Anne with an E
As a fan of the original L.M Montgomery books, I love most things associated with Anne of Green Gables. The new season of the tv series Anne With an E has just been unveiled this week and I'm eager with excitement to binge-watch episodes 1 through 10 (yay for extra episodes this season!). Anne's imaginary friendship with Princess Cordelia, and her wild imagination of make-believe is the inspiration behind my new illustration - 'Anne and Princess Cordelia.'
Through family tree research, I discovered my great-grandmother was orphaned from birth. She lived around the same time as Anne, and was boarded out to a childless couple who ran a farm. Therefore the story of Anne feels somewhat more personal for me, as maybe my great-grandmother had quite a lot of similarities with this intriguing character...
~ Rachel x
From rough sketch to finished piece. I use a Wacom Cintiq with Photoshop.
Alternative colour studies - I usually go through several rounds of colour changes in order to find the most suitable colours for the scene and atmosphere. This is the most head-scratching part of my process! As Anne is the main character, I based my colour choices around her and what would compliment her colouring. The final colour scheme highlights Anne as I used cooler blue tones for the tree and Cordelia, and warmer brown tones for Anne and her real-life possessions.
The final illustration - I love adding lots of little details to a scene. This is Anne's little sanctuary of play and imagination, her tree of story-telling and make-believe. She has personally decorated it with ribbon, candles, books, inkwell, wildflowers, and she shares her space with some friendly wildlife.