Taking a look at what i'd already created and what i wanted to get out of adding colour to the image, i began to work on the ground and the specific colours i could use to bring the piece to life. From the very beginning of working on the image i saw the skies as being orange, with a rather large nod to the game Destiny, i saw this as being a rather baron planet with little civilisation and a burning, humid atmosphere.

In order for me to work properly with the skies, i thought it best to work with the ground first. As this would have great influence on the way the sky falls, i thought it would be best to start there.

The picture above is the static image that has been the source of my light work, as stated before, one of my main issues has been perspective. With that in mind, i think adding colour would enable me to add a lot more things in the distance, allowing for more detail to be put into the hills in the background whilst also allowing me to keep the mysterious element that i sought to give my piece in the beginning.

A lot of comment was made about the planet at the top right hand side of the image, perhaps looking too "hard against the skyline". With that in mind, i took to applying colour to the ground allowing me to focus on the way it interacts with the light. The gradient mapping tool in photoshop allowed me to keep the shade i had already established in my light working image. Applying darker oranges to the black areas, and a light, muddy brown to the higher areas.

This working of the ground first allowed me to work and refine certain areas, such as the mountains at the back. As expected, the addition of colour allowed me to see other areas that could be manipulated to add perspective. To the left hand side of the mountain castle at the back, i could see some small silhouetted spires taking shape. With this in mind, using my custom brush set, i started etching in some spires in the background.

This in itself, in adding more visually mysterious elements where in people could actually be situated allowed for the addition of lighting effects. I wanted to keep these small as they'd allow for a more intricate look at the piece itself, but when printed up at A1 they will become very obvious. Having applied the new elements to the background and the lights to various points across and around the mountainous areas at the back, the image took shape, ending up like this.

The piece as it stands at the moment i believe is ready for crit. there is still some more work to be done with the planet on the top right hand side, as at the moment it keeps getting mistaken for a moon. But overall, i am extremely happy with what i have produced.

I think over my time working as a digital painter in photoshop, my skills have finally developed to a point where i can be consistently happy with my productions. Time is still an issue as this piece has taken up the better part of 2 weeks, eating in to my original plan to a point where i can no longer turn this artwork into a 3D environment. But with my route so far being that i can now produce artwork i can see being turned into 3D, and artwork i can be proud to say is mine, i think for future projects i will now have the ability to move these concepts into a 3D environment. If i've learnt anything from the process of this project, it is that i now have the ability to approach 3D software with the knowledge that my reference material is such that i can create something unique and imaginative.