CONCEPT A MOODY CYBERPUNK SCENE

Oleg Topor uses a variety of creative techniques to portray a meeting of criminals in the depths of a futuristic city

- Oleg Topor

In my illustration, the action takes place within a futuristic metropolis. It's here, in the depths of the sprawling city, that ruthless streets gangs conduct their dirty business. Taking my initial inspiration from science fiction films such as Blade Runner, the adaptations of Ghost in the Shell and The Creator, and the video game Cyberpunk 2077, I wanted to create a piece of concept art that would convey a sense of dark noir atmosphere, but also be from the same cyberpunk/sci-fi stable as those celebrated titles.

My initial step is to collect reference images that inspire me. But to create the necessary mood I recognise that I need to play around with contrasts. These include establishing the dark foreground of the alleyway versus the illuminated street in the background. As I start detailing, I introduce poorly maintained, dirty environmental elements that can be seen in the foreground (garbage, pipes, dangling wires and air-conditioning units) set against the calm, empty-looking background. The polarity of the two male figures and the advertising display that features a female character further builds on the contrasting elements in the scene.