Spacewalk
A couple of EVA (extravehicular activity) concepts. The first set depicts the main hero Roy McBride on top of the Cepheus. This were mostly lighting studies. The director reacted quite positively to the first image and used it over and over again as a benchmark of the light quality he wanted to achieve for the final look. The second set of images was for a cut sequence where the main hero would encounter a Star Shade that would block all incoming light from the Sun and in turn would reflect the star field behind him. More than awe it was meant to portray how small and alone we were in the Universe.
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Ad Astra 2019 © 20th Century Fox
A shot that also gave some sense of scale to the Cepheus. Notice the ship is catching some blue light coming from Neptune; didn't want to push it further so it wouldn't lose the high contrast quality.
Technically EVA wouldn't happen this way but for the sake of simplicity I depicted it like this to quickly output the artwork.
Though the context changed, this particular composition was still used for the final movie.
The director really liked the hard contrast. He preferred, when possible, to depict everything in simplified terms. This is easier when you only use one light source.
Roy McBride facing the Sun before encountering the Star Shade. This sequence wasn't fully developed so I have no clue why suddenly the main lead would be out alone in space. Sun light is so strong it blocks all incoming star light.
As the Star Shade blocks the view the Sun light gets more saturated.
Alongside the theme of being alone in the Universe, the Star Shade was a motif represented just like the religious symbolism depicted in classic paintings. A way to embody the Universe in a simplified abstract shape, this is Roy McBride facing infinity.