It was fun – and difficult! – to draw the illustrations of Villa Rubia and Arelate for The Boy Who Stepped Through Time. I tried to fit in as many details as I could, not only of the buildings but also the incidents in the story. I created the pictures on my laptop and I made nearly 100 drafts of each illustration! My researcher Tamara made sure I got all the details correct. Even the bucket by the well and the jug in the slave boy’s hand at Villa Rubia had to be the right shape!
Click here to download an enlarged version of Villa Rubia.
See if you can you find:
- three children playing ball – with a pig’s bladder!
- a slave woman getting water from a well
- toilets
- a man picking grapes
- guard dogs
- an arbour
- a kitten
- a broom
- an amphora
- citrons growing in pots
Click here to download an enlarged version of Arelate.
See if you can find:
- a mule pulling a cart
- Constantine’s Bathhouse
- a sedan chair
- a slave carrying bath tools
- a baker dropping a loaf of bread
- an oven
- a boy playing yo-yo
- an ox cart
- tombs
- an entry gate
- rabbits for sale (what are they going to be used for?)
- a beggar
- an amphitheatre
- a theatre
Anna Ciddor 