Agartha- the hidden kingdom of wisdom.

Agartha, the kingdom above the sky and below the earth.

This contest pushed me to do more than I have ever done in a single painting, it challenged my art fundamentals, design and story telling. But when it all came together, it was very rewarding. 

So the original setting of Agartha depicted the forbidden land set in the Tibetan mountains. For this project, I wanted to put the Tibetan culture and design language front and centre, but dressing them in a unique setting. To achieve this, I went with a high altitude environment, where the clouds would hover just above the main gate/buildings. I also wanted to show the underground kingdom in a cave/chamber setting. My idea is have the clouds bleeding over and under a giant rock structure, which I think works to convey duality of each environment.

In the original description of Agartha, it is a place of wealth and wisdom. To show this, I went with gold roofs, a sign of wealth and status and the buddha statue right in front of the ray beaming through the main gate.

I didn't manage to grab screenshots of the painting progression, but it was definitely a piece that slowly built up over the last 2 weeks, and a blast to draw.

I thought it was best to update when I have something more concrete to show. :) + Thank you peter for the feedback!

This is the exploration of Agartha, a legendary kingdom located within the earth. I am aiming toward Tibetan architecture, few  of contestants here have monks featured, so I will try my best to design and execute my concept.

Initial thumbnail explorations