Dieki's Dreamings

Tellure Finis

2011-12-15T07:56:00.001-08:00

So much for regular updates... I'm really bad at this. But! I've got an exploding planet now, and I've never done that before.

Program: Photoshop CS5
Time: 4 hours
Layers: I don't know.

Forever Lost

2011-11-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

More celestial painting! :D I think this is my best one yet; I tried some new techniques on the nebula, and I really like how they turned out.

[Download Wallpaper]

Artists - Wallpaper

2011-10-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Empty Page - Wallpaper

2011-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've not posted recently, but I've kept on making art as ever before; so you can expect regular updates now. :D

This is from a line of typographic wallpapers, with many more to be posted shortly. :) Quote by Becky Sharkey.

[Download]

Wandering Planet

2011-06-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick experiment with cloud painting.

Refugee

2011-06-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Spaceships! You've finally got a painting with a spaceship in it. I'm a bit annoyed at the glow on the planet, but I'm not sure what I can do to it anymore.

Ring Of Evil - Revisited

2011-04-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Original Ring of Evil

This is a revisit to Ring of Evil, a previous wallpaper of mine. My skills have improved since then, and I now know how to do better glow effects. I've also redone the clouds for realism, and shifted the character to the right of the image for better composition.

Which one do you like better? Let me know in the comments!

[Download Wallpaper]

Stock credit: Flickr user allenellisdewitt, Flickr user njj4, DeviantArt user Liam-Stock.
Special thanks: Becky Sharkey, Matthew Sample II.
Image license: CC-BY-SA-NC

Shields Up!

2011-04-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Everybody does their shields the same boring way - clouds mapped to a sphere. So I decided to do mine a bit differently. By applying the Fibers filter prior to spherization, the clouds turn into these streaks of beautiful light, shielding my little fighter from the effects of hyperspace travel in a throughly unique way.

Orbit

2011-04-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

No wallpapers this time, but a space piece nonetheless! This is my first attempt at a gas giant planet, and I think it turned out pretty well. I may also have finally figured out a reliable way to do oceans.

Nebula #4

2011-03-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

I think I managed to add a proper sense of depth on this image, which is something I've failed at with space images in the past. :D

Royal Sunrise

2011-03-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Back to space pictures! I've improved the look of my clouds, I think, and the sky background is a lot better. My planet has proper continents, and the limb of the planet is way more realistic. I figured out a way to get a better ground texture too, but that's for another blog post.

Magical Forest

2011-03-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Fog is awesome. Fog is really, really awesome.

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Stock image by Flickr user ilovebutter

Ring of Evil

2011-02-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice magic-themed wallpaper for you all! Katie Daniels from http://katies-song.blogspot.com/ wrote a story based on it; check it out:

Aularia stood on the dark hill and looked around nervously. It had been years since she had visited this place but the prickle on the back of her neck told her that the magic was still strong. The dark cloak she wore blended into the surroundings and she knew that a casual observer would see nothing more than another dark area in the surrounding inky darkness.

“Not for long,” she thought smugly. “Not long now at all. They’ll all see me then.”

She started the first spell, focusing on the smallest rock in the ring. For a moment there was surprise as the connection was reopened, almost breaking her concentration. A thrill ran through her at the unfamiliar taste of power. This was food and drink to her, this was worth more than joy and love. She savored the flavor of it. She would kill for this.

A glowing rune appeared over the stone when the first spell was completed. She chanted louder, turning to the second stone. The magic was hungry, eager. It had been centuries since anyone had opened the transfer and found a use for it.

The incredible force and strength of it threatened to overwhelm her as one after another the chants were ended, the spells completed, and a glowing rune hovered over each of the ancient stones. Finally the ring was complete.

The hillside was alight like a flaming beacon and Auloria’s breath came in gasps as she struggled to hold it all. Power coursed through her veins like fire. No one could stop her. No one could- ever- stop her-

She began the last spell, and one by one the glowing runes surrounded her. There was a roaring in her ears that grew and crescendoed. The heat between her hands was almost too much to hold on to; she choked on the last words of the spell. Her breath came in shuddering gasps and she wondered if the magic was going to destroy her before she mastered it.

Then her hands were pulled upward by a force not her own and white fire shot toward the sky. The spell was complete and she screamed aloud in pain and ecstasy, for victory and defeat, freedom and slavery, power and destruction. She turned to the village she had once called home, to the people who had cast her out. She was strong enough. She held the power. She would prove her strength with her vengeance and they would all perish tonight.

- Katie Daniels

[Download wallpaper]

Stock credit: Flickr user allenellisdewitt, Flickr user njj4, DeviantArt user Liam-Stock. CC-BY-SA-NC

Path

2011-02-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Level horizons are boring. I'm gonna try a some more creative angles over the next few photomanips.

Stock photos by Elliot Brown, Flickr user njj4, and Flickr user allenellisdewitt. CC-BY-SA-NC

Lantern Waste

2011-02-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

Finally! I can't believe I've been photo-manipulating for all this time without a single Narnia-themed image. This one's of Lantern Waste in summer - there's way too many images of it in winter.

I want to do some more of these, so if there's other Narnia scenes you'd like to see, comment and let me know! I'd be glad to hear of them.

Death

2011-02-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

This image was created as part of a challenge to make an image that's inspired by a single word, in this case "Death".

Evanescence

2011-02-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Magically transported from her normal surroundings, the character finds herself at the top of a mountain so tall she can't see the ground. Light breaks from the clouds as her ghostly form flickers and wavers.

Girl by lardacil-stock. Stairs by b-squared-stock.

[Download Wallpaper]

Burning Star

2011-02-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Another cosmic painting! This one's not quite wallpaper resolution, sorry. I've got another space piece mostly finished, stay tuned!

As always, comments welcome.

Deathly Visage

2011-02-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

A deadly warrior hovers above the roof of a skyscraper, preparing to rain down ruin and destruction from the skies. The city knows nothing; if they but looked up, the face of death is already upon them.

(Thanks to Matthew Sample (http://matthewsample2.blogspot.com/) for the help with lighting! Girl by night-fate-stock.)

Darkness Surrounding

2011-01-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

Taking a short break from space pieces, I bring you another fantasy photomanip!

In a land not-so-far away,
Evil is never far astray.
But lose not hope; something cannot be hidden.
A defense, setting light against dark; nothing enters unbidden.
Weathering waves of both centuries and sea;
Against it all armies break and flee.

[Download Wallpaper]

Nebula #3

2010-12-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Another space wallpaper! In this piece, I'm trying a couple new techniques to improve realism. I've got a very faint nebulous texture in the background, and a dimmer "halo" around the main nebula.

[Download Wallpaper]

Beautiful Serenity

2010-12-27T12:48:00.001-08:00

Finally! It's here!

This is the result of +10 hours of work, spread out over several days. I may put up a tutorial later.

I really like the way the planet turned out; the highlights are absolutely beautiful. The oceans look very realistic, and the light feels just like it should. With help from my friend Matthew Sample, I finally got the moon to look a realistic distance away from the planet.

It's also wallpaper-resolution (1920x1080; if you need bigger, comment and ask!), and balanced to the right to leave room for desktop icons. Overall, I'm really happy with it, and I think it's one of my best creations yet.

If you like it, be sure to share it!

[Download Wallpaper]

We're getting sucked in....

2010-12-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

More wallpaper! And I've got the promised Photoshop creation coming this afternoon. Wait for it! ;)

[Download Wallpaper]

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T05:55:00.000-08:00

An abstract nebula, created with the Liquefy tool. I've got a couple more space creations coming up in the next few days; this is not the creation I promised on Buzz. It's gonna be lot more awesome than this, I assure you. :)

Feel free to use any of my images as a wallpapers! This one's 1920x1080, so it'll work on almost any widescreen display.

Merry Christmas!

[Download Wallpaper]

Lightspeed!

2010-12-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

I did this because I'm experimenting with Photoshop's 3D functions. That's a 3D model from 3DVia, composited with some motion blur effects for the background, with a few flame effects in the foreground.

I think Photoshop's 3D functions have some merit, but I don't have the time to learn 3D modelling right now. So I'm limited to using other people's models, which greatly limits its use cases.