Alice, underdrawing 10/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I'm excited to finish the drawing for this one for two reasons. One, I'll take any excuse I can to draw a griffin (griffon, gryphon, or otherwise) and oddly enough I don't draw too many of them. And Two, I'll be more fully realizing the piece that I did earlier this year for Gallery Nucleus' "Curiouser and Curiouser" exhibition. I'm happy with the piece I send to the show, don't get me wrong, but when you work 8 x 10 (like the first piece was) I find it pretty difficult. I need to work larger. Well, enough of that. Here's the underdrawing for 10/14,

"The Gryphon"

Previously, 10/14 rough + color study

Next post,Wednesday : "What is his sorrow?

Alice, underdrawing 9/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

"Nonsense!"

Previously, 9/14 rough + color study

Next post, Friday : The Gryphon

Alice, underdrawing 8/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I'm thrilled with the Hatter's face. I can't wait to get to drawing it. I've always had a thing for drawing jackets and ties and turned up collars.

"Your hair wants cutting."

Previously,8/14 rough + color study

In real time news, I am caught up with these posts -- I'll be starting the final drawing for this one tonight!

Next post, Friday : "Nonsense!"

Alice, underdrawing 7/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I could probably say this with most of these but I'm really looking forward to getting to this one.

The Cheshire Cat

Previously, 7/14 rough + color study

In real time news, I've just completed the sixth final drawing (The Caterpillar) so I'm very nearly up to date with underdrawing posts. What's that? You want proof? Ok, here is a detail of Alice from The Caterpillar :

Next post, Wednesday : "Your hair wants cutting."

Alice, underdrawing 6/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

The Caterpillar

Previously, 6/14 rough + color study

Next post, Monday : The Cheshire Cat

Alice, underdrawing 5/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I'm pleased with this one for a number of reasons but most of all I'm happy with Alice's hair. I'm looking forward to drawing it and the actual thistle. Drawing a puppy is a means to have a real reason to draw a thistle.

The Puppy and the Thistle

Previously, 5/14 rough + color study

In real time news (since you must know that I don't post these instantly as I finish them) I'm just about right behind the roughs in terms of finished drawings. I've got the first three completed and I'm very happy with them. They will be the next stage of postings after these roughs.

Next post, Friday : The Caterpillar

Alice, underdrawing 4/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I was really happy to get to this one, I've been looking forward to doing more figures in a scene. The Dodo was pretty fun to get started. I can't wait to finish it.

"The Thimble"

Previously, 4/14 rough + color study

Next post, Wednesday : The Puppy and the Thistle

Alice, underdrawing 3/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

"I wish I hadn't cried so much!"

Previously, 3/14 rough + color study

In real time news, I've just completed the underdrawings for all 14 pieces, though I am spacing out the posts here. I hope to begin the final drawings this weekend.

Next post, Monday : "The Thimble."

Alice, underdrawing 2/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

I'm pretty happy with this one, I'm looking forward to drawing the figure. There's still a lot to figure out with the final drawing and painting for it.

"The Glass Table"

Previously, 2/14 rough + color study

Next post, Friday : "I wish I hadn't cried so much!"

Alice, underdrawing 1/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the underdrawing.

Here's a look at the underdrawing for the first piece. I typically rough my work out in a blue col-erase to find my lines and move on to the finished drawing from there.

There's not a lot to see here, I'll figure most of my work in with the final pencil. I usually leave most environmental stuff for that stage (though I block in my shapes with the blue) but I'm careful to render out any figures with the blue and establish the proportions I want in this stage.

"Daisy chains"

Previously, 1/14 rough + color study.

Next post, Wednesday : The Glass Table

special guest post

My little sister is one of my most favorite people ever. She's really the best little sister anyone could have ever asked for. She's a brilliant artist, she's clever and very funny, and she's sweet. She grew up watching me play Zelda. She is one of the most fun people to watch movies with because she invests on every level into the story.

Unfortunately, she's spent her entire life living in my shadow. This minor annoyance comes up every now and again. She recently scrawled a quick little comic about it and sent it to me. Enjoy.

Alice, complete color studies

Here's the complete collection of all the color studies. I'm pretty pleased overall with how they look together. This helps me to get all my ideas in order and see how they flow.

Monday begins the real deal, the final drawings. And I'll be back to my standard M/W/F posting schedule but not before ---

Tomorrow! A special, weekend edition guest post; a comic drawn by someone who has always lived in my shadow!

See you then!

Alice, roughs 14/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 12, Alice's Evidence :

" ...and found herself lying on the bank, with her head in the lap of her sister, who was gently brushing away some dead leaves that had fluttered down from the trees upon her face.

'Wake up, Alice dear!' said her sister; 'Why, what a long sleep you've had!'

'Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice, and she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, 'It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.' So Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been."

And so we're nearly at the end of this first stage of posts. Thanks for sticking with me through it!

Tomorrow I'm going to recap, all of the color studies together and see how they all look next to each other. From there, next Monday (5/6/10) begins the real posts -- the final drawings.

Alice, roughs 13/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 12, Alice's Evidence :

" 'Never!' said the Queen furiously, throwing an inkstand at the Lizard as she spoke. (The unfortunate little Bill had left off writing on his slate with one finger, as he found it made no mark; but he now hastily began again, using the ink, that was trickling down his face, as long as it lasted.)

'Then the words don't fit you,' said the King, looking round the court with a smile. There was a dead silence.

'It's a pun!' the King added in an offended tone, and everybody laughed, 'Let the jury consider their verdict,' the King said, for about the twentieth time that day.

'No, no!' said the Queen. 'Sentence first--verdict afterwards.'

'Stuff and nonsense!' said Alice loudly. `The idea of having the sentence first!'

'Hold your tongue!' said the Queen, turning purple.

'I won't!' said Alice.

'Off with her head!' the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.

'Who cares for you?' said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this time.) 'You're nothing but a pack of cards!'

At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down upon her..."

"Who cares for you?"

Next post, Thursday : Epilogue

Alice, roughs 12/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 11, Who Stole The Tarts? :

"The King and Queen of Hearts were seated on their throne when they arrived, with a great crowd assembled about them--all sorts of little birds and beasts, as well as the whole pack of cards: the Knave was standing before them, in chains, with a soldier on each side to guard him; and near the King was the White Rabbit, with a trumpet in one hand, and a scroll of parchment in the other. In the very middle of the court was a table, with a large dish of tarts upon it: they looked so good, that it made Alice quite hungry to look at them-- 'I wish they'd get the trial done,' she thought, 'and hand round the refreshments!' But there seemed to be no chance of this, so she began looking at everything about her, to pass away the time.

Alice had never been in a court of justice before, but she had read about them in books, and she was quite pleased to find that she knew the name of nearly everything there. 'That's the judge,' she said to herself, 'because of his great wig.'

The judge, by the way, was the King; and as he wore his crown over the wig, he did not look at all comfortable, and it was certainly not becoming."

The Court of Justice

Next post, Wednesday : "Who cares for you?"

Alice, roughs 11/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 9, The Mock Turtle's Story :

"They had not gone far before they saw the Mock Turtle in the distance, sitting sad and lonely on a little ledge of rock, and, as they came nearer, Alice could hear him sighing as if his heart would break. She pitied him deeply. 'What is his sorrow?' she asked the Gryphon."

"What is his sorrow?"

Next post, Tuesday : The Court of Justice

Alice, roughs 10/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 9, The Mock Turtle's Story :

"They very soon came upon a Gryphon, lying fast asleep in the sun. 'Up, lazy thing!' said the Queen, 'and take this young lady to see the Mock Turtle, and to hear his history. I must go back and see after some executions I have ordered'; and she walked off, leaving Alice alone with the Gryphon. Alice did not quite like the look of the creature, but on the whole she thought it would be quite as safe to stay with it as to go after that savage Queen: so she waited.

The Gryphon sat up and rubbed its eyes: then it watched the Queen till she was out of sight: then it chuckled. `What fun!' said the Gryphon, half to itself, half to Alice.

'What is the fun?' said Alice.

'Why, she,' said the Gryphon. 'It's all her fancy, that: they never executes nobody, you know. Come on!'

'Everybody says "come on!" here,' thought Alice, as she went slowly after it: 'I never was so ordered about in all my life, never!' "

The Gryphon.

This one is interesting in that I've already had a little practice with it, you might say. I took this thumbnail to completion back in February for the Gallery Nucleus Alice show, "Curiouser and Curiouser" I did the piece at 8x10 so, due to the size, it was difficult to get some things right. Things weren't meant to be drawn small.

All of these new pieces are 11x14, a much more agreeable size to my hand.

Here is the piece that went to the show.


Next post, Monday : "What is his sorrow?"

Alice, roughs 9/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter, The Queen's Croquet-Ground :

"First came ten soldiers carrying clubs; these were all shaped like the three gardeners, oblong and flat, with their hands and feet at the corners: next the ten courtiers; these were ornamented all over with diamonds, and walked two and two, as the soldiers did. After these came the royal children; there were ten of them, and the little dears came jumping merrily along hand in hand, in couples: they were all ornamented with hearts. Next came the guests, mostly Kings and Queens, and among them Alice recognised the White Rabbit: it was talking in a hurried nervous manner, smiling at everything that was said, and went by without noticing her. Then followed the Knave of Hearts, carrying the King's crown on a crimson velvet cushion; and, last of all this grand procession, came the King and Queen of Hearts.

Alice was rather doubtful whether she ought not to lie down on her face like the three gardeners, but she could not remember ever having heard of such a rule at processions; `and besides, what would be the use of a procession,' thought she, ;if people had all to lie down upon their faces, so that they couldn't see it?' So she stood still where she was, and waited.

When the procession came opposite to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said severely 'Who is this?' She said it to the Knave of Hearts, who only bowed and smiled in reply.

'Idiot!' said the Queen, tossing her head impatiently; and, turning to Alice, she went on, 'What's your name, child?'

'My name is Alice, so please your Majesty,' said Alice very politely; but she added, to herself, 'Why, they're only a pack of cards, after all. I needn't be afraid of them!'

'And who are these?' said the Queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, as they were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children.

'How should I know?' said Alice, surprised at her own courage. 'It's no business of mine.'

The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed 'Off with her head! Off--'

'Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.

"Nonsense!"

I'm pretty pleased with the color comp for this one. It came together after the pink sky. I'm looking forward to drawing this one.

Next post, Friday : The Gryphon

Alice, roughs 8/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 7, A Mad Tea-Party :

"There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. 'Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,' thought Alice; 'only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.'

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 'No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. 'There's plenty of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

'Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. 'I don't see any wine,' she remarked.

'There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

'Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it,' said Alice angrily.

'It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited,' said the March Hare.

'I didn't know it was your table,' said Alice; 'it's laid for a great many more than three.'

'Your hair wants cutting,' said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.

'You should learn not to make personal remarks,' Alice said with some severity; 'it's very rude.' "

"Your hair wants cutting."

Next post, Thursday : "Nonsense!"

Alice, roughs 7/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 6, Pig and Pepper :

So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood.' If it had grown up,' she said to herself, 'it would have made a dreadfully ugly child: but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.' And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself, 'if one only knew the right way to change them--' when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.

The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.

'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on.'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where--' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

'--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.

'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'

Pretty straightforward, perhaps a little too green, but I'm pleased with the value study.

The Cheshire Cat is of course based on one of my own cats, my lab partner, James. You may remember this small piece from a couple months back,


Again, thank you all for the comments, I'm so glad to see that these progressions are helpful and enjoyable. Just wait until we get to the painting, then the fun is really going to start.

Next post, Wednesday : "Your hair wants cutting."

Alice, roughs 6/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 5, Advice from a Caterpillar :

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain yourself!'

'I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, 'because I'm not myself, you see.'

'I don't see,' said the Caterpillar.

'I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,' Alice replied very politely, 'for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.'

'It isn't,' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet,' said Alice; 'but when you have to turn into a chrysalis--you will some day, you know--and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?'

'Not a bit,' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, perhaps your feelings may be different,' said Alice; 'all I know is, it would feel very queer to me.'

'You!' said the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are you?'

Which brought them back again to the beginning of the conversation. Alice felt a little irritated at the Caterpillar's making such very short remarks, and she drew herself up and said, very gravely, 'I think, you ought to tell me who you are, first.'

'Why?' said the Caterpillar.

Here was another puzzling question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a very unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.

'Come back!' the Caterpillar called after her. 'I've something important to say!'

This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.

'Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.

'Is that all?' said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could.

'No,' said the Caterpillar.

This is one of the pieces I've most looked forward to making. I'm pretty pleased with the idea.

In real time update : Since this is an on-going project, building on stage after stage, I'll update you guys from time-to-time with where I'm at in real time. Last night I finished my "blue pencil drawings" for the first 6 final drawings. Typically I work in roughs/color studies (like above) from there I begin the final drawings with a lightly rendered blue pencil drawing. I get down all my shapes and everything and from there move on to the final drawing.

I always wonder how much preproduction, development work people would actually be interested to see, specifically whether or not it's even worth posting these little roughs/color studies. Does anybody get anything out of them? Is it aggravating to be on a weeks long journey, getting little snippets of pieces but not the payoff of a finished piece for weeks?

I occasionally get comments, ones that really confirm yes, this is helpful and possibly worthwhile for people. I'd like to post one in it's entirety from the previous week :

Rafael Kokiri said...

Corey, I'm seing your rough sketches, and crazy lines with some througts hidden, and it's all just awesome, really.
I'm kinda of an artist-wannabe ang get amazed by your works. just keep on posting it, please.
Maybe it's not much for you, but every single day I open your blog, see rough sketches or finisher masterpieces, it gives enough motivation to keep drawing and learning the rest of the week.
Congrats man.

Thanks, Rafael.

I post all that to say, I hope these are helpful for you in someway, to get a glimpse into the process I typically work with. Maybe it would work for you too.

Next post, Tuesday : The Cheshire Cat

Alice, roughs 5/14

Note : I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish. This stage is the rough + color study.

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 4, The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill :

'The first thing I've got to do,' said Alice to herself, as she wandered about in the wood, 'is to grow to my right size again; and the second thing is to find my way into that lovely garden. I think that will be the best plan.'

It sounded an excellent plan, no doubt, and very neatly and simply arranged; the only difficulty was, that she had not the smallest idea how to set about it; and while she was peering about anxiously among the trees, a little sharp bark just over her head made her look up in a great hurry.

An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her. 'Poor little thing!' said Alice, in a coaxing tone, and she tried hard to whistle to it; but she was terribly frightened all the time at the thought that it might be hungry, in which case it would be very likely to eat her up in spite of all her coaxing.

Hardly knowing what she did, she picked up a little bit of stick, and held it out to the puppy; whereupon the puppy jumped into the air off all its feet at once, with a yelp of delight, and rushed at the stick, and made believe to worry it; then Alice dodged behind a great thistle, to keep herself from being run over; and the moment she appeared on the other side, the puppy made another rush at the stick, and tumbled head over heels in its hurry to get hold of it; then Alice, thinking it was very like having a game of play with a cart-horse, and expecting every moment to be trampled under its feet, ran round the thistle again; then the puppy began a series of short charges at the stick, running a very little way forwards each time and a long way back, and barking hoarsely all the while, till at last it sat down a good way off, panting, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and its great eyes half shut.

This seemed to Alice a good opportunity for making her escape; so she set off at once, and ran till she was quite tired and out of breath, and till the puppy's bark sounded quite faint in the distance."

This is probably the one you're just going to have to trust me on. This chapter, 4, was the problem chapter for me, deciding what I wanted to do. Nothing about the early parts of the chapter struck me. So instead of Alice stuck in the house, I decided to go with a lesser (at least in my estimation) a lesser remembered moment where Alice hides from a puppy behind a thistle right at the end of the chapter. This was once of the instances where forward momentum carried the decision. If you second guess yourself you're not going to accomplish anything. In my limited experience, if you mentally flutter around thinking about something, or worse if you talk about an idea you have you're that much the less likely to ever get around to accomplishing it. In the words of General George S. Patton :

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

Well. All that said, the rough is very rough. I don't even know if it makes sense to anyone else. I'm almost not sure why I'm showing all these roughs, since the payoff for them won't be for weeks, but nonetheless, I've started so here we are. Again, I do think of this blog as a workbench that anyone can come over and take a look over my shoulder so in that respect it makes sense. I do hope you'll hold fast until the reveal of the final art.

Next post, Monday : The Caterpillar

Alice, roughs 4/14

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 3, A Caucus Race and a Long Tail :

"First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, ('the exact shape doesn't matter,' it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no 'One, two, three, and away,' but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out `The race is over!' and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, `But who has won?'

This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare, in the pictures of him), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said, 'Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.'

'But who is to give the prizes?' quite a chorus of voices asked.

'Why, she, of course,' said the Dodo, pointing to Alice with one finger; and the whole party at once crowded round her, calling out in a confused way, 'Prizes! Prizes!'

Alice had no idea what to do, and in despair she put her hand in her pocket, and pulled out a box of comfits, (luckily the salt water had not got into it), and handed them round as prizes. There was exactly one a-piece all round.

'But she must have a prize herself, you know,' said the Mouse.

'Of course,' the Dodo replied very gravely. 'What else have you got in your pocket?' he went on, turning to Alice.

'Only a thimble,' said Alice sadly.

'Hand it over here,' said the Dodo.

Then they all crowded round her once more, while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble, saying 'We beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble'; and, when it had finished this short speech, they all cheered."

The Thimble.

Next post, Friday : The Puppy and Thistle

I am posting the progression of these Alice pieces, start to finish.
This stage is the rough + color study.

Alice, roughs 3/14

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 2, The Pool of Tears :

"As she said these words her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash! she was up to her chin in salt water. Her first idea was that she had somehow fallen into the sea, 'and in that case I can go back by railway,' she said to herself. (Alice had been to the seaside once in her life, and had come to the general conclusion, that wherever you go to on the English coast you find a number of bathing machines in the sea, some children digging in the sand with wooden spades, then a row of lodging houses, and behind them a railway station.) However, she soon made out that she was in the pool of tears which she had wept when she was nine feet high.

'I wish I hadn't cried so much!' said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. 'I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That will be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer to-day.'

Just then she heard something splashing about in the pool a little way off, and she swam nearer to make out what it was: at first she thought it must be a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she was now, and she soon made out that it was only a mouse that had slipped in like herself."

"I wish I hadn't cried so much!"

Next post, Thursday : The thimble

Alice, rough 2/14

From Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 1, Down the Rabbit-Hole :

"Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!"

The Glass Table.

Alice in Wonderland has been done so many times by so many brilliant artists that I think the temptation can go both ways -- an illustrated moment works so you go with that even if it's familiar. It's worked for 150 years because it's good. Or you go the complete unconventional route. Which I'm sure some people to make work but for me that felt like I was trying too hard, it needed to be more natural. What I've tried to do with all of these pieces is strike a balance between familiar characters and moments and other moments, like the Glass Table, that I don't remember ever seeing illustrated before. Either way it's terribly difficult to go wrong with subject matter as captivating as this.

Here's an alternate coloring study for this one. It's possible for this one that when I come to drawing the final I think I might tighten up the focus on Alice and the table, bring it in a little closer.

Next post, Wednesday : "I wish I hadn't cried so much!"