Pulp Starfall: Retro Sci-Fi Illustration

Retro pulp sci-fi illustration in vertical 3:4 format, hand-painted dark cover art with grainy pulp print texture, dramatic brushwork, and a rich layered alien landscape. A rocket crew of three adults in vintage-styled space suits stands on a black-sand dune ridge in the midground: rounded glass bubble helmets reflecting the sky, cream and rust cloth suits with leather harnesses, chunky backpacks, ray-tool belts with fictional designs, and heavy boots sinking slightly into dark sand, each figure in a distinct heroic pose, one shielding eyes toward the horizon, one holding a survey lantern, one planting a plain pennant with no text. Micro-detail in the painting includes stitched suit seams, scratched helmet glass, painted highlights on metal buckles, and wind-blown sand streaking across boots. Scene layers build the cover: foreground black sand ripples, scattered obsidian rocks, and the fin of their landed rocket intruding at one corner, midground the crew on the ridge in sharpest painted focus, background a vast night sky dominated by a giant ringed planet with bands of indigo, violet, and pale gold, its rings crossing the entire upper frame, plus distant jagged mountains and a thin river of stars. Composition is a classic pulp cover diagonal, dune line leading from lower corner up to crew and then to the planet, slightly low viewpoint for grandeur. Lighting is dramatic painted light: cold blue starlight from above, warm amber lantern glow on suits and sand, deep black shadows, and bright rim edges on helmets against the planet glow. Materials are rendered in paint: rough canvas grain, matte cloth, glossy glass, gritty sand, and smooth planetary atmosphere. Style anchors are 1950s pulp magazine covers reimagined darker and cooler, gouache science fiction illustration, and vintage poster painting with modern richness. Include variable slots for [ringed planet hue: indigo or crimson-tinged] and [crew lantern color: amber or teal]. No text anywhere. Ultra detailed painted finish, sharp focus on crew, rich contrast.