Sky Utopia II

[Drazelic]

So, before I go any further with this piece, I'm going to see if anyone has anything to point out.

[Pix3M]

Less visual priority on the cyan-colored bottom of our utopia, perhaps?

I would hate to see a good piece overlook that quirky choice for a focal point, unintended or otherwise.

[Mathias]

Will this have a logo or other element(s) overlaid on it somewhere, like a title screen does? If not, then why not crop out the bottom third - it doesn't seem important.
If anything, give the top of the scene more breathing room. The structure seems mushed up against the top of the canvas compared to the bottom, which has so much seemingly unnecessary "extra" space.

[Drazelic]

Hm. What if I work with the inadvertent higher focus on the bottom by putting one or several jet-fighter-shaped ships on the bottom, curving in towards the city at a trajectory?

[Mathias]

Sounds like a fair idea. But remember the phrase - "Kill your darlings." An ideology I enthusiastically advocate. Nothing is sacred - not a single pixel of anyone's work isn't subject to improvement, so why undermine your own work by not implementing new/better ideas when they reveal themselves, even if it means re-doing all or a large portion of something.

Is this a title screen?

What is the massive column of blue below the city?

If this floating city is above the clouds, why are there clouds massed above and around it?

Here's some nifty environment concept inspiration - http://www.fzdschool.com/gallery_digital_painting_05.html

[CrazyMLC]

I really like how this looks. Sort of reminds me of Skyward Sword, but with 100% more sci-fi.

It bothers me a little bit how solid the clouds feel though? Like maybe the bottom glowing pillar should be able to be seen through clouds slightly. You could compensate for that by adding more clouds to the bottom? It's just a thought, I don't know how it'd work out.

I think it might also be worth adding more color to the top section. Maybe a bit of blue past the clouds to signify the sky? If this is the title screen for a game maybe that wouldn't jive with the story.

It also feels weird how bright and illuminated the piece is when the whole thing is encased in clouds. Part of why I feel like adding some sky would help, maybe. Or you could give the whole piece a darker, moodier feel. I suppose it isn't that important, though. Like I said it looks great so far.

[Drazelic]

Cutting off the bottom was a pretty good idea. I'm not sure I like how near-square the canvas is now though, so I might put some of it back later.

[coffee]

I thought, since the clouds and everything is quite dramatic, that you want to get the same effect in your choice of colours.

I personally liked when you could see some of it through the clouds and this is a piece that would greatly appreciate a second lightsource!

Keep going!

/coffee

[Drazelic]

Eh... The recolor doesn't feel so much /dramatic/ to me as /lighthearted/, like a Final Fantasy game with the bloom turned on too high. Too bright and pastel- it doesn't quite evoke the same kind of semi-cyberpunk I was going for with my palette. The extra lighting around the bottom of the pic was a great help, though.

[ptoing]

I would give it more space at the top and perhaps add a few mode thin higher towers. But I would make it a portrait format for sure and show the whole sun. Very nice so far though.

[Mathias]

I would give it more space at the top and perhaps add a few mode thin higher towers. But I would make it a portrait format for sure and show the whole sun. Very nice so far though.

Agreed. Good points.

I can't find him now, but there's a dude on PJ that created some nice scenes, some months ago, and put a TON of blank sky area as the upper 4/5ths of the composition. Can anyone find that user? It's the same basic principle being suggested to use here. Can't find him . . .

[crozier]

@Mathias: I doubt this is the guy you are talking about (since this piece is from a few years ago), but http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/59862.htm

[Mathias]

@Mathias: I doubt this is the guy you are talking about (since this piece is from a few years ago), but http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/59862.htm

Hey, thanks! You're right; not the same guy. But that pixel scene accomplishes the same effect:


Just kinda gives it a sense of grandeur.

It's all about cropping. In photography, it's an essential thing. How an image is cropped, or positioned in a frame (meaning - the image's boundaries) can have a drastic effect on the overall impact of the image. That's the point I'm trying to make I guess.

[Drazelic]

Actually, interestingly enough, my original reasoning for having such a long canvas was something /like/ that, except with the big similar part down in the bottom- hence all the big flat clouds and stuff. I'm also not really sure how i'd extend the sky- the dark parts of the sky sort of are converging in on the central circle of light-source-ness, and if we extrapolate that upwards we'd end up with a dark sky, so...?

If at all possible, I'd prefer to achieve a similar effect, or at least a unique effect, by lengthening the bottom part of the canvas instead of the top.

[Phlakes]

Excuse the roughness, but the circle (sun?) actually makes a really solid focal point with the clouds bending around it and the city's contours ramping up into it.



EDIT: And the problem with the first version is that the base of the city is much wider and less concentrated. Instead of having a focal point it had a sort of focal large-rectangular-shape, and especially with the curves of the city and the blue stuff going in opposite directions, pulling your eye to each end, it's a little visually awkward.