Character: John Charity Spring

After another lengthy absence, here's another full-body piece, this time based on a non-central but extremely interesting character from a great series of novels.

Click to see the entire image, a few making-of sketches and a bit of information about the character (and books!).

 

For those interested, here's a rough and messy overview over the various drawing stages, with a few annotations included!

(click to enlarge)

(Boring book part!)

As stated very unmistakably in the picture itself, this pleasant gentleman is Captain John Charity Spring, one of my favorite characters I've ever encountered in any "light" novel (not that I read difficult stuff anyway).

Captain Spring makes his appearance in the Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser (who has sadly passed on in 2006). A wonderful, innovative and hilarious piece of literary work in itself, the series focusses on the titular Harry Paget Flashman - eloquent, charismatic, proficient in many-- err, very certain disciplines... and possibly more evil, cowardly, lecherous and reprehensible than any other fictional protagonist before him.

While Flashman is the star of the show (and a great protagonist), one particular character manages to steal the spotlight with each appearance - at least for me, that is.

Without spoiling much of the plot itself, John Charity Spring (a fictional British sea captain) is a delightful villain in a book about villains, a murderous, insane, cultivated, educated and hilariously ignorant sea devil who is quick to administer stern moral lectures (and quotations from Ovid and Vergil), flogging innocents a minute later - and then visiting church and having tea with his accordion-playing wife in heart-melting harmony.

This summary, and the image, mostly show his wicked side (as I wanted to capture one of his lovely sudden glances that silence men a head taller than himself), but rest assured that staying in the tone of the books, all wanton cruelty and schizophrenic behavior is played for laughs and delight.

And if you think you're able to follow a "true" rogue protagonist for once - not a goody two-shoes with a gun, but a truly disgusting and lovable fellow - then I definitely recommend you give the series a try!