Hatching an Egg

I noticed a lack of landscape and fantasy work in the latest incarnation of my portfolio, so I've decided to hit a couple of birds with one stone, and start a fantasy landscape.
Went with a fairly simple idea: The broken shell of a dragon, already departed to do it's own thing, and what might go on around it.

Once again, I find that I have to force myself to work despite the distractions of the modern age. Setting some time aside at night and playing a podcast helps.

Started with the typical process. Value studies come first. (There is a second set, which I'm not sure is interesting enough to show, but I used it as well)

Next I loaded up photos I took with interesting colors, Googled some inspiration, and did color studies of a few of my favorite monochrome sketches, redrawing each rather than overlaying color so that it won't affect my choices and so that I might stumble on some happen accidents:

 Next I've taken an additional step I usually don't, and enlarged a few of my color studies, cleaning them up and adding more details, looking to tell more of a story.

I'm also trying to see if juggling multiple, unrelated projects helps me keep my momentum, so I've done some sci-fi gun silhouettes, with some quick shading thrown on top to give it more form. (need props in my portfolio, too)

Speed paint dump: