As promised, here’s a peek into my mind and how I take an illustration like this from start to finish.  Everything is under the cut.  Lots of images, so be warned!

I created this illustration for one of the short stories (Amphitrite by S.L. Knapp) in the Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories anthology, edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft.  I’ve prepared a follow-up post that shows the different stages I went through on this project.