John Howe-Style Arthurian Sketch

I’m commissioning a black-and-white illustration for a 6" × 9" book page. I need a highly detailed piece in the unmistakable, moody line-work style John Howe used in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit end-credit art.

Subject and composition
• King Arthur, fully armoured, holds Excalibur upright at centre stage.
• He stands at the Round Table, which should be recognisably carved and ringed by his Knights.
• Merlin is present—cloaked, slightly apart, observing—adding an arcane atmosphere.

Feel free to arrange the Knights for the strongest visual narrative, but each figure should read clearly without crowding Arthur.

Technical notes
• Medium: monochrome inks or graphite; no colour or greyscale washes.
• Format: 6" × 9" trim size with 0.25" safe margins.
• Deliverable: high-resolution layered PSD or TIFF (600 dpi preferred) plus flattened PNG for quick review.

I’ll supply prompt feedback on initial compositional thumbnails, then again on the refined line art before the final high-res file is exported.