As I sketched I realized I was trying too hard to add everything that felt important and the results were looking too literal and more like a memory, not really something created. I started to focus on the feeling that I wanted, warmth, cozy, familiar, nostalgic. I decided to create a place where you can share your memories and emotions with others, a magical campfire where everyone can get a small portion of the same flame so you'll be able to share your stories with your words and your feelings through the flames!

I've decided to go with the 6th thumbnail.

The idea of oasis brings me the feeling of coziness, warmth, nostalgia, “saudade” in Portuguese. It’s inseparable to me from the idea of being with others, family, friends, working together with a group and making all kinds of art. It also brings me to the memories I have, ‘saudade’ of my grandmother and the afternoon coffees we had as a family. I’ve come to cherish these little moments and remember them as my mom would call them: “sublime moments”.
For the challenge I wanted to bring those ideas, being with others, making art and those sublime moments in a simple but cozy place so I searched for color references in moments like Zeniba’s house in Spirited Away, Hearthstone’s “Hearth and Home” Cinematic, Osono’s Bakery in Kiki Delivery Service and arts from Lo-fi Girl.

Another update on the composition, will add details on the trees and adding shrubs, tommorow.

I painted the main elements in the background, such as the mushroom-like buildings that are designed to adapt and resemble nature. The main intention behind the mushroom shape is to save space for agriculture. 

Most of The Spirits,  are designed to portray the creative process, I plan to add more sketchy figures or lines to enhance the idea of sketches taking flight.

This is the black and white final line work that I then add color, texture, and rendering to.

Here is the tightened up line that I would eventually ink from for the final.

Here I'm tightening up the sketch to see what works.

This is the first rough thumbnail I did for the image I came up with. Just trying to workout a composition that I feel works best.

I am further refining the artwork by incorporating elements that accentuate its zen quality. Actively experimenting with color schemes and compositional changes, I strive to establish a harmonious and contemplative ambiance. Fine-tuning color gradients and the positioning of elements, I ensure each aspect of the piece contributes to an overall serene and unified setting. The goal is to enhance the artwork's zen essence, resulting in a balanced design that resonates with deep tranquility and inner calm.

First I did a digital sketch with all the colors I wanted, then I tried it out on paper with watercolors. I'm goin for a warm feeling I want it to feel cozy and direct your eye to the treeman and his book.

I went through  the scribbles it's not that clean because of the instinctivly done

I went through the writing process of the subject so that I live that again try to go the experience where I felt like because of my personal oasis exist in the moments so I went through that and wrote it down

The next step was fleshing out this portal room and showing off the idea of a man leaving behind the dark world to escape into a better world he had chosen for his oasis. 

I wanted the space to feel dark, mechanical, and cold. Through the portal would be this hopeful bright, and calming nature scene. 

For the portal, I imagined this alien-like tech that also looks like it has been pieced together by some rusty parts and loose wires giving the feel that it is a bit unstable. To the right would have a digital display showing the customers choices for their world that they are being transferred to. 
In this case for me it would be:

- A world where money does not exist and is replaced by trade and helping each other
- Technology as we know it today does not exist in this world
- Weather is all seasons
- Environment is Fields, mountains, forests and rivers
- Violence does not exist

To explore this concept further, I used a mixture of sketching out ideas and blocking out in 3d as I find this a far quicker process at times for exploring how parts could fit together and how this portal could be structured within a room. 

3D Blockout (Blender)

It occurred to me that my idea of an oasis is a pretty simple one that goes back to the basics of living and being surrounded by nature, community, and living off the land. Ideally without the pressures of the modern world and what feels like the trap we have created for ourselves, we are always focused on money and consuming more stuff. 

So I started to explore the idea of a future world where Oasis has become the leading mega power of the world and controls so much of how the world runs. But it also gives people in this dark and gritty world the opportunity to escape to a world they get to choose. With the help of some tech that suddenly is discovered on earth, people for the first time get to choose their world. 

Sign up, fill out a few forms, and enter a portal to your chosen destination with your rules. For now, in this alternative reality, it works but no one really knows how.

This idea felt strong for me and got me questioning a lot about society, the state of the planet, and the human race. 

Why can't we choose what, where, and how we live our lives?

Now I have to polish

My final piece with all the details

The piece without the details

The floor and pool tiles are from Sergey Kotenev and Annie Spratt. Photos downloaded from Unsplash.com

Played around with colours and added a more refined linework

The first sketch of my idea

Sketchbook page with initial ideas. This was then followed by a PureRef moodboard where I took inspiration from different places and atmospheres.