Art for omelton: The Only Selfish Action

[methylviolet10b]

Title: The Only Selfish Action
Recipient: omelton
Artist: vernets
Rating: PG
Medium: Ink & digital
Characters: H&W

Comments

[swissmarg]

So lovely. The minimalism and the negative space really says to me how much is unspoken between them, how far away they are from where they want to be. I especially like how expressive the eyebrows and the hands are. Poignant.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Apparently, eyebrows are my forte but I'm very happy to know that the whole thing conveys what I wanted it to convey.

[dreamtimegirl.livejournal.com]

Aww, it's so sad!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Hopefully not too much?

[opaljade.livejournal.com]

Lovely work. The facial expressions on both Holmes and Watson tell the story. So well done!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot! So glad the faces are effective.

[jcporter1.livejournal.com]

First, what a great storyline, but Second, I love the faces you have come up with. They are most identifiable as H/W but they are not any of the visuals we know (Sidney, Rathbone, Brett, etc) but your own lovely creation.
Also I love the capture of motion you manage in static lines. Well Done!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you, that's a lovely thing to say. It's hard to come up with something that is both recognisable and not too heavily influenced by whatever-adaptation—it-is-that-I'm-into-atm, so I'm glad it shows in my ‘more serious’ art.

[omelton.livejournal.com]

This is wonderful!
A beautiful style and such a cinematic feel to the whole presentation. Their facial expressions are so vivid, they really draw me in and make me ache for the characters (oh, let them make up again!). I also love the way you drew the smoke swirling. My favorite panels are 10 and 12, I think they're beautifully balanced.

I like the detailed focus on Watson smoking (as opposed to the more usual(?) other way around) and I also love the fact that Holmes, in gesture and expression, is very much an emotional creature here.

And I do wonder what the poison was that Holmes drank!

Thank you very much for your lovely work!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

It was quite exciting to get you as recipient! Hopefully that wasn't too angsty (obviously they make up afterwards) and maybe there's a bit of romance if you squint? So glad you liked it, it was challenging to try to do something different — in both style and story — than my usual.

Let's go with one not too deadly, I don't think he'd go around licking poisonous darts or ivory boxes.

(I would have loved doing something about gender & such, because it's a fascinating topic, but alas I'm better at reading about it than creating something out of it.)

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

Ahhh. Lovely. I love how the minimal style reflects the subtle emotion expressed. Beautifully executed. I can't stop looking!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I worry a lot about the minimal style being too minimal, but it seems to work, so far.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

This is wonderful. The smoke, Holmes giving in to emotion, and the words left unsaid are definitely points which stand out for me as well.

Watson's scolding is perfect, that's just a classic moment - Really, Holmes? :-)

[vernets.livejournal.com]

It started as a way more wordy thing but I slowly (i.e. anxiously) removed bits of dialogue, good to know it's been for the best. The scolding is perhaps my favourite plot device. Thank you!!

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Oh, gentlemen. You know what you want to say, how much it would kill you to say it, but find ways of saying it anyway.

*Loves*

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Lovesick detectives [sigh]

[hardboiledbaby]

Oh, so very, very lovely :)

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[fabelschwester.livejournal.com]

O_O

*eyes slowly fill with tears*

*slowly*

*slooowly*

*mental breakdown*


Most beautiful drawings, though.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Ahah, sorry about that. Thanks very much though! (Your art for the last round was wonderful.)

[mistyzeo.livejournal.com]

The style says ghostbees, but I love the way their faces are all yours. Simply lovely!

[vernets.livejournal.com]

It does because it is!! Despite my best efforts to not get too cartoon-y, it still looks a lot like the sort of things I do. Thanks!

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

This...this was lovely. And so sad. Snif.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Awh, thanks and I'm sorry it turned out sadder than intended. It has been suggested by my beta that I should do a sequel with some kissing and, you know, make out. Perhaps I should get onto that.

[methylviolet10b]

This was just gorgeous. I particularly loved the way you used the smoke to tie the panels together, and the way it mirrors Watson's mixed emotions without a single word.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

I was afraid it would look too much of a space-filling device and added it at the very last moment (and getting the right flow was extremely tedious). It's quite hard to phrase a coherent thank-you after having read your story, but, well, thank you.

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

Good heavens, you insinuate so much in so few panels. I love how the focus on their hands underscores each sharp word and fraught, unhappy silence. The side-glances, the hesitations, the inability to come out with it and say what lies under the surface. Holmes can't help but goad Watson into feeling responsible and yet the last thing he wants to do is drive him away.

As for your style, well, it's marvelous. Each window is so carefully judged, each expression and placement in the frame doling out new bits of emotional information. As someone else pointed out, it's beautifully cinematic.

I've also been mulling over what the title means; or rather, which of the implied actions (Holmes' suicidal experiment? Watson's marriage? Holmes' desire to keep Watson for himself?) has the clearest claim to be 'selfish.'

This is poignant and incredibly skillful, so much suppressed emotion caught in a few masterful strokes.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Thanks so very, very much. Although I'm afraid the title is merely me being unoriginal and reusing a quote from BLAN, since the whole deserted thing comes from there (I am not very good at titles), so that would be the whole second marriage business.

[autumnatmidnite.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh... There was more said in those panels without dialogue than in the entire story. Absolutely beautiful.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

So glad it worked! Thank you!

[stardust-made.livejournal.com]

I feel at odds with all the wonderful people who have commented so far, but I actually found quite a bit of dry humour in this. Together with the whole rainbow of emotions depicted through words and art, it makes for a brilliant comic!♥

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's definitely humour too, which makes it all the more well-rounded in its depiction of the characters.

re: The Only Selfish Action

[vaysh]

Rather heart-breaking in the most understated way. The cigarette, the silences, the expressive hands and eyebrows - all so excruciatingly well done.

Re: The Only Selfish Action

[vernets.livejournal.com]

The hands were VERY hard to get right so it pleases me immensely to know that they are. I didn't mean it to be that sad, but well… Thank you!

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Heavens, this is marvelous. It's so deftly done, with all the unspoken emotion filling the empty spaces. We know all we need from Watson's hand on the arm rest, Holmes' fingers lacing together in his lap, the index raised with expectant hope.

It is subtle, gorgeous, and beyond amazing. Just... Wow.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Coming from you, with your heart-wrenching stories, GOSH. Thanks so much (for everything, as usual)!

[enname.livejournal.com]

Such a delicate work around actually saying anything at all, but really. Silences and smoking do count for so much. Brava, so very elegant and delicately stated - the art matches the intentions exquisitely.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

This is a very lovely comment, thank you.

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

Oh, that hand on the arm of the chair...
Brilliant work, truly.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

I almost got the side wrong (“LEFT ARM for goodness' sake, left arm), glad I finally got it right and it's being noticed. Thank you!

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

I'll add my mite of praise here, especially to point out how much I love Holmes's hands in the last few panels and how they betray his nervousness.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

Mite of praise very much appreciated, thank you! The hands were tricky to get right.