Sherlock Fanart (but not by me!): Síon and the Blue-eyed Serpent
Last winter, I wrote a historical!AU story entitled Salisbury Plain for the Holmestice Fanworks Exchange. This summer, I had the delightful surprise of being informed by ChapBook that she had commissioned a piece of artwork from IndyFalcon to go with the story!!
There followed on this announcement a fascinating exchange wherein I was asked to be very specific about details of John's (Síon's) appearance and circumstances in a particular scene. I had set the story so far back in time, approximately 2300 BCE, that there is not a great deal of archeological evidence remaining from the period in what is now the UK (although more seems to be coming to light all the time). This relative dearth of artifacts allowed me a good deal of latitude in the narrative and I have my own take on matters, keeping in mind that the victors write the history. However, to answer the questions posed so that the artist might translate the characters and setting to actual visual images (in contrast to those much more malleable images we can hold in our heads), required a different type of thinking on my part. Research helped with the process even though artifacts made of soft materials such as wood, leather and cloth, mainly didn't appear to exist. (The recent Celtic Art exhibit at the British Museum would have been a terrific resource if it had been on at the time!)
So, here is John and Sherlock's portrait as Síon and Scryloc, which I have decided to call Síon and the Blue-eyed Serpent ~ on tumblr.
(link via AO3)
There followed on this announcement a fascinating exchange wherein I was asked to be very specific about details of John's (Síon's) appearance and circumstances in a particular scene. I had set the story so far back in time, approximately 2300 BCE, that there is not a great deal of archeological evidence remaining from the period in what is now the UK (although more seems to be coming to light all the time). This relative dearth of artifacts allowed me a good deal of latitude in the narrative and I have my own take on matters, keeping in mind that the victors write the history. However, to answer the questions posed so that the artist might translate the characters and setting to actual visual images (in contrast to those much more malleable images we can hold in our heads), required a different type of thinking on my part. Research helped with the process even though artifacts made of soft materials such as wood, leather and cloth, mainly didn't appear to exist. (The recent Celtic Art exhibit at the British Museum would have been a terrific resource if it had been on at the time!)
So, here is John and Sherlock's portrait as Síon and Scryloc, which I have decided to call Síon and the Blue-eyed Serpent ~ on tumblr.
(link via AO3)