Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Watercolor
Main Street and Castle
A stylized watercolor view of Main Street USA and Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is from Steve’s Sketchbook.
I had an idea to do a series of watercolor-style pieces of the four Walt Disney World theme parks. Why not start with the first park to open chronologically? Of course, that would be the Magic Kingdom.
I did not want to do some sort of photorealistic artwork, because I could just post a photo that I have taken and accomplish the same thing. Instead, I chose a more stylized, artistic view. This gives the general impression of Cinderella Castle and the buildings of Main Street USA. It might not look exactly right, but if you have been there before, you would probably recognize what this is intended to be, even without reading the title of the post.
I liked the pencil sketch and watercolor look for this, which was just the sort of thing that I was going for. And I did not draw in all of the extra things that they are adding to Cinderella Castle for the upcoming 50th anniversary, instead settling for the “standard” castle look. Because that is the look that I like.
At first, Main Street USA was rather empty. So I sketched in a few people, just to make it look a little more alive. And I really liked the deep blue color of the sky, too. Maybe it is a bit over the top, but it works for me.
Remember the Old Days?
Remember the old days when I would often post a photo from Walt Disney World, either from a park or a resort? Or maybe even a Disney cruise? Perhaps those days will return, or perhaps not.
In some ways I have been feeling drawn away from the parks more and more. The crowds, the lines, the admission prices, everything else you have to do to just “enjoy” the day. It is very much true that I have enjoyed almost all of my park days. But at the same time, I don’t have the overwhelming urge to do whatever it takes to be there again. If the opportunity arises, I might take it. If not, I am just fine, too.
Isn’t it interesting how your perspective changes over time?
Bible Verse
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. - James 4:10
About the Artwork
As with all of the recent Steve’s Sketchbook artwork, this Magic Kingdom view was created on my iPad using the Procreate app and an Apple Pencil. I used some different watercolor brushes that I have acquired over time. Except that the clouds were created using the Clouds brush that comes standard with Procreate. And yes, in this illustration Cinderella Castle might lean to the left just slightly. But then there are many that think that the real Cinderella Castle leans slightly to the back left, too. So perhaps this sketch is more realistic than I might have thought!
