ISLE OF DEAD

Final Image. The previous one was supposed to be the last but after a few days couldn't stop me to add details.

Final Image. 

Work in progress

I added pieces of an old boat on the foreground in order to strengthen the cemetery atmosphere. 

I'm still working on the firelight... Such a tough work to properly represent fire highlight, mid-tones and shadows. 

Furthermore, I'm struggling with the stairs.

I'm currently adding some details and studying firelight.

I felt a lack of details and variety in my fortresses ideas, so I moved to Zbrush for the rock and Maya for the different architectural elements. With some basic shapes, I sketched a fortress build on a harsh rock.

I start to paint over. I want a blue and orange mood.

The fortress should be massive and a bit scary. But its purpose is to welcome dead people and to offer them a place to rest, so I will try to balance the composition with warmer tones.

Work In Progress. I feel the left part of the image a bit empty. 

For this contest, I decided to explore a dark and foggy atmosphere. My main inspiration was the painting Isle of the Dead (Die Toteninsel) by Arnold Böcklin. Furthermore, Salina : les trois exiles, a book written by Laurent Gaudé set the mood for this piece.

A young man has to bring the body of his dead mother on this island. During the journey, he has to narrate her life to the ferryman. If he doesn’t know her story well enough, the giant doors won’t open and his mother will have no grave.

I did quick paintings to figure out what lighting I'm looking for. In the end, I realise I want a more structured and massive building.