December Sketchbook: Scrooge's Counting House

Hello, holiday revelers! Today's sketchbook feature is the old Scrooge & Marley Counting House. I've seen lots of different versions of this particular building, but I tend more toward the one I saw by Department 56, from the Dicken's Village set. It more closely resembles the building described by Dickens himself, and is the one that matches the building shown in the Robert Zemeckis adaptation of A Christmas Carol (2009). I've taken a few liberties with the architecture, just for simplicity's sake, but it does not change the overall impression that the building gives.

I have to say that even though Ebenezer Scrooge was voiced by comedian Jim Carrey in the 2009 CGI version, it was a fine dramatic performance that showed the true range of his ability as an actor. Also, many people don't realize that the voice actor who portrays old Fezziwig and the second-hand merchant Joe is none other than Bob Hoskins - Eddie Valiant of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, another film by Robert Zemeckis.

This illustration is done in an old pen and ink style similar to what might have been used to draw illustrations in Scrooge's day. While I use a micron pen instead of a quill or nib, the effect is the same. This kind of illustration is very time consuming and difficult to master, but if you can perfect it, the depth of tone and wealth of detail created in these illustrations is highly sought after. I'm still practicing, but you can already see the effect of the layered hatching. Also, I learned a new way to draw bricks and mortar that lends a more realistically uneven appearance, because only in today's machine-run world is every single brick exactly the same.

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