On this page are my digital paintings, created using Lightwave, Photoshop, and Illustrator.  Virtually every element created in Lightwave was heavily modified with Photoshop.  For any photographic elements incorporated into the images, I took the pictures.  Click on any of the images below to view a larger version.

STAR TREK

In 1973, a Saturday morning cartoon based on Star Trek aired.  After the series was released on DVD, I decided to create images based on some of the episodes.

In the animated Star Trek episode The Survivor, the U.S.S. enterprise encounters a small, derelict spaceship near the Romulan Neutral Zone.  The ship was unnamed, so I marked it the S.S. Anne Nored, after the owner’s fiancee. 

In the episode, the derelict was shown only in the distance, and was difficult to see clearly.  Nevertheless, I attempted to be faithful to the design, though I did make some modifications.  Apart from weathering, I created the Lightwave model of the derelict clean; I added the scorch marks and damage in Photoshop. 

The second image depicts a scene from One of Our Planets is Missing.  In this episode, the Enterprise investigates an enormous space cloud, which threatens a populated planet.  The cloud turns out to be a living organism, and the ship encounters antibodies inside it. 

This is one of the earliest images I created.  Apart from the small starfield behind the cloud, the only thing easy about this piece was making the antibodies.  I made opaque “blobs” in Lightwave, and used Photoshop to create the appearance of translucent outer skins surrounding  opaque cores.

In The Pirates of Orion, the Enterprise must locate an Orion pirate vessel, which has stolen medication needed to cure Mr. Spock of a terminal illness.  Unlike the previous two images, which were my original compositions, this image is a loose recreation of an actual shot from the episode.  

The Orion ship was tough to interpret in 3D, partially because it was drawn inconsistently throughout the show.  I wasn’t concerned with 100% accuracy when I built the ship in Lightwave.  I added orange and blue lighting on the ships and asteroids in Photoshop.

COMICS

I have always liked comic book heroes, and the worlds they inhabit.  I have been making images of comic book characters since I was a small child, like most boys.

Mary Marvel, the World’s Mightiest Girl, is the sister of Captain Marvel. The Marvel Family are my favorite comic book heroes, going back to first grade.

This image is a loose reproduction of a pen-and-ink panel from WHIZ Comics #2, 1940.  In a secret tunnel connected to the city’s subway system, newsboy Billy Batson is being taken to meet Shazam, an Egyptian wizard who has lived thousands of years.  The wizard will give Billy the ability to become Captain Marvel, the World’s Mightiest Mortal. 

At Superman’s Fortress of Solitude,  Brainiac’s starship is attacking Superman, who is fighting back with his heat vision. 

The only photographic element of this picture is the sky, and the photo was taken on a sweltering August afternoon in Florida.  Brainiac’s beam is so bright that it renders Superman’s cape transparent.  I rendered Superman’s cape opaque in Lightwave, and created the illusion of transparency in Photoshop. 

Superman, the Flash, and the Manhunter from Mars are conferring in the satellite headquarters of the Justice League of America.

Making this image took relatively little time.  Creating the texture for the satellite was the only time consuming part of the work.  The Moon and reflection of the Earth are quick Photoshops using the Galactic Traveller Magazine Cover image on the Graphic Design page.

OTHER IMAGES

I created this image to depict what it would look like inside the game of Pac Man.  This is the first digital painting I made using elements created in Lightwave.