@ headtrip:
Thank you! Towards the end I always tend to noodle around with the colors in order to make it look ‘better’. This time I tried to stick to my color concepts and I’m glad that it seems to work out.
@ winchester:
That’s a very nice comment, thank you! With this project I have a special interest in the integreation of the material that ZBrush gives me. I was playing around with the Software since last July and I have tested several of the techniques I ultimately used in this artwork (the multipass rendering, the 2.5D detailing and the Deco Brush Trees e.g.). It was important for me to put all these things together in one artwork and find out, if it works. I’m quite happy with the result so far but I also found out a lot about the downsides of 3D from a visual standpoint. I might go into detail about that when I’m finished with the image. I also will see if I can sum up some details about the compositing. It’s quite complex by now but it follows some simple concepts.
@ HornlessUnicorn:
Thanks for your input! You are totally right, the planets are within the atmosphere. I wrote about that a few post up there. Captain Orion is stranded in a place that I currently call the ‘atmosphere cloud’. There are many small and big worlds within this atmosphere that can all be reached trough breathable air. Just think Super Mario Galaxy and you get the point. 
I wanted to create a rich universe of different worlds and alien races but without having the aliens to have an advanced technology. The aliens travel between the worlds with balloon ships and generally have the technology of the earth’s 19th century. Captain Orion gains a sort of superhero status because he’s got energy weapons and that stuff. Additionally he’s got some super powers because gravity in the atmopshere cloud is lower and he’s able to jump further and lifting big objects more easy. You see, I sort of want to create a fantastic steampunk world with sci fi space and superhero elements.
Concerning the pose, I definitely see that the old one had it’s merits. But the new one has them, too and I’m not going to change it. The whole scene evolved into an epic decorative piece and the stylised and iconic pose does work in this scene, I think. I was aiming for a Frazetta in the first place but arrived perhaps at a Vallejo. Not that I want to compare my work with these outstanding artists, let alone compete with them. But you hopefully get the point - I did not really achieve to channel the action but hopefully compensated that by supporting the iconic style. I also wrote something about that above.
@ MartinNielsen & bearfoot:
Thank you!
