Snowy City Street

Fresh snow has quieted a brick-lined city street, but warm shop windows and street lamps keep it from feeling deserted. Bare branches cross the pale sky, parked cars sit along the curb, and footprints or tire marks disturb the clean surface of the road. The scene's interest comes from that contrast between cold daylight and small pockets of indoor warmth.

Start with the lit windows, dark doorways and strongest brick edges. They establish each building before the repeated windows begin to look alike. Snow on a roof is brighter and sharper than snow lying in the shaded street, so keep those whites in separate groups.

Tree branches and lamp posts provide thin, recognizable lines through the softer areas. Once the curb and facades are connected, the remaining gray-blue sky and snow pieces can be placed by the objects touching their edges.