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 I use an outdated Dell Pentium 4, 1.4GHZ, running Windows XP.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 (29)
Savage_dragon
Are we ever satisfied with our work? Its what keeps us doggin' it & improving. Love it, Mark! ")
choronr
Looking good Mark. For me, I would reduce the size of the planet. The title says 'Markers' - they are the center of attraction - so, they should be larger and the planet smaller. I cannot say I was ever truly satisfied with my own image. I often look at photographs and find many that are appealing; without any criticism. So, from there, I'll try something similar and usually fail to feel good about it. This is why lately, my images take a few weeks to develop.
mikeerson
suggestions??? go color... red rusty ground with yellow oar streaks... the gas is spewing from vents and has a green mist to it = paint some rainbow gas fumes into it. Make the background black, with a blackhole - sucking the planet into it.... hell, I don't see why you just don't make another picture - lol
retepk
Superb.
grafikeer
I like the desaturated colur in this one...great lighting and details...I like it just as is!
Kattey
I like that picture a lot, especially those three mountains "markets" I would crop it more from above - the asteroid line sort of divides the picture in two halves and top half feels overwhelmingly big.
tosk
I would add a little more colour. The small moon with the blue back lighting really stands out, because of the narrow band of colour used in the rest of the image.
peedy
Fantastic image and lighting. Corrie
teecee2107
Well, this image is really nice as it is. The composition is good (imho) the is a good sense of vastness, The desaturated colors give a feeling of an arid world. This image could give a completely different feeling just by spreading the color spectrum ... but it wouldn't be necessary a better image. It's just a matter of what you want to 'tell in your story'. Superb work anyway.
dalma
Une terre aride qui fait peur, superbement bien réalisé!
ia-du-lin
looks great, fantastic sci-fi image, I like the planet in the background with the rock rings
Naoo
Excellent Mood!!!
tiff666
Wow, that looks great!
masonspappy
IMHO, the image is very well done. The ground mist is a good touch. Without it, I think the image would seem desolate and static. With the mist, there is a brief sense that something subtle is taking place on the surface. The viewer could imagine any number of reasons for that...
SIGMAWORLD
Sehr schön.
wotan
Beautiful spacescape Markal, very fine artwork!
X-PaX
Very nice sci-fi image Mark.
Thelby
I like this, but as a suggestion I think the spires should be the last part of the terrain before the planets. I am unsure it that is attainable, because I don't know this terrain, but the colors the spacial part are quite nice and I like the planets and thin rings. Very Nice Job!!! Oh, and I hope you guys get rid of that nasty Nutt job you having at Ole Miss. I went to high school with the boy and Nutt is an Appropriate name!!!!!
artgum
I like the subdued colors and debris ring. Almost looks as if the large planet could sit on those peaks.
RJS
Damn near perfect, this is. Most of us would be proud of it as a finished product. As the old saying goes: "The more I fix it, the broker it gets." I say leave it alone and move on to the next project. Gets a 5 from me, in any case.
shayhurs Online Now!
Good comments here so I'll just say it is spectacular as always from you. Let yourself enjoy it--at least a little bit. ;')
starfire777
Excellent space image!!!
twistednoodle
Hey there!! Long time! Still producing pictures that make you look twice I see. I really love this. The sublte tones in the planet in the bkg are terrific and I'm in love the with the meteor belt, the terrain suits the mood that's for sure. The only thing I could suggest for improving this image (which is totally fine the way it is) is some foreground interest like a lump of space junk or something alien but really that's a personal thing and just a suggession.... Great to see you here..
pclavett
Out of this world Mark !!! Truly !
thecytron
Fantastic image!
claudia02
Klasse TG2 Arbeit.
corleonis
My only suggestion would be to ask Corleonis for one of his planets to put in the sky :P haha ....seriously I like it a lot, this one has a nice interesting composition, not to mention some hi quality TG work
ppetersen
Love the terrain Mark, although not sure with the atmosphere, it might be the low lying foggy stuff...otherwise spot on... maybe a punch of color :) Some of that blue you do so well.
fallen21
Awesome work!