starting a set based on brave new world - comp. sketches

[spearfisherzero]

Hey everyone,

I've started working on a set of three illustrations based on Brave New World, the first being an illustration of the lighthouse the savage makes his home after leaving the city. The first image here is my idea for the composition, and what i'm looking for is ways to make the composition stronger. i really wanted to emphasize the scale of the tower, it's separate-ness from the city, and it's decrepitude. I also wanted the image to discuss the symbolism of a defunct lighthouse tower (no longer working and disregarded since the highway it used to light was too dangerous). in a way it symbolizes the savage, who cannot find home between the city and the wild, and now must live on the border between the two. for this reason i wanted to make the lighthouse look long abandoned, but still intact.. anyway - on to the critique !

the other images i'm posting are some early sketches.

[alex_86]

Why does the sky become suddenly dark blue at the top?

[spearfisherzero]

i was experimenting with cloudcover and sunset colors.

[Falchion]

Nicely executed so far. Seems a bit too grungy for BNW though...

[alex_86]

Ah ok, that's sorta what I figured. I would suggest in the final piece to do a soft, gradual gradient for the background, and only lighten and darken areas selectively where there are clouds. Right now it's more of a sharp edge that goes across the sky, and unfortunately also makes a tangent with the top piece of the lighthouse (in the second image).

Also notice there's only one light source in the early morning, the rising sun, like in that reference you posted. Many parts of the landscape are silhouetted at that time, as you can once again see from the reference. I guess my point is some darker values wouldn't hurt, especially since it's a kind of hilly environment.

cheers