Bridge Idea
To start off my detailed designs I chose to use the bridge idea I had.
I started by drawing an outline for the parts of the image. From here i started to think of how the bridge looks and tried to make it look nice, however this caused me to shrink it a bit and i feel it's thrown the composition off so I will be revisiting it.
After working on the outlines i started to think of the texture for the rocks, bridge and tree. I got some texture images off the internet and start to place them in their places to see how it looks. Currently this is what i've got to:
I need to work on the perspective of the images as well as the design of the bridge, after that i need to work on the landscape and also the little cottage. In order to get a better sense of style and design for my landscape, bridge and cottage, as well as colour and lighting, i'm going to create a moodboard focused on this landscape design.
This is what i've come up with for a focused moodboard:
I only have a small selection of images here as i struggled to find things i felt would be helpful, in the future i should have a much wider range of references to work from so i don't limit my work.
Detailing:
I started by sketching the image more, slowly building upon what was there and adding more life to the image and detailing what was there. I changed the bridge, the house and added lights on the path.
After these sketches, i started to think of texture and also colour, using special brushes for leaves and grass to colour the landscape. As these brushes are new to me, i'm still getting used to them and working out what works best for them to make things seem more natural.
Unfortunately, I realised after adding all the colour to the image, that it was originally supposed to be a night time setting and all the colours were too bright and need to be changed, something i will do if i take this as my final piece.
Simply changing the Luminosity of the layers made it appear more like a night time scene. I'll have to look at a lot of night time art to get a better sense of colours to do this one.
City Idea
After doing the bridge idea, i decided to move onto one of my other ideas that had a city on top of a cliff with a character looking towards it.
This idea was rather intersting to me as there is a lot more going on here then the previous one even though there is a lot of empty space. Theres a sense of motion from the character that looks towards the city as well as the cliffs that point towards the city, This helps to highlight the city.
Instead of following the process i did last time and using texture images and making a mood board i decided to go straight into it. This may not have been the best approach, however i didn't find the textures helpful last time and i didn't produce a useful mood board. This is something i will have to work on to develop a more effective work flow.
Detailing:
I started off my detailing by building upon the shaded landscape, making the shapes be defined and showing the seperation between trees, cliffs and the city. From there i thought of what the city could look like from this angle.
Currently the city contains 4 buildings and a central tree surronded by walls. The angle seems slightly weird to me as it appears there is a sudden drop down after the wall that places the buildings lower, so i'm going to have to put a lot more work into the city to make it look more appealing.
After building upon the landscape i started to build upon the character. I decided to use a character i designed as a task over the past summer, Lilius the Slime, as the character in this image. She has long flowing hair and a dress like outfit that fit her agile fighting style and wind elemental attribute. I wanted to use her clothes to show the effects of the wind that passes through this valley, something that will also be animated later on.
I started off with her facing towards the city that helps to create a sense of motion. However, after some thinking i decided to try sketching her facing towards where the person that is looking into this world and holding out her hand to them. This i feel brings the person into this world as if they are being guided by Lilius as she extends a hand to them. I kept the flow of the clothes and hair the same as before so she still helps show the wind in the valley.
After finishing my sketching, i started to add colour to the image using the same brushes i was using for the bridge idea. They help me mark out the landscape nicely and also add texture to image.
If i decide to take this idea forward I'll need to look at a lot of references for help in terms of colour as well as a little design. I'll also need to experiment with the brushes to get better texture into the landscape. Something i'll need to think through also is how to regain the sense of motion i lost when i changed how Lilius is in the image. I'm thinking i could have something that is going towards the city that adds more motion.
Decision
Currently, i'm not sure which idea i want to carry forward. I'm certain that i'm capable of doing both ideas and finishing them to a high standard, however i'm not sure which one will be the easier or the most rewarding.
At the current stage i'm at on both of them, I feel stuck. One is completely incorrect in terms of colour while the other needs to have more time on the design of the city and also thought into the sense of motion in the image. I feel that i would like to experiment with some small scenes in a night time setting as well as spend some time drawing and studying some cities before i make a decision.
Another thought i have is how i'm too dependent upon lineart instead of using shading and painting. I need to try and move away from using lines to define shapes while doing landscape work.