I begin by blocking out the basic guildlines and trying to find a prespective that works, using very rough brush stroke, followed by line tool and lasso toll in order to achieve sharp edges. Line tool is especially usefull when you are working with architectural stuff and though angles. I sometimes also paint a grid that I reshape and distort to created the illusion of 3D grid.
When I feel that I have a prespective that works (this one is not 100% correct, but close enough to pass) I move on the accentuate the shadows and refining the basic shapes. I often try to imitate a basic 3D render. This involves lots of masked areas and using big and soft brushes to give that 3DS max clay render feel. I also strat playing around with the curves to find a slightly warmer tone to enhance the clay effect.
Once I have all the main shapes under control I move on to picking out a fitting color scheme. This is usually done by adding a few layers, changing the blending mode to overlay, and then start trying out different colors with a very low opacity. Adjusting the curves and levels is also useful. Another one of my "tricks" for creating vivid and fresh light is to use the dodge tool. Bow this is something thatrequires some practice though. It is some kind of a beginners tool at first glance, but obce you have it under controll you can create really sweet effects. But never rely solely on it, only use it once you are completely comfortable with the brush.
At this stage I notice the perspective in the ceiling was a little to of, so I selected the whole area and reshaped it and painted in the gaps. The perspective is still not 100% but still better than the previous one. For a painting with sharp and clean edges like this one the lasso tool is indispensable and, after a while, also really frustrating. But in case I had no choice.
Just continue working on the details, adding some railing around the glass boxes. I also continue to flip the flip the image throughout the process, to help find errors in shapes and perspective.
Adding the armours. I looked at some photos I took from the tower of London visit for reference, looking at the painting now afew months after I did it they sure could've use some more work. Reflections and colorsa bouncing from the environment for example. I always tend to miss stuff like that when I rush out a painting. So take your time with your creations and don't do like me and upload it as soon you feel that it's "okay"
Not much left to do at this stage, I've added all the most important object and details. When I'm near the end I usually create a backup, flatten the image and then start adjusting the brightness/contrast, carefully play around with the dogde tool one last time and try out some adjustment layers to create that finished fell.
Okay, here we go. I feel that this is as far as I want to take this one. Only thing left to do is resizing the image and add unsharp mask. I use a very low radius to avoid those disturbng white outlines, around 0.3 pixel and `70% on the amount. For some painting a hight amount of unsharp mask can make it pop really nice, but use it wisely. Sometime less is more, a concept I'm still trying to grasp!
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