3dluvr: Tell us about Icons?

This painting was created for the Epilogue competition.  I am happy with how it came out, even though it wasnt the best conception.  This was a very experimental painting, and I learned a few very quick and effective Photoshop tricks with it.

The title is actually a hidden idea in the painting and I would love to hear what people think it means.

3dluvr: What was your inspiration for Icons?

Arcana - Icons, the ambient music. I really recommend people hear it.

3dluvr: Your images are very color driven. Do you jump into an image knowing what your colors will be, or do you find yourself experimenting with the hue/saturation controls to find the right color scheme?

That depends on the painting. Sometimes I just strike it right at the very beginning and keep the original coloring.  "Journey in finding" was painted this way.  And then sometimes I have to experiment with the coloring before I move onto the details, continually working with the hue/saturation and channel sliders. This method can be very helpful in pushing an image to its highest potential sometimes.

3dluvr: Tell us about Zosia.

Zocha is an abbreviation for the full name of the unit.  In english it means: Mechanized Anti-Terrorist Destructive Unit.  It was a design study and another experience with Photoshop rendering. 

The painting was done with the line and standard brush tools.  I wanted to try to make it look as much like 3d as possible, and I have been surprised by friends asking me which 3d application it was created in.  They usually figure out that it is 2d upon their second examination.

3dluvr: Zosia seems to be in a slightly different style from the rest of your work. What was your inspiration for Zosia?

I wanted to try something different, and experiment with a different style.  Mainly my idea was to do a clean concept design, but after a few touchups the idea turned into more of an illustration.  Im happy with the outcome.