The next step was to refine the character drawings. (Fig.05)

Next I blocked in a value setup and set the overall colour temperature of the piece. To do this I set the line art layer to 'multiply' and painted on a new layer underneath it. (Fig.06)

I felt the flag needed to be a dark mass to balance the piece better, and I started working out my colour palette.(Fig.07)

More changes ensued. I refined my values some more and worked out some of the cast shadows. I also continued to make changes to the drawing for a better composition. Fagin's hanging hand seemed bothersome so I brought it up to his mouth. The ambiguous hatch to the left of him became another child. I added the girl peeking out of the hatch and the strapped on supplies to the right of the image to reinforce a better pyramid composition. It was at this point that I also decided that the tank would be flying, but I would only hint at it by putting low-flying birds in the scene and putting stars in the sky. I wanted that to be more of a feeling than a literal read. (Fig.08)