Men of means and consequence—Colonel Brandon

£2K/yr—Col. Brandon from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

Men of means and consequence—Mr. Willoughby

£3K/yr—Mr. Willoughby, after marriage, from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

Yesterday's post is Mr. Willoughby. 

I had intended to draw Mr. Knightley from Emma, but I'm not sure what happened. I inked it using one of Pier's Waterman pens. These are really great to use, but produce a much different effect than I'm used to, and of course the experience is vastly different, from the stiffness or flexibility of the nibs to the flow of the ink. But I enjoy new pen challenges. I'd like to use finer pens in general, so it all works together.

Except in this case, the drawing ended up feeling too "put together" and smug to be Mr. Knightley, and struck me as very Willoughby, my least favorite Austenian ne'er do well.

The series was inspired by Monica Gallagher's penchant for drawing series of character drawings. So, thank her!

Men of means and consequence—Mr. Rushworth

£12K/yr—Mr. Rushworth from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park

Men of means and consequence—Captain Wentworth

£25K—Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion

Men of means and consequence—Mr. Darcy

£10K/yr—Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Men of means and consequence—Mr. Bingley

£5K/yr—Mr. Bingley from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Men of means and consequence—Mr. Crawford

£4K/yr—Mr. Crawford from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
Saturday's post is a bit of a cheat...this drawing was posted in color in 2009 (ish)

Dull, dull, dull-dull-dull

I was recently trapped during an all-day meeting at work. It was excessively dull, and I resorted to sketching to stay awake.

I used to openly sketch during all meetings, but with a change of bosses, it's not so cool anymore. So, I only do it if it's an emergency. Though really, I pay better attention when I am also sketching.

I liked the way these fellows turned out, so they were freed from the agenda documents they live on and glued into my sketchbook.

Not sure if the one on the right is Austenian or possible steampunk. He looks kinda evil though.

Hrm...steampunk!

You may recall that I am an Austen fan, and have a thing for well-spoken men in tails.

I've toyed with the idea of an Austen-era gay romance story, and have several scenes and conversations planned out. That's where the journey had stalled out until my recent work with Greg on a sci-fi buddy pitch inspired me to envision a transition of my story to steampunk!

Here's how it goes...intro, flirtations, sexual tension, more sexual tension, and whiz, it's more than you thought. It's a sci-fi story wrapped up in Victorian-era imagery with lots of gay undertones.

The story I am working on with Greg is more of a buddy thing, set in the future, and while there is some serious male bonding between the two principles, they are both so self-aware and living in an anything-goes age, I just don't see any sexual tension.

Once our mini comic is complete and we pitch it around, I will share some details here. Until then, enjoy some steampunk inspired sketches.

Proper gentleman

I sketched this in my book some time ago and hated it, despite my love for Austen-ian men. Then one day in Lisbon, Roberto and I were grabbing a quick dinner at a cafe and I became quite taken with the texture on the serving trays. Grabbing my fat blue Koh-i-noor pencil, I rubbed the texture onto the coat and hat the man is wearing in this drawing. I loved the effect and decided to ink a bit of it. Now, I am again thinking of writing and drawing a gay story circa 1805. Will definitely require some research though, if it is to do what I'd like it to.

Tomorrow I begin posting sketches from my trip proper. I bet you can't wait. Until then, check out my photos on Facebook from the amazing festival at Angouleme.

Austen-esque

I keep thinking someday I will write and draw an Austen-esque gay romance. Historic homosexuality really intrigues me... I mean, it's existed for thousands of years. How did men meet each other? What sort of expectations might they have of one another? So... think Teleny minus the explicit sex and the straight stuff, set 50 years earlier. Or think Mansfield Park where one of Fanny's brothers is gay, and that's where I am headed. I have one scene worked out in my head; I really should write it down before I lose it. These sketches are from 2006 and 2007, inked in 2008.

Mr. Crawford

Mansfield Park is likely my favorite Jane Austen novel, and Mr. Crawford is certainly my favorite Austen ne'er-do-well. He announces up front he's a scoundrel, but then you think he might not be, but yes, he is. But then he's sad about it. This is a likeness of the actor who plays the character in an '80s BBC production. February 2007.