'The Masque of the Red Death' Progress

'The Masque of the Red Death' Progress

This is the initial progress on my image for 'The Masque of the Red Death'. I've carried over the style of illustration and lighting from 'The Shunned House' and so far, it's looking quite interesting. Its far from complete, but as a starting point, this isn't too bad.

Colours of 'The Masque of the Red Death'

Just a quick update concerning the colour palette for 'The Masque of the Red Death' I will be using, created using TheColorOf.com.
I've established the swatches but Photoshop is being a little moody at the moment, so I can't put them together and upload them. Never the less, here are the images I took colours from.

Tiny, Miniscule Update to the Major Thumbnail for 'The Masque of the Red Death'

I wanted to add a bit of the narrative to the image, so that it isn't just a corridor with no real reason for being there, so I've added nods to the climax of the story, where the hooded figure is being pursued from room to room by the Prince and the nobles. The masquerade mask in the foreground adds a little depth as well as providing a nice bit of narrative to the image. As for the cloak, I don't want the figure in full display, as the painting is about the scenery and tone projected, and not the figure, so I felt the cloak dragging around the corner would solve both this problems for me. Of course, it's not finished, and the idea will undergo various revisions, for example, I may add spots of blood being dragged behind the cloak, being that the cloak is somewhat splattered with blood in the story.

Influence Map for the Palace Interior from 'The Masque of the Red Death'

This influence map consists of images of Georgian period interiors, Gothic architectural elements and examples of mood lighting for the coloured lighting in each of the suites.

The Georgian interior is the general approach I’m going for, so I’ve found a variety of images ranging from grand scale spectacles of interior design to smaller, more quaint, yet no less impressive examples. I’ve also selected Gothic elements to combine with the Georgian aspects to reflect the Prince’s “taste for the bizarre”. The mood lighting was found as reference for the lighting unique to each suite, giving me an idea of how to apply the lighting in my painting.

Progress on a Major Thumbnail for 'The Masque of the Red Death'

This is a major thumbnail for 'The Masque of the Red Death'. I call it a major thumbnail, as it is essentially an idea in a very early state, but it has the potential to become a final painting.
I've used basic, flat tones to establish a basic idea of the general depth of the corridor, and use of perspective has been used extensively. I'm quite happy with this image, even in this incomplete form, as the development process was a nice combination of my own meticulous, technical approach, with a fluid, freeform approach on top to emphasise and develop the details.