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How to make something look olde
Sometimes finding something old in a story feels more exciting than finding something new. But how do we make that something look old in a drawing? That is the focus of the tip.
First, we begin with a rough sketch of the setting we want to look old.
![insert story_elves_old_book_01](http://www.thestoryelves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/insert-story_elves_old_book_01.jpg)
Although we have a little cobweb in the corner up above, the scene doesn’t yet look that old, so one of the writer elves suggested we add more cobwebs and just a general feeling of dustiness! I am also going to add a title to the main book in the sketch. A detail like this can hint at the setting being of some age.
![insert story_elves_old_book_02-1](http://www.thestoryelves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/insert-story_elves_old_book_02-1.jpg)
Now it is starting to look like these objects have been sitting just as they are for quite some time! However, the scene still feels a bit too bright, and we definitely need some life in there—a character! So, I am going to tone down the light, which will make it feel more mysterious, as well as old and abandoned.
One of our small elves feels like a perfect character to discover this book of Olde Magic. The elf adds contrast to the setting in two ways: young elf and old book, and small elf and big book.
![insert story_elves_old_book_03](http://www.thestoryelves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/insert-story_elves_old_book_03.jpg)
Time for colors! Colors will have a huge effect on the perception of age. Just look at what happens to the scene if I add a lot of bright colors! It looks almost ridiculous.
![insert story_elves_old_book_04](http://www.thestoryelves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/insert-story_elves_old_book_04.jpg)
To reinforce the idea of this being an old, dusty, out of the way place, we are going to go with more muted brown colors, except for the elf…
![insert story_elves_old_book_05](http://www.thestoryelves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/insert-story_elves_old_book_05.jpg)
And there you have it! A corner full of cobwebs and a mysterious olde book! Where the story goes now, I cannot say.
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