could be dangerous

We did it! Was a great ride and well organised. We rode quite a...

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:41 +0200

We did it! Was a great ride and well organised. We rode quite a good time, too, and were able to hold our own against the many folks riding road bikes. Thanks again to all who supported our team, and to Benedict for being such an inspiration.

Did some cycling around Warwick today to get a feel for the...

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:45:29 +0200

Did some cycling around Warwick today to get a feel for the countryside before tomorrow’s Palace to Palace ride. We went to the beautiful Charlecote Place, a Tudor manor house with a large garden designed by Capability Brown. And on the way back via Leamington we found a wood covered in bluebells, which I had hoped for at this time of year.

The boys, my dad and I are waiting for the ferry across the...

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:06:56 +0200

The boys, my dad and I are waiting for the ferry across the Channel from France (after having missed the one we booked thanks to Belgian traffic).

Wish us fair winds and weather for our Palace to Palace Bike Ride for the Prince’s Trust on Sunday. If anybody lives in Warwick and vicinity, you can come and cheer us on. Also, thanks so much for all who donated to our team. We raised 500 Pounds thanks to your efforts.

The “Shaving Scene” from Mildredandbobbin’s fabulous...

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:58:31 +0200

The “Shaving Scene” from Mildredandbobbin’s fabulous The Beast of Baskerville.

This is my second drawing inspired by this fanfic. The first, “That was riduculous”, can be found here. A third is in the works.

I included a photograph of my sketchbook because I liked how the light brings out the strokes of the soft pencil. I’m using a much softer pencil (5B) for these drawings than my usual F or HB, to give them a slightly darker and rougher look to mirror the medieval setting.

likeafieldmouse: Ofra Lapid - Broken Houses (2010) A series of...

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:10:36 +0200

likeafieldmouse:

Ofra Lapid - Broken Houses (2010)

A series of small-scale models based on photographs of ruined homes the artist found on the web by an amateur (unnamed) photographer.

I just saw the art you did of the 'against the wall' scene in Beast! It's brilliant, so terrific! I am just so chuffed that you were inspired to art my fic. Wow! happy dance

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:00:00 +0200

I’m glad you like it. Can’t wait for the next chapter of the story.

geeksngamers: via xombiedirge: Star Trek Into Darkness -...

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:26:23 +0200

Star Trek Into Darkness by Matt Ferguson

Postcard Companion Piece #1

Postcard Companion Piece #2

geeksngamers:

via xombiedirge:

Star Trek Into Darkness - by Matt Ferguson / Tumblr / Website

Check out the exclusive article on the epic Print Posse collective over at Blurppy, HERE.

“Don’t let go.” Day 1: Holding Hands of the 30 Day OTP...

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:20:56 +0200

“Don’t let go.”

Day 1: Holding Hands of the 30 Day OTP Challenge (and finally starting from the beginning …):

Holding hands
Cuddling somewhere
Gaming/watching a movie
On a date
Kissing
Wearing each others’ clothes
Cosplaying
Shopping
Hanging out with friends
With animal ears
Wearing kigurumis
Making out
Eating icecream
Genderswapped
In a different clothing style (Visual Kei, gyaru, lolita, ect. )
During their morning ritual(s)
Spooning
Doing something together (this can be anything from watching tv to having sex. Just remember to tag appropriately.)
In formal wear
Dancing
Cooking/baking
In battle, side-by-side
Arguing
Making up afterwards
Gazing into each others’ eyes
Getting married
On one of their birthdays
Doing something ridiculous
Doing something sweet
Doing something hot (once again, be sure to tag if you make it extremely NSFW!)

Seeing the Benedict Cumberbatch appreciation post on your bog, reminds me of something that suddenly appeared on my dash today: another appreciation post! Here it is: legendofsherlock(.)tumblr(.)com/post/49299922864/benedict-cumberbatch-the-thinking-girls :) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ^-^ (not my blog but I wanted to give rightful credits~) He's truly amazing :) :)

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:01:36 +0200

Thanks a lot for the link. It’s true, he can’t be appreciated enough. I think I’ve seen these slides before (or something very similar), but they’re always nice to look at again :).

“That was ridiculous.” Inspired by...

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:59:38 +0200

“That was ridiculous.”

Inspired by Mildredandbobbin’s fabulous The Beast of Baskerville, a medieval AU that’s gripped me somewhat badly because of the brilliant characterisation and historical detail ~~and the UST~~.

Therefore, there are going to be at least two more drawings: the shaving scene and a certain one from Chapter 8.

moriartysskull: 12 Cumbermoments of sheer acting brilliance in...

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:40:43 +0200

moriartysskull:

12 Cumbermoments of sheer acting brilliance in no partucular order

Benedict Cumberbatch Acting Appreciation Post

He’s on his way to international blockbuster stardom, but first and foremost, he’s a great thespian, one of the best in the world. As an actor, Benedict Cumberbatch is intelligent, fearless, versatile, chameleon-like, peerless, sensual, sexy, mesmerising, eye candy… you simply can’t look away when he’s on screen, he sucks you in…

1) In Hawking (2004), Cumberbatch manages the masterstroke of acting out the physicist’s MND disease in pinpoint precision, but entirely without making him an object of pity. He shows the struggle with the disability getting worse each day without portaying Hawking as a tragic figure. The disease is never at the center of his acting, the viewer’s attention is always drawn to Hawking’s way to science stardom and his emotional life. All that makes the heartbreaking moments of the movie (the final diagnosis, for example) even more special. The lesson is clear: What we witness here is a genius playing a genius.

2) There are obviously countless magical acting moments in all episodes of Sherlock (2010/2012) - from Cumberbatch AND Freeman - but A scandal in Belgravia surely has excessively many. The absolute highlight (besides every single scene in which Sherlock interacts with Irene Adler): The last ten - not showy but nearly pious - minutes, in which Cumberbatch acts out - with sparing gestures and mimic art - that Sherlock is capable of all kinds of emotion, from trustfulness to admiration and probably even love. The last moment at the rainy window with it’s only four words of monologue leaves you breathless with empathy and sentiment.

3) The sadly undervalued drama Third Star (2010) is without any doubt one of the most throat constricting movies ever made, and Cumberbatch as deathly ill James is responsible. I don’t believe that there’s a more powerful performance of agony anywhere in any movie ever made. No, I’m not exaggerating. And then, on the other side of the scale, there’s so much tenderness, joy and lust for life in his performance… you have to see it to believe it.

4) In the Golding entwicklungsroman adaption To the ends of the earth (2005), Cumberbatch plays young British aristocrat Edmund Talbot, who travels by ship to Australia. Everything in this TV drama is very dream-like and weird, and Cumberbatch’s performance fits in perfectly. There are loads of impressing acting moments… the love at first sight moment at the dance on the high sea for example; but all the tense encounters with Captain Anderson (Jared Harris) are the highlights of this series…

5) In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Cumberbatch delivers the probably most hearttbreaking gay movie scene sinceBrokeback Mountain. It’s really really short but it’s one of the highlights of the entire movie. Besides that, he also owns the best and most suspenseful scene in TTSS. You might even say that he’s the heart and soul of the movie - without diminishing Gary Oldman’s great performance.

6) One of the supreme disciplines of acting: playing twins. Cumberbatch does it in the short film Inseperable (2007) - and mind-blowingly so. The film is only 11 minutes long, but Cumberbatch is so intense in his gestures and facial expressions, he manages to tell two full life storys with only a dozen words of dialogue. A moment of desperate crying alone in a car is the only crescendo in this calm psychological mini thriller.

7) If a lesser actor had taken on the part of Alexander inStuart: A life backwards (2007), he wouldn’t have had a chance to stand his ground against the impressive, showy ”Stuart” part of Tom Hardy. Stumbling mumbling Hardy is the center of the movie, without any doubt. But Cumberbatch isn’t intimidated in the least by his counterpart. He has a great chemistry with Hardy and they interact brilliantly. Cumberbatch is moving and genuine and often funny, and when he’s on screen, the eyes of the viewer tend to wander off Hardy, towards him.

8) Another troubled genius: Cumberbatch as Vincent van Gogh in the magnificent BBC documentation Painted with words (2010)… true greatness. A perfect study in mental alienation. Cumberbatch recites words from original letters Van Gogh wrote to his brother, and he interacts with the camera - a magical experience. The scenes in the asylum are gut-wrenching.

9) “Bite it. You have to bite it!” This one sentence is the key to Cumberbatch’s unforgettable Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007). Small role, large effect. He’s pitch perfect (and, Jesus, a bit sexy) as the slick, creepy chocolate factory owner - irritatingly good, as director Joe Wright points out in the DVD’s audio commentary: “We never expected him to be that unsettling.” Cumberbatch’s scene with Juno Temple is the most memorable and best played in the whole movie.

10) The last enemy (2008)… pretty good mini series, BRILLIANT lead. Cumberbatch plays Stephen Ezard, a scientist in a future UK who feels sold down the river in a world he doesn’t understand anymore. His acting of sheer desperation is breathtaking, and there are painfully beautiful love scenes… so sensual you want to look away.

11) Wreckers (2010)… Rural love triangle with loads of sexual tension between all characters. The film has it’s weaknesses and is much too low key to really wow you, but Cumberbatch does the job. He’s shady and likeable in equal shares, and there’s a strange jumpiness to his character that’s totally fascinating. He has a fantastic chemistry with Chris Evans who plays his violated brother, and the tension between them is never far from sexual and leaves a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth.

12) Star Trek into Darkness (2013)… An absolute artistical triumph for Cumberbatch and some kind of a first climax of his career (besides Sherlock). It’s a first rate fun popcorn film, colourful, loud, exciting, full of plot faults and innuendos and flip dialogue and explosions and bromance - and then there’s Cumberbatch: majestic, stoic, Shakespearian, barbaric, grave. And painfully, alarmingly sexy. His face does things that I’ve never seen a face doing in my entire life, and his physicality is out of this world. And then there’s his character’s big moment, and I will eat my pants if he doesn’t get an Oscar nom for it…

atlinmerrick: The best, funniest Ben interview I’ve ever read,...

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:17:34 +0200

atlinmerrick:

The best, funniest Ben interview I’ve ever read, and of course it’s Caitlin Moran.

I think it makes a difference when the person interviewing is famous in their own right—and brings that confidence into the interview.

The Times - Whats not to Love About Benedict Cumberbatch

Sat, 11 May 2013 00:28:54 +0200

cumbertrekky:

He was an all-action Sherlock Holmes for TV and now he’s conquering Hollywood in Star Trek. Caitlin Moran joins the actor at his parents’ home for Sunday lunch

I don’t know if you remember, but some time last summer – between the end of the Olympics and the return of The X Factor – it briefly became the thing to have a go at Benedict Cumberbatch for being “a posho”.

However many times Cumberbatch tried to explain that he was “just middle class, really”, a sum kept being done, over and over: “Harrow education” + “called ‘Benedict Cumberbatch’ ” = “A man who wipes his bum on castles”. There was a series of catty columns about it, with headlines like “Posh off to America” and “Poor posh boy”.

The underlying presumption seemed to be that Cumberbatch was some dilettante princeling – stealing roles such as Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock, and the painfully repressed landowner Christopher Tietjens in Tom Stoppard’s Parade’s End, that would otherwise have gone to working-class actors such as Danny Dyer, or Shane Richie from EastEnders, and that this was all a great pity.

Of course, as with all these things, it blew over quite quickly – not least because it was superseded by the news that Cumberbatch had been cast in the new Star Trek movie, and was, therefore, about to become one of the most successful British actors of the past ten years. But I am reminded of it all today, in the back of a cab, leafing through a pile of cuttings on Cumberbatch.

“What a load of balls that was,” I muse. “The whole posh thing. What a load of old balls. What a funny old world.”

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and I have been invited to lunch with Cumberbatch at his parents’ house in Gloucestershire. Star Trek Into Darkness is now about to open and this is the only day he has free to talk. I have made the great sacrifice and taken a train to Swindon.

The cab driver drops me outside the house.

“Here you go,” he says.

I climb out of the car, and stare at a gigantic, honey-coloured mansion, with immaculately tended lawns. Parked in the driveway are a black London taxi and a vintage silver Rolls-Royce.

Last night, Benedict had offered to pick me up from the station, saying he has a “loooooooooovely car”.

“Yes – you have, haven’t you, Benedict?” I think to myself, staring. “You’ve got a lovely pair.”

I crunch up the drive, carrying a massive bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine, and shout through the letter box.

“Hello! I’m from London! I’ve come on holiday, to the countryside, by accident!”

Silence. I circle the house. The place is so big, I can’t work out where the front door is.

I decide to go to ask a neighbour for advice on how to penetrate the Cumberbatch estate.

I head towards a nearby crofter’s cottage.

Benedict Cumberbatch is standing in the doorway of the tiny cottage, in a pair of knackered navy corduroy slippers, watching my progress across the lawn – lavishly strewn with hyacinths – with some curiosity.

“What were you doing at Kate Moss’s house?” he asks, mildly.

Ah. Kate Moss. The working-class girl from Croydon made good. That mansion is her house.

The “posh” Cumberbatches, by way of contrast, live next door: three small rooms downstairs, three small rooms upstairs. Every available surface is covered in books, family photographs or owls.

Read More

Looks like Sherlock took the Bluebell case after all, and...

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:34:10 +0200

Looks like Sherlock took the Bluebell case after all, and he’s got a new hat, too. John approves.

Sketch for “Sherlock leading the murder...

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:01:05 +0200

Sketch for “Sherlock leading the murder investigation”, based on “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugéne Delacroix. For the Letsdrawsherlock challenge. That one’s gonna take a while to render in watercolour …

Fanbook update: I had a look around and compared printers’...

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:43:23 +0200

Fanbook update:

I had a look around and compared printers’ prices. As a softcover, the book will likely cost around 7 Euros (plus shipping) if I have 50 copies made. The books would be cheaper if the print run was higher, but I’m reluctant to have too many printed.

I re-scanned all the drawings for a uniform look but they require some fiddling with gradation still to ensure a good outcome. Also, once I’m sure what paper I want to use I can design the covers and back according to the printer’s specification. I hope to get that done next week.

In the meantime, you can download the pdf:

Sherlock after the Fall Fanbook

It’s free of charge, but if you like it you could consider a donation to sponsor my dad and I for our charity bike ride for the Prince’s Trust on Sunday May 19. So far we have collected ₤450 of donations, so a big thank you to all who’ve donated so far. It’d be great if we managed to hit ₤500 by the end of next week.

Sponsor Team 221B for the 2013 Palace to Palace West Midlands Bike Ride

justinelark replied to your photo: “Er, Sherlock, are you sure we got this the right… Haha, it...

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:32:32 +0200

justinelark replied to your photo: “Er, Sherlock, are you sure we got this the right…

Haha, it is not what I expected when you showed us the teaser photo of the feet. Beautifully done, as always!

Thank you. Yes, I wanted to play a little with people’s expectations and not go for the obvious. And Sherlock does have perfect hobbit hair … ;)

Originally it was intended for Day 7: Cosplaying, but then the Star Wars idea came up and I though the Hobbit cosplay was better suited for the kigurumis anyway.

“Er, Sherlock, are you sure we got this the right way...

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:02:04 +0200

“Er, Sherlock, are you sure we got this the right way round?”

Day 11: Wearing kigurumis of the 30 Day OTP Challenge:

Holding hands
Cuddling somewhere
Gaming/watching a movie
On a date
Kissing
Wearing each others’ clothes
Cosplaying
Shopping
Hanging out with friends
With animal ears
Wearing kigurumis
Making out
Eating icecream
Genderswapped
In a different clothing style (Visual Kei, gyaru, lolita, ect. )
During their morning ritual(s)
Spooning
Doing something together (this can be anything from watching tv to having sex. Just remember to tag appropriately.)
In formal wear
Dancing
Cooking/baking
In battle, side-by-side
Arguing
Making up afterwards
Gazing into each others’ eyes
Getting married
On one of their birthdays
Doing something ridiculous
Doing something sweet
Doing something hot (once again, be sure to tag if you make it extremely NSFW!)

Hello ^^ I found your blog some while ago and kept on checking it regularly. I'm not an expert when it comes to drawing and although Sherlock fascinates me for some time now, I've only watched the first 2 episodes, but I must say, you're one of the best illustrators/drawers/etc (but especially in Sherlock) I have ever encountered. Just wanted to let you know ^-^. And you're a teacher? Lucky students that can be teached by you! Do you show them your drawings published on tumblr?

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:34:25 +0200

Ooh, more messages. Thank you very much. How wonderful for you that you still have four (+) episodes of Sherlock to look forward to.

I don’t know whether my students consider themselves lucky to be taught by me. Certainly not when they’re having to write tests or exams, I bet. But I definitely don’t hide my fannish tendencies from them, and many know my Tolkien art or the Sherlock stuff from either my website or my tumblr. I’ve even used a few of my Sherlock drawings in lessons, mostly to illustrate drawing processes, like this animation, and this ‘making of’.

Most recently, I’ve shown them some of the Letsdrawsherlock pieces because they’re wonderful examples of how to respond creatively to famous works of art. My 11th graders are doing a similar project right now, ‘packing’ a suitcase of/for an artist of their choice and trying to emulate their style and technique as well as researching their biographical and art-historical background.

And sometimes funny things happen. Some weeks ago during a break a teenage girl I didn’t know approached me shyly, accompanied by some of her friends for support (guess I’m a scary person ;)). I thought there was a problem on the schoolyard, but it turned out she wanted to talk to me. She told me that some time ago I taught her sister and because of me said sister had started to watch Sherlock and the rest of the family had followed suit. The girl told me it was all my fault that she was completely Sherlocked now. You can imagine the grin I was trying hard to contain. “Cool t-shirt” she added (I was wearing my ‘everything else is transport’ one) and dashed off with her retinue. That really made my day.

Hey, I just read you 'rant' about teaching. I can totally understand your opinion on this, although I'm not a teacher myself :) The thing that catched my eyes though, was the mention of a real Umbridge. What kind of person could be as horrid as this woman, like seriously. Sounds like some minister of education :) Would be interested to know who comes close to the character of Umbridge. Strange of me? Yeah, idk. I love your blog (and drawings) btw! You're the most amazing artist I've ever known.

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:14:36 +0200

Thanks a lot for your message. Concerning the people of the school inspection who have visited my school twice so far, I don’t know what kind of persons they were privately, so maybe the comparison with Umbridge was a bit unfair. But what they were doing was very Umbridge-y. They checked all of the school’s paperwork, interviewed teachers, staff, students, everybody had to fill out a questionaire about our perception of teaching and learning quality of the institution, and they visited your lessons unannounced and came and sat in the back and took notes on a clipboard … Well, and for those who’d read Harry Potter, this of course brought up memories of a certain person.

The problem I have with inspections like this is that, as in Harry Potter, they are a form of control of and interference in school processes the people who devise the questionaires and collect data have no real understanding of. In Germany, educational matters are dealt with by the federal government, and the Ministry of Education of the state of Hesse is … well … let me just say I didn’t vote for them, and it’s very obvious from their policies that they don’t have the students (and teachers) in mind when they publish new curricula or school regulations. You can tell it’s run by people who’ve never stood in front of a class. At least Dolores Umbridge did some teaching, even though it was rubbish.

So, yeah, our school inspectors weren’t Umbridge in person (they were actually okay), but the system of external control they represent reeks of politicians trying to further their own careers with “innovative” reforms of the school system as it is. It needs reforms, certainly, but not by people who only look as far as the next election.

Right. End of rant.