It's a command base out in the middle of nowhere--just mountains all around. I went for a fairly minimalistic design, keeping the feel utilitarian yet still futuristic. One of the most important aspects I wanted to depict was a mixture of indoor and outdoor in equal amounts. It was important to me because I was thinking about the design as a corner of a game level--one that would be fun to play in. I could imagine myself in the game, flipping over a mountain and seeing this command base sitting right there, waiting for me to explore. There's an entrance to the underground levels, which make me wonder what I'll run into if I do down there, and there's a connecting bridge to a dome-shaped structure--more mysteries to explore. I love connecting bridges between buildings--whenever I get to cross them I always savor the expereince. I think it's because they are so specific--designed for the sole purpose of taking you to another building--one that's important enough to warrant a walkway up high in the sky. I gave some parts of the command base enough wear and tear so that it looks lived in, but I also wanted it to look like it's fully powered and functioning, so I had all the lights on, the energy tubes flowing, and the control consoles monitoring system activities. You might notice that in one of the close-ups, the control labels are reversed. I flip the image horizontally so much when I paint that I must've done those letters while I had the image flipped. You musicians out there could probably tell that the control consoles bear some similarities to music production gear--yes, it was intentional, just for the hell of it.

Some close-ups: