For a long time I’ve wanted to do a scene involving Alpha Centauri.I’m particularly interested in this system because of its close proximity to Earth and the likelihood that if mankind ever travels to any star, most likely it will be to Alpha Centauri.This binary system is made up of two primary stars, Alpha Centauri A with 152% the luminosity of our Sun, and Alpha Centauri B at 45% of its luminosity.Recent scientific evidence supports the presence of an exoplanet in close orbit around Alpha Centauri B.Here I’m imagining another planet in orbit around Alpha Centauri B, a ringed gas giant whose ocean-covered moon basks in the warmth of two suns.The hazy orange atmosphere of this moon is thick with organic molecules (Tholins) being synthesized by constant exposure to the stars radiation which could some day lead to primitive life.

I rendered the ocean landscape for this scene using Vue, while everything in the atmosphere was done using Photoshop. The gas giant and clouds were all painted in PS using my custom set of cloud brushes. Rendering the ocean for this scene really pushed my computer to its limits. Any comments you may have on this piece are welcome.

