"But where the Baudelaire orphans most liked to be was the Reptile Room."

Violet sat at a table with the ropes, gears, and cages that made up the different snake traps, learning how they worked, repairing them if they were broken, and occasionally making improvements... Klaus sat nearby, reading the books on Peru Uncle Monty had and taking notes on a pad of paper...

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

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Violet and Klaus in the Reptile Room owned by their Uncle Monty, a Herpetologist.

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^{credit: wikipedia}

The picture above is a scene I drew inspired by the second book of Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events entitled The Reptile Room. It's my entry to @juliakponsford's art explosion contest with the theme, inspired by a book.

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The story is about three orphans who lost their parents in a mysterious fire. They are then plunged into a series of unlucky circumstances, mainly due to a villain plotting to steal the their enormous inheritance.

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I mulled over this concept for a day and a half thinking of all the books I read and which scenes or characters I could draw. I realized nearly all of my favorite books were already made into films (which I've also watched) and I knew if I tried to draw a scene from those books, it would probably look similar to the characters or setup from the movie adaptation. And I didn't want to do that.

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LOL, okay, okay, so I know this book has already been made into a film (and a series on Netflix). But I ultimately chose this book because (A) I love it and (B), I've been drawing scenes and characters from A Series of Unfortunate Events way before I saw the movie, unlike with many other books I've read.

Bonus

^{Left: Waiter at Cafe Salmonella by Brett Helquist and Right: My sketch from High School}

I dug up my very old drawing book scans from high school and was able to find the sketch I did of the waiter from Cafe Salmonella. That's in the fifth book of this series, The Ersatz Elevator. I remember browsing through the teens' section in the bookstore when I found an open copy of the book and looked through the illustrations. Lemony Snicket's description of the waiter and Brett Helquist's genius illustration made me laugh and when I went home that day, I decided to draw the waiter from memory.

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Here they are side by side: Gloomy expressions, food trays and salmon suits complete.

Process

Rough sketch of the drawing

This piece was done using ArtRage Lite with the tools: ink pen, paint roller, watercolor brush and the airbrush.

In four quick steps, here's how I drew the scene:

On top of the rough sketch, I use the watercolor brush for the lines in the window and to fill in all the basic colors.
I add a second layer of the same colors to add richness to the hues. I add fine detail like hair strands, facial features, etc using the ink pen.
I paint a final layer of darker watercolor to create shadows and depth.
Lastly I use the airbrush for light and dark highlights.

PS: I got lazy and didn't include their baby sister Sunny in the drawing.

All done with my rambling. For those interested in joining, you have a day left! Find the link by clicking here. Now, time for a snooze.

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See you next time,

ART EXPLOSION | THE REPTILE ROOM | Digital Painting

"But where the Baudelaire orphans most liked to be was the Reptile Room."

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Bonus

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Process