Week One, Day Three - The Man with the Twisted Lip

I was reading some Sherlock Holmes last night and I found the description of Hugh Boone, the seeming villain in the story The Man with the Twisted Lip. "'His appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular contrast to the colour of his hair, all mark him out from amid the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by the passers-by.'" I was captivated by the description (my brain painted a very distinct mental image), so I thought I'd draw him.

"He was, as the inspector had said, extremely dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right across it from eye to chin, and by its contraction had turned up one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over his eyes and forehead."

I'm a little sketched out with the rendering of the shades, but I think it went ok. Anyway, I had a lot of fun doing this but already my brain is picking out faults BUT NEVER YOU MIND.

SHORT STORY STATUS: as of posting this I haven't done that much work on it, but I have time tonight and since my sleeping schedule is so messed up, I'll probably be up till four working on it, so expect at least a little progress by tomorrow. wordcount: 311. It doesn't help that I'm still not entirely sure what I'm going to do with this story and I don't feel like I have enough words to squander to get over that (I realise that isn't true, but my reptile brain refuses)

TOMORROW'S PAINTING: The dusty musty  orange shag couch from hell