Bustling London...... Final State

Here is a scan of the finished painting which I have tweaked a little bit in Photoshop.
This is very much a picture to be looked at up close so that the viewer gets to scan over the various details and incidents.
It will be the first spread in the book and is very much designed to set the scene, to give a sense of the time and the place for the action to come in the rest of the book.

Bustling London....Almost Done

I've pretty much finished this illustration now.
I have scanned the painting and am giving it a final tweak in Photoshop.
Here are the final three shots of the painting process.

Bustling London; Three More Process Pictures

Here are three more pictures showing the progress of my Bustling London illustration.
I've begun adding the characters on the streets and a lot more detail all over.

Bustling London.....Progressing

I'm really enjoying working up my painting of 17th Century London.
Although I did a very detailed drawing for this piece I have been changing elements and adding details as I paint.
Emmersing myself in the life of this late medieval market I find I naturally come up with details or incidents that I hadn't thought of at the drawing stage.
This process is great for my confidence in my technique, especially as I haven't painted in watercolour for a few months.
I had intended that the foreground houses would be all darker in order to show that they were closer to the viewer than the main action, but as I was painting it in, it struck me that I could vary the tone from darkest to lightest to imply that a cloud was passing overhead.

Please note that some of the photos are a bit darker and more contrasty than others depending on the time of day they are shot.

Bustling London

Here's another rough from the book I am working on right now.

This is the opening spread showing a busy market scene in 17th century London.
I always loved those Disney movies that start with a great big panorama or a townscape before homing in on a particular figure or area to begin the story. I think it's a great way to introduce the reader into the period and setting of a story.