Sherlock Fanart, The Fall Part 3

[pennswoods]

Day 2 of my Cumbercrush. We'll see how much longer this lasts...much of today was consumed with teaching and research related stuff as I anticipated. And may I just add, I was ON FIRE in class tonight!

In any case, last night I spent some more time working on my Sherlock WIP and wanted to post an update for some feedback. The picture is behind the cut.





For comparison Parts 1 & 2 here. There are several points I'm fixating on and would appreciate some feedback for:

1. I drew out Sherlock in full just before his jump, but it may be too static. The actual clip from the show cuts him off at the bottom of his coat when his arms extend like this. The clips I find of him actually falling have his legs up higher and don't look quite as elegant as I'd like. I'm wondering if I should just fade out the legs.

2. I obviously need to work on John's blog post to make it look cleaner and more professional. I originally liked the idea of it aligning directly with the coat collar of the silhouette. Now I'm not so sure.

3. I started incorporating the wallpaper from 221b, but it's really a lot of complicated detail. I thought it would be nice to fill in some of the space with that, but I'm not sure if I should stick so close to the original or if I should go a bit more impressionistic.

4. Blurring of the edges versus sharp lines. I think I really want Sherlock as the central figure to be clear and distinct and am thinking to blur out everything else. Right now everything is clean and sharp as I try to lay the bits out, but I want the corner of everything to sort of fad into smokey crosshatched blackness. I'm not quite sure how that will look, but I have a general impression in my head.

5. I'm still struggling with what to put in some of the other white space. i don't want to fill the picture completely, but I'd like to have a few more nods to key themes in the episode. However, I am really struggling with the straight lines and text. I'd like to do something that doesn't involve writing.

Comments

[drinkingcocoa.livejournal.com]

Er.

You changed your tagline.

Sherlock is changing you.

It's changing me, too.

*shaking head in wonder and enjoyment*

Yes, I think fading out the legs is a good idea -- that'll focus in on the outstretched arms being like angel wings.

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

I did! I think I might need to change more. I think it's time for the Batshitrix to go. And did you see my little Sherlock head?! And I renamed my flist.

Thanks for the feedback on the legs. It did look better before without them, didn't it!

And I so enjoy Sherlock's influence!

[pern-dragon.livejournal.com]

I noticed your little Sherlock head by your screenname the other day and LOLed. :D I agree with the fading out the legs. As for other stuff to consider putting in the piece, I guess I have to ask: is it a Sherlock-the-character or Sherlock-the-show piece? As in, yes, we see John's blog and his reflection in the tombstone, but those are still Sherlock-focused (IMO). What about the deerstalker *snigger* or his pull-out magnifier? I'm so loving this, BTW. *bounces in excitement* :D <3

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Good point. I was thinking more that this was a Sherlock/Reichenbach focus. This might be why there's no Moriarty but maybe there should be. I was thinking about a JM on the throne shot, but I'm not sure. And also maybe the Mockinbird symbol on the read seals used on the envelope, or maybe the burned gingerbread man. I was also thinking about the newspaper headline about Sherlock being a fraud, but that might be too much text. Though maybe that would be better than John's blog.

I was thinking about the deerstalker, but that was a bit cute and happy and this is a bit more tragic.

I noticed the Sherlock head on another user in a sherlock com and just had to have it. And low and behold, I had $2 mystery gift certificates so I was able to get it for free!

[pern-dragon.livejournal.com]

Lucky you with the mystery gift certificates!

Hmm, thinking of Reichenbach only... the image of the split screen when Sherlock was on one side and Moriarty was on the other side in lockup came to mind.
And the IOU on the apple.
What about the app icons on Moriarty's phone to initiate the 3 crimes?
Or a sniper scope/crosshairs... perhaps on the 221B?

I'll shut up now. *creeps away*

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. Thanks for the ideas! I did not even think of the aps, but the lockup is a fun idea too. I'm going to ponder these. I think there needs to be some reference to JM's role in this!

[pern-dragon.livejournal.com]

I look forward to the results of your pondering! :D

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

Oh my god your little Sherlock userhead is amazing. I need it. Much more amazing than my subtle ONTD userhead.

And your artwork is unfolding very dramatically. I love the way you did the IOU. I can't wait to see what happens next!

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Heee!!! I love my little Sherlock head. And is that what the pink on the userhead shirt signifies, ONTD? I did not know this!

And thank you for your kind words on the IOU part. That is turning out okay so far. I appreciate any feedback you want to offer as well.

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

Yeah, ONTD is purple, so that's what the purple means. Or, pinkish-purple.

Hmm, it looks to be turning out very promisingly so far! No suggestions yet :D

[dixiebell12.livejournal.com]

*squees* It's going to be amazing, I can't wait to see it finished *G*

I love your new tag line as well. Interests changes, we shouldn't fight it, just embrace the hell out of it, and draw porn to celebrate it :)

HUgs,
Dix

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

I wonder if I'll be able to bring myself to draw Sherlock porn. I'm definitely going to draw snogging, but since I'm basing this on tv source material and actors, I'm a little leery.

[dixiebell12.livejournal.com]

Draw porn, we can always play pin the penis on Sherlock *G* Just think of it as transport and get drawing :)

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

My peen drawing skillz are weak! Although, once when I was logging in to LJ, I accidentally mistyped my name as peenswoods. The mistake stuck with me and I thought that it would be funny to have a special sock that was all about the peen.

Do you think anyone would know it was me? :P

[dixiebell12.livejournal.com]

LOLOLOLOLO I think they will now *G*

Want a sneak peek at the 221 door *G* Email me at Dixiebell12@yahoo, and I'll send you some pics :)

[magicalpresence.livejournal.com]

I thought you might like to see this, it made me giggle!

http://redscharlach.tumblr.com/post/19565284869/otters-who-look-like-benedict-cumberbatch-a

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

So adorable! Both of them!!!!

[rotaryphones.livejournal.com]

Hello! I don't know if you're still looking for feedback, but I'm afraid I'm always full of art-related opinions. Feel free to completely ignore them.

I really like the start of this, and I like oustretched-arm-Sherlock a lot. I think it's very dramatic; not static at all. And the wallpaper pattern is a great device to fill in space, especially if it's a repeating motif in a few different areas of the drawing. I wouldn't worry about getting the details precise. In fact, I think a simplified design would look even better, because it won't be as distracting from the important parts of the drawing, and it will still read as wallpaper even if it's not exact. As for the blog, I think the writing would look better straight on instead of tilted, but it's hard to say before everything else is filled in.

This isn't something you asked for feedback on, but have you considered including some of Sherlock's facial features instead of just using the silhouette of his head? I don't want the overall shape to get lost once it's filled in, and it could be really cool if you still included Sherlock's eyes, for example, lightly overlaying the rest of the art. (Er, hopefully that makes sense. It's more clear in my head than in writing.)

Okay, sorry, I'm done now. This is the result of too many years of art school critiques. :) Good luck with the rest of it, and I look forward to seeing how it comes out.

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate the feedback, which is why I'm posting this. I too was thinking that focusing on the exact details of the wallpaper is a bit much and I like the suggestion of simplification. And also the angle of the blog. I originally thought it would be fun to make it fit with the collar, but I agree that less of an angle would be far easier to read.

Regarding Sherlock's facial features, I was drawing this from a reference of the back of his body, so I wasn't intending to show his face. I'll consider your suggestion as I continue to draw.

[rotaryphones.livejournal.com]

Oh, see, I think I'm not being clear at all. I'm not referring to the about-to-jump Sherlock. I meant the silhouette that's making up the overall shape of the artwork--the profile that you drew first before filling it in. I think it could be cool to show those eyes...if that makes sense? Or maybe I'm just making things unnecessarily confusing. :) In any case, it was just a thought, so again, feel free to ignore!

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Ah, I get you now. Hmmm... Yes. Yes. Let me think on that. That's a cool idea and I have to see if my skills are up to it. This whole thing is a real stretch for me since its more symbolic and less cartoony than I normally do. But eyes would be amazing.