Sherlock Holmes Doodles

*sigh*

Been having an art block lately. I guess this is my attempt to overcome it.

I was initially going to draw the first scenes of 'The Illustrious Client' but it morphed into this instead.

1. Irene Adler says goodnight to Holmes. (A Scandal In Bohemia)
2. Holmes threatens 'Killer' Evans after he shoots Watson in the leg. (The Three Garridebs)
3. Watson's old war wound hurts. (not from any story)
4. The Dynamic Duo!
5. A dying Mary tries to comfort a grieving Watson. (from the BBC radio adaptations of The Empty House)
6. Watson in the Turkish bath. (The Illustrious Client)

A late-night revelation

I-I've just realised.

My type, according to my drawings, are scruffy, rugged, masculine-as-hell men. The classic tall, dark, and handsome, with a side helping of mysterious and a sprinkle of exotic on top. With razor-sharp bone structure and a hostile attitude.

While this bodes well for my offspring, my stance of feminism seems doomed.

Can't sleep again! More conceptual character sketches.

Wolf-man really angsts alot about not being wholly human.

I'd like to mention that the Avenue Q soundtrack is replaying in my head, and I goddamn well like it.

Character sketch - Wolfman? Facial hair is win.

A week into 2010, I wish you great tidings for the New Year.

Just let me take a swig first.

SPAH

Artistic Crisis Ahoy!

I'm having an artistic crisis.

The one adjective my illustration style seems to evoke in many people - whether they be my friends, tutors, or random people on the internet - is 'interesting'. Or if not that, 'strange'.

(Or, as Shallman kindly put it, 'like Japanese manga but with Western influences', something I can definitely deal with anyday.)

I kind of view it with an amused raised eyebrow, for those two words usually mean 'Um, it looks weird, but I don't want to hurt the poor artist's feelings, so I'll just settle with this ambiguous word that may or may not have negative connotations.' Most of the time, I just nod my head, grunt, and move on. After all, at the end of the day there seem to be a handful of people who still like my work.

But as I am viewing some of my illustrations now, I am starting to see...the strangeness. The lines are very harsh. The shading is non-existent. The chins may as well be forged from steel, with the power to cut through diamonds. The eyelashes could be used as a substitute for a duster. Eyes are simultaneously too big and too small, yet either option seems to look fine on the face. It looks weird, things jut out at uneven angles, things are missing that shouldn't be and replaced with things that aren't there.

While I'm happy my style is anything but generic - and dare I say, extremely unique - it certainly is not the type of style that will capture everybody's aesthetic appeal. And even now, it doesn't capture my own.

Maybe at the end of the day I'll look at all of this and just laugh at my arty-farty moaning, but sometimes I wish I could draw...prettier.

Friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation.

Because Prapim still doesn't want to sleep.

Let this be a lesson to you, kids: cultivate the ability to draw hot guys. It's FUN!

A work in progress, explaining the strange
hair and why I am typing this instead.