The Capital city of Tyrn in Tabor:
This sketcbook page delves into one of the places featured in Book Two: the capital city of Tyrn in Tabor which is a large harbour city with multiple districts and busy streets. Much of the story takes place in this location so it was fun to imagine what it would look like... A part of it at least.
I worked on a secondary sketch of the marshland and the approach to to the city from the direction the companions traveled to get to Tyrn. There is a broad estuary that drains into the Eryos ocean with Tyrn's harbour clustered along its banks.
I hope you enjoy the drawing. There is a video I created, featuring the drawings with the except below in my Readings by the Author series.
Best regards,
Kindrie
Excerpt 1 from: The Capital City, Remembering, Book Two of The Stone Guardians
Rowan shared a glance with Torrin as they neared the guards, who watched the carts and carriages passing through the portal with bored indifference. The gloom had deepened and the air was heavy with moisture and the smell of brine. The river, not far to the right, bobbed with small fishing boats navigating the swift current. Calls from fishermen working until the last light drifted over the water.
The city wall rose high above them, extending right to become an impressive bridge arching over the river. It sported a strange contraption resembling a portcullis that could be lowered into the water to prevent the passage of ships. A general hubbub of noise carried through the open gate from the city beyond – a hum of voices, piercing calls of vendors, the tapping of construction, cart wheels rolling over cobblestone, and other sounds she couldn’t identify.
The carriage in front of their party trundled through, and the guards glanced over them as they approached.
“Weapons have to be registered afore entering the city,” said one guard, leaning on his pike. He waved to the guardhouse just on the other side. “Stop in an give yer names to the man inside.” His gaze slid over them without stopping; even Arynilas and Dalemar were spared scrutiny.
Excerpt 2 from: The Capital City, Remembering, Book Two of The Stone Guardians
Once they were away from the guardhouse and the city walls, Rowan began to look around with curiosity. She remembered Pellaris well, but it seemed quiet and still compared with the teeming hustle and bustle of Tyrn. Although to be fair, she did visit Pellaris during a siege.
Their proximity to the river meant they had entered the city in the Harbor district which, as Dalemar had said, was where most people lived, and that was certainly the case. Their horses were often forced to stop while they waited for the street to clear and traffic to move again. The air was dense and heavy with multiple scents, some unpleasant and others enjoyable, combining into an overall vapor that made her choke at times, especially after the fresh air of the countryside.
Even though evening was descending, it seemed people were not in a rush to head home. Shops were still open and street kiosks clogged corners, cooking and selling food to passers-by who ate as they walked or stood visiting while wolfing down the meal. Lanterns were hung from storefronts and candlelight began to glow in windows of the buildings, whose second and third floors cantilevered out over the street, making the shadows even darker. Rowan glanced up at the narrow strip of sky, almost completely dark now.
There was no breeze in the narrow streets and she longed to lower her hood, but dared not. Torrin, riding beside her, lifted an eyebrow when she looked at him. “You were right, none of the other cities I’ve been to can compare with this,” she said.
Production Notes for Tyrn:
- Trying to convey the grey misty and wet atmosphere of Tyrn was a challenge. I used mostly graphite pencil and the white prismacolor.
- I arranged the composition to feature a narrow street with the harbour at the end with smoke drifting from the chimneys and the stacked row of buildings, barrels and fishing nets.
- I used an H graphite pencil to begin to slowly layer fine strokes. Then B and 2B or the final dark tones.
- The Prismacolor pencil I used for highlights was White.
- The paper I am working on is is Toned Grey Strathmore Mixed Media with a vellum surface. 184 lb
- Size is 9 x 12 inches
- This drawing comes entirely from my imagination.
- Drawing time was approximately 18 hours.
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