Meeting of the Luddites - First Draft

This is the first draft of my first idea for the olio brief: a group of luddites meeting to write threatening letters, with Captain Swing on the right and Ned Ludd and Rebecca on the left.

The Rebecca rioters were a group of Welshmen who wore their wives clothes, to protect their identities when they destroyed an English run toll-booth.

I based his design on this political drawing, as well as this illustration depicting some poor Victorian women:

Ned Ludd was supposedly a textile worker who broke two stocking frames in a fit of rage. After his outburst other broken machines were jokingly blamed on his temper too. His name was taken by the Luddites over thirty years later, with them claiming to be lead by a General or King Ludd.

I based my version of the man on possibly the most famous depiction of him, where he is standing as tall as a giant and inspiring the luddites at his feet

My version is considerably smaller, but I kept his sash as a clue to his past as a textile worker. I also made his hair wilder, and tried to give him an odd look in his eye as a hint to his mythical temper.