Each month the Renderosity community votes on The Renderosity Artist Of The Month [AOM] ... July's AOM is HorseLips. We congratulate HorseLips for his outstanding work in the Terragen Gallery! 

Who is 'HorseLips'?

HorseLips is 44 year old Tony Reynolds, and somehow along the way...I ended up living in South Mississippi. For years I was lucky enough to work as a disc jockey for a local radio station, and then I had the time of my life playing drums for a traveling southern rock
band.

Those were the good ol' days, but now I'm older and have bills to pay, so currently I work for the world's largest retailer as a supervisor. In my spare time I love to cook (a big Food Network fan), wrestle with my son, throw a frisbee, and play PC games.

How long have you been rendering/doing computer graphics?

I started with a free demo of Bryce probably 5 years ago ...so not too long...maybe since 2002.

 

Omen

 

Growing up, I would draw constantly and was heavily influenced by Mad Magazine back in the day.

What are you currently working on?

I normally try to juggle 2 or 3 images at one time, just to keep from staring at one detail too long, although most projects eventually stall and end up as scraps.

Right now I am working on a few things in Terragen involving more postwork than I'm used to, but will hopefully have ready soon.

What software/equipment do you use and why?

I'm holding on to Terragen version 0.9 right now. I'm still having fun with it and feel I might have another 6 months to a year with that program, provided my postwork skills dramatically improve. I'll switch over to Terragen 2 when they are ready to release the final version. I do most of my postwork in Paint Shop Pro.

 

Last Light

 

I think my best image is "Last Light". I'm not sure why it's almost always the simple scenes that require the most time. I took a gamble and reduced the shadowing to almost nothing, and it really brought out the lighting and orange glow. The cinnamon toned desert surface works well with the blue atmosphere, I think, involving many layers of smooth and rough sand, grit, and textures. If I could, I would go back and increase the sun's size a little, but you know, it's hard to ever be completely satisfied.

Why do you like to work with 3D software?

After I became comfortable moving my way around Terragen, I soon discovered that it was extremely therapeutic to be able to focus my mind on creating my vision of some fantasy world ready to be explored. They say "the devil is in the details", and after a
stressful day...or week, it's still fun to spend time agonizing over the smallest of detail.

 

Ruins of the Third System

 

Early on, I was blown away by the artwork of gradient, mac8, and joshus hund...but I think I was most inspired by what Rids could do in Terragen. Those guys made such a lasting impression on me, as far as the level of work I wanted to somehow achieve. I use to
sit and just stare at their images...still do occasionally. Most inspiring now is finding a cool terrain to bounce ideas off of. I'm searching for some now.

How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning?

First and foremost, the galleries here at Renderosity offer a wealth of inspiration no matter what software you choose to explore. I have recieved nothing here but encouragement since coming to Rendo, and that has meant so much to me, especially those times when you can't seem to get anything going and feel like giving up. Most Terragen artist here are more than happy to share advice, tips, terrains, atmosphere's, ect., and that has proved invaluable to me over the years.

Parting Comments / Advice to other Artists?

By all means take what you do seriously, but please try not to take yourself too seriously. That just annoys the crap out of people!

 

Winter's Lullaby

 

Please have a further look at HorseLips' Gallery!

Be sure to visit the Renderosity Terragen Gallery, and also pay a visit to the Renderosity Terragen Forum!

Artist of the Month is highlighting a talented Renderosity artist that has been nominated by mods and admins, and voted by the community. Recognition is given to this member for their collection of works for that year.

Since we only select one AOM per month, it is not about their works for that particular month. Instead, it is about highlighting a talented artist's works for that year, and they are recognized during that month.

To learn more about Renderosity's Artist Of The Month [AOM] award, and to view our past AOM's, please visit the AOM 2007 page, which can also be found on the sidebar under Highlights.