JamesLynch on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/jameslynch/art/Doctor-Who-Window-to-the-Future-Past-448105135JamesLynch

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Doctor Who - Window to the Future Past

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I can't and don't believe that I'm the first person to notice the correlation between the number of Doctors and the number of windows on the front of the TARDIS, but I haven't seen a piece like this yet, and I had the idea months ago (before Capaldi's costume was revealed, hence why he's mostly in shadow), and finally was able to finish it. I learned a lot while working on this:

1) I'm pretty sure most of Jim Cheung's characters are William Hartnell. I'm not saying my drawing of William Hartnell looks like a Jim Cheung drawing, but it's the most one of my drawings has ever looked like Jim Cheung's art. Jim Cheung's also super British, so it's not impossible that there's a connection there (some of the other actors have a bit of a Cheung-ish quality to them, but Hartnell's is the most pronounced. Maybe Jim Cheung characters are just what British people look like).
2) The War Doctor is an old man with a faux-hawk, and yet somehow we love him. I hope I have the opportunity to draw him full-body one day, because his costume's awesome.
3) Paul McGann's "Night of the Doctor" look is so much better than his 1996 movie look, even the BBC has a promo picture from NotD in his profile. But, the '96 look is the look he was known for for 17 years, so that's the look I went with. It's iconic.
4) My favorite Doctors aren't necessarily my favorite to draw.
5) It's very difficult to find reference materials for some Doctors where they're not smiling. I wanted a more serious tone to the piece, but some of these guys almost always seem to have a goofy grin on their face, or at least a smirk. Conversely, if I had to draw an image of Eccleston smiling, I would be in trouble.
6) I've missed drawing for fun. I've been working on pages for a book lately, and between that and my day job, drawing has started to feel a little bit like work. I hate that. Working on this piece was really energizing.
7) My current scanner is lightyears ahead of my previous one in quality when scanning toned art. It still wasn't perfect, and had to be adjusted a bit in Photoshop, but when I scanned tones with my old scanner, some of them turned out borderline-unusable.
8) Capaldi's one scary-looking MF-er. Even images where he's smiling, he looks like he's only happy because he knows he can murder you with his brain. It will be interesting to see his take on the Doctor.
9) The TARDIS has looked quite different over the years, more so than it really makes any sense for it to. It's been different sizes, proportions, colors, and the signage has changed. I went with a bit of an amalgam, based primarily on the incarnations from the newer series' (which bear a stronger resemblance to the original than do some of the interim designs, especially the weird blue "Pull to Open" sign some of them sported). It lacks the St. John's Ambulance logo, just because I think the lack of the logo is the more iconic look at this point (it's certainly my prefered look). Yes, technically, Capaldi's TARDIS should have it. This isn't a literal piece.

I'm sure there are more, and I wanted to get 12 or 13 to match the number of Doctors, but it's late now, I'm tired, and I really want to get this piece out to the world. I hope people like it. And who knows, maybe this little cult classic TV show will eventually catch on with a wider audience? Who knows?
Image size
3300x2552px 4.01 MB
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