Advice/Ideas for a Space Station-Type Background

[Blackthorne]

Hey there, guys.

I've been working on this background for a game of mine.  I like the basic idea I've got here, but it seems a bit empty to me.  I think it needs some more "widget-ry" to Sci-Fi it up a bit.  I'd also like the extreme foreground (which is black now, as you see) to be a bit more machine like and interesting.

Does anyone have any ideas and suggestions?




I'd appreciate some fresh eyes on this.


Bt

[boojiboy]

Hey,
I like the background. As for the color scheme I'd steer clear of too many primary and secondary colours. Also, the black foreground maybe should be more squared off and, like you said, machine like. Try and make it less organic. Good work

[Blackthorne]

The color scheme IS on purpose.  I was going for the Garish, pulp art feel - much like, say, EC comics.

Bt

[boojiboy]

Ok cool I totally get that.. I'm a huge fan of EC comics.

but have a look at some of the work



sorry i couldnt find a better example. The net doesnt have much on EC comics. Take a look at the colours, have a look at all those grays and blues. They're amazing. The entire background is made up of these colours, only the characters are coloured. The characters colors aren't too bright either. You can have a couple of the colors in your background but IMO the red, yellow, pink, blue and cyan is a bit much. I'd try and vary them just a bit and make them work a bit better as a combination.

[deadsuperhero]

Here's a quick edit:

I added noise, and also darkened the area near the stars.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I also desaturated it some. Nearly forgot about that.

[Kweepa]

The net doesnt have much on EC comics.

If you search for Wally Wood, Jack Davis or Harvey Kurtzman you'll probably find plenty.

If you want to "Sci-Fi" things up a bit, you could try:
http://www.netwide.net/users/itchy/sfsupply/wild.htm

or:
http://images.google.com/images?q=metroid+prime&btnG=Search
(the pirate ship in Prime or the Cliffside Fortress in Prime 2).