Tourist "Camel Trek" Camels of Tunisia & the Sahara Desert

The series was inspired by last summer's visit to Tunisia and a Camel trek in the Sahara desert! I worked from photographs which supplied a change from my recent life studies. I wanted to capture the atmosphere by showing distance through differences in scale and conveying the variety of textures.

Click to view full-size images.

Here are some early camel drawings and rug patterns; I found coloured pencils brought out the surface of the paper underneath which created quite a believable fabric texture:

 I added colour as well as textures, experimenting with various implements and techniques until I got the hot, dusty atmosphere I desired:

 

 

 

I incorporated my rug patterns into the drawings:

I experimented with different ways of drawing the camels. The elongated shadows and different viewpoints can make the desert seem a very alien environment, especially at sunset:

I focused on the foreground details and textures for some up-close camels:

The final composition: (click for larger view!)

 

 

 

2012 Edit: The evolution of a project! This is a good step by step example of how I work and progress through a project, from early drawings, to experimental stages, to producing many studies of the subject before selecting the best to use for the final illustration(s).