SANJIESAN LORE / Coastal environments
Draw a fictional harbour with a water edge that can change
A coastal scene can lose continuity when the waterline changes between illustrations but the setting treats every exposed surface as permanent land. NOAA describes the intertidal zone as the area between high and low tides. For an original harbour, decide which shore features belong to changing water conditions before filling the edge with props.
Choose two intended water states
Make two thumbnails of the same quay with a higher and lower water state. Keep the buildings, fixed supports and viewpoint consistent so you can compare them. Decide what becomes visible in the second view: a lower step, a section of wall or a patch of shore. Do not infer a real tide schedule from the drawing. Your immediate task is a coherent pair of fictional scene conditions.
Place an object that reveals the difference
Put one fixed marker on a support and one movable object near the work area. In each view, decide what is wet, exposed, stored or moved. If a low platform appears busy in one scene and submerged in another, account for the change in activity. Avoid adding the same collection of crates to every water state. The harbour will feel more usable when people respond to conditions rather than ignore them.
Read the scene from the character’s level
Choose a character looking for someone at the quay and sketch their view in each state. A landmark visible from the upper street may be hidden below an edge. Make the narrative use the view the character actually has, and keep any uncertain access or timing as a fictional design question. Real coastal access requires current local information; these art studies are for coordinating the invented place and its depicted activities.