A Cure Parts 3 and 4

[pennswoods]

Thank you in particular to dickgloucester and rotaryphones, who gave me terrific advice on how to address some of my anatomy concerns. Their suggestions to pose and photograph the husband (when he cooperates) and Getty images were brilliant examples of how improving one's fanart doesn't always happen (at least for me) through isolated self-study. I'm beginning to think this is true of a lot of learning that happens in life, but before I get all Vygotskian, here are the latest two stages of my WIP based on emmagrant01's John/Sherlock fic, A Cure for Boredom.

* For the curious, here are Parts I and II


Part 3 Taking the advice of rotaryphones who suggested I look at Getty Images for photos, I was able to scare up a few terrific references of men sitting on sofas as a model for Sherlock's legs. I've also been hemming and hawing at the angle of his head and changed that a bit too since the computer is no longer directly in front of him, and I finished out the sofa based on a few stills from the tv series. You will note that Martin and Benedict were staring at me the whole time, and I liked it!


Part 4 Another set of images from Getty helped me with John's feet. I also added that small pile of something to the floor. Not quite sure how many tissues Sherlock used during his 8 hour session. Need to work in the tissue box somewhere and to finish Sherlock's left hand. However, I spent a lot of time on Sherlock's face and hair. I thought he looked far too young (like a teenager) in Part 3, and I wanted him to look more calculating and a bit leaner. Unfortunately, I'm still not happy with how he looks but probably should stop before I overwork the paper. I like the hair though. It's less anime-like and more curly, like Cumberbatch's actual hair in the role. I also reworked Sherlock's shoulders so he looks less tense and like he's sitting back in the sofa and not ramrod straight up. This fits better with his calculating observation of John's reaction to what's on the computer screen.

I'm planning to do the wallpaper, sort of. It's more complex than I like to do for backgrounds. And I might ignore the patterned throw pillow since that's also going to complexity the design. What do you guys think? And then coloring is going to be a real challenge, which I may fudge. The only real light source in the room,as described in the story, is the laptop screen itself. This is going to challenge the hell out of me when it comes to shading, and I'm already imagining doing everything with a blue tinge.

Comments

[droxy.livejournal.com]

T hink this art looks good. Yes photos as models!

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Getty is a gold mine in the degree to which you can specify certain things.

[rotaryphones.livejournal.com]

Ooh, progress! John's feet look so nice. :) I'm glad the Getty suggestion was useful...god knows where I'd be without them. And I think the glowing computer is going to provide lots of fun possibilities for the coloring. I'd probably try it with very cool blue shadow tones, and slightly warmer yellowish tones for the lighted areas. You could also save yourself a lot of headache with the wallpaper if you only fill in the pattern where the light is hitting it, and then let it fade off into the shadows.

(I think I mentioned once that I tend to run my mouth off when it comes to art crit. If I'm talking more than is actually useful, just let me know. I won't be offended. :))

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

You're reading my mind when it comes to the light and shadows fading out on the wall. I don't know what's with me and trying to do scary difficult stuff that I never do.

I'll post further updates as I progress, but this is going to be another crazy experiment.

*ponders why Sherlock is making me try so many new things*

[dixiebell12.livejournal.com]

It's looking fabulous! I love Sherlock's crossed legs. Damn I wish I could draw :(

I don't suppose you have ever done any designing work, sort of like a Victoria fireplace perhaps? *crosses fingers*

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

And I wish I could draw better. I'm so jealous of people who are skilled and talented and can crank out awesome amazing squeeful stuff. Or who can transform a plain door into an awesome door!

And unfortunately, I don't have any fireplace experience. I tend to focus on people and ignore backgrounds. :D

[dixiebell12.livejournal.com]

Damn, I bought everything I need to make my fireplace and can't figure out a design. I'll get there eventually. I just hate the BBC version :(

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

What about Spinner's End: http://northangel27.deviantart.com/journal/On-Vacation-and-Spinner-s-End-231531113

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

*admires*

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

:D

I appreciate your input and am going to start a collection of poses of the husband for later reference.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I love watching the progress here! It's fun to follow art WIPs. :-D

I'm so impressed by the faces and the way the fabric is draping so naturally around their bodies. And the hair! And feet! And and and... I'm so ridiculously excited about this, really! I'm still amazed that you're capturing this thing that was just in my head so very perfectly. ♥

[pennswoods.livejournal.com]

Isn't it interesting how we almost never see WIPs of fanart though they are a staple of fic? I'm finding it very gratifying to get feedback on the stages. Unpacking the process also makes me particularly aware of my own limitations, and it documents the decisions I make to include or avoid doing something based on my particular skill set.

And I'm so glad that you like what's emerging. I'm having so much fun doing this, and it's my absolute favorite way to engage with a story that I keep rereading again and again. :)