I wanted to do something with lots of jewel tones. Created entirely in Paint Shop Pro.

I took the fractal I used in Storms of Life and played with it, rotating, recoloring, adding layers, etc., and ended up with something that looks rather like a combination between a gravity well and a lightning storm.

This was the result of playing around with gradient overlays and an old Apophysis render that had been calling for me to find a use for it. The jewel is actually the first one I ever designed in 2008 following a tutorial, but for some reason I missed the part about how to add the shine and couldn't figure out why it looked so flat . Three years later I finally revisited it and came up with this.

This fractal created in Apophysis turned out looking like some very brightly-colored coral. I added the gold framing and gem in Paint Shop Pro.

This was the result of playing with golden spirals. And the dark greens and blues, plus a little hint of purple, look like something under deep waters.

“It glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Even-star had come down to rest upon her hand.”
- The Lord of the Rings, Book II, Chapter 7

This is my stylized version of Nenya, the ring of water, one of the three Elvin-rings. The background is an Apophysis fractal, the rest was drawn in Paint Shop Pro.

I wanted to try something metallic besides gold and silver, and I remember my high school Chemistry kit had a copper compound that was bright blue (azurite?), so I decided to try them together. Then these butterflies showed up fluttering across my screen and offered to pose for me, so here they are! Actually it's an Apophysis fractal that I thought looked like a butterfly. You have to have a good imagination working with fractals! This was also another attempt at drawing faceted gems.

Hiddenite , or Lithia Emerald, is a rare green gemstone. It was discovered in western North Carolina in 1879, and named after the geologist William Hidden.

This picture of course is not a photograph of actual hiddenite. It's a combination of my drawing with an Apophysis fractal for the background. I laid out the design to give the effect of heading into a dark cave where such gemstones might be mined. This piece was also an experiment in drawing faceted gems - they're harder than the round orbs.

This was one of my first fractal/abstract works. I was practicing how to make the jeweled orbs and metallic filigree. I think the jewel turned out pretty well, but the filigree was still a bit rough around the edges. I chose the title because I like the word “dusky” as well as the the dark grey/blue/purple color it sometimes signifies. A few months later when I got a grey kitten I named him “Dusky” too.