TV Sketching — even more Midsomer Murders

I have to think of a new title structure to distinguish the Midsomer subset of TV sketching posts.

Here are the sketches for the last episode of Season 23, Episode 4: “Dressed to Kill”.

I just love drawing people in PPE.

I genuinely think sequins flatter everybody, but they’re a challenge to catch in a hurry.

Quite a bit of dramatic slumping in this episode, for health or melodrama — but for sketching, that’s a lot of fun to draw.

Joint household murder-mystery viewing has been interrupted by deadlines and other circumstances recently, but I hope to return with more soon!

In the meantime, they’re all under the TV Sketching tag.

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TV Sketching — More Midsomer Murders

There’s a new season, so I hope you didn’t think you’d escape the TV sketching…

As ever, Fleur and lighting are the most fun to capture, but there is usually some interesting architecture and apparently an aquamanile?

Poor Winter.

Bread! And situations The Dressmaker taught us were bad news.

Characters sprinting suspiciously through the trees (there was a lot going on in this episode).

Architecture is always tricky to capture at speed, but I keep trying.

And again, poor Winter.

For more TV sketches, see the TV sketching tag.

Want to support art and writing and posts like this about them? Here are some ways:

• patreon.com/tanaudel (monthly support)
• ko-fi.com/tanaudel (one-off tip jar)
• art on things on Redbubble and Spoonflower. 
• occasional mailing list for news: Mailing List Sign-Up

TV Sketching: Midsomer old and very new

TV sketching! And a new season of Midsomer Murders has commenced…

But first, an older episode: “Death and Dust”, from season 10:

It’s always fascinating watching extras, but particularly when they’re all suited up in blue scene-of-crime suits. Such high contrast with almost everything — particularly the more bucolic Midsomer settings — and really interesting to block in visually.

There were so many animals in this episode I convinced myself the solution would be something to do with them.

The really striking buildings are tempting to draw, but the camera doesn’t linger long enough! You can’t rely on just capturing a sense of movement in the same way as with people. (Well, you can, but that’s not usually what I want to convey with the architecture.)

And intriguing lighting can also be tricky to capture at this speed — but I keep trying.

I’m pleased with that red teapot above — it’s similar to one of my favourite pieces in the illustrations I did for the QUT Art Museum, .

Season 23 Episode 1: The Blacktrees Prophecy!

Half my friends are thrilled there’s a new season, the other half sheepishly admit to never having watched an episode of a show which they’ve definitely joked about and which began in 1997.

Anyway: more blue suits!

Tough as it is to capture anything recognisable, I do still enjoy trying to get down interesting compositions and scenery.

Also this episode had a bonus orange suit to draw.

For more TV sketches, see the TV sketching tag.

TV Sketching: Poker Face

TV sketching! This time for the new series Poker Face, which is delighting me.

It’s from Rian Johnson, it’s single-episode mysteries, and it is like if Natasha Lyonne were the lovechild of Columbo and Jack Reacher.

Here are some sketches for episodes 4 and 5 (and I kind of want to go back and sketch the others, too.)

There might be some spoilers here. the show uses a switchback version of the Columbo plot so it’s difficult to spoil the details of the actual crime.

Episode 4, Rest in Metal, guest stars Chloë Sevigny, among others. Also one of my favourite gifs currently doing the rounds on Tumblr.

Episode 5, Time of the Monkey — great hats and outfits, wonderful terrible ladies (especially but not solely S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light).

And also some side-comments on Skarsgårds.

For more TV sketches, see the TV sketching tag.

TV (movie) Sketching: Miss Congeniality

Last week I was away on writing retreat with some friends, and we settled on Sandra Bullock movies (and a Junji Ito series) for our downtime.

I sketched through Miss Congeniality, as follows (there’s a timelapse video at the end):

Benjamin Bratt’s character does not age well, so I’m currently enjoying his villainous turn in Poker Face.

I’m sure there’s a reprise of the song she plays on the glasses (“Lara’s Theme” from Dr Zhivago) in The Lost City, but I can’t find confirmation of that. Maybe it was in something else we watched, but that leaves the Junji Ito and RRR, so…

“She’s beauty and she’s grace…”

And here is a timelapse (in real time, it took as long as the movie, minus a few minutes after I inhaled wine at a joke, so this is at a little over 10 min/second).

TV Sketching: My Life is Murder

A few more My Life is Murder sketches. The usual rule: no pausing while drawing.

We’re on to season two, and Alexa (Lucy Lawless) and Madison (Ebony Vagulans) have relocated from Melbourne to Auckland.

For more TV sketches, see TV sketching.

TV Sketching: The Snoop Sisters and Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate

Some more TV sketching — this time The Snoop Sisters: “The Devil Made Me Do It” (1974).

(The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.)

This episode had even more flowing draperies than usual — especially Cyril Ritchard as The Great Morlock.

This episode even had Alice Cooper in it.

The bonus sketches below are from what we started watching first, expecting a Snoop SIsters episode. It was in fact Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (1971), which also starred Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick as part of a group of friends who decide to commit computer dating fraud (in 1971). I do plan to finish watching it at some point, if only for those sweeping gowns.

For more TV sketches, see the TV sketching tag.

TV Sketching: Murder, She Wrote and The Snoop Sisters

The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.

I bought my father the DVD box set of Murder, She Wrote for Christmas, which means I have to visit to watch it, so sketches might be sporadic.

Murder, She Wrote, S1E7 “Lovers and Other Killers”

In this episode, I was struck by how much lilac was used.

Murder, She Wrote, S1E7 “Lovers and Other Killers”

I also really like that final sketch, above, in the blue blouse.

Back from my parents’ place, and watching The Snoop Sisters with my housemate. Pre-Jessica Fletcher crime writers solving crimes. I love Gwendolyn and Ernesta’s 1920s/1970s silhouettes.

The Snoop SIsters, “Fear is a Free-Throw”

Not nearly as much lilac, but still present. Also background nurses reacting to plot.

The Snoop SIsters, “Fear is a Free-Throw”

And dramatic falls/sprawls against potted plants.

The Snoop SIsters, “Fear is a Free-Throw”

For more TV sketches, see TV sketching.

TV Sketching: My Life is Murder and The Snoop Sisters

I’m frantically trying to finish a large project, but dinner involves murder mysteries, so I have got in a few sketches, from My Life is Murder (S1E6, 2019) and The Snoop Sisters (E1, 1973)

The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.

Above, Lucy Lawless & Ebony Vagulans, both wearing great clothes in rather different styles and degrees of vividness.

Below, night calls.

My Life is Murder, S1E6, “Another Bloody Podcast”

The Snoop Sisters only has a pilot and four episodes (alas!). The 1970s fashion is a delight, but Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick (Ernesta and Gwendolyn) have marvelous silhouettes from much earlier eras of fashion.

The Snoop Sisters, E1, “Corpse and Robbers”

The Snoop Sisters, E1, “Corpse and Robbers”

And of course, there’s the Lincoln.

The Snoop Sisters, E1, “Corpse and Robbers”

For more TV sketches, see TV sketching.

TV Sketching: Shakespeare & Hathaway

I will put up the travel sketches once I’ve scanned them, but in the meantime: Some TV sketching! Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, Season 4 Episode 2 (f.i.n.a.l.l.y. available in Australia).

As usual, the rule is: no pausing the show.

I didn’t sketch the first episode because I was eating dinner at the time, but I’m not ruling out revisiting it.

These are mostly featuring Sebastian and Luella, of course.

For more TV sketching, see the tag: TV sketching.