Thumbnailing.

Color Studies.

I really wasn't happy with how the girl turned out, so a year later I updated:

I sketched the girl again to have more movement.

Using layer masks I painted her in.

I've always loved this fairytale, and one of my favorite books is "East" by Edith Pattou as well as "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman, so you can probably see their influence on me. One of the few illustrations that I have a full process saved.