Design of the Character's in the project: 6 Mycroft Holmes

Section 1. The Design process:

In my experience Mycroft is a less talked about character than the ones that i did previous adaptations for. With not every person who would consider themselves a Sherlock Holmes fan even knowing about Mycroft past the fact that he is Sherlock's brother. But he is undoubtedly a big part of the Sherlock Holmes franchise.

The main traits that i wanted to depict in the design were Mycroft's sheer amount of knowledge, his cunning, and a sense of freedom that his character subtly radiates in my opinion.

On the original illustrations Mycroft was depicted as an older middle aged (7 years older than Sherlock) gentleman on the heavier side canonically due to him not really performing much physical activity. I actually like this original design for him. As being heavy or fat has previously also been a design choice for characters who are not only lazy but also have a lot of influence and power ( Though it can be debated whether or not these elements reflect reality or should they be used even if they sometimes do).

I started the design process by thinking about every possible option i had to depict him over the course of multiple weeks (as i believe it to have been a vary Mycroft like thing to do). I arrived at the conclusion that i wanted to keep elements from his design that worked, like him visibly not being someone who performs physical labor, and him being visibly older than Sherlock.

I wanted to make his color scheme primarily dark blue as it symbolizes wisdom and knowledge and i decided to make his animal inspiration a fox. Not just because foxes have a reputation for being cunning creatures but for two other reasons as well.

The first is that foxes and dogs are both part of the canine family with Sherlock's inspiration being an Agar this directly communicates to the viewer that Sherlock and Mycroft are related while still being fundamentally different people.

The second reason is that foxes are also known to dig dens and complex tunnel systems that i found to be a neat metaphor for how many adaptations portray Mycroft as the unofficial leader of Britain as seemingly every tunnel and pathway in the government leads back to Mycroft or his direct influence.

I used this picture of foxes as they matched the proportions that i wanted for the design and the expression on the face of the one in the front was also inspiring in the creation of the drawing.

And so with weeks of planning and envisioning different versions of the character in my head i when i started to actually draw him it only took one try to end up with a drawing i was happy with.

I was able to include every element and implication that i was aiming to. With his expression and mannerisms specifically also evoking that sense of freedom and "i can do what i want" that i originally sensed about the character.

Section 2. Previous characterization:

Mycrofts probably most well know version (even batter known than the original novel version) is probably the one portrayed by Mark Gatiss on the BBC series Sherlock.

Where he has a vary prevalent role and likely i'de argue greater than in the books. I find that in most media involving him the thing that gives his character the most depth is his relationship with Sherlock.

Here he and this relationship is introduced with him stating that he is an enemy of Sherlock but when you see him in the actual show he literally never does anything that can be identified as hostile or antagonistic towards Sherlock. And so this lines inclusion never made much sense to me.

And it also somewhat removes the stakes if you ask me as any problem that Sherlock can't solve alone you know that he can just call Mycroft and they could solve it together. With this version of Sherlock not having a nearly hostile enough relationship with his brother to not attempt this if the situation calls for it.

A much more interesting version of their relationship can be found in the Anime series called "Moriarty the patriot" where it is clear that Sherlock does not trust his brother as far as he can throw him.

Section 3. My Version:

In my version Mycroft and Sherlock's relationship would be vary tense and even somewhat antagonistic. As Sherlock would have been the primary victim of his older brothers tricks and pranks when he was little which partially contributed to Sherlock's inferiority complex with the other reason being that Sherlock himself always comparing his intelligence to the older and confirmed smarter Mycroft.

The older brother knowing about these insecurities but choosing to ignore them as he believes that trying to solve Sherlock's problems with himself for him is a disservice to everyone.

This also gives a reason for why Sherlock has as many problems in his life as he does. As he is quite literally unwilling to accept any help or as he perceives "Charity" from his older bother.