"Inktober" Challenge - Days 24 and 25

Yeah, kinda forgot to post some of my sketches on the appointed day. That, and I was taking advantage of my freedom from work, and I had Young Single Adult Institute.

Oh, well, better late than never!

For day 24: "Dark Era."

That era between the years 1970 and 1988, where the golden glow of Disney didn't quite go out but had dimmed considerably. Despite the sad decline, those guys produced some of their finest work; at any rate, they took much bolder, more impressive moves.

I feel The Great Mouse Detective ranks among their most impressive. It sure deserves a boatload more love. It's got every aspect of a great movie, animated or otherwise, and it's a nice way to introduce children to Sherlock Holmes. That's how I was introduced, anyhow.

I don't really get why people use the term "Disneyfication" as a pejorative. In Disney's defense, a lot of those original stories are pretty bleak; they make me ill at ease even in my adulthood. While I don't believe in dumbing things down, I also don't believe in traumatizing people, especially kids.

Even Sherlock Holmes has his share of disturbing moments. I should know, having taken a Sherlock Holmes class in college.

The course was a piece of cake. It was taken purely online, and all you had to do was read a story, watch a film, and then write an analysis for the professor. The more thorough you were with the analysis, the better your grade. So instead of just saying "There's a mansion that appears handsome in the daytime but eerie at night," you were better off by saying, "The way the mansion appears handsome in the daytime, but eerie at night with all the dark shadows and white mist, represents this character's dichotomy: how everybody views him as a very pleasant man but he's got some nasty skeletons stashed in his closet. This also alludes to the widespread belief in the Victorian era that you could get away with anything, literally anything, so long as you appeared respectable."

That was the professor's clever way of making sure we were actually doing the assignment. Now, then, back to the sketches!

The other theme for day 24: "Blind."

Possibly the bleakest thing I've drawn yet. Want to know something even bleaker? His eyes were stolen from him, so underneath that bandage, you would only find gaping eye sockets. Makes me shudder just to think about it.

For day 25: "Ship."

Not too shabby for an artist who's never drawn a ship in her life. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but I've never been very good with boats, cars, or buildings. I'm just barely learning to draw believable nature pictures. I've always been more of a character artist.

So I almost (almost) chickened out of this one, but I'm glad I stuck with it. And now I can't get "Fathoms Below" from The Little Mermaid out of my head!

Day 25 for Disney: "Renaissance Era."

"Morning in Paris,

The city awakes

To the bells of Notre Dame!

The fisherman fishes,

The bakerman bakes

To the bells of Notre Dame!

From the big bells as loud as the thunder

To the little bells soft as a psalm,

And some say the soul

Of the city's the toll

Of the bells!

The bells of Notre Dame!"

Ah yes, the Renaissance, from 1989 to 1999. That glorious decade that made up the bulk of our childhood, where new life was breathed into Disney, with dazzling animation and unforgettable music.

Even now, few movies, if any, can compare.

Had no trouble choosing which movie from that era to illustrate. Just about killed two of my Sharpies, but they gave their lives for a worthy cause. That scene, our first proper glimpse of Quasimodo (even if it is a silhouette), never fails to give me goosebumps.