This was the outcome for my Illustration class at SNHU. The prompt was to choose an environment description from a list of story excerpts. I chose The Enchanted River from Eva's Adventures in Shadow-land by Mary D. Nauman. It was the first time I had done traditional art in 5 years, and I even used some materials I had never used before. It was the first time I'd used watercolor pencils and the various methods in which they can be used.

I had chosen The Enchanted River because its story excerpt had so many possibilities on how it could be depicted. It has this mysterious but magical feeling to it, the place somehow being connected to other magical items from other children's stories, like the genie's lamp from Aladdin, Cinderella's glass slipper, the beanstalk from Jack and the Beanstalk, and more. Therefore, I attempted to replicate this feeling of magic with an underlying mysteriousness in my posters by doubling down on the magical element of the river and its surroundings, as well as the journey the protagonist, Eva, is on to find her missing friend.

See below for 10 initial concept thumbnails.

Date of creation: 1/25/24 - 3/1/24