Traditional - blog topic 1

I chose a digital painting by game concept artist Sergey Kolesov, who worked on Dishonored 2. The piece is called 'Jewel of the South at the Edge of the World'. I chose this piece as it evokes a serene and yet a mysterious atmosphere, presented by the warm sunlight on the right hand side, juxtaposed against the colder appearance of storm clouds overcasting the bay from the left hand side. The combination of softer organic shapes such as the rolling white clouds and vegetation and jagged hard pointed shapes of the man-made structures creates a dissonance in form and mood. All of these elements can be used as symbolism for the game narrative, such as an approaching looming threat, or to emphasise the hard mechanical and boxy appearance and negative effects of human settlement in a natural environment. What I find the most interesting is that both man-made and natural elements make way for more supernatural events which take place in the game, of which there is a definite sense of in this piece.


The colour palette uses mainly blues, greens and yellows, and these are used against each other to create contrasting cool and warm tones which create a depth in the piece. For example, on the left hand side of the composition, there is a strong use of blue grey tones which set the hills further into the background. This greatly contrasts against the foreground area of cliffs and wind mills which have been brought to the forefront not only through composition, but also through the use of yellows and warm greens.


The composition itself uses the rule of thirds, as it is split into three main focal points - the first is the town on the lower left hand side, and the eye is led from the town by the red pylons up to the sharp mountain face in the upper half of the composition, and brought across to the clouds, and finally down to the right hand side of the piece which focuses on the foreground rocks and manmade structures.

'Jewel of the South at the Edge of the World', by Sergey Kolesov.