[DerMonkey]

ok, this is my current project.
and since i want to do it real eye-candy, i thought it might be usefull to have more than my single view. :)

for any advise in generall i'd be very thankfull, though i might need some tips considering conception and getting 'depth' into it (background-fog and stuff).
i looked at many pictures, read many tutorials and tried to apply the content- but i still think there is something wrong...

thanks in advance!

[Yoda Almighty]

nice. i like the flames in the background. ;)

[dasAdam]

the background is ok. nothing wrong with it. i guess you should tweak the elements of your forground. the sun seems to be your only light source therefore i would add more shadow to the hangar since the sun doesnt reach there. so basically get the forground darker and more saturated than the background. but i guess u know that already =)
i would get rid of the black building. light it up to gain the depth u seek. cause right noe its the only spot with a high contrast. these little technical (lights) details gain too much attention.
whats with the shading of your 2 chars anyway? is it finished or did u just block in their shapes? cause they need some shadows too ^.^

try to come up with a stronger middleground! that would help a lot!!

did u try to add a smooth shadow casted by the huge cloud formation? maybe it would look cool=)

[DerMonkey]

thx adam!
unfortunately i can't continue on this right now, because i got to do much portfolio work..

i already got some tips by cb3, which were also very helpfull.

this is the latest version i did some week ago(not much changed). i think some elements already match some of your tips :)
and yeah, the guys are still basic

[lendrick]

The curves you use in the sky are vaguely reminiscent of Starry Night for some reason. Very cool effect. :)

[DerMonkey]

when i skipped through my folders this morning, i found this again.
so i took it a little further by tweaking the fov of the foreground hangar and adding some technical stuff on the right. still very scetchy tho and to be taken furhter.
but my direct question is (i'm too dumb these days... :P), i still having trouble with the background fog/haze. i added it to put some depth into the piece and increasing the feeling of height.
but i just can't get it right... i don't know what i'm doing wrong, i tried very long time with color correction an such, but it just does't seem to "fit in"
thx for your help everyone! :)

[dasAdam]

i gave it a try. basically i added more contrast to the forground and got rid of it in the background. the clouds were too contrasty to be behind the buildings. also tried to let the indirect diffuse light reach your hangar.
added more orange to the sky for the dawn feeling :)

[DerMonkey]

cheers adam!
though the op wasn't what i expected (so sorry ), it somehow lead me towards the problem i was thinking about- so it was helpfull in the end :)

worked a bit (and still much to do) on the bg, further overall tweak and some detail work on the guys in the front. i also might totally redo the ship on the left.. -.-

[DerMonkey]

maaaan, that background drives me crazy... guess i have to redo the entire clouds :( :(


however, here is the new version of the ship. i recently bought the orange-box (whoa, episode two is so damn hot!!); and i just love the combine air-units design... so i took a dropship as reference and adapted it..
it's still very alpha, but i already like it more than the previous one^^

[DerMonkey]

well, after i finished the "bug"-ship, i realised that it totally doesn't fit. that sucked, because i was quite happy with the colors and the patterns on the 'amor'...
but it's no use, i had to redo it.
so i started over, remembering the choppers. but this time, i didn't used a reference, i just painted straight from my head with the palette knife. that felt much better. and i think it fits more into the piece.
so it's hl2 inspired, but pretty much my own interpretation.

i also worked on the bg a bit, using the transform tool and duplication of layers, what gave it a more 'solid' feel.

[DerMonkey]

ok, cb3 provided me again with a very nice overpaint and tips for color-correction... thank you again!

well here's my actual version with color-correction only;

and the same thumb where i scetched on a seperate layer, to have done some quick thoughts.

[dasAdam]

looks much better now! it even reminds me of my overpaint of that piece ;P hehe.
nice ship design too! keep it up and you will finally get it done

[DerMonkey]

thanks adam! i'll do three marks when i'm through with it^^

here's the most actual version. i think i'm into the final stage of the background right now, details over details. many aren't even visible at this size/compression.
hope i can enter this stage as well for the forground soon.

[CB3]

Remember DerMonkey, strive to make the sweet love to the piece, for it is within that passion, that you will both find the harmony you seek...!

XD

[DerMonkey]

uuhuu sweet love... *sing*