February 2019 Challenge : KC Outpost Nr 09020317

[Jaxilon]

My favorite part is the water, I think you got that just right with the gradual fading.
I'm not sure I see what others are saying about the zoomed out/zoomed in issues. Maybe my monitor is a different shade or maybe my old eyes are just not as good as they used to be. That said, I've seen many maps that either looked amazing zoomed out but where half rubbish zoomed in and vice versa so I guess it depends what the viewer is supposed to be looking at. I'm sure it can't hurt in the voting if the thumbnail looks amazing but anyone who judges these by only looking at the thumbs must be whack-a-doodle because you won't see any of the details all of these entries have.

[- JO -]

My favorite part is the water, I think you got that just right with the gradual fading.
I'm not sure I see what others are saying about the zoomed out/zoomed in issues. Maybe my monitor is a different shade or maybe my old eyes are just not as good as they used to be. That said, I've seen many maps that either looked amazing zoomed out but where half rubbish zoomed in and vice versa so I guess it depends what the viewer is supposed to be looking at. I'm sure it can't hurt in the voting if the thumbnail looks amazing but anyone who judges these by only looking at the thumbs must be whack-a-doodle because you won't see any of the details all of these entries have.

Thanks a lot !

I think what bothers me and others, is that when you look at the unzoomed map, the layout is repetitive. Nor can we accurately capture the content of the entire map.
From a distance, you can see the outside, the water and the rooms below but in between, we just see blue dots, without understanding what it is.

To overcome this problem, I tried to correct the situation by creating more differences between rooms, corridors and others. So I reworked only the two upper rooms and the main room, trying to make them brighter, but without losing too much of that "abandoned" aspect or losing the "spotlight" effect (points of light that only partially illuminate). I let the hallways and little chambers in the dark.

I tried two solutions. The first was to just brighten up the two rooms overall (but I find that we are losing some blue and this abandoned aspect :

Outpost KC PC 03A.jpg

The second solution was to add the points of light on the walls of these three rooms that we do not see (the walls that face the "spectator" or that would prevent us from seeing the room behind... these walls are not drawn, but that doesn't mean they don't have lights on them) :

Outpost KC PC 03B.jpg

Tell me if these solutions solve the problem or if it doesn't change enough... and also tell me which of the two solutions seems the best to you ?

edit : don't forget that there are still a lot of changes that will appear when I refine the shadows and lights in each room... on every detail... every piece of stone... oh my God, it's going to take centuries...

[Jaxilon]

You are like me now, going back and forth between slight shades.

I kind of like the more glowing of the two but it depends on what you want the feeling to be. If the lights play the bigger part of the required atmosphere then go with them. If the abandoned and dead feeling is more then maybe the one with less light. I'd take the more glowing though.

To be honest I think you should think about using a parchment to get rid of the eye blinding white background. I think if you do it will change the way this looks a whole bunch.

[Tenia]

Thanks ! You mean make the lights less bright ? Or make the darkness brighter ?

Hey JO, sorry for the late response I think that Kacey had explained that better that I could do, zoomed out I feel like I'm seeing spots of blue lights in the upper halls, but maybe it is intented ? Anyway, it is just a personal impression and a very minor thing, you already did a great work. Comparing the latest versions, I prefer KCPC02 and KCPC03B, just a personal opinion of course

[- JO -]

Hey JO, sorry for the late response I think that Kacey had explained that better that I could do, zoomed out I feel like I'm seeing spots of blue lights in the upper halls, but maybe it is intented ? Anyway, it is just a personal impression and a very minor thing, you already did a great work. Comparing the latest versions, I prefer KCPC02 and KCPC03B, just a personal opinion of course

Hi! No problem.... Thank you for responding!
So indeed, blue light spots are wanted in all rooms: it is an outpost abandoned long ago by an advanced civilization. I therefore started with the idea of an abandoned structure, partially in ruins and flooded, whose energy source would be diminished: hence the idea of a weak, restricted and limited light around the light sources (i.e. these kinds of sculptures in low relief in the walls). On the zoomed out image, you can only see spots of blue light. I let them for in corridors and small rooms. But I added lights in the big rooms, this way, the general image is more diversified, and we can better guess the presence of rooms with things inside.
I think I like the second solutions best (as you do, if I understand well)... So I'm going to start on this path for the next steps

[- JO -]

You are like me now, going back and forth between slight shades.

I kind of like the more glowing of the two but it depends on what you want the feeling to be. If the lights play the bigger part of the required atmosphere then go with them. If the abandoned and dead feeling is more then maybe the one with less light. I'd take the more glowing though.

To be honest I think you should think about using a parchment to get rid of the eye blinding white background. I think if you do it will change the way this looks a whole bunch.

Thanks for your advice ! Glowing is good ! glowing was asked by Kacey, and you like it better, so I'm gonna go this way (I like it better too... even if I loose some colors informations) !

You're right about the background : I know I will have to get rid of the white, but I'm not sure parchment is the good solution. I looked at the work of guillaume Tavernier, whose tutorial I follow to realize this illustration: he very rarely uses background colors, especially for his illustrations of underground structures... Maybe a grey background with a slight gradation? I'm not sure at the moment, but I know I'm going to have to make decisions on this background....

[kacey]

Both of these versions look great. I like things about them both, but I think I too lean towards the last... There’s just something magical about the way that middle room lights up on the floor, it makes it look so much more important. I haden’t really noticed that stair case before but now I see how magnificent it truly is.

And I agree that a slight texture would add to the background of this piece, just check out the latest work by PaperGriffin as a good example if you haven’t already.

[arsheesh]

Yup, definitely the second of the two. This is great stuff Jo, the small details such as the different hues of on the stones of the walls really help sell it. Great line-work and colors. Nice work all around.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[- JO -]

Yup, definitely the second of the two. This is great stuff Jo, the small details such as the different hues of on the stones of the walls really help sell it. Great line-work and colors. Nice work all around.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

Thank you very much Arsheesh! I am very happy that you like it all (and that you also prefer the second solution)!

Both of these versions look great. I like things about them both, but I think I too lean towards the last... There’s just something magical about the way that middle room lights up on the floor, it makes it look so much more important. I haden’t really noticed that stair case before but now I see how magnificent it truly is.

And I agree that a slight texture would add to the background of this piece, just check out the latest work by PaperGriffin as a good example if you haven’t already.

Thank you Kacey!

I actually continued everything about lights, shadows, etc. with the second version, which also seems much better to me!
For the background, basically, I'm trying Guillaume Tavernier's technique: it's a fairly neutral gradient that, it seems to me, enhances the whole map. I tried with a parchment, but I found that the type of map was too different from an "old" background...

I was able to move forward with the complementary shadows, the highlights of the lights, the details on the slice of the underground, the frame and the title.

I think I'm coming more or less towards the end....

Tell me what you think so I can make the last changes before the deadline (especially you, Kacey... your opinion is obviously important, as commissioner!)

### Latest WIP ###
Outpost KC PC 04.jpg

[tainotim]

This looks amazing! There is so much magic in this picture. And that waterfall is just stunning. Great work JO

Cheers,
Karl