Sightseeing

The cryogenics pod slowly creaks open. A rush of warmed air rushes over your body, awakening you from your long sleep. After a quick stretch and exhale, you move yourself to the cockpit of your auto piloted ship and begin getting re-situated. All the systems still worked; fuel was at a moderate level and oxygen was stable; things looked good. You once again gaze out of your window in order to gain a better view of your surroundings. Before you, waves of space and time flow past your spacecraft as if they were the waves of a rushing river. Planets in the distance are slowly moving past your ship like fellow travelers forever wandering the universe for an unknown destination. Even other ships soar by your own, lighting up the darkened void of space like swirling fireworks and comets. Their ion trails scarring the shadows with light as they vanish in the distance. As you return to the seat, a bright light begins to show on the horizon. A distant star lights up the perpetual night as you set your speeds that much faster. Asteroids buzz your ship like bullets as your maneuver through the field. They litter the skies and rest where they are like rocky buoys floating aimlessly upon the silent waves and currents of the sea that is space. After some steady piloting and control, you finally come across your next destination: Tetronus Star. Formerly a vibrant and lush planet-wide jungle, a vast cataclysmic collision with a vast asteroid decimated the north face of the planet, destroying all life and fauna upon its surface. All that remains is a burned and dried skeleton of its former glory, drifting out in space covered in magmatic scars and gashes upon its smoldered facade. While you understand the destruction and incredible power that destroyed everything that this planet once was all those many years ago, you still look upon what you see and smile at what is there. As you can see that even in its destruction, there is still beauty within its singed mountain ranges and burning rivers of lava. Taking one final look as you cross over its surface one final time, you look forward as you move on...your space tour has only begun. Sightseeing, created by Luminarium artist =JoeJesus presents us with a boundless design and sense of scale excellently illustrating the beauty of space.

Starting off I have to commend the artist for his detailing use in this piece. Each asteroid floating by, the design used in the planet's texture and even the passing ships really do bring out quite a bit of personality on the artist's part in the overall composition. A limited use of stars in the distance as well as the circling nebula clouds around them build onto the atmosphere presented in this piece that really immerses the viewer's senses. Speaking of which, the atmosphere style used here gives the composition an overall feeling of silent serenity and beauty, much like an untouched forest grove or a clear, wave-less lake. One can almost watch as the asteroids float silently about as the various ships glide over the planet's burned shell. This piece is a great display of space art done well without seeming excessive composed or minimized, finding a nice balance in between that shines forth like few others.

While there are quite a few parts that really work in this favor, there are a few things that could be done to actually make this piece look that much better. One example is while I do like the detailing on the planet, there still could be a bit more done about its surface. The lava flows could appear more defined on the planet, perhaps even adding in a drawn shaded effect to simulate the singed trenches that they've burned into the surface. The same could be said for the overall texture for the planet; add in some deeper texture tones and even shading in the general. In its current appearance, it shows off more of sketched texture rather than that of an actual rock face. Finally, you should put a border around the piece to better frame it. It would really add in that much more of a cinematic feel to the piece and allow the viewer to almost feel like they're viewing from another ship. Keep on trying different methods to enhance its appearance and you could really make this piece that much better.

Within the weaving streams of space and time, there really so much that is out there to be seen but it is just out of our reach for now. With each passing moment we get closer and closer to the sights that we so desperately wish to understand more. Sightseeing, is a great illustration of this fact with its depiction of intergalactic travelers over a planet moving toward their destinations. Its atmosphere carries an excellent tone and general design styling that is sure to entice any that view it. Great work Josef! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/c/c…" width="20" height="20" alt="" title="Clap"/>