Creating effective scenes

Creating effective scenery for a set

One of the scenes from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

I have figured out recently that the scenes I enjoy are often simple in nature with only a few repetitive background elements I think taking this into consideration I will be able to create scenes that have the same amount of detail as ones I like to create that are full of many elements. This type of scene will require the detailed modelling of a few objects. These scenes are important for emphasis on the minor details. Now that i have discovered that I really enjoy architecture in particular when creating scenes, I will be creating lots of interiors of rooms for scenes. 

Inside the palace from Aladdin

The Throne room from Avatar: the last Airbender

The scenes that I have taken inspiration from aside from their kind of empty simplistic feeling all rely very heavily on lighting as a main component to add dimension and mood to the scene. I believe this combined with the use of mist, fog, smoke, and reflection would be a very effective way to create models that are simple and take less time than my standard project that are still visually appealing and interesting 

One of my biggest setbacks in my modelling process is how much time i spend on creating and adding new things. I never want to be done with a project because in my eyes there can always be more (a prime example of this could be the food modelling scene I worked on approximately 2 years ago.) I like to add a variety of detailed objects but only have maybe one or two of them which causes me to spend time working on a very detailed chair or something similar for about a week that isn't important to the scene. This lack of objects will be outside of my comfort zone for sure but I think it will improve my work progress and still give the correct effect I'm looking for.

Work Log:
Monday: Presentations
Tuesdays: Presentations
Wednesday: Sean's script reading
Thursday: cave modelling
Friday: cave modelling continued