I knew I wanted to illustrate a library scene for this entry listing Greek literature sources, and I got excited about the idea of doing the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. I thought it would be a fun opportunity to show an ancient academic location outside of Greece and it gave me an opportunity to bring in some Egyptian architecture and costume designs.
Even from the thumbnail sketch you can see that I wanted light rays to draw the eye in and land on the scroll shelves. Sometimes I'll attempt these types of pieces with more complex lighting as strong lighting really adds a lot to the ambiance of the scene. once I got to the color sketch stage it was a matter of placing the light rays behind the central figure, and highlighting the background figure, to make sense of the values and graphic contrast of the elements. Cats were considered sacred animals in ancient Egypt, so I thought it fitting to add a cat in the lower left hand, just for fun.
I knew I wanted to illustrate a library scene for this entry listing Greek literature sources, and I got excited about the idea of doing the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. I thought it would be a fun opportunity to show an ancient academic location outside of Greece and it gave me an opportunity to bring in some Egyptian architecture and costume designs.
Even from the thumbnail sketch you can see that I wanted light rays to draw the eye in and land on the scroll shelves. Sometimes I'll attempt these types of pieces with more complex lighting as strong lighting really adds a lot to the ambiance of the scene. once I got to the color sketch stage it was a matter of placing the light rays behind the central figure, and highlighting the background figure, to make sense of the values and graphic contrast of the elements. Cats were considered sacred animals in ancient Egypt, so I thought it fitting to add a cat in the lower left hand, just for fun.
