Here's where my experiments are going now:
  1. I've reworked the forest a little (especially the treetops, but also to make the contours of the canopy match up with where I placed the trunks).
  2. I have basically abandoned the idea of exaggerated perspective on buildings. That was just too much at once, and it didn't match up with the forest. Still working a bit on their style.
  3. I tried building up the river in a new way: instead of drawing a wide, meandering river and putting islands in it to create the braid, I took a pencil and interwove three or four meandering river courses, then filled in all the outlines with my pen. I like this much better. I may need to tweak some island shapes, but I think this comes pretty close to what I want. What do you think?
  4. I am playing with hatching to give depth to the braid islands. I tried three different styles on this river (bottom: small, quick hatching; center: regularly spaced, wide hatching; top: hatching on the far side of the islands). I think I like the middle one best...thoughts?

IMG_7945.JPG