iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 08/09/2026

Artist! QRP your flowers! 🌼🌷⚘️🪻🌻

A coloful digital painting showing an old painter working at his easel in a garden.

Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 28/08/2026

Sometimes I need to paint but don't know what to paint. Then I just let it loose, phase out my critical thinking and let the lizard brain decide where the journey goes. Here's an unsorted collection of the stuff that comes out of those activities.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 23/06/2026

Here's the artwork. If you're interested in the color sketch and some WIP images, you can visit the project page on my Artstation: www.artstation.com/artwork/wrDYNO

The key artwork for "Polar Darkness" a computer game by Horsefly Games. The image shows the main character that is sinking in a body of water. Inside the characters silhouette, blood red roots are growing below a church. In the background, dark silhouettes of houses and pine trees are visible in front of a diffuse cold sky.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 23/05/2026

This month I'm celebrating the 20th anniversary of my artwork "The Journey Begins" by preparing a tableau version for my home gallery. If you want to get a print of the artwork, you can until the end of May on Kickstarter: kickstarter.wormworldsaga.com

A photo of Daniel Lieske in his studio. He is setting next to a print of his artwork "The Journey Begins". Daniel is wearing a very nice Godzilla t-shirt. He likes this t-shirt a lot as he also likes Godzills a lot.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 28/02/2026

I had a bit more fun with my Hellboy Blender scene from half a year ago. I've been exploring a classic look for the final surface finish and I arrived at this point by using Photoshop's mixer brushes and the fantastic impasto brushes of Rebelle. It's a lot of fun messing up a rendering like that!

A painting of the comic character Hellboy in an iconic pose, standing on a rock inside a dark cave. Hellboy's red skin stands in stark contrast to the greenish tint of his surrounding.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 25/12/2025

Quick news from my side: I've just released Chapter 12 of the Wormworld Saga. You can read it for free at: wormworldsaga.com I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 21/09/2025

It's my birthday today and if you'd like to make me a little gift, you could share the link to the Wormworld Saga website at wormworldsaga.com. What you'll find there is an epic fantasy adventure that's free for everyone to read on a handcrafted website without third party advertising. #indiecomics

A screenshot of the Wormworld Saga website that features an array of chapter cover icons beneath a detailed header illustration.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 25/08/2025

Got a couple of pictures from my latest artwork for you. While working on the "Ring of the Nibelung" piece, I realized that the style would work perfectly on one of my favorite comic characters - Hellboy by @mikemignola.bsky.social. So, it's a fan art for a change! #blender #eevee #hellboy

An iconic composition of the comic book character Hellboy, standing on a rock. In the background, ominous tentacles are writhing.

The same scene, a bit closer to the figure.

The same scene, a bit more closer to the figure.

The same scene, this time a portrait shot of the figure.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 03/08/2025

New version of "Tremble in Terror". I just needed more dark energy in this one. #Blender #eevee

A stylized 3D rendering showing a scene from Richard Wagner's opera "Rheingold". Alberich, the self-proclaimed leader of the Nibelung people, yields his almighty ring and forces his subjects to search for gold and piling up a treasure for him. Below him, on the right side, we see his brother Mime who was forced by Alberich to create him a magic helmet that makes him invisible and lets him assume any form he wishes. In the center of the image, the ring is floating in the air, radiating with evil energy.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 27/07/2025

This is the first illustration that I created 100% in Blender. Titled "Zitt're und Zage!" ("Tremble in Terror!"), it depicts a scene from "Rheingold" an opera by Richard Wagner which I recently discovered to be a huge source of inspiration. More info in the Alt text. #Blender #eevee

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 22/07/2025

Expanding my cast of Niblung folks. What fun is an almighty ring without subjects after all? Putting some more details into the ALT text #blender

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 12/07/2025

I'm evolving my Alberich scene. Today I modeled a new head and played around with some additional post effects.

A heavily post-processed 3D illustration of Alberich the Nibelung. He's standing on a rock, the ring is floating in front of him.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 09/07/2025

Kind of a thing now that people ask me to create key artworks for their indie games. I deeply enjoy the wild mix of genres and styles. The artworks have a horrible aspect ratio to present them on social media. Unless... you stack them! Find close ups and WIPs at www.artstation.com/daniellieske...

A collection of key artworks for different indie computer games, all showing a main character in his game world. Shown here are the artworks for "Bloodmoon Survivors", "Super Dungeon Maker" and "Whiskers & Wizardry".

A collection of key artworks for different indie computer games, all showing a main character in his game world. Shown here are the artworks for "Astroloot", "Blossom - The Seed of Life" and "Stratogun".

A collection of key artworks for different indie computer games, all showing a main character in his game world. Shown here are the artworks for "Up With Doznik", "Earthborne" and "Boomerang Jack".

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 04/07/2025

And some movies for the kids.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 04/07/2025

More work on the Alberich scene. I discovered a couple more tricks in Blender's compositor and I'm very happy that I arrived at this result without a single pixel added in Photoshop. #Blender3D

A stylized 3D rendering of Alberich the Nibelung. He's standing on top of a rock in ecstasy over the creation of the almighty ring which is floating below him in the foreground.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 30/06/2025

Trying to do in Blender what I would normally do with a rough painting. Not caring about anything a traditional 3D artist would care about. Well, and I've got a "Ring des Nibelungen" thing going on. Can't get my head out of that world. Haven't seen enough interesting interpretations of the chars.

A roughly modeled and rendered 3D image of Alberich, the creator of the ring from Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen". Alberich is dark and mysterious, standing on a rock. The light of the ring is reflected in his eyes. In the lower part of the image, a roughly drawn golden ring and the text "Alberich" are added to the composition.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 21/06/2025

Some moving images from those latest experiments.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 13/06/2025

And this one BTW was a total accident when I moved the camera through the beam of a spotlight. I used to PAINT my abstract paintings. Stumbling upon them in a 3D scene is an interesting new option!

A 3D-rendering with heavy post-processing that looks like an abstract painting.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 13/06/2025

Viewport compositing in Blender has become wild. I used to create images like these with a whole lot of post-processing in Photoshop, always being locked in to a specific shot chosen. These however are all directly from Blender. No 2D retouch whatsoever. Fully editable in real-time. #blender #eevee

A post-processed 3D forest landscape rendering.

A post-processed 3D forest landscape rendering. A small character is sitting on a rock at a lake.

A semi-abstract post-processed 3D forest landscape rendering.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 07/04/2025

Blue Herb Software just released their retro jump 'n' run "Bones Beneath" for which I had the pleasure to create a key artwork and a full set of steam capsules. You can check out the game on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/2874550/... WIPs on Artstation: www.artstation.com/artwork/BXrW3D

Digital painting of a jump 'n' run character with a Fedora hat and a whip, jumping through a dangerous parkour, being attacked by floating skulls.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 29/03/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 5. Jonas and Raya travel on the River of Life towards an uncertain fate. Read almost 500 pages for free at wormworldsaga.com #webcomic #comic #indiecomic #humanartist

A digital painting of a fantasy landscape. A river is running through a landscape in which huge tilted rock formations lay scattered around. In the sky, planets of different sizes are visible.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 26/03/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 8. We've already seen the East Gate of Kingspeak a couple of posts ago. This is how it looks from the outside. Catch more glimpses of the epic architecture of the Wormworld at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic #indiecomic

A painting of a medival city gate. Ox wagons can be seen rolling through it.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 22/03/2025

Random panel artwork of the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 11. In order to rescue Princess Raya, Jonas and Otomo have to sneak into the underground hidout of the Scrat bandits. See how that turns out at wormworldsaga.com. It's free! #webcomic #comic #indiecomic

A digital painting of an underground settlement. Haphazardly constructed wooden sheds fill the crevices between giant rocks.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 21/03/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 1. At this point, Jonas has no idea yet what great adventure lies ahead. Join him on his discovery at wormworldsaga.com. 100% free. #webcomic #comic #indiecomic

Painted artwork showing a young boy kneeling in front of an old trunk in an attic. He's holding up a wooden sword that glows in the beam of his flashlight.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 20/03/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 8. The ore wagons leave the city of Kingspeak through the eastern gate. Where do they travel to? Find out at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic #indiecomic

A digital painting of a fantasy city scene. Large wagons roll towards a fortified city gate. The houses along the street are colorful and palm trees grow on some of the roofs.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 15/03/2025

Nosferatu (1922) might be a factor. Although it's more of a temporal pose rather than walking with stretched arms all the times it definitely propagates the idea that sleepwalkers are longing for something in their dreams and reach out to it. Imitations might have degenerated the pose over time.

A stll from the 1922 horror movie "Nosferatu". A woman is sleepwalking and stretches her arms out to reach some illusional object of desire.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 14/03/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 10. Discover the exotic locations and mysterious creatures of the Wormworld at wormworldsaga.com #webcomic #comic #indiecomics

A digital painting of a rocky landscape overgrown by giant mushrooms. In the foreground, dark figures approach what looks like the entry to an underground shelter. A pool of sunlight is illuminating the center of the scene.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 10/03/2025

Yeah, I'm doing some pretty weird experiments in 3D Coat lately. Feels a bit like some unholy marriage of Fimo and 3D pen. There surely must come out something interesting from it. At some point. In the future.

Screenshots of some coloful abstract 3D sculpting.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 09/03/2025

In case you didn't realize, you have an online book shelve with almost 500 pages of a spectacularly illustrated fantasy graphic novel that is all yours to enjoy anytime you need something that gives you a pause from the world. No external brands or algorithms will molest you there. wormworldsaga.com

A screenshot of the Wormworld Saga website. Under a lushly illustrated header you find what looks like a bookstand on which all the chapters are arranged, five in a row.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 25/02/2025

I've fallen into the German expressionism rabbit hole. It's deep and dark and very dramatically lit. My top 3 so far: "Faust" (1926), "Die Nibelungen" (1924) and, of course, "Metropolis" (1927). I knew they were there but only now my mind has truely opened up to them. Total fascination.

A still from the German movie "Faust" (1926). The devil looms over a small town.

A still from the German movie "Faust" (1926). Faust encounters Mephisto at the crossroads.

A still from the German movie "Faust" (1926). Faust is standing over the deadly injured Valentin who was killed by Mephisto.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 11/02/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 7. Molten metal is extracted from the glowing chasm at the Worm Mountain, the only place in the world where fire exists. Start on an epic fantasy adventure for free at wormworldsaga.com #webcomic #comic

A digital painting of an industrial facility. A huge cauldron filled with molten metal is pulled from a glowing chasm.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 08/02/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 4. Start for free on an epic fantasy adventure at wormworldsaga.com #webcomic #comic

A painting of a small boat approaching an overgrown ancient ruin that is partly submerged in water. A dramatic sky is seen in the background

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 03/02/2025

Random panel artwork of the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 10. The morning sun is glistening on the roofs of the Azure Palace in Kingspeak. Start on an epic adventure for free at wormworldsaga.com #webcomic #comic

A digital painting of a city scene. In the center we see a walled group of houses and halls. It is the Azure Palace of Kingspeak and the warm sunlight is glistening on its roofs.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 01/02/2025

New entry to my home gallery! "Cloud Chapel" was a digital painting that I created in 2009. I upgraded it with more texture and resolution before turning it into a tableaux (mounted on 10mm black MDF board and covered in transparent acrylic impasto medium)

A photo of a painting in a golden picture frame. The painting depicts a small chapel sitting on top of a something half rock, half cloud. A golden light is shining on the chapel while the whole scene is tinted in violet and blue hues.

A close up pf the painting without the picture frame.

A photo of the painting sitting on an easel on a crafting table. The surrounding scene is cluttered with paintings, paper models, a 3d printer and other tools.

A photo of the framed painting hanging on the wall surrounded by other framed artworks and empty frames.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 22/01/2025

Random panel artwork of the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 5. You can read it for free at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic

A digital illustration of a river landscape. A wooden transport ship is manouvering between tilted rock formations.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 21/01/2025

A panic inducing fear of fire due to a traumatic experience.

An illustration of a young boy standing in front of a burning house. Firefighters are trying to put out the fire.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 19/01/2025

Had a major fallback to messing up 3D renderings in Photoshop this weekend. I have to do more of this kind, it makes my brain tickle. I might try to get less abstract and a bit more figurative next time.

An abstract illustration of a feathery object presented in dramatic lighting. The whole scene is heavily textured.

A half abstract illustration of a tree in a dark environment. At the base of the tree, a bright warm light is shining from a round hole. The scene is heavily covered in painterly texture.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 19/01/2025

Random panel artwork from the Wormworld Saga. This time from Chapter 9. you can read it for free at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic

Digital illustration of a young boy standi g in front of a burning building. Firefighters are trying to put out the fire.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 14/01/2025

Random panel artwork from the "Wormworld Saga". This time from Chapter 2. You can read it for free at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic

A digital painting of a young boy sitting in an attic and playing with action figures. Rays of sunlight shine into the scene that is bathed in a warm and cozy light.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 08/01/2025

"Rise of the Firelord" is hitting differently today. I wish everyone facing the elements in the LA area superhuman strength and the best of luck in their fight.

A digital artwork of a gigantic fiery monster rising from the ground, dwarfing a little boy who's kneeling on a rock in the foreground.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 14/12/2024

Random panel artwork from the "Wormworld Saga". This time from Chapter 7. You can read it for free at wormworldsaga.com #comic #webcomic

An illustration of a city scene. In the foreground, a little furry animal - half fox, half sqirrel - is looking at the beholder. In the midground, people are walking in a colorful street that leads towards a steep slope covered in houses and large copper pipes.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 11/12/2024

Random panel artwork from the "Wormworld Saga". This time from Chapter 5. You can read almost 500 pages for free at wormworldsaga.com

A tall artwork depicting a sunken city overgrown by vines and trees. The last rays of a setting sun are gracing a balcony on which a woman and a boy are standing, looking into the sky. The cloudy sky above the scene is full of planets and moons.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 10/12/2024

Random panel artwork from the "Wormworld Saga". This time from Chapter 2. I love the forests in summer. And I think in this panel I managed to capture that special light that you find in them.

An artwork depicting a young boy in a red jumper walking over the stem of a fallen tree bridging a small brook. The setting is a forest in summer. Islands of warm sunlight are scattered around the ground.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 08/12/2024

This weekend I had a great time promoting the Wormworld Saga at German Film Comic Convention in Dortmund. Here's a gallery of fabulous cosplayers who were nice enough to allow me taking a photo.

Cosplayers at the Wormworld Saga booth, featuring the Joker, the Penguin and Harley Quinn in Christmas outfits.

Cosplayers at the Wormworld Saga booth, featuring what I assume are anime characters that I'm too old to know.

The N.E.E.T. soft air team at the Wormworld Saga booth.

Two colorful anime cosplayers at the Wormworld Saga booth

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 05/12/2024

It's time for the occasional abstract painting. Titled "Seed", painted in Photoshop. #digitalpainting #art

An abstract painting depicting something like a colorful seed in a less colorful shell.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 01/12/2024

If you see this, post a knight! - This one is an oldie, almost 20 years old. "Rise of the Firelord" is also the title of the latest chapter of the Wormworld Saga and it's about the same character. Some things take time!

An artwork showing a dark knight standing on a sloping lava stream. Horned skeletons hand a giant red hot war axe to the knight. In the sky a solar eclipse is happening.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 01/12/2024

Some development work on another concept. "Secred Forest" is becoming a series of artwirks in my head and this might be a starting point.

A digital tonal drawing of a city scene. It shows a row of houses with a narrow gap in between them that is filled with a wall with a curcular portal. Ivy is growing out of the portal and behind the wall some tall fir trees are visible. In the foreground, a boy is looking at the portal. He's standing next to a bus stop.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 29/11/2024

If you see this, post fungi! 🍄 Panel artwork from "The Wormworld Saga" Chapter 8. Read it for free at wormworldsaga.com

An artwork depicting a forest of huge mushrooms. In the foreground a wagon is rolling towards the edge of the forest.

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Daniel Lieske @daniellieske.com · 25/11/2024

A quick clip of the "Wormworld Saga" action figures which are, of course, a complete fantasy. If you're curious, you can find more info and pictures here: wormworldsaga.com/artbook/22/

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