When nalysing the pirates in pirates of the carribean I noticed that the main character Jack Sparrow had a few gold teeth. From researching dentistry I know that it was possible for teeth to be replaced, commonly with others real teath or ones stolen from graves. To get a tooth made from gold would cost great amounts so the person must be extremley wealthy. Francois O'lonnais was redicously wealthy having stolen a great deal of others fortune. I believe a good way to show this would be for him to have inserts of golden teath. Pluss even though valuable golden teath arn't very attractive and gives off a very unhygenic and corrupt vibe. In modern day people with metal grills or or any metal tooth that's not a filling is stero-typed to be very rough and 'gangster'.
Teeth
Extending Designs
So now that I've researched into the factual side of things, it’s time to actually start being more creative with my designs. I know I want my concept pieces to be very true and life like to how the pirates did look like in their lifetime. However I still believe I can spice up their designs further and improve their appearance by researching into more modern and fictional clothing designs. I will however make sure that they are capable of being made in the 1700s so this means the clothing designs have been possible to have existed.
I decided to analyse more in depth on the designs of the many interpretations of Black Beard in popular-culture.
Black Beard Interpretations
Black Beard
Black Beard in Pirates of the Caribbean is a very close resemblance to the factual descriptions of Black Beard. The creators made him dress all in black with not a single bit of red or other splash of colour apart from the glowing orange beads on his beard. Also all his clothing is made from leather, even his undershirt. I don’t like how his clothing is baggy as this makes his shoulders look slumped and not high and broad. I really liked the extra detail of studs on his hat. The hat itself I don't really like though as I feel it’s just too small and measly, plus a tricorne hat is very common and not very unique. His beard as well isn't at all gigantic or scary as Black Beards is described, but still I like the braids they added in there.
Assassin Creed: Black Flag included Black Beard in there game purposefully to add historical characters to make the game feel more real. They were the first I've seen to actually include the method of how Black Beard lit flints under his hat however they switched it round so that instead he lit them in his beard. Now from first thought that is a pretty cool idea and more intimidating however the more you think about it, it's very unpractical as his beard will probably set on fire and plus the smoke will get all caught up under his hat. Maybe this is the reason why they gave him such a small hat which has a very weird design. His hat seems to be a cross between a cowboy hat and a tricorne and I don't understand why they added gold embroidery if the embroidery on his jacket is silver, it doesn't match. However other than that I can't really fault his design, he is defiantly the most intimidating design of black beard I've seen thus far. I really like the long black trench coat with the crimson red ribbon round his waist. I'm trying to imaging if his coat was all in red would he be more intimidating?
The film Pan did a very unique take on Black Beard. I believe I've described this before in one of my previous research pages but they created a Black Beard who was very stylish and fashionable and cared a lot for appearance. Hence why his beard is a trimmed down to be pointed on the chin and have a moustache. Also his hair is slicked back and styled. His outfit as well is a very nice design and a bit on the ridiculous side with the big baggy trousers however he needs that added touch to fit in with the Peter Pan universe. I really like the feathered collar around his neck as it gives him a very posh and royal essence. They decided to make him wear steel armour on his upper torso which is a big change as this is very rare for pirates. However it does add intimidation and plus makes him look battle ready, he is a villain after all. His overall outfit is all Black but I noticed a red pattern on his sword handle which matches well with him. From researching all the previous designs of Black Beard I realise how the colours Black and Red are the main two colours associated with Black Beard and I can understand why as they are they are the strongest colours to represent danger. This is an important note to remember for my own design of Black Beard.
Black Beard's Beard
"This beard was black, which he suffered to grow of an extravagant length; as to breadth, it came up to his eyes; he was accustomed to twist it with ribbons, in small tails … and turn them about his ears: in time of action."
Reading this description this made me think of the Dwarven Beards from the film ‘The Hobbit’. In the film it is tradition for dwarves to grow out their hair and beards making them appear very scary and intimidating. They will also style their hair and beards by adding braids to them or tying them with silver bands. At first I found it hard to imagine how Black Beard could be intimidating with braids and ribbons but looking at these dwarven characters I understand how the look is achieved and see why it's so impressive. Out of all the Dwarves Gloin is the Beard which I found most resembles the closest style to black Beards and out of all of them is defiantly the most intimidating and impressive.
An extra detail I noticed when looking at the dwarves is all the scars across their faces and this is a very nice touch to show the characters as being fierce warriors. Black Beard survived many fights and so he too could have littered with scars and cuts. I will certainly use these characters as reference for my own design of Black Beard.
Black Beard's Hat
When studying previous designs of Black Beard one thing I noticed about his hat is that I preferred it when it was very large and wide as this was much more intimidating than a small thin hat such as a tricorne hat. Barbossas hat from Pirates of The Caribbean (2003) is a very good example of a wide brimmed hat which is intimidating as its large and imposing. It's also pretty cool when Barbossa wears it slanted. A hat I haven't studied before is Davy Jone’s hat. Day Jones is also a character from the film series ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. I really liked his hat because it is styled similar to a tricorn hat with it being triangular shaped however the front of it opens up to be pointed in two directions. As well as this the hat is very large and oversized. The one thing that puts me off Barbossa’s hat is the fact that it’s completely round and not pointed which loses fear factor, plus I'm thinking as well that if Black Beard was to light flints under his hat then the smoke would just get trapped under that hat with Barbossas but not with Davy Jones.
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In the game ‘Assassins creed 4: Black Flag’ Black Bart was given large ostrich feathers to dangle over his hat. I was wondering myself if I should add the same detail however feathers are rather elegant and fancy and I feel the reason why assassins creed Black Beard needed that detail was to increase the size of Black beards hat for intimidation, however I wouldn't need to do that If I naturally gave black beard a large and imposing hat.
Davy Jones, Pirates of the carribean: world End
Black Beard from Assassins Creed 4: Black Flaag
Black Beard Clothing
Probably one of the most intimidating clothing in modern day times are black leather trench coats. Anything in Black Leather is considered as being a badass and very punk-rock and trench coats go all the way down to you ankles giving you a very long imposing figure that is the colour of pure darkness.
To the left are the very common design trench coats with them being long and rectangular and then large open collars which again adds intimidation. To the very far left is an image of the character Blade from Blade Runner series and I really like the added red fabric on the inside of the jacket. As I've analysed before, Black Beard is often interpreted as either wearing red or black clothes and I've always wondered on how to incorporate both colours. I believe having the inside of the black jacket red is a nice touch and a very bold design.
To the left here are more unique styled trench coats with very gothic designs. Notice the pointed shoulders and turtle-neck collar which defines the shoulders of the figure more to be very broad adding intimidation. Also I love the pattern on the front with almost two different materials going on, the front is pure black leather highlighting the torso and then the rest is a light black with a floral pattern. As well as this the grey and silver buttons is a nice touch and the button s line up in a very 1700s style fashion, which is suitable for my interpretation.
Trench Coats
The first image to the right I like very much the design of this trench coat. The very large pointed collar is intimidating and a style I haven't seen often before. Also I really like the feather details which stick out in tuffs on his shoulders and then go down his chest. The feathers also stick out from the end sleeves making this a very elegant yet scary design. This seems to suite the look the film Pan gave black Beard.
The image on far right next to that I liked as I think the embroidery of the wings on the back was a very nice touch and is a good idea to add to my own design. Instead of wings I could have maybe skulls or something else more related to Black Beard. This simply adds a more personal touch to the design.
To the right below are very unique trench coat designs. I really like the shirt-like large open collars which reveals a lot of the chest, This is a good design for black Beard as this means his beard can flow freely down and not get caught up in his collar. As well as this the belt buckled designs down the chest do the jacket up is a very badass and scary as it resembles chains and is almost like a straightjacket. I found the red design to actually be more intimidating than the one all in black so now I'm wondering if I should make Black Beard wear red.
Tattoos
Many claim sailor William Dampher was largely responsible for re-introducing the art of tattooing to the western world. In the late 1700's, the exploits of Captain Cook were among the most popular stories told in London. After one expedition to the South Seas, Cook returned with a Polynesian named Omai. Like the Painted Prince before him, Omai was also a huge hit in London. This time tattooing caught on as British aristocrats began getting small tattoos on the sly. Tattooing became a bit of a fad, but it was still relatively unattainable for most people because it was a slow, arduous and painful process. In 1891 an inventor named Samuel O'Riley obtained a patent for the very first electric tattooing machine. Based on an invention of Thomas Edison's, the tattoo machine included moving coils, a tube of ink and a needle bar. Today, over a hundred years later, tattoo machines work the same way.
The old fashioned way of tattooing without an electric machine is to use a needle with India ink and manually insert it into your skin. You must sterilize the needle beforehand and you can do this simply by heating it over a candle flame until it glows. Afterwards you dip the needle in the India ink and then insert the needle roughly three layers beneath your skin.
Tattooing can be common in Prisons however since tattooing in prison is illegal in the United States, the inmates do not have the proper equipment necessary for the practice. This forces inmates to find ways to create their own tattooing devices out of their belongings. Improvised tattooing equipment has been assembled from materials such as mechanical pencils, magnets, radio transistors, staples, paper clips or guitar strings. The ink used also needs to be improvised, either taken from pens or made using melted plastic, soot mixed with shampoo, or melted Styrofoam. Prison tattoos are not generally applied free of charge, and the tattooists are normally paid with anything from stamps and cigarettes to actual cash.
I feel if I want to go really creative with Black Beards design then I could give him tattoos which go up his neck and even on his face as that would increase his fear factor and is incredibly intimidating. In modern culture today getting a tattoo on the face is a rare thing and is frowned upon as it associates with gang crime or criminals since they seem to be the only ones who do it.
Believe it or not eye tattoos are possible and can be done in prison. It is done just like traditional method with skin, where you sterilize a needle and dab it with ink. However the eye is a very delicate part of the body and the needle must be placed under a very thin layer on top of the eye, if you go any deeper than it can cause serious injury and worst case blindness. When the ink is underneath the first layer of the eye it forms in a blotch and will then eventually spread out over the eye filling it completely in the inks colour. From watching short interviews and documentaries with prisoners who have had their eyes tattoos it appears the reason for this is mainly because one its 'cool' and two it makes other inmates fear them which is exactly the reaction you want when in prison. To be honest when I look at these guys they all look like demons as blacked out or red eyes are exactly what demons are stereo-typed to have. Black Beard himself was described as appearing as a demon and so I wonder if I was to stretch as far to give him eye tattoos however I'm unsure if that's too crazy and the face tattoos are already pushing it.
When searching for coats in the 1700s I found a Pinterest board of beautiful coats which at first I truly believed were from them times as the patterns on them are very old fashioned and plus the material on them looks dated and worn. However it turned out that these are actually modern coats that were inspired by the 1700s design. This is what inspired me in the first place to instead deter slightly from strictly making outfit ideas be ones that were confirmed to be in 1700s times and instead develop into making them more unique yet still possible to have been created in the 1700s. What I love about the coats below is the patterns on them especially as they are so detailed and makes this makes them look very expensive and treasurable. Also I really like the large neck collars as you can see in the two middle images below. This creates an intimating look which I think would be great for the pirates Black Beard or for François l'Olonnais.
Inspired 1700s Coats
To the left is an illustration of François l'Olonnais from a 1684 edition of The History of the Buccaneers of America. This seems to be his most used image to represent him in many books and websites. However the illustration itself has no factual description backing it, Francois could have appeared something entirely different to this. However as it is his most well-known representation I will use it as basis for my own design. I do very much like the pointed moustache and the rather flat long hair and I will develop on this further. However Francois l’Olainnais was probably one of the most barbaric, corrupt and evil pirates to exist and so for his design I really want this to show through his appearance. He needs to have a very creepy and psychopathic look to him.
Francois L'Olannais
I am a massive fan of the character Dr. Hannibal Lecter who is a character in a series of suspense novels by Thomas Harris. The novels have sparked a film series adaptation of the novels and also a TV show which is loosely based off of the original novels. In the film series the actor Anthony Hopkins plays the role of Hannibal Lecter and his performance earned him an Oscar for best actor.
Before-hand Hopkins studied psychopaths and their behaviour. One feature he picked up on was that the psychopaths hardly blinked and so in his role in the film ‘Silience of the Lambs’ he blinked only once during the entire film, making his stare very chilling. Hopkins really highlighted that facial expression and behaviour are an essential thing in giving off the aura of being psychopathic. The image to the far left is a perfect expression giving off a clear aura of there being something off about him. He is simply staring at the camera and not doing anything out of the ordinary however by just subtly widening his eyes and having a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes gives off a very creepy look and these are important techniques to include in my portrait of Francois .
To the very left of this text is Mad Milkesens take on the role of Hannibal in the TV series adaptation.. In the show Milkesens plays Hannibal before he was capture and named a psychopath. This means Hannibal was undercover and so he hardly let his psychopathic side out and had to act normal to fit in. However Mads was a great actor to play the role as no offence to him, he looks slightly off in his appearance naturally. For example Mads eyes are very dark in colour and this gives off a very dangerous sense, this goes for any character I see in media who's playing a villainous role. For example, the character Dorian Grey who I have based my project around, he has very dark eyes and most of the time they’re pitch black. This naturally gave him a very dead look and a very mysterious feel. As well as that Milkesen lacks eyebrows and although not purposely intended this is a very cool feature to add to the character as it makes him hard to read. Also as it’s a rare thing it naturally makes him very strange and you can’t help but judge him for a moment for being maybe a bit off. It is a very good idea to consider giving L’Olainnois in his portrait.
Hannibal Lecter
Piercings
Piercing the body is dated back to almost 5,000 years ago ranging from the lip and tongue in ancient African cultures, the nose and ears in Israel, and the nipples in Rome. Piercings in ancient times could have signified multiple things such as marks of prostitution, the wealth of the husband and also to prevent demons from entering the mind. Between the 1600s women hairstyles that exposed the ears became popular, and so ear piercing became common in order to decorate the ear with jewellery. The old fashioned method of ear-piercing was to sterilize a needle of a hot flame and then insert it through the earlobe or wherever you wanted the body to be pierced. In the 1700s ear jewellery had not yet been developed to have a back which prevents them from falling out so instead the top of earrings were shaped like hooks.
Francois O'lonnais is depicted as having a moustache in the well-known illistration. According to the guide below the type of moustach he is depicted in having is the Santana moustache. I really like this style and it is actually very sterotypical of french men to have for some reason. I collected a range of images of men with different tpe of moustaches, I am aiming to give O'lainnais a very physopathic look an I wonder if giving him a well groomed moustache makes him too gentleman like however if I wre to roughen it up in the final design then maybe this will loosen the formality of it and actually make him more scruffy looking. Having facial hair is also a good way to highligh any scars in his lower face, maybe he could have a scar on his lip which divides the facial hair which would be, however now Im thinking that's too 'cool'. I guess O'llainois is going to be a diffiicult pportrait to do if I wanter to master giving him a phycopathic aura.
Moustaches
Physcopaths
As Francois O'lonnais was a very rich and wealthy man from rancasicking towns and stealing as much as he could I believe he would wear very expensive jelewery to show off his wealth. I found it really defficult to find any information on 1700 jelwery however a few images came up and I can only hope to believe that they were made in these times. I feel this would be great for the pirates Black Bart or richardO'lannois as first Black Bart was known for wearing a gold necklace and dressing incredibly smaer before every battle and also O'lannois was one of the richest pirates out of them was the one most obsessed in capturing treasure, I feel like he would wear a lot od gold jelwery to boast his wealth.
1700 Jelwery
Naturally Intimidating
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Captain Charles Johnson, the author of a pirate history wrote that Black Beards eyes were "naturally looking fierce". Jason Momoa is a model and actor well-known for his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. He has a very distinguishable face and he naturally has a very harsh and intimidating look to him. One of the main features that make him appear this way is his eyebrows. As you can see they are very triangular and high arched making him naturally look very angry all the time. Not only this but the scar like slit across his left eyebrow is very effective in adding more intimidation as it gives the impression he's been involved in fights. Momao will be a very large inspiration in my design of black beards face as he gives off the exact aura which I want for my design.
I really like the makeup used for Momoa's character Khal Drogo. The black eye shadow around his eyes make them appear hollowcausing him to be naturally evil and scary looking. I find that black makeup around the eyes is a common detail added to pirates in the media. For example Jack Sparrow has thick black makeup around his eyes and Captain Hook from the series Once Upon a Time is also a fan of makeup specifically black eye liner. Adding black around the eyes adds intensity and can also highlight bags and the hollow edges of the skull giving off a very older, heavier and darker look to the person. I will likely add black makeup to my design of Black Beard.
