
bloodnok
Different, and interesting POV. Works well
phfrancke
Love the pov - the brightness and richness and play of shadows is what really works well here for me. Nice job!!
scifibabe
Gosh this is way cool. Love that planet peeking out through the clouds. Very dramatic effects.
inkydigit
nice image, as usual, fro distant planets and image maps, I recall that it is not possible, instead use a sphere object and scale it up to fit your scene...hope this helps! J :)
Rich2
Yup - You are on a roll. Maybe fewer cumuli so we could see more terrain. A large sphere would work, using an image map shader. You'd need a flat image of a gas giant. There's other ways to do a planet object, just need contrasting colors on it.
DreamersWish
Moody! Fantastic cloud work.
LindaMcC
Awesome and exciting work! So excellent!
roor
very finely done
kasalin
You are probably doing something totally different from the style you used to choose... but again you are a master in it !!!!! :-)
Plantagenaut
Awesome stuff, my man!
KadyJJ
Awesome work!
KiDAcE
Outstanding work. Just immaculate.