A mystery

Resurrecting the stylistic banalities of surrealist painting,
Michael Hunter takes a somewhat relaxed approach to the topic, playfully
reminding us of the last century's preoccupation with the
mysteries of the subconscious mind.

The picture demonstrates a good technical command of the
medium and takes advantage of the similarity between the tidy styles
of Magritte and Delvaux and the clean signature of a raytraced image.
In each case the "heightened" reality of the dreamworld is insinuated.

This sense of tidiness extends to the careful rationality of the 
composition which contrasts with the irrational juxtapositions of the 
content. All in all, a pleasing recreation of the surrealist idiom.


A study in scarlet

This scene patiently recalls the literary genre of mystery writing. 
Taking the classic scene-of-the-crime as a hiding place for clues, 
Stephan Ferrell imbeds a whole checklist of references to some classics 
of the genre.  The rendering is  as satisfyingly stylized as is the 
literary form.  The picture's reach never exceeds its grasp.


The blob tree

This image has a deja vue feel to it.  But I gotta admit, it made me laugh.


Mask

This image has a plastic brilliance whatever its relation to the topic.


Tzolkin

Majorie Graterol is a long time contributer to the IRTC and her pictures 
always demonstrate a personal, thoughtful approach to the topic and an 
idiomatic, painterly rendering style.  Here she brings to our attention 
the amazing complexity of the Mayan calender in contrast to what we take 
as primitive in their ancient culture.  Painstaking heightfield 
recreations of the Maya Tzolkin are set among historic ruins, and actual 
terrain, recreated with equal care.  At the focus of the composition is 
a mysterious assemblage of forms which suggest the roundness of the 
globe, and which mock this European 'discovery'.

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Jim Charter <jrc### [at] aolcom> wrote in message
news:3f399238$1@news.povray.org...
> A mystery
> This sense of tidiness extends to the careful rationality of the
> composition which contrasts with the irrational juxtapositions of the
> content. All in all, a pleasing recreation of the surrealist idiom.

Agreed, and I sure hope he enters this round!

>
> A study in scarlet
> This scene patiently recalls the literary genre of mystery writing.
> Taking the classic scene-of-the-crime as a hiding place for clues,
> Stephan Ferrell imbeds a whole checklist of references to some classics
> of the genre.  The rendering is  as satisfyingly stylized as is the
> literary form.  The picture's reach never exceeds its grasp.

Yes, a very nice image.  Stephen's images are always among the first I look
at. This one exhibits all of his usual attention to architectural detail,
and he has outdone himself with the lighting here.
>
>
> The blob tree
> This image has a deja vue feel to it.  But I gotta admit, it made me
laugh.
>

And I'm still trying to find time to check out his macro to place all the
blobs!  Can't have been easy!

>
> Mask
>
> This image has a plastic brilliance whatever its relation to the topic.

Kzerphii has a distinctive approach to color that demands your attention.
I'll admit I don't always "get" his work but I certainly enjoy it!   Hoping
to see him in the current round also.

>
>
> Tzolkin
>
> Majorie Graterol is a long time contributer to the IRTC and her pictures
> always demonstrate a personal, thoughtful approach to the topic and an
> idiomatic, painterly rendering style.  Here she brings to our attention
> the amazing complexity of the Mayan calender in contrast to what we take
> as primitive in their ancient culture.  Painstaking heightfield
> recreations of the Maya Tzolkin are set among historic ruins, and actual
> terrain, recreated with equal care.  At the focus of the composition is
> a mysterious assemblage of forms which suggest the roundness of the
> globe, and which mock this European 'discovery'.

Another great entry, my only complaint on this one is that it isn't larger!
There is an amazing amount of detail in her work that unfortunately isn't
fully evident in the smaller render.  Her "It makes me wonder" entry in the
Jan-Feb 02 round is one of my all time favorites.

RG

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>>
>>The blob tree
>>This image has a deja vue feel to it.  But I gotta admit, it made me
> laugh.
> 
> 
> And I'm still trying to find time to check out his macro to place all the
> blobs!  Can't have been easy!

In fact, it was not so difficult: I used the trace macro and from high 
above the tree (but within x-z bouding box) and hit rays vertically and 
randomly until I hit the tree, then check that normal was approximately 
y and found position was far enough from other blobs (I recorded 
position in an array) and that's it.
It's possible the trace-code is not included in the zipfile, I don't 
remember.


Nicolas

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"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] aolcom> wrote in message
news:3f399238$1@news.povray.org...
|
| A study in scarlet
|
| This scene patiently recalls the literary genre of
| mystery writing. Taking the classic scene-of-the-crime
| as a hiding place for clues, Stephan Ferrell imbeds a
| whole checklist of references to some classics of the
| genre.  The rendering is  as satisfyingly stylized as
| is the literary form.  The picture's reach never exceeds
| its grasp.
|

Glad you brought this one up, Jim. This was definitely my favorite of
the round. The best thing about this image is that the body is not
highlighted in any way. The body is laying in the middle of the room,
but the attention of the viewer is left free to explore the area for
clues.

There is something very mysterious about the stillness of the scene. The
lack of action or progression gives the feeling that this mystery may
never be solved. Unlike most of the other images in this round, there is
no box to be opened, object to be grasped, or threshold to be crossed
which would reveal and diminish the mystery. Excellent pic.

 -Shay

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Thanks Jim and gonzo. Your comments about all the images are very
interesting and worth the time reading them. In fact, these -about all
images- comments are exactly what make the competition a real challenge and
a pleasure, -usually a pain too :-)
Regarding Tzolkin, I wish I could render it bigger. With all the painful
steps I had to go through, just to get the 600 x800 size, I really doubt
I'll do it again. I won't try those height_fields in the way they're used, I
leave them to the pros.

Best Regards,
Marjorie


"gonzo" <rgo### [at] lansetcom> wrote in message
news:3f39c3b9$1@news.povray.org...
> Jim Charter <jrc### [at] aolcom> wrote in message
> news:3f399238$1@news.povray.org...
> > [snip]> > > > Tzolkin
> >
> > Majorie Graterol is a long time contributer to the IRTC and her pictures
> > always demonstrate a personal, thoughtful approach to the topic and an
> > idiomatic, painterly rendering style.  Here she brings to our attention
> > the amazing complexity of the Mayan calender in contrast to what we take
> > as primitive in their ancient culture.  Painstaking heightfield
> > recreations of the Maya Tzolkin are set among historic ruins, and actual
> > terrain, recreated with equal care.  At the focus of the composition is
> > a mysterious assemblage of forms which suggest the roundness of the
> > globe, and which mock this European 'discovery'.
>
> Another great entry, my only complaint on this one is that it isn't
larger!
> There is an amazing amount of detail in her work that unfortunately isn't
> fully evident in the smaller render.  Her "It makes me wonder" entry in
the
> Jan-Feb 02 round is one of my all time favorites.
>
> RG
>
>
>

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