Very complex illos begin as dodgy scribbles...

From thumbnail rough to full drawing: This shows the development of one of my illos for the Spellcaster Gamebook "The Forgotten Spell", depicting a strange 'Flea Market' in a tram in a weird elven city.
This was to be a highly complex illo containing a lot of characters and little narratives for the reader to spot. How to fit it all into the space provided?
The first rapid thumbnails done in a small sketchpad establish space, perspective and flow.
The next, done larger, roughly positions known elements and background characters.
The fourth, done to final size lays out all the elements and involves lots of erasing and redrawing. From this the linework that will form the finished illo is traced, refined and carefully finalised.

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