This scene was created by me, using a single reference as a concept. I'm going to analyze the art in order to expose my initial goals, what changed halfway to completion.
Break the Scene into Parts
One way to not get lost in what you're doing is to measure your progress, a good way to do this is to separate the scene into bigger and smaller parts.
Exemple: Initial Perspective; Main Object (Focus); Background.
1 and 2: Accent colors I needed to use.
Line: This line defines the initial perspective area, is influenced by the camera angle, and can serve to enhance a part of the scene, in this case using color reflections, thus increasing the colored area.
You can separate it as best for you, I like to separate it into 3 big parts. Within these 3 areas of the scene, I think of each one individually, so within each stage I am, I can work exclusively on making that environment complete, with its own composition, color scheme, among other details that will be part of the total composition of the scene.
With Storytelling It Gets Easier!
Don't forget, Environment Artist needs to tell a story through the environment, so if you have a narrative, your work is easier, in the case of most works your contractor will already deliver this to you, but it is very likely that you will need it. Collect more information directed to your work, considering what has been proposed to you.
My Narrative: An old hut with an industrial feel, abandoned by some kind of catastrophe/apocalypse.
Simple and straightforward. In addition to my narrative, I defined some artistic criteria for my work;
Most of the scene would have content created by me, using few third-party assets.
Using something I'm not used to. (I chose the Niagara particle system)
As I'm used to creating static scenes, I thought I'd give a light touch of life to the scene. (See more here in the ArtStation post)
Despite the dim atmosphere, I wanted a brighter touch of color.
The Fund Tells More About Its Story
As I wanted a more rural scene, I opted for a kind of elevated mill, open and just a dry tree.
In the background, I took the opportunity to insert a scene that I hadn't initially imagined, a giant creature with particles around it, something mysterious.
In this part of the background I completed what I wanted, using Niagara, creating a particle from scratch, and giving movement to the scene, the creature is from Paragon.
Main Object Composition
Some items inserted were the same as the reference I used, which ended up gaining more meaning as the scene ended.
Humanization of the scene: A crouched person looking at the creature, the light on (Blinking), and smoke coming out of the chimney, indicating that there are still survivors.
Old environment items such as the ladder, wheel, metal plates and a pile of crates in the background.
To represent abandonment of the damaged roof.
The composition elements are not limited to these, being just examples of some of them. Take time and review your previous work and note what is missing from it and what you have done. A good option is to take an image, a concept, for example, and break down each part of it, as I did here, this will give you clarity for your work.
Complete Art: ArtStation
By Alisson Almeida