Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, while working on his novels, did not limit himself to mere verbal descriptions of characters. His numerous manuscripts reveal another facet of his creativity: he created graphic sketches of heroes, architectural elements, and engaged in calligraphy.

The writer used pencil or pen for his drawings. The first such sketches appeared in the margins of "Notes from the House of the Dead." The manuscript of "Crime and Punishment" is particularly rich in illustrations, where one can see images of many characters, from Sonia Marmeladova to the old moneylender.

The manuscripts of the novels "The Idiot," "Demons," and "The Brothers Karamazov" are also abundant with portraits of heroes. Some of them still spark debates: it is unclear whom Dostoevsky depicted, fictional characters or real acquaintances.

The author also drew his literary colleagues, such as Belinsky and Turgenev, as well as famous rulers and philosophers. The features of these people sometimes transferred to his characters. For example, the sketch of Prince Myshkin resembles portraits of the philosopher René Descartes, known for his phrase "I think, therefore I am."

In Dostoevsky's manuscripts, one can find not only portraits. He loved to depict urban landscapes, sharp spires of roofs, towers reaching for the sky, and windows with stained glass. His drawings easily reveal Gothic elements of famous European cathedrals. There are particularly many such images in "Demons," although the action of the novel takes place in a small provincial town.

In Fyodor Mikhailovich's notes, one can also find his calligraphic exercises. He experimented with handwriting: illegible and angular letters were replaced by elegant flourishes.

These sketches and calligraphic experiments helped the writer more accurately recreate the characters' traits and details of future works.