Digital Drawing Lecture 7- 'Paint Over Technique'

So yesterday, I'd come to a head about my cities general 'look'.
Also there's the problem of Max Ernst influencing the textures and matte painting, but not the main buildings themselves. The buildings seem to have drawn heavy inspiration from Dresden pre-1945, and while it's his idea around conflict that drove me to use their buildings, and his work that I'd used  for my textures and positioning... visually his influence, as a whole, is less obvious.
There is this issue of, to what degree, I should work directly from Dresden architecture, and how to work the texture in with the shapes\designs.
Subtler things I had drawn from his pieces, would be 'Europe after the rain' in theory... though in actuality, it's more predominately his black and white generalised frottage work... that (though unrelated to conflict), heavily inspired the visual look.

Something I noticed a lot in Dresden was the repetitive nature of the architecture (particularly the small, little details)... something that I also associate with natural forms.
That, and my attempt to mimic Ernst's organic style, and silt like rock (which is quite chalky in texture), is what drove me to create this kind of dried-up sea world.
I have referenced a lot of dead, or out of water, coral...which I've tested out within the structures as seen above,,, and the choice of brush in showing these contours and holes.
In relation to the sky/matte painting however.... greatening the height of the building actually takes away from the entire scale of it all. I might consider decreasing the size of the buildings, or increasing the background instead

In progress.

The start of the 2nd version. 

Upon showing this work to the lecturer, he suggested referencing colours for the buildings as opposed to leaving them black and white. The second image looks more like a city, but the first does better at conveying the concept. Having more impact with the buildings being stark against the background. Making it seem like a graveyard of sorts, where in the eye of the storm, (or in the havoc left behind), the true reality of war is suddenly as clear as day. 

Where we see how conflict, in Max Ernst's eyes, is a retrogression of culture, art and human development.

The inhabitants may be collecting these buildings, (or the last memory of them left, tainted by war), in an attempt to save them, and to allow us to move forward as a species.

I'm planning on expanding the shot or playing around a little with the first image. Particularly with the colour, and featuring prominent features like Ernst's planets, and moons, that are an immediate, visual, gateway to relating this city to his work.