Beauty and the Steam step by step

Potete leggere questo stesso post in italiano qui.

Days ago my friend Tanabrus suggested I could draw a steampunk version for the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast.

That's the result:

Now let's see how I did this (but remember: I've to thanks a lot Tanabrus for the original idea and for the pieces of advice he gave me during the whole work in progress).

Step 1: pencil draw

I tried to focuses on the principal points of the fairytale: the Beauty, the Beast and the rose. 

Since I decided I'll make this illustration I know I will make a threatenig Beast who looks at Belle who was watching the rose (ok it's a mess of a phrase, but hope you'll understand what I'm writing).

The rose most of all offered me some cues for the steampunk setting: it's in a glass jar and the jar is perfect to be connected with brass tubed and stuff...

In the first version Belle had a different outfit, but Tanabrus suggest I've to dress her up like the Disney's version to give instantly the idea of what we're illustrating. 

In this first version  the candlestick you can see on the right in the last version is missing. It's because I didn't draw it until Tanabrus suggested me to add a side character from the Disney's movie.

Step 2: cyan print

Using adobe photoshop I changed my draw in a cyan version and printed it so I could add ink and then scan it again without any track of pencil lines.

Step 3: ink

Put ink over an illustration is not just trace the pencil lines with the ink. I wanted the atmosphere around Belle and around the Beast to be different, so I choose to put heavy black shadow on the background in the Beast's area and almost no shadows in Belle's area, thinking maybe the rose will be spreading a little of light.

I'm still not so sure about this choice: Belle's look seems to be too 'weak', maybe I'll work again on this.

The jar and the rose's outlines are coloured: I did them with black ink and then used photoshop to change their colors to have a more glassy effect.

Step 4: flat colours

Now I had a inked draw, and I need to choose my colours. I tried to think to the steampunk typical colours (ocher, vermillion, dark green, copper, rust...) and the Disney's Beauty and the Beast ones at the same time.

I choose to paint the main characters' outfits similar to the Disney's ones.

I'd to pay attention when I choose the colours 'caure they're the colours which I'll work on: putting on shadows and shades, they've to be light ones but also give the idea of where I'll be go with the finishing touch.

Step 5: shadows

For the shadows I used a spray-like brush of photoshop which gives that pointed effect, I worked on several layers in multiply mode, and changed the opacity to obtain the shade I wanted.

The glass jar is on a different layer: I painted it grey-blue and lowered the opacity, then, on another layer I tracked some withe lines with a soft brush to give the idea of light.

As finishing touches I added some light-pink sparkles around the rose with a starry brush and a little of steam effect done on a different layer with a soft brush and light grey paint lowering a lot the opacity.

And at the moment that's all: I'm not really satisfied of Bella's face, I think I'll work again on it sooner or later.

Obviously this illustration is for Tanabrus :)