[Process] Cover art for WorldBuilding Magazine

Here's the process I followed when working on the cover art for the latest issue for Worldbuilding magazine, V3I6 - "Economics".

I was working on this by colouring in the values in grey-scale, overlayed by a gradient scale and a couple of colour layers. I'm definitely looking to improve on this process and any criticism/advice on how to improve would be greatly appreciated. You can also go check out the issue itself here: https://www.worldbuildingmagazine.com/2019/10/economics

Initial rough draft, spitpainted in about 30-60 mins to establish tone and form.

First iteration, going directly off of the first draft. Crowd effect was there, but it didn't work as a magazine cover, as there was no space for text.

Second iteration, drafted the same scene from a new perspective, and altered the colours to a golden orange, which fit the topic of Economics better.

Final iteration, simply flipped, added details, and muted the colours (Also added a multitude of easter eggs :p)

Final version, with text and titles.