The white half-blob at the bottom will be a quarry-like wall leading down into hidden depths. Further up there will be more obvious human development, with architectural developments of various origins in uneasy coexistence. The industrial beached-whale at the top will be transformed into something other than a ship. I don't want to explain much more at this point, but I do have specific ideas for how to carry on the composition.
I'm not sure how many of these compositions I'll manage to complete for the crit, but I hope to have three at the very least. One problem I need to work on is to stop obsessing over irrelevant technical details and redirect my energies toward experimenting with different thematic ideas more. That doesn't mean that my work will end up technically sloppy, but at I'm realizing that at some point it's better to be working through the thematic and compositional concerns rather than chasing the carrot of seamless technical perfection. I suppose my tendency to excessively polish my work stems from the fact that I work in a medium not usually known for visual refinement, to say the least.
Anyways I'm quite glad to finally be able to work in the internetless, whining dungeon that is the AV Lab. More photoshoppery to follow!