Thunderhead

Posted on March 20, 2026

I was born and raised in central Illinois, which is very flat country (flattened by a glacier over 10,000 years ago), and cumulonimbus clouds are our versions of mountains.  When I was a kid spending time on my Dad’s farm I would watch them billow and grow on the horizon to massive heights, sometimes blotting out the sun.  They fascinated me to the point where I once seriously considered becoming a meteorologist.

I first attempted to model a thunderhead back in 1999 using Bryce3D’s texture mapped spheres.  In 2016 I attempted one again using Vue’s “Spectral” clouds.   This latest version uses VDB clouds and Blender’s Cycles renderer.    It builds off of the work I did to create the scene for my new Gazebo render.   Some folks mentioned they missed the dolphins in that render so I’ve added them back here.

Tyche

Posted on March 13, 2026

My updated version of “Gazebo” started out with me learning how to create and render a gas giant planet in Blender.   I’d considered posting this render first and then sharing the Gazebo project as it developed, but decided instead to wait until everything was ready.    I did learn some interesting techniques for creating gas giants that may not be immediately evident when seen from a distance so I hope you all enjoy this close up look at the planet.

Tyche is the Greek goddess of fortune, chance, providence, and fate.

Painted Desert

Posted on March 8, 2026

The goal here was to learn how to use Gaea and Blender together.   Usually I cover up my Gaea terrains with lots of vegetation but here I wanted the landscape itself to be the subject.   The process is quite different from VUE so there was a lot to learn but I like how it turned out.   There are still some things I need to figure out going forward but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Gazebo (Midnight)

Posted on February 27, 2026

I kept the design of the walkway from the 2020 version of “Gazebo” so I could do a similar night scene.    This version is a bit darker but I like how it turned out.   Hope you agree!

Gazebo (2026)

Posted on February 25, 2026

Sorry for the long delay! Was away from the computer for a few days recharging the batteries.

Continuing my theme of recreating some of my old favorites using Blender.   This time I am attempting to recreate the “Gazebo” scene that I first imagined in 1998 using Bryce.   I attempted another version in 2003 using Lightwave and then again in 2013 (best forgotten IMO) and 2020 using VUE.   The last VUE version was ok but I feel like the scene peaked in ’03.   

My goal here was to take what worked from the ’98, ’03 and ’20 versions, combine them, and hopefully elevate them a bit.   I wanted it sunny like ’98, clean like ’03, and with upgraded geometry like ’20.    I added some clouds on the horizon because Blender is a lot better at rendering cumulus clouds than VUE.   

Hope you guys like the new version!

PS: There’s an extra version in the Pickle Jar where I’d added some palm trees on the last day before posting. This is something that the other versions did not have.  In the end I decided to go with the “open horizon” version for the gallery because it more closely matched the original.  I thought it looked more “otherworldly” and the open sky dwarfed the figure in the middle.   I like the palms because it gives the scene some depth and adds some shadows.   I’ve added to the Pickle Jar so you can decide for yourself. Let me know which version you like best!