I have been doing some color sketches with a little more added detail to choose a final one to render out. In this case the challenge has been finding out an interesting angle and include elements in the composition that draw in the attention of the viewer. This is really the first time for instance that I am using the gradient tool in photoshop (by pressing g on keyboard) to add a sense of lighting that is descending from the sky above through the trees. For this I kept the opacity at a minimum and incrementally added strokes of light slowly to have more control of the result.
For the first example the composition is a little more simple, since I am mostly trying to get the elements into the scene as best as I can. I used simply a round brush from the photoshop presets to sketch out in color most of the scene, and then using a few textured brushes here and there to add some extra touches. My intention is to keep the foreground darker, meaning the objects closest to the camera, so that it creates a sort of frame for other elements that are deemed of more importance. The use of the faded light that is descending from between the tree leaves obviously points towards the center of the image.
To be able to sell the idea that this is a temple that is “lost in the jungle” I tried to add as many trees around as possible, with some roots even emerging on top of these ancient structures that originally must have looked very different. The idea is that there would be some character that is finding this place after a long time of it being forgotten. The architecture would have lost much of its original appeal, but the main shapes are still distinguishable to be able to imagine what that the place looked like xduring its golden age. The main references for this image in my mind are the buddhist temples in Myanmar or the “tomb raider aesthetic” from the temples in Cambodia like the Angkor Wat.
The second image is a little more elaborate, keeping most of the elements from the previous composition. For this variation, the changes are mostly the main temple showing towards the center, with some sketching of what the ornamentation might look like. It is probably evident that I wasn’t trying to get a very polished, final composition, but instead make a more or less quick proposal that can be further changed or perfected. For this second variation I included some elements that point towards a “buddhist” set of temples, with the two columns of buddha-looking figures to the right. For additional touches, the rays of light that are falling to the right are only touching the lower portion of the statues, creating an impression of more volumetric lighting.
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