"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson and art

[lantairvlea]

Two more books down. I really need to sit down at my computer and cancel this Audible subscription because I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it from my phone in the app.

It was interesting listening to "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" because it is a story that has been rehashed and lurks in the collective conscious of us all, I'm pretty sure. What struck me was that the more modern twists on the character of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde's monstrousness is illustrated through increased stature, while the original work describes him as dwarfish, small in stature, shrunken because that side of Jekyll's nature was undernourished and uncultivated. In Jekyll's clothes Hyde was clownish, having to roll up sleeves and pants so as not to trip on them.

The story is in the third person until the final two chapters where we get the perspective of a doctor and Hyde himself. It wasn't earth-shattering, but it does consider one man's decent as he succumbs to his baser self.

The story of Jekyll and Hyde feels less mature than "Treasure Island" with less depth and the characters interesting in a passing way, but not hooks-in-you engaging.

Speaking of "Treasure Island," it was well worth the read. The reader was excellent on this one and the story itself was also engaging. Most of it was from the perspective of Jim Hawkins, but there was a portion from the Doctor's. The descriptions were fabulous, the characters well-fleshed and believable and the setting was well thought out.

Hawkins was resourceful and lucky, a likeable main character. Long John Silver was a cunning antagonist and formitable, even if he only had one leg.

I finished my monochrome piece today.



Click for full size.

I still need to figure out what to call the traditional clothing for the Brehtsoln, which is essentially a Great Kilt. I did get myself a couple bolts fo cloth and need to find the time to cut them down to the proper size and play with the kilt.

Next up is complimentary colors. I think this sketchbook is going to end up being my sample book. I already have my color wheel and two different value scales.

I'm not sure if it was the Polychrome colored pencils or if the paper doesn't have that much tooth to it, but we'll see how it goes with this next one as I'll use a different brand of colored pencils.

Comments

monochrome

[pigshitpoet.livejournal.com]

have you tried using watercolor pencils?
they can be the best of both worlds when you get used to them
you draw with them like coloring pencils
and when you wet them with a brush they turn to watercolour washes
you can then build layers using both techniques for quite a dynamic effect
also using eraser techniques you can cut back into them
or dipping the tips in water make them fright and high contrast like marker pens
staedtler makes some

mind you i've seen people who can do amazing things with prismacolor
or faber castel pencil crayons for sharp realistic results
high realism

anyway, i like your drawing

RE: monochrome

[lantairvlea.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

It has been a long time since I last picked up watercolor pencils. I recently acquired a larger set of them to play with, but haven't had the mind and the moment to put them to use just yet.

I think the paper I was working with lacked tooth to really take in the pencils as much as I would like it to, but it did well enough for the exercise. We'll see how it holds up to further experimentation as I draw samples for the rest of the color schemes.

RE: monochrome

[pigshitpoet.livejournal.com]

use a good all purpose smooth vellum finish that can take wet media,
so, like a good graphic design pad, heavy weight, ie. 120lb is best
some people like textured surfaces for more painterly results
but for articulation and detail, smooth vellum is best
that doesn't mean bristol, nor clay polished mediums which are for ink
it's more related to charcoal drawing and watercolour for the wc pencils

i also use a separate note sketch to test colours and techniques like a library to work from
after a year it becomes a formidable tool and records colour schemes and how you did them
so you can repeat the techniques when you want them

a good thing is to make an art date with yourself to go at it
like a regular time every week for starters
then add time as you feel necessary

and don't forget to feed the horses
LOL

[geminiwench.livejournal.com]

That's the thing about some of the really great novels that became folklore through so many retellings... is we THINK we know the story because we're familiar with the retellings... but how often the depth of the original story (which is what made it so powerful and creative that it became popular for retelling) is lost in translation. Some of those stories are so DEEP in their original form... and the content we got via osmosis through culture has the framework *right* but so many of the meaningful details are simply not carried through.