Welcome to a sneak peek of my next project! This one represents a lot of firsts for me: first kids room, first human figure on a wall, first full illustrative/narrative scene... so obviously I'm pretty excited.
Below are the first three steps of my planning process: concept/composition, pencil sketch, and value study.
![initial concept + composition](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/514bc275e4b0f02803d81cdc/1386956784493-LJMB41KB1U8ETNJSS6P2/sketch+-+small+wall.jpg)
![pencil sketch, detail refinement](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/514bc275e4b0f02803d81cdc/1386956798715-4JMBWULXH1VY4F1OXIRI/sketch+compilation+edited.jpg)
![value study, final composition](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/514bc275e4b0f02803d81cdc/1386956808560-ED3U7P96X1WTTV4RGGND/sketch+full+composition+and+values.jpg)
My client's prompts (as paraphrased by me) included:
[subject] (whole scene/illustration) approx. one wall full of a little girl (in drapery-style clothes, perhaps some fairy queen qualities) sitting in a tree and reading, animals (perhaps some delicate antelope?), golden/atmospheric, birds (peacock/songbirds)
[style] chinoiserie, art deco, muted palette (cool with warm highlights) - olives, indigos, gold, a la illustrated manuscript/persian miniatures, quiet/sparse landscape, delicate, realistic-ish (not charicaturized)
Next comes the color study, and then a full, to-scale rendering in watercolor and other traditional media. Stay tuned~