Sky Harbor - Non Trek

[Vektor]

A couple of months ago, I decided to enter the monthly art challenge at ImagineFX.com. The theme for the challenge was a simple two-word phrase, “Sky Harbor,” to be interpreted however the artist chose. I chose to do a retro-futuristic scene of a 1930s New York city where advanced airships ruled the skies.

Unfortunately, ImagineFX.com is based out of the UK and a botched timezone conversion caused me to submit my entry one hour late after working on it for a solid month, so I wound up ineligible for the contest. Nevertheless, I was quite proud of the piece and I think it will make a pretty nice addition to my portfolio, even though it could still use a few more finishing touches.

Enjoy.

 

[NCC-1701-B]

I love it! And that's really unfair...

Really love the tramway too, can't help but wonder if there are any railings? Don't look down! :P

 

[Unicron]

Very nice. It sucks that the time delay cost you a potential victory.

 

[-SS-]

That's very cool. How did you make it?

 

[Kaiser]

Awesome and Epic artwork there

 

[B.J.]

Sweet! I love the lighting on this.

Really love the tramway too, can't help but wonder if there are any railings? Don't look down! :P

It looks like NY's OSHA took their cues from the Star Wars universe.

One criticism: (*gasp!*) When you open up the large image and really look close, the amount of detail is inconsistent. For example, the rivets on the supports are really sharp, but the people just above are just representative blobs. Don't get me wrong though, I really like this!

 

[Klaus]

Good grief, that's awesome!

 

[Albertese]

Did you actually paint in the clouds or is it clever photo manipulation? Either way, I'm impressed!

--Alex

 

[M'Sharak]

Art Deco squee.

 

[Vektor]

Really love the tramway too, can't help but wonder if there are any railings? Don't look down! :P

There were going to be railings, but I ran out of time to do everything I had planned. I was working frantically on this thing right up until the last minute--59 minutes past the last minute, as it turned out.

That's very cool. How did you make it?

Digitally painted in Photoshop using my Cintiq tablet.

One criticism: (*gasp!*) When you open up the large image and really look close, the amount of detail is inconsistent. For example, the rivets on the supports are really sharp, but the people just above are just representative blobs. Don't get me wrong though, I really like this!

Yeah, there was that time limit thing again. I really kinda bit off more than I could chew with such a huge project given my busy schedule. Toward the end, I was just focused on making it presentable, not on polishing every detail. If I had it to do over again, I would have done the whole piece in a rougher, more painterly style, which might have left me time to include some additional airship traffic, railings, and other things that are rather obviously missing.

I undertook this mainly as a learning exercise and an opportunity to practice my digital art skills, so it served its purpose.

Did you actually paint in the clouds or is it clever photo manipulation? Either way, I'm impressed!

Full disclosure: Most of the cityscape and sunset sky are actually photographs that were heavily filtered and retouched. I had intended to go back and entirely repaint them but again, time has a tendency to run out faster than you expect.

 

[B.J.]

It did look to me like the cityscape was originally a photo, but I wasn't going to call you on that, since it's only background material, and you probably needed every bit of timesaving you could get.

One criticism: (*gasp!*) When you open up the large image and really look close, the amount of detail is inconsistent. For example, the rivets on the supports are really sharp, but the people just above are just representative blobs. Don't get me wrong though, I really like this!

Yeah, there was that time limit thing again. I really kinda bit off more than I could chew with such a huge project given my busy schedule.

I kinda figured that was the case here. Still, very impressive in the end!

 

[Lord_Schtupp]

That is very cool.

 

[JES]

Full disclosure: Most of the cityscape and sunset sky are actually photographs that were heavily filtered and retouched. I had intended to go back and entirely repaint them but again, time has a tendency to run out faster than you expect.

Tell me about it! I cannot begin to count the amount of times that my work has had to be a little less than I originally intended because father time ran out on me! Sometimes, I find it a little necessary to take certain shortcuts, or to leave out details that I had originally intended.

Still, you did a fantastic job, even if it wasn't quite as complete as you intended.

And time zones... Yeah, they can be so damn confusing!

 

[Vektor]

It was actually Daylight Savings Time that got me. I've been under the incorrect impression all these years that we go ON Daylight Savings Time in the winter and back OFF in the summer when it is actually the other way around. Makes no real difference in the normal scheme of things, but it definitely does when you're converting Greenwich Mean Time.

 

[Redfern]

That's why we use the silly lil' expression "Spring forward, Fall back" to keep it straight.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Vektor]

Except all that really tells you is which direction to reset your clocks, not which one corresponds to the GMT offset for your particular region. At least it doesn't when you have an incorrect understanding of when DST is in effect and when it isn't.

 

[Santaman]

Its absolutely beautiful.

 

[Avon]

i want to go to there

 

[USS Jack Riley]

I loved this. Absolutely beautiful. I showed it to my wife and she was blown away.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Vektor, do you think you will do anything more with this or will you be leaving this as the finished product?

It is absolutely beautiful.