Developing a Different Aesthetic Feel

Recently I started to refine the art assets for the game Destony after getting feedback that the level art was clashing with too many bright colours  so I spent some time doing some concept art and developing the overall style so that it would be less intrusive on the eyes. I actually got really inspired by the art of the indie game 'Element4l' that really summed up a nice colour scheme that I was thinking of going for, the image bellow displays my inspiration:

Element4l Teaser

Here is the process of my concept art within Photoshop CS6. I was testing out some new brushes in Photoshop which gave me some really interesting results in the overall image and also quickened the process of my vision being made in reality. These brushes included, lightning, grass, landscape, cloud and grit.   

Started off by painting out the background using many cloud brushes as well as effects brushes which definitely save time and I see why people use them so often.

Then the mountains and foreground were added to see what the overall composition looked like.

Something didn't look quite right with the mountains, so I removed the foreground to see what it was.

After adjustments with the background, I created the character using a single rounded brush.

Here I started to create a  glare for the sun.

A close up of the ground which is fairly detailed.

A close up of the light box which it was important to balance the light so it would not disappear. 

A close up of the character without the rain effect.

Final Image

My Thoughts

The final result shows the combined image with all the assets. Overall I was quite happy with the results. The new brushes I downloaded made it a lot quicker to get the desired effects I was going for. The moodis set to be dark to emit feeling of grand intention or determination. The colours are high contrast to bring out the main features. I played around with the character design a little to see what other effects I could achieve in adjusting him slightly and giving him a more realist look.

Pros:

• The colours of the image compliment it very well due to the strong darkened sky which pops put the main character and the subdued mountains to portray distance. 
• The character pops out of the image as intended and the bold outline somewhat suits well with the dark atmosphere.
• The image serves it's purpose of showing emergency and something grand soon to take place.

Cons:

• The character lacks a lot of detail in comparison to the actual background and effects surrounding him, particularly with all the harsh straight lines whereas the environment is a lot more soft.
• The character does not fully look as if he is looking at the light box as intended.
• The mountains do not have much presence within them and could possibly do with more painting adjustments.
• The background might be too dark which brings it forward as opposed to back.

Possible Improvements:

• Nothing too striking here that needs immediately needs changing, although the character could do with less harsher lines and the gradient in the sky needs to be subdued.