The Daily Render

A Digital Scrapbook for the Past, Present, and Future

Ball of Destruction
|| 9/29/2005 || 9:00 pm || 1 Comment Rendered || ||

: rendered at 12,000 X 8,000 :
Ball of Destruction by Nikolas Schiller

Ball of Destruction

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Superdome Quilt
|| 9/8/2005 || 8:06 am || 2 Comments Rendered || ||

: rendered at 18,000 X 12,000 :

Superdome Quilt – Source Imagery from NOAA

Horrid beauty. Symmetry & balance in an area ravaged by my favorite & only subject, Mother Nature.

Like the recent Boston renderings, the colors contained in the source imagery make this image stand out considerably. From what I can tell from the NOAA website, the aerial photography used to make this rendering was taken in the afternoon on a mostly cloudy day. The spots of brightness in the rendering are places where there were holes in the clouds. The dark areas on the ground are the flooded locations. These flooded locations, even the source imagery, are really hard to decipher. Due to the time the photograph was taken and the moisture content in the air, the flooded areas lack some of the detail I was hoping to portray.

When modifying the imagery in Photoshop, I did a simple “auto-levels” to balance out the colors, and surprisingly this change in levels gave some extra clarity to the imagery. If you check out the colors of the source imagery, you know what I’m talking about. Yet, I wish that “auto-levels” in Photoshop had some magical powers that would make the waters in New Orleans go back to their original levels…

When I created the geographic tessellation in Photoshop, I placed the imagery in such a way that the very center of the tessellation was the New Orleans Superdome. I was unable to acquire imagery from NOAA that contained the entire damaged dome in one image (ie, only part of the Super Dome shows up), so you can see how the reflection connects the Super Dome together into a hurricane damaged clover leaf. This centralized geographic identifier makes for some stunning reflections at the center.

Like my earlier experiences using 1st and 2nd derivatives, I have decided to make a 1st derivative rendering using the 6,600 X 6,600 pixels at the center this rendering. I think it’s going to look gorgeous and should be ready sometime tomorrow.

Lastly, like Katrina Quilt & Abstract Katrina, I am putting this one up for sale and the proceeds will go to the disaster relief efforts….hmmm… something that just popped in my head… maybe I could use the money to buy time for a commercial that demands that FEMA director resign. I think that might be a better use of the funds…maybe not… Regardless, heads need to roll and if I am able to help this process, I think I’m helping the disaster relief efforts considerably.

View Details:

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Mall Quilt
|| 6/11/2005 || 8:47 pm || Comments Off on Mall Quilt || ||

: rendered at 12,000 X 8,000 :

love it!

…more about the first image above tomorrow…

==
So the white building near the center of rendering is the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service building. I’ve been to a few meetings there :)

view rendering details:

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DC Memory
|| 4/23/2005 || 8:50 pm || Comments Off on DC Memory || ||

Using the same revised templated used in “GWU Memory,” I made a new rendering of downtown DC. I think the coolest part of the rendering is the “bending” of the White House!

I must thank L’Enfant…

view rendering detail of the White House:

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GWU Memory
|| 4/21/2005 || 12:19 pm || Comments Off on GWU Memory || ||

I have finally created what I feel is a complete Mandala. Normally the renderings only have 2 axises of symmetry and this one has 4, making it my most sophisticated work yet. I’ve already sold my first copy! The process I used to create this rendering is going to be replicated and used for the “Lenz Project” and I am SO excited about how they’ll turn out!!!

=update=
This print was sold to Dr. Marie Price, Chair of the GWU Geography Department.

The Modern Geographer
|| 3/25/2005 || 11:55 am || Comments Off on The Modern Geographer || ||

This is my first draft of what I am calling “The Modern Geographer.” The background is a painting titled “The Geographer” by one of my favorite painters of all time, Johannes Vermeer. I scanned a picture I had of the painting and modified it to give it symmetry. I used a poser from one of my programs and mapped her body with the 2002 USGS aerial photography of the area around the White House in Washington, DC. I ended up rendering it at 8000X6000, but I realized that when I scanned the painting, I scanned it too large so that if you look closely you can actually see the RGB colors dots from the printer. I am going to rescan to the painting so I can downsample it slightly and make the colors a bit more richer. I’m still not sure where I should place the poser, or if I should include more posers, possible give her a globe to gaze at, she is a Modern Geographer afterall…

Related White House Entries:

Related Mother Earth Entries:

Star of Denver
|| 1/27/2005 || 11:01 pm || Comments Off on Star of Denver || ||

Looks like I made another beautiful creation! Of course the 1200X800 pixels above do no justice for the original 20000X15000 pixels, but the way the aerial photograph was captured gives some beautiful symmetry. The straight grid streets line up nicely, and the shadows of the late day photograph make the buildings look larger than life. I already know who is getting the first print of this one :-)

===
There have been two prints of this map. The first was given to Joseph Kerski, Geographer at the USGS in the spring of 2005 and the second was sold during the fall of 2005 to a relative of former professor.

Star of the Middle East #2
|| 1/18/2005 || 11:03 pm || Comments Off on Star of the Middle East #2 || ||

Star of the Middle East no.2 by Nikolas Schiller

This is my first redesign of the “star of..” series. I added two more rings and now it almost looks like a molecule! I think its absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to get it printed!!

Related Star Series Maps:

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Star of Ganges River Delta
|| 11/13/2004 || 10:54 am || Comments Off on Star of Ganges River Delta || ||

Star of the Ganges River Delta by Nikolas Schiller

Currently on display at the George Washington University’s Geography Department.

DC Lenz #2
|| 10/19/2004 || 8:15 pm || Comments Off on DC Lenz #2 || ||

When I made this, I knew I made what I felt to be one of the most beautiful creations of my lifetime.

===Update 12/10/04===
Sold this print to my old professor Thomas Foggin

===Update 2/10/04===
Sold another copy of this print to my friend Adam Eidinger

===Update 3/14/07===
Featured in the Washington Post

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Nikolas Schiller is a second-class American citizen living in America's last colony, Washington, DC. This blog is my on-line repository of what I have created or found on-line since May of 2004. If you have any questions or comments, please contact: