Hope's Renewal
"I saw a fountain of hope set atop the world, shaped as a lantern and at its heart was a tiny gem. It caught the first rays of the morning sun and gave off a joyful light in reply, echoing forth into the lands of night below. So we are reminded that in darkness, light hastens to our aid, if but we hold on a little longer..."
The finished painting!
Some prelim sketches to figure out the mood and composition.
I chose this composition because I wanted the fountain/lantern to feel like it was towering over the landscape, but I still needed room for the light circles. A higher horizon line was the way to go.
Before moving forward, I drew over the sketch to define some shapes and design the lantern.
The initial sketch was less warm, so as I painted in the new base colors, I used the warmth of the sunrise to really punch things up. A bluer skylight helps pull the foreground forward.
Defining the clouds and light ring, as well as rendering the foreground.
Finishing details. I felt the upper left cloud wasn't working (perspective was off and it cramped the sky a bit).