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jrmalone β The Loxo Veil
Published: 2011-04-04 17:29:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 2035; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 93
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Description
The largest inner-most moon orbiting the gas giant Boreas, Loxo is an inhospitable world plagued with volcanoes, earthquakes and toxic gases, making it unsuitable for human exploration and colonization. It lies within one of the strongest electromagnetic zones of Boreas, disrupting even the most sophisticated ships' navigation and comm systems. Or maybe that's just an elaborate guise to keep the ever-curious humans away. Beneath the murky veil of its supposed toxic atmosphere, something thrives: a displaced species of aliens whose original home world died, and who wish to remain hidden and secret from the human colonists. Unbeknownst to each species, the fate of their existences is intertwined.--------
I promise that at some point all of these arcs and subplots will make sense.
We wanted to emphasize the struggles of the humans and not bog down the already complicated story with aliens all over the place. But there HAVE to be aliens, of course! I can't say much more about these creatures at the moment. This is just an introduction... For now, we'll call them the "Loxonians"!
The Loxianian here is M4 using the Creature Morphs; suit was created in Marvelous Designer 2 by Ariel-X, which I modified slightly and tweaked afterwards in Hexagon. Rocks and terrains were created by me in Vue 9. Vaganza ship and other objects created by Ariel-X.
Rendered in Vue and postworked in Photoshop.
Extrasolar is a fun project created with
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Comments: 54
WOW! What a scene! I really like the way the "Loxonian" looks here. The way you have the garment swayed in the wind is a class 1 act! You always do such awesome work. Way to go!
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Thank you so much Kikue! I love doing this stuff, and your encouragement is always so uplifting and keeps me driving forward.
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Wow. This is incredible!! The awesome contrast in lighting -- from a dusty, exterior sunset on the right to the glowy, artificial structure in the cave on the left -- is just perfect. It's ridiculously difficult to create a scene with those two extremes and have it look convincing, but you have done so with apparent ease. I also wish I had half your talent for modeling. I cannot model my way out of a paper bag, and therefore depend heavily on skilled individuals (such as yourself) to model neat things and sell them to me so I can render stuff. (If there wasn't a way to purchase 3D models, I'd be rendering primitives...)
The story is very intriguing, too! I cannot seem to render nor write good scifi -- I'm a fantasy/steampunk gal most of the time. But I love READING it, so again, please keep doing what you do!
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Hey, thanks for the kind words and observations!
SciFi has always been my love as far as reading and writing, and now rendering. 
Appreciate your feedback!
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I've got Hexagon, and it mostly makes me frustrated. There are a lot of things I like about it, but some things I just cannot wrap my head around yet. I primarily use 3DS Max when I need to model something, but it has SO many options, I can barely make heads or tails of anything. I used to dream of modeling everything myself, but I've pretty much resigned myself to being a consumer of models and focus on rendering and lighting techniques.
And, yes, I agree -- BjΓΆrn is a wizard!! Your extrasolar project really intrigues me. Love seeing both of your work pop up in my watched deviations. It must be great to have someone to bounce things off of. I used to do that a lot when I was writing, but I just don't seem to have the time for it anymore. Renders are easier for me to set aside and return to in small periods of time than a story or other piece of writing is, so I've mainly channeled my energy into art these days! If only I could manage time dilation, or find a sleep-substitute!
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I hear you! There's just not enough time in the day, and on the weekends I'll always say to myself, "I'm sleeping in tomorrow, dammit!" But I always wake up early and doodle or write, feeling like I'm wasting time if I allow myself to sleep in. A time dilation device would be the bomb, wouldn't it?!
Thank you so much for your kind words on our humble project! We do this for pure fun, and it's great to share it with friends. It's such a wonderful distraction and escape from the day-to-day crap that we're forced to endure. And I love that we can write stories AND illustrate them along the way. The best of both worlds! I agree with you - renders are so much easier to set aside and return to later. With writing, I'm either in that mode or not at all, and if I set it aside it takes a long time to kick my writing muse into gear. But there's nothing sweeter than getting into that writing groove where the words and ideas just pour out.
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I wish you could share the itch. I haven't written like that in nearly a year. Maybe in June when I have some time off... *sigh* I have an idea, but it's being stubborn about presenting itself. Lol.
So, if I wanted to really get into your ExtraSolar project -- reading and viewing illustrations -- is there a particular order I should be following? I kinda just stumbled into this, but am very intrigued!
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Yeah, it's tough to find that groove and scratch that itch when the day-to-day burdens of life bear down on us, eh? My stress is probably trivial compared to what you've told me of yours. Hold on to that idea -- I'm sure you'll find that happy writing place again.
I'm so thrilled that you find our little Extrasolar project intriguing!
I made some rough animations and posted over at YouTube. I'm still learning, so don't laugh at the flaws, but you can get the gist of some of the ideas and back stories. BjΓΆrn made the ships and things low-poly, so they were great to practice the animations. Watch these only if you'd like, or at your leisure. They're short, and I've put them in a little order (I'm afraid even my YouTube channel is willy-nilly too *bah*):
Exodus (this is one of the first I made, but gives a bit of the basics): [link]
Prelude to Exodus (kind of a remake of the previous one, with original music by . This was a blast to make): [link]
Fate of the Orbitals (another original song by our friend, and some back story to the Orbitals): [link]
There are more short ones there, so watch only if you'd like and have the time.
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Holy COW!! 
As incredible as your single images are, the animations are just... MORE incredible. I really found myself forgetting I was watching someone's rendered images, and began to get absorbed into the story. And darn it, I want to see more, LOL. Cannot wait until you get the website up (in all your spare time, *snort*) so I can see/read more!
As far as laughing at the flaws... Are you KIDDING?? Good grief. I don't think I could have scraped my jaw up off the floor long enough to be critical of ANY of what I saw there!
By the way, the original music was just perfect! Haunting, lovely, and incredibly well-executed. I actually first met Lars on Artzone a few years back... We had a conversation about the music of Sophie Zelmani, who is apparently more popular in Sweden than she is here in the US. No idea he was so talented in creating music as well as 3D art. What a delightfully small world, lol!
Honestly... You guys are all much too modest. Your work is very, very, VERY good. And I'm not just saying that!!
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Ah, you're too kind!
That's so cool that you know Lars. He's a great guy and, yes, very talented musically too. I built that first "Exodus" animation around the music -- I listened to it over and over again, and it inspired the little scenes.
Speaking of ArtZone, did I know you there too? That's where I met BjΓΆrn and Lars too. Wasn't sure if you went by another name there. I still pop in over there from time to time, but that place is kind of sad and slow these days. Daz has a good thing with their marketplace, and they could do even better if they'd give AZ a much-needed facelift and inject some enthusiasm into it.
Anyway... I really appreciate your kindness and enthusiasm for our project. Hearing that just makes me so happy!
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I'm KaribousBoutique over at artzone, too. No idea how I managed to stumble into Lars and BjΓΆrn and not you, but I was never very active there. I seem to have (barely) enough time to be social and active at ONE site, and if I try to multitask, I fail at everything! 
Like I said, as soon as the feature movie is in the works, I'll be first in line for the screening. I've actually showed some of your videos to a few of my "digital geek" friends, and they were beyond impressed. Lol. None of us has ever managed to put together anything even remotely that professional looking. I've yet to animate ANYTHING in Vue. Someday, you know, when I win the lottery and have nothing to do but fiddle with my zillion-dollar PC and personal render farm... But in the meantime, I'll live vicariously through the talents of you three guys!
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Yeah, juggling art sites is nearly a full time job. You're not missing much over at ArtZone - needs to be renamed "DeadZone". Kind of sad. A bit more dynamic and fun over here at DA.
Ahh, you're too kind! 
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I have SO much more to learn in Vue before I could even imagine tackling animation. Though, if that lottery thing came through, I could give up everything except eating and 3D. Okay, and raising the kids. They're only 7, so probably not old enough to fend for themselves in the wild yet. *sigh* Darn tiny humans. (And yes, I AM just kidding...) In any event, the lottery thing seems unlikely to come through, so I'll have to fall back on that whole "career" thing, darn it all. If only sleep were optional...
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Very cool job!
very good atmosphere and lighting.
fabric fantastic character.
(It is certainly a good program ... to see if I take a little time to practice ...)
color is also fantastic, friend of mine.
Good image to the end of the day.
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Thanks, my friend!
And yes, Marvelous Designer is a strange little tool, but it has amazing potential. I need lots more practice. I have never made clothes in real life, so it's even harder to do in the computer. I know you will make AMAZING things if you get it.
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Thank you for your confidence. It takes time, and it's hard to find. (and spending all my time in my gallery)
but you look who is doing good things with the program.
His images look best ever completed. So your avatar is better. All their work has improved (and before it was good)
Congratulations!
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Thanks again! Your work is a huge inspiration to me, and I'm so honored to have your input!
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Awesome work man!! Very deeo and wide - very nicely done!!!
greets,
Nenad
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Thank you very much, bud!
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You guys are killing me with all the teases and plot twists! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!
BTW - Love the image here. It has all the right things going for it, lighting, character & clothing and just sheer epicness...
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LOL! Thanks Pete! I'm so glad you like it, and so sorry for the teasers!
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OMG this is so "sure cheeze" it is the epic cheddar! You really did a beautiful job with the character, ship, lighting, details and overall everything! It draws the viewer to want more and I can see already that this will be my favorite part of the story, when you brought in aliens, that did it! Awesome work as always Ryan, you never cease to amaze me
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LMAO Epic Cheddar! Thank you very much, Vee!
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Some of the best cheddar comes from fuzzy thoughts I'd say. ;-P I hope you are enjoying your visits and "you" time. I've been adding more stuff to the site, and keep looking at the pile I have yet to add LOL... yuck! I look forward to seeing more about your ES aliens, Epic Cheddar!
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Ooooo, now that is one cool looking scene! I really like how you have included the entrance as well as the interior of the moon all the way to the hidden city. Awesome! totally makes the viewer follow the path. Wow, Bjorn's suit turned out perfectly!! Did you guys try that wind feature? It's pretty cool. hehe Did you use it for the other characters as well and just re-simulate in another pose? They are so far away, it's hard to tell. Love the morph you have created for the Loxonian. These look like very interesting characters and I look forward to learning more about them. I also like how you have the ship just casually passing thru. hehe Brilliant work sweetie! I am so amazed every time I view your epic images, there is always so much detail and lots of interesting things to look at. Just love this one! Even the title sounds cool. hehe Yea!
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Your most welcome! I love that wind feature too! hehe Did you get the most recent update to MD2? It was dated the end of March and they improved the pin picking feature so the pins are waaaaaay easier to work with. If not, you should get it. Lots of good fixes. You guys are doing great! I look forward to reading your stories, but I know it all takes time. So no rush, just have fun! Weeeeee!
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Yeah, I got it, and they really did make improvements with the pins -- though I'm still clumsy with everything.
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Me too! I'm slower then molasses. hehe The pin's work soooo much better though. A big help! Yea!
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You do the best sci-fi pieces. I love this scene!
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Thanks!
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Wow - that is incredible. Excellent work (play) I love the colors - blue and orange work so well together. Another MD2 fan - I am always so far behind on this stuff. LOL.
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Thank you so much Delia!
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Well I think you are doing great.
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Thanks Lance!
I always appreciate your enthusiasm and support!
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You're most welcome, bud! 
Well, thank you two for sharing your vision! I've been fascinated by watching this project evolve!
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OH!!! I like "Loxian"!!!!
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Yes, me too! Thank Lance for that one!
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That's some pretty fantastic composition! I loving the colours and the mood, and is that a monk?
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Thanks bud!
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Wow... I really like the sense of scale in this. You have created a fantastic point of view. BjΓΆrn mentioned something about the new Vue-version has a better support for shaping mountain formations? This looks a lot more natural in any case. Good work with the aliens and the clothes. Did you just abandon Panavision?
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Hey, thanks Lars! Yeah, I tried some new techniques with the terrains, but also used a displacement material on it, which gives much better details and variations with the rocks (but it punishes the computer with a long render time). Actually this is Panavision size!
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I LOVE IT! I love everything about it. It is WOW on so many levels! Are you Vulcan?
The Loxonian look awesome and the secret city in the caves is so inspirational! It is breathtaking. The landscape and the atmosphere are beautiful too. I love exploring our universe. 
Live long and prosper
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