the Architect Apprentice

Here’s a new project, the Architect Apprentice, and though I had a story in mind when working on it I’d love for you to make up your own!
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I researched 17th century Dutch fashion and architecture a lot, and distilled many easter eggs, from time relevant details, to anachronisms such as Escher’s stairs and Penrose’s triangle (impossible geometries). The initial inspiration was actually Vermeer’s (the goat) painting "The Geographer", loved the lighting and the subtle lifestyle indications.
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I couldn’t have done this illustration without the help and support of my partner Mathilde Vejrich whose ideas on storytelling and eye for details made every new step an improvement. Early on our discussions revolved around character placement and posing to effectively draw the eye towards the action, and then prop placement to tell a story within the set design too.
Thanks to Dimitri Chappuis and Samuel Sandelin as well for their input on last touches.
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As always I started on paper, then sketched a few more angles in photoshop. I modelled and textured the assets in blender and overpainted it so it looks more natural.