The story of Blacklead is set loosely in the mid 1600's. I say loosely because I'm more interested in working on the story than the historical correctness, and I don't want historians to freak out about details that inevitability are wrong.
Why the 1600's?
Mostly the art history. The time of trade, exploration, and superstition. A time when a certain wood from South America was extraordinarily expensive, often stolen or transported by pirates, and used by the Puritans for their dark clothing. Irony.
Graphite was also expensive, and the biggest richest deposit found so far was discovered in the mid 1500's in England, North of where Blacklead is fictitiously located. Other names for graphite at the time are wad, plumbago, and dun dun DUN....blacklead. You'll just have to read the story.
But seriously, it was expensive. Think about how they strip search diamond miners for shiny rocks; yeah, that. Graphite is a dry lubricant, and great for making things slippery....like cannons.
I did not choose this time period for it's ease of drawing, for I am more familiar with other timer periods and would have been easier to draw those instead, so learning experience for me, and that accounts for some of the research that I have to do anyway.
Yes, it's the time of Captain Hook hair, the Three Musketeers, and men wearing more lace and fluff than the women. Again, I like to make challenges for myself when drawing. Cool factor is increased, and so is the time to draw it. Oooof.On the plus side, I've got plenty of very authentic picture reference.
Places I get my art history knowlege:Logwood
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph4.htm
and one of my favorite nerd books:
Color: a Natural History of the Palette
Also half timber houses. Half timber houses are cool. Like bowties.
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