Hello Steemians, here is another of my fantasy illustrations. This is a fantasy tavern for medieval settings like Dungeons and Dragons and other similar RPG games. I do all my stuff with photoshop and a digital drawing tablet, but for this one I also used Clip Studio Paint to do the walls of the tavern. I did it because you can customize some cool ribbon brushed in CSP that photoshop can't handle.
This is the finished illustration for reference:
Because of how I created the graphics for this illustration, I cannot show you the first sketches in black and white. So all assets are in full color from the beginning of this pictorial. Here is a step by step by layers in my project file.
The images above are low res, here are some close-ups detail shots of some of the best parts of the illustration.
All this went live in PDF on my Patreon page exclusively. I also included some background lore and adventure ideas, here is an excerpt of that written lore:
Background Lore
There is a place known by many but visited by few. A place where stressed out, tired, but wealthy people unwind and enjoy the lavish pleasures of the great capital's nightlife. The Goldenleaf Dancing Hall is not difficult to find. It is one of the largest detached buildings in the city's red light district. Yes, it is surrounded by petty taverns, brothels, bunkhouses, and stables. But that is just the nature of the beast. The hall is a large building with rock-lined outer walls. It is one story tall but almost twice as tall as a regular building. To enter, patrons must go through a standard, grease-stained wooden door that does not amount to much. The entrance blends in with the surrounding establishments well enough. Regardless, no one is fooled by this apparent disregard on neatness. There are four bouncers by the door, they are armed warriors who will only let in a particular type of clientele. The Goldenleaf Dancing Hall's usual patrons are nobles, wealthy merchants, military officers, members of the Senate and other high ranking politicians and guild leaders.
Due to the high concentration of people of power in the Goldenleaf, it has become the de facto meeting place to make deals and negotiate with other factions. The place is well guarded and usually packed with people, even warring factions and old enemies agree to meet in a place like this to negotiate terms and deals.
The inside of the dancing hall consists of a large common room that encompasses the majority of the building. There is a large bar near the north wall. Ernie is the bartender, he is a retired military officer who can still wield a sword better than most active soldiers. His presence at the dancing hall is a good sign for all parties involved. They say that as long as Ernie is in charge of the place, the place is secure. Ernie is not really in charge but he is ever present and keeps a good relationship with the other military personnel and officers that visit the place. The common room is dimly lit, there are torches in sconces on the walls every few yards but the place is simply too big for the torches to provide sufficient light. The dimly lair-like obscure result is more a feature than a flaw. People like the shady look of the establishment. There are enough tables in the dancing hall to host AROUND 100 clients. Some of these tables are detached and close to the dancing hall. The rest of them are by the walls, surrounding the rest of the room. Some of these tables feature narrow wooden walls or curtains to give a little more privacy to the patrons than they would have on the tables in the middle of the room.
Thanks for getting this far, here's some shameless plug :D
I'm a graphic illustrator for tabletop RPG games like Dungeons and Dragons.
If you're interested in my work, take a look at my Patreon page
There is a pledge level that gives access to my photoshop source files, in case you wish to see my workflow and learn in the process.