A Shielded Colony

Final concept:

I wanted to depict this colony as a place that is secretive, secluded and full of mystical wonders.  The entrance to this colony is suppose to bring a sense of riches, treasure, and mystery; the intention is to capture the attention and lure whoever is near into the magical portal in search for a way inside.  The colony is protected by a hazy and toxic green barrier and the only entrance to enter is depicted here. Very little is known about exactly how the magical gate will work, but many have attempted to enter and none have exited to tell their tale.  

This environment plays off with my interest in different minerals and how their vibrant colors can express such a sense of wonder if one ever stares at them long enough.  My take on the idea of forbidden is not dark or dangerous, but more of mystery and curiosity.  

Above is the final illustration, and the three below are shots of the piece in progress.  For the final process, I cleaned up some details and I also wanted to add some life and movement to this mysterious entrance through the depictions of the alien-like jellyfish creatures.  

I'm now at the final stages of the piece, next step is to add some finishing touches and add some creatures and life to this environment.  

I then added in the building designs that I previously made and start working on the structures of the colony behind the barrier. 

I started off the process with laying in some photo textures and separate layers to establish light and shadow.  

I then begin to do some designs of what the main buildings shapes are and play with their scale through the usage of various sizes of entrances.

Next is the process to layout the silhouettes the different sections of the environment to establish a foundation to begin photo-bashing.  

I started out doing some thumbnails for composition and sketches to get a feel of the building language.