Mad Max... Future Past... Something or Other

So I watched Mad Max the other day. I think the thing that I came away with most was a certain atmosphere that George Miller was able to create. Even when the movie should have been downright odd or lame, it wasn't. He was somehow able to convey an apocalyptic tone (which sort of gave him free reign to create this anything-goes film) without the typical grey skies and bombed out cities. A lot of the film took place in broad daylight.

It inspired me to try to make an image that conveyed the same sort of apocalyptic feel in a pleasant setting (appropriately a day lit desert). Then, of course, the brain train started rolling and I decided to make sister (or brother?) images: one in modern-ish times and one in the Wild West. Both should convey a sort of personal apocalypse for the characters involved and both are going to use the same setting (yay! less background painting) but in one it's horses and the other it's automobiles.

After 20 minutes of roughing I have this.

I'll track the progress.