Angel Island at Sunset

Something a bit different this month. Very different, actually. This is a pic of Angel Island, the island that perpetually hovers in the sky, from the vast Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Even though it's clearly a bit of landscape art, fanart is still probably the best place to put it in - just can't escape from that section, can I? Interestingly they've now included mention to Sonic as an example in their submission descriptions for what they want submitted as fanart. Clearly it's not gone unnoticed by dA that one in about ten submissions are in some (often twisted) way, Sonic-related. Here's another to add to the pile of hundreds of thousands.

I've been meaning to do this pic for a very long time now, but somehow I just kept losing interest with it before I got very far at all. I wanted to get it done this month though because I felt it was really time to push the boundaries of my artistic skill and try new things. Rather than starting afresh, I dug out an old, basic sketch I had left incomplete in August 2004, believe it or not, and worked from there. My idea to have the island in sunset was a strong one, and was just as crucial to me as the island itself, which also needed to be pretty game-accurate, which is tough because the thing tends to vary in appearance from game to game. I saw fit to include the desert of Sandopolis Zone and the rocky terrain of the likes of Red Mountain and Sky Canyon, environments that are often neglected in recent official images of Angel Island. Everything else you can squeeze into that forest or the snowcaps, or just assume it's underground or on the other side. Colouring was pretty straightforward and didn't take long.

The surrounding area on the other hand was difficult to get into and took a few attempts of laying down some base colours to work on. After a holiday in Cornwall last week, I returned to this today, determined to finish it, but my main problem was that I wasn't sure what kind of clouds and colours would look right, so I hunted around for some source photos of sunsets and eventually got the ticket. I am really pleased with the colours I've used and the textures on the clouds in the foreground particularly. I can't tell you exactly how I did them because the whole thing was one of those "stuck one minute, done it the next, without realising what I'd actually done to it" deals. I get them quite alot, but I basically made heavy use of one of those Photoshop brushes that are halfway between hard and soft. I don't often use them but they were very effective here, and a dash of soft brushing helped too.

It's a much more dynamic and carefree colouring style than I usually do, and I think that really works in this case. Various source photos really helped me get the colours just right and as a result I'm really happy with their vibrancy and range. In the background, the clouds are quite vague, but effective and as I've mentioned, I couldn't be happier with the texture on the foreground ones. They look very whispy and soft, yet detailed, although I can't help but think they may be at a slightly off angle in places, in relation to the island.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I love landscapes and beautiful scenery, so I really should do these kind of pics more often. It's great fun to just slap colours on, without having to worry too much about my layer organisation, as it's just not as important here as it is in character pics. Hope it sits well with any passing Sonic fans! ^^