Research has begun....

finally having a topic to look into, I began work in my sketchbooks , looking at clothing from the period, machinery and films/ programs based around the period to get a better idea of what victorian culture and life was like in terms of fashion, policing, novels and technology.........

here is some of the work from my books, mostly pencil drawings

looking at technology like the steam engine and that how the invention of steam powered locomotives meant that people could now travel longer distances much faster and were also able to transport goods to places that before would have taken weeks in a matter of hours or days 

 

visiting the Sherlock Holmes museum a number of times has meant that I have gathered quite a lot of images and photographs from this location, one person who I have taken a lot of images of who when  I think of the museum I associate with is the actor me and few friends have affectionately  nicknamed as "Clarky" , the police constable from the Guy Richie Holmes films as he is often dressed as a Victorian  Policeman and stands guard at the front door of 221B Baker street to assist tourists, take photos and to generally talk to the public. He proved to be a fantastic reference for Victorian Police uniforms as he loves to have his photo taken in costume and will often pose for you if asked , his uniform will vary also depending on the season and the day, he will sometimes wear a different hat, different badges or will wear a cloak during winter months as it can be quite cold standing outside for hours on end .

Watching films based on the period such as "From Hell" and " Young Victoria" proved a valuable form of research as I was able to find a lot of references for fashion of the period, in particular , Clothes and Hairstlyes, My favourite character to draw was Prince Albert from "Young Victoria" as his hair was really fun and interesting to draw and his costuming was varied and always stunning and great to draw 

finally , as Im a big fan of Doyle and Sherlock Holmes it only seems right for me to have some sketches from a the Granada Holmes Series which in my opinion is the best for getting an insight into the Victorian Period which Holmes and Watson were apart of , everything about this series is reflective of the era , from the costuming, transport and lighting , it sticks close to the original d

Doyle stories and is broght to live by the  superb acting talents of Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke and Edward Hardwicke as Watson.

This particular image was one that I drew from watching the series and when pausing it , noticed how beautifully lit the scene was and how Brett was positioned in his Iconic "Thinking Pose" as Holmes, I felt that I had to draw it as it was a true example of how the Granada Holmes brought the Victorian era to live though Lighting and how Brett's astonishing acting has made him one of the most famous portrayals of Holmes .