One of the goals for this project was to stretch a theme as far as possible. I didn't want a bunch of boring variations of red & green and call it a Santa Claus series. So I researched. A lot. I'll open up my Pinterest inspiration board when the doll is complete. Showing everyone my inspiration in advance is no fun :)
Today we have a Renaissance themed Santa Claus.
Another one of my goals was to create as much from scratch as was reasonable, from patterns to brushes to shapes. All of it if I could. I sometimes rely a little too much on awesome patterns I find out in the world. The pattern on the coat started as a drawing on a folded piece of paper (for symmetry). I took a photo of it, opened it in Illustrator, and drew directly over it with the pencil tool. Then, I fiddled with the drawing, reflected it to get the right side of the tree (I had drawn the left), merged it together, and created a repeating pattern. That *sounds* like a lot of work. It really only took about an hour and now I have a nice little tree pattern forever. Totally worth it!
A note about the hat: I haven't done a test cut of these. I'm pretty sure it'll work. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll tinker with it.
Also, Mrs Claus will have a fantastic Renaissance gown tomorrow. Just so you know :)
If you're looking for the dolls, you can grab them here.
I think this might just be my favorite so far. I love the Renaissance period. =D
ReplyDeleteNow if only "Renaissance" weren't so hard to spell...
Thanks! Yeah, I'm not always sure if I spell "Renaissance" correctly :) I like this one a lot, too!!
Deletei'm glad to know i'm not the only one who doesn't always do a proof of concept cut before putting stuff together ~ ha!
ReplyDeletelove the Father Christmas feel for this one. looking forward to seeing how you use that pattern for Mrs. Claus!
I need to make more of a habit of test cutting these. Sometimes the fit is bad and then I fell bad and it all becomes a spiral of bad!!
DeleteThis costume specifically made me think of a lot of depictions of Christmas Present in productions A Christmas Carol. I saw a production of it at a theater in the round once. It was great & has stuck with me!
I love the fur trim. That's fun! (I've really enjoyed this series. I think I've said that already, but it is still true!)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you like this series! It's one of the most ambitious projects I've ever taken on. I don't know how I'll top it next year. But then again, I felt that way about the Kawaii Kids, too.
DeleteAs for the trim, I figured out a great way to create fur in Illustrator so I draw it all the time now! There will be more as the series continues.