Each month the Renderosity community votes on The
Renderosity Artist Of The Month [AOM]
Octobers AOM is from the Terragen Gallery. We congratulate
MoppelundWilli [Pascal Strittmatter] for his outstanding
collection of Terragen images.
 Who is MoppelundWilli and how did you come by your
username? Well, first of all I want to congratulate to all the
other nominated artists, each of them has an amazing gallery, each
of them has his own personal style, you all deserved the AOM title,
like some artists who were not on the list at all. I want to thank
my fans (and those fans of the other nominees) for their
faithfulness and their support over all the time. I am glad that
you like my work, and feel very proud for being chosen as AOM. I
appreciate this very much. Also thanks to the Rendo-crew (mods and
coords) for their efforts here. Whereas I might be a little bit
creative in Terragen, the moment I chose MoppelundWilli as
my username must be one of the most uncreative moments in my life.
[laughter] Moppel and Willi are my two pets, Moppel is a Rabbit,
Willi a guinea pig. The man behind this goofy name is Pascal
Strittmatter, a 29 years old student and hobby-artist from Germany.
How long have you have you been creating computer graphics?
The first contact with computer graphics was about 10 years ago,
when I drew my first digital pixel in a simple program called
Deluxe Paint. I ran across Terragen in late December 2003. I
grabbed the program by chance from a suggestion from my brother. He
showed me some first pictures he created with Terragen, and I could
hardly believe that they were self-made. I started playing around
with it and began to learn how it worked. From that moment on, I
was fascinated by the possibilities of the program. After some poor
results I improved more and more, and now I have the honor to give
you this interview. So, today, it is two years that I have worked
with Terragen, and I hope there are many more creative years in
store for me.
Beginning To Freeze Pascal
Strittmatter [MoppelundWilli]
Do you have traditional art experience? Not really,
graphical art is only a hobby for me. As a small boy, I loved to
draw and paint with pleasing results. I do not have exceptionally
gifted hands, but I always invested a lot of time and concentration
on my work. My interests in art guided me through many different
styles which I tried out, such as; carbon, watercolors, acryl, and
the wet on wet technique of Bob Ross, etc. The results were not
bad, but also not worth talking about them further. [laughter]
What are you currently working on? Currently I work on
living my life. As I am only a hobby-artist, I spend most of my
time and energy in private and job-related affairs. In order to
make a fine render, which satisfies my expectations, I need to have
some free time. I always start at zero, and do not use any
pre-built surfaces or terrains. What is even more important, I need
a free mind. If something weighty bothers me, I am not able to
concentrate fully on the creation process with fun and joy is all
I do it for. I do it for me, for the joy of producing beautiful
art, not for the comments although I value them very much.
What software/equipment do you use and why? The main
rendering program is Terragen v.0,9,41, where the images are
created and rendered. I use this software because of the enormous
possibilities to create landscapes, and virtual places. It is hard
to tell somebody who is not infected by the Terragen-virus about
the fascination of this software the ones who are infected know!
Sure there are things that I am not yet satisfied with, such as:
the lack of possibilities to create and have influence on a
real-looking impressive cloudscape; to create real overhangs; to
use overlays on vertical parts without distortion; to use
vegetation, etc. However, I am looking forward to the future
versions of Terragen, hoping they will come out soon. There are a
few other helpful programs, which give advantages to the creation
process. I myself use Terraformer2, WorldMachine, and sometimes
MojoWorld Exports for a more particularized terrain building. In
Paint Shop Pro 7, I do all the post work (color-, contrast
adjustments, resizing, sharpening, cloudspw, etc.). My
computer/snail: AMD Athlon 1800MHz, ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Board, 1GB
RAM, Radeon 9800 Pro. What do you think your best piece of work
is and why? Not easy to say, there are many different pieces in
my gallery which I like much. Some are quite realistic, some have a
more surrealistic touch. I think with one piece I achieved a step
forward to a next level. This piece is Steinbruch. But, I
have three current overall favorites are: Steinbruch because
of the gigantic scale and texturing, such as Giant of the
Kambrium, and Beginning to freeze because of the
richness of detail and mood. However, I think my best is still to
come
Steinbruch Pascal Strittmatter
[MoppelundWilli]
Why do you like to work with 3D/2D software? Because, I have
no friends and dont know what else to do in my free time.
[laughter] No, seriously, in contrast to painting in the
traditional way, graphic software offers plenty of opportunities
for me. All the instruments in graphic software [undo, cut, paste,
etc.] let you test your steps before you make them final. It allows
you to act freely, without being afraid to make a wrong
brushstroke. Besides, I think that Terragen is a craft everybody
can master, it does not matter if you are talented with manual
drawing skills or not. It is a strategy, you make the planning, and
you can take your time to give the computer the best possible
instructions, but your computer is the genius it executes the
render! Plus, the results are breathtaking and multifarious, just
view all the beautiful virtual places the artists of Rendo have
fabricated. Who/what inspires you? Life is inspiration. You
get inspired everywhere, consciously and subconsciously. Mother
nature shows us her beauty in a manifold manner, you can see on a
walk, on journeys, in movies, etc. But imaginative power is the
main key for my work; this is where I set the root for each new
image. I always start with a fuzzy idea. During the creation
process, new ideas come and go, and the shape of the final result
gets more and more accurate. At night, when the rest of the world
seems to sleep, I am most creative, listening to nice music. Last
but not least, I get inspiration from all the fantastic artists
here, at Renderosity and at Terradreams. I do not want to list any
names, because I would forget some for sure, but their work helps
me over creative blockades. Thank you my friends! Oh, I almost
forgot Moppel and Willi.
Giant of the Kambrium Pascal
Strittmatter [MoppelundWilli]
How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work,
relationships, and learning? Well, you yourself start with your
personal somewhat narrow perspective on your work. By reading
feedback/critiques you learn to view your images through the eyes
of the commentators and you automatically expand your point of
view. This is a growing process not only the skills of the
individual artists, but also the whole community grows and grows
together. Each artist is inspired by the work of the others; each
one copies ideas from the others; each one is incited by the
others; and that is how we transcend our boundaries and improve.
Rendo is like a little village and it is both exciting and relaxing
to walk through its multi-colored streets. I think it is quite
valuable to have the opportunity to meet people from all over the
world, who share similar interests in digital art. Without
Renderosity a lot of friendships would not exist. Parting
Comments/Advice to other Artists? Ok, now its time for me to
give a parting advice from my AOM-throne to all my inferior
fellows. [extreme laughter] No, I think it is not for me to give
advice. I just believe it is not the main purpose of art to be
rated, and in general it is not possible to do so. So, do the art
for yourself, for your soul, not for the comments, or for an award
do it with passion and enjoy what you do. I think this is the
highest value of art. Take your time, and the effort will pay off.
That is my key to great results. Now you are allowed to applaud and
to go back to your finger paintings. [more laughter] Best wishes,
health and peace to all of you, Thank you, Pascal
Strittmatter
We invite you to view MoppelundWilli's Renderosity Art Gallery.
 To learn more about Renderosity's Artist Of
The Month [AOM] award, and to view our past AOM's, please
visit the AOM
2005 page, which can also be found on the sidebar under
Highlights. |
Comments