Author's Note: I cannot convey the sense of abominable desolation that hung over the world. The red eastern sky, the northward blackness, the salt Dead Sea, the stony beach crawling with these foul, slow-stirring monsters, the uniform poisonous-looking green of the lichenous plants, the thin air that hurts one's lungs: all contributed to an appalling effect. I moved on a hundred years, and there was the same red sun-a little larger, a little duller-the same dying sea, the same chill air, and the same crowd of earthy crustacea creeping in and out among the green weed and the red rocks. And in the westward sky, I saw a curved pale line like a vast new moon.
From The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
The background is painting, smudging, clone painting from the red rocks source, and some texture overlays. Most of the time machine was drawn in Photoshop, with textures/details added from photos. The Time Traveller and monster crabs are photos with various painted elements.
An extremely quick sketch I did to get the basic composition down
Quick progression to show illustrative process for background and machine
Sources
Sources courtesy of stock.xchng, Falln-Stock, Grant MacDonald, calumscotland, Clintus McGintus, donielle, Cryptonaut, bdjsb7, atteSmythe, CJ Sorg, star5112, DanLoaTmba, sara~, Ian Koh, mogmismo, Harry-Harms, Elsie esq., Ed Yourdon, Leo Reynolds