Coloring Tamara the Ballerina in Krita

First up, happy June, happy Pride, happy end of the school year! I'm SO ready to be "Summer Mom". Summer Mom does not set an alarm. Summer Mom goes to the lake and the ocean and the museums. Summer Mom plans fun activities and random lunches. Summer Mom is GREAT, for all of us. Things will be a little bit different this year. My oldest got his very first summer job. He's already started working on the weekends and seems to be enjoying it. Next year my youngest will be old enough to join him. That will be a whole new experience for all of us! I'm less in the "existential dread" phase of parenting now. Last year was tough on me and last summer felt like an ominous LAST SUMMER. This year, not so much. My kids are good people. What more can I ask for?! (I mean, taking care of their own dishes would be great...)

This week, while the kids are still in school, I decided to jump into Krita. If you didn't see it last week, I tested out a feature in Krita where I easily extracted the line art from from an image. I was VERY impressed. Sometimes free or open source or cheap software is, well, not great. I was so impressed with the line art extraction that I decided to color the whole page in Krita.

I wanted to try Krita because it's open source. One of my core beliefs about art is that it's ALWAYS accessible. All you really need is a way to make marks and a surface to place those marks. That's it. Paper and pencil - great. Paint and canvas - also great. Tablet and software - find a price point that works for you and go for it. Most of us have some kind of computing device at this point. I work on a refurbished iPad Pro, an XP-Pen Artist Pro 24 inch monitor on a gaming PC, and, lest we forget, a very expensive and stupid all-apps Adobe subscription. That's my setup today but I've worked with a lot less in the past.

And you can, too. 

This is where I left off last week. I had Tamara the Ballerina from Paperdoll Review ready to color. Line art on one layer, ready to go. I'll admit to a bit of a learning curve with Krita. It's a bit different than Photoshop or Procreate, or other drawing software that I've used. Not TOO different but enough. I played around with it for 15 minutes or so, just to get a feel for it. I stuck to default brushes and colors for this run-through.

I tinkered with the workspace a bit until I found a configuration I was happy with. I like my swatches and brushes on the left and my layers on the right. I don't know why. I just do! I also started closing panels that I didn't need in the right-hand side of the screen. The color palette that I used is the Concept Cookie swatches but there are other palettes available. Brushes are awesome! There are loads of default brushes and I just kept playing with them until I found ones I sort of liked. None of the default brushes felt quite like the ones I use in Procreate or Sketchbook Pro but they were nice regardless. I found myself blending which isn't normally something I do and I'm not crazy about it.

This is a fault with me, not Krita. I'm sure I could replicate my workflow using either default tools or community tools. There's a thriving Krita community worth checking out.

 

Here's a close-up of my unblended colors. Once I did blend them they were a bit too smooth. That got better as I continued to try other tools. 

Here's the doll, colored and blended. I redrew the lips on a layer above the line art. Black lips bother me! 

At first, Krita felt kind of meh. The rotation dials on my monitor didn't work. Almost all of the shortcuts were different but also logical so that was ok. The eyedropper/color picker is P instead of I. The bucket fill is F instead of G. And so on. Also, I had to dig for a few things, like the hue/saturation. Once I found it, it was great and worked well. This wasn't a Photoshop or Procreate replacement. 

The game changer, though, was accidentally right-clicking on my mouse.

I'm kind of retro - I like having a keyboard and mouse along with my drawing tablet. I rarely use the buttons on my stylus, whether it's on my PC or on my iPad. So while I was scrolling along, I accidentally right-clicked and this fantastic wheel popped up. I have never seen anything like this! 

Here's an image from the Krita user manual showing all of the details. The manual has a whole section about using Krita after using other software, like Photoshop. It's great! 

This little wheel does everything! Wanna rotate your canvas? Drag the little slider at the top. Toggle colors - that's tucked into the back. A mini color picker wheel, color history, favorite (or recent? I'm not sure) brushes....this thing had it ALL! The only thing I couldn't really do from here was set the blend mode of my brushes and that was barely an issue. Once I found this, my whole workflow sped up significantly!

And if that wasn't enough, there are also vector tools for adding tabs! I didn't use that this time. I will in the future.  

 So the TL;DR on Krita:

 Pros:

• Great default color palettes
• A nice variety of interesting brushes
• Straightforward and customizable interface with more tools than I'll ever need! 
• Easily extract line art onto a transparent background
• Vector tools
• Broad compatibility, available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and there might be a clunky Android port although it isn't available for iPad so that might be a con for some 
• POP-UP PALETTE! 
• PRICE is FREE!  

Cons (all very minor):

• Shortcuts are different if you've used other software, like Photoshop. Easy to figure out and re-learn
• Large, many-paneled interface can be a bit confusing but adapts with ease
• Adjustments are under the Filters menu and tools in general might not be where you would expect them to be
• Vector tools are not exactly intuitive and I need to experiment with that some more 

This is really the first open source art software that I can see myself really getting into. If you have a Mac or PC and a drawing tablet of any sort, check it out. If you do try it, let me know what you think!   

   

Extracting Lineart with Krita

I've been lucky enough to collaborate with artists and art estates over the last few years. One thing I've done quite a bit is digitally coloring lineart. The first of these was Stripes! by David Wolfe which I colored in Sketchbook Pro on my Surface Pro 3.

I've colored several books with Brenda Sneathen Mattox, including one of her lovely brides, which was colored in Procreate on my iPad.

You can see these and more collaborations (as well as my paper dolls) at Paperdoll Review.

One of the challenges with coloring projects is how to work with the lineart. The obvious answer is to set lineart to Multiply on one layer, and color underneath it. And that's often ok. But other times, I need to have more flexibility. Sometimes I go through the somewhat tedious process of masking away the white of the page but I leave the white within the lineart. It takes time but it's worth it when I need to color, tab, and layout. I like to have my line art for each individual outfit organized into groups in Photoshop: lineart on one layer with colors in layers under that (often in a sub-group) and then tabs, also contained in a group.

It sounds WAY more complicated than it actually is! 

I've been looking for a better way to extract lineart and I think I stumbled upon a great shortcut in an app ("program" for the elder millennials and older, like me!!) called Krita. 

Krita is an open-source art app available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Yes, even Linux! What that means is it's FREE! I'll admit, I don't know much about it because I'm just starting tinkering with it, but what I've seen so far is pretty great. In less than a minute (LITERALLY), I can extract line art onto a transparent layer.

I'm using the Tamara the Ballerina freebie from Paperdoll Review to test this out. If you also end up coloring this, send it over to Jenny at Paperdoll Review (info@paperdollreview.com). She'd love to see it! 

Anyway, I grabbed the PDF from Paperdoll Review. I was able to open the PDF directly in Krita without going through the process of extracting the image in Adobe Acrobat, so that was already a time-saver. Not every art app can directly open a PDF. Just open Krita, go to File>Open and search for your file. 

Once open, go to Filter>Colors>Colors to Alpha. You'll see a pop-up color picker. I don't know what that does yet...I just leave it on default. Click Ok and you'll have black lineart on a transparent layer.

Here's a close-up at about 200% zoom. Look at how great that is!! It seriously took longer to write about it than it did to do it. Maybe there's an easy way to do the same thing in Photoshop but I haven't found it yet. I've tried using Channels but that just doesn't quite work for me. There are still some stray marks and some of the paper texture is still visible if you look really closely. Overall, though, I think this might become a regular part of my art arsenal. And for FREE! I cannot emphasize that enough! Digital art should be accessible and apps like this really help level the playing field.  

Will you try Krita? Should I color in this lovely lady and learn how to use Krita at the same time? The answer is OF COURSE I should, so stay tuned for that. 

And thank you to Paperdoll Review for this beautiful freebie!  Happy coloring :)

 

Morgantown 2025

What a fun time! The Morgantown paper doll party was a blast! This year's theme was Think Pink. I drove down on Thursday to visit with Jenny and a bunch of other early birds. Friday was a day spent out & about with the actual party on Saturday.

 

Jenny and I shared a table. I didn't have a lot of new art this time. It's been a bit hectic lately but I do have some things in the works...! I never take enough pictures at these events - I'm always busy catching up with old friends and making new friends. This time was no different! 

I was asked to design the souvenir doll, which was great fun! Jayne Keller created a black & white coloring sheet as well as the dress-a-doll. Linda Ocasio wrote up a very nice essay on the color pink. The whole day was very well organized and oodles of fun. 

Each table at lunch had a lovely centerpiece designed by Andrea Johnson. I was the lucky winner of the one at our table! How fantastic is this?! 

I'm not a big collector, although I always seem to come home with treasures! Working from right to left here's what I picked up. First, Laura and Sara had a lovely tribute for Ralph included a reprint of one of his paper dolls for all of us. Kwei-Lin had a funky and fun freebie sheet as well as a coloring station. Next, is a Peck-Gandre Alice in Wonderland. I have a growing collection of Peck-Gandre/Peck-Aubrey paper dolls that I wanted as a kid and never got! The artist, Linda Peck, has a website where she sells digital downloads. In the back row, I found two "around the world" themed paper dolls: Children 'Round the World (reproductions are available at Paperdoll Review) and Dress Up for the World's Fair. Next, a really cute book of School Children, with six dolls. In front of that, two pantine/jointed dolls by Mercury Nightstone, who joined us for the first time at the party! And finally, the souvenirs in a cute bag. 

 

I also have a Golden Magazine in excellent shape from the freebie table and an immaculate copy of Dolls and Doll Houses from 1959. I love paper doll how-to books and kits. Despite the fact that the paper doll section of this one is slim, I still needed it! 

Let's take a closer look at some of these fun goodies! 

This is the back and front cover of School Children from 1975. These dolls are delightfully adorable and retro and I am in love1

A close-up of Nancy, one of the six paper dolls on the back cover.

The interior has this great grid layout on every page. It's so simple but so clever! It feels more like a 1960s book than a mid-70s book so maybe it's a reissue. Regardless, I love this style! 

Next up, Dress Up for the World's Fair.

This book commemorates the 1964-1965 World's Fair in New York. I immediately loved the cover! The typography, the art, the layout - it's all terrific. 

The dolls are Peter and Wendy. Is that an accident or a reference to Peter Pan? Either way, I really like this art style as well.

I love the detail in all of the world costumes. Each page also includes photos of actual buildings or exhibits from the World's Fair. Even the handwriting is wonderful!

And finally, a quick peek at the Golden Magazine.

I haven't seen many Golden Magazines. There were before my time! But every one of them is full of amazing illustrations. I would have LOVED this as a kid! 

 

Mother's Day is this weekend, so here's a "ham" loaf recipe! As far as vintage 60s recipes go, I've seen worse!  It's kid-friendly for sure.

 

And this amazing calendar at the end!

 

Oh, and one more thing...

 

I know she's a bit shiny, but Mercury's alien doll and No AI Art sticker both have a home on my cork board! Fabulous!

Nostalgia, Paper Dolls, Plastic, and Toilet Paper

What kind of title is that?! Toilet paper???? 

This is a convoluted story and it will all make sense by the end. I promise. 

I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately. Everything feels much more difficult than it should. I'm having a lot of imposter syndrome where I just don't feel like I'm good at anything anymore, especially drawing. And that's ok. Feelings like this come and go. Things around here have been rather hectic. Taking a break is perfectly fine. So I decided to take a paper doll off of my shelf and play with it.

These are TOYS, after all!

This is the Star Originals Designer Set published in 1991 by Western Publishing. There are other ones in this series, including a bride. I had this one as a kid, forgot about it, and then saw it at the Philadelphia party in 2023. (I never wrote about that party for some reason....2023 was a VERY slim year for writing on the ol' blog. I'm not sure why!) My reaction to seeing this was pure "core memory unlocked" as my dear teens would say. One minute, I had no clue that this was a thing and then next, BOOM, I'm 11 again playing with it. 

The kit consists of a large doll - about 13 inches from head to shoes - stickers, tissue paper, a full sheet of color clothing, a clear crayon, and an instructions sheet with templates and clothing to color. 

Take a close look at those images - the fashions are amazing late 80s/early 90s concoctions! Really wild stuff...

So today I thought it would be fun to craft some clothing for my doll without using the things in the kit. I want to leave most of the kit as-is, and really, all I need is the doll. 

And paper. Toilet paper.

Here's the next part of my silly story....

I've been trying to reduce my plastic use. This isn't something totally new. I've tried for years to move away from single-use items but plastic specifically. I'm not here to preach about plastic usage - it's something that's bothering me and I'm making small changes where I can. The first room on my hit list is the bathroom. I'm testing out shampoo and conditioner in aluminum bottles. I've made the switch to soap bars instead of body wash and face scrubs. And we're experimenting with bamboo toothbrushes. I'm trying to be mindful and more aware, not perfect. The kids think I'm nuts but they're on board with the understanding that everything is a discussion not an edict.

That's where the toilet paper comes in. 

I'm trying out a brand that comes wrapped in awesome printed papers.  (Disclaimer bits: I'm not paid to share this. This is definitely not an ad! They don't know that I even exist!! This is just something I'm trying out on my own.) The paper has such a rad 80s vibe to it that I started saving it so that I could use it with my equally rad plastic paper doll.

See? Full circle story! 

I used the doll as a stencil on some light card stock. The kit has instructions for making clothing but I wanted something more "paper doll" and not glued or taped directly to the doll. Because the toilet paper wrapper is thin, I glued it to the light card stock.

I gave myself about an hour to do this. It was so much fun that I kept going! I really had to pull myself away and have lunch! 

I ended up with two dresses, a pair of shorts, and two tops. I dipped into my paper stash to round out the collection.

This dress took me the longest. I combined three papers and some sparkly washi tape that matches the shoes. I struggled with folding the paper ore than I'd like to admit!

A bit of shiny gold paper left over from a previous project. It's boring but also a good base.
 

And then two tops - one accented with more washi tape and the other has some sticker gemstones. 

Is this the best project I've ever worked on? NOPE! Was it super fun? YUP! It's great to actually work with my hands because so much of what I do is digital. The best way to learn how to create a paper doll is with paper and scissors. Really get in there and PLAY. 

Maybe I'll bring this set out from time to time and just play! 

If anyone out there is playing with their paper dolls, I'd love to see it!

Dear Ralph, Dearly Missed

 

 The art form I love is a sort of ephemera, something that is here for a moment and then lost. I suppose people are, too, even if those people are lucky enough to see most of a century.

Ralph Hodgdon died yesterday, on April 1st, at the age of 90. He’d probably have a scathing quip about both the age and the day! “Don’t tell them your age, dahling!”, he said to me on more than one occasion. Age doesn’t bother me. I think you have to have an old soul to love paper dolls.

Ralph was the first paper doll artist I ever met, and I remember the day I met him. Laura Cushing had tracked down my landline phone number, the one I turned on specifically for my grandmother who was living with us at the time. I didn’t know it then, but Laura brought me into the paper doll world at exactly the time I needed it the most. This isn’t that story even though that’s a great story, and I’ve told it many, many times.

Laura invited me to a local paper doll party. I was a bit nervous, so I grabbed my mother and we made the drive to Plymouth. I’m one of those extroverted introverts – I’m a talker, for sure, but my preference is to be alone. I’m not great at joining groups or being a part of a community. I’m still working on it. But I went anyway. It was the day Megan Markle married Prince Harry – May 19th, 2018. I remember this because it was running on the TV in the background during our meet-up! Everyone was very welcoming and I really had nothing to be nervous about. Paper doll people are the best people. I remember Ralph was kind to me and he held court that day in his usual way. Cheerful, boisterous, witty, and charming.

After that, I attended other local parties. At one of them, I gave a demonstration on digital art, drawing on my computer and projecting to a screen for everyone to watch while I explained a bit of what I was doing. Ralph later said to me, “Dahling, I don’t understand how you do it, but you do it beautifully!”.

Everyone was “dahling” to Ralph.

I didn’t know him as long or as closely as other folks did. I had no idea what a pillar he was in the Boston art scene and gay community until long after I met him. To me, he was a great artist and inspiration. He always had a kind word for my art. I saw him at parties and conventions, and even had the privilege of visiting his home twice, which was a shrine to the things he adored.

He loved to tell stories, especially celebrity stories. They didn’t mean a whole lot to me. I’m not really into movies all that much but he had a passion for the classics! It was hard not to be a little bit in love with Vivian Leigh or Marlene Dietrich after a day with Ralph.

Ralph loved this niche art form and he loved the people who make it, collect it, and cherish it. His sharp wit, glamorous tales, and beautiful art will be greatly missed. Thank you for being so kind to me, Ralph. I’m a better artist because I was lucky enough to know you, however briefly. Rest easy, dahling!

Fashion Doll - Bold Florals for March, Page 4

How is it APRIL next week?! Can't even handle it... 

My husband was traveling for work last week and I thought FOR SURE I'd get loads of things done. No. No, I did not. I lost one whole day to a headache and a lot of afternoons were spent shuttling the teens to and fro. Some smaller things did get wrapped up, so that's good, but I still have entire books to make and haven't gotten to it yet.

In the spirit of "getting things done", I've wrapped up this bold florals paper doll series. I like this doll and the patterns - I may revisit this in the future. The doll is here, the second page is here, and the third is here. 

Click on the image for full resolution. Feel free to download and print.

 

I'm really trying to make more time to draw and work on the blog. For reference, this post marks 13 for this year - as much as I posted ALL of last year. It's hard to build back a habit but I'm trying. 

 

I'm not sure what's next up on the blog. April might be a bit tricky because my calendar is already filling up. Gotta stop procrastinating and start producing....!  

Fashion Doll - Bold Florals for March, Page 3

Things are getting so much more spring-like here and I love it. The days are a bit longer, mornings are a bit brighter, and we're even getting some green shoots in the backyard. It's been a bit hectic this week - my husband is traveling for work so the kids & I are on our own. Having a second adult makes life SO much easier! I'll have to make sure to tell him that when he gets back....!

I'm keeping with the bold florals again this week and next week. I'm honestly not sure if I'll get anything together for April. I have some deadlines I need to hit and the Morgantown paper doll party is coming up. (Are you going? You can register here or print a form here. I'll be there!) 

I also just bought the newest version of Clip Studio Pro. I'd like to learn a few other programs besides the Adobe suite and share what I learn. I bought a version of Clip Studio Pro ages ago but never really played around with it enough. Gotta make some time to do that! 

Click on the image for full resolution. Feel free to download and print.

While working on this set, I tested the mix & match capabilities with the previous two sets and I'm pretty happy with it. The color scheme is an interesting mix and I like the bold flowers in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can grab the doll page here and the second page here. Let me know what you think of the series!

Updates to Josephine

I rarely go back and look at older work. Partly, it's the cringe factor and partly it's because any time I'm looking back, I'm not moving forward. I probably should once in a while just to make sure I am, in fact, moving forward! This time, I'm looking back through my Josephine files because of a special request to make them more printable.

First, it was fun to re-open all of those files and update the most egregious errors, mostly my terrible tabs! Second, I was working on a Surface Pro at the time, learning how to use that and Photoshop while now I mostly work on an iPad in Procreate. My skill level has definitely improved with more practice AND better equipment! And finally, skimming over the text of each blog post was a bit nostalgic. These were created in 2017, a year that began a really monumental shift in my life. I didn't know it then and that shows in the writing. I'm not sure why I stopped creating for Josephine. Likely the shift in my life or maybe I got bored. Or both. 

Each Josephine post now includes both the original art and the updated pages with a white background. If you'd like it in book form, it's available here with some outfits that are exclusive to the book.  I don't plan on going back through the 13 years of this blog and updating things - it's very time consuming!! Maybe once in a while but this was a very special project at a very interesting point in my life.

Josephine Page 1

Josephine Page 2

Josephine Page 3

Josephine Page 4

Josephine Page 5

Josephine Page 6

Josephine Page 7

Josephine Page 8

Josephine Page 9

Josephine Page 10

Josephine Page 11

Josephine Page 12

Josephine Special Edition

Josephine Page 13

Josephine Page 14

Josephine Page 15

Josephine Page 16

Josephine Page 17

Josephine Page 18

Josephine Page 19

 

 

Fashion Doll - Bold Florals for March, Page 2

I have another page of bold mix and match florals for today. This set is becoming sort of vaguely 60s-ish. That wasn't the intention - there was no real intention - but that's where it's heading. I'm hoping to keep this up for the rest of the month. Not sure what's next after this. You can grab the doll here and everything should mix and match perfectly!

Click on the image for full resolution. Feel free to download and print.

Sometimes I have a plan but I'm finding myself a little less organized lately. Maybe it's the spontaneity of the teens. Lots of last minute rides to outings and such. I do have things in the works: several book ideas, a couple of commissions, etc. I haven't made time for drawing workshops lately, either, because things have just been too hectic. I'm hoping to cook up a series of something for April. There are already jury duty dates and doctor's appointments on the books so we'll see.

 

I'm also getting organized for Morgantown in May! It should be a great time and I and very much looking forward to it.

Fashion Doll - Bold Florals for March

It is somehow the longest and fastest year ever simultaneously. Somehow, it's already March! I now have two teens in my house - my youngest son turned 13 over the weekend. I started this blog just a few months after he was born as a way to keep myself grounded in a sense of not-mom. Now, thirteen years later, I have two teens who are starting to have their own lives, leaving me with a whole different identity crisis! Who am I after kids? How do I fill this time that I suddenly have? Don't worry - I absolutely manage to fill it! 

One of my goals for this year is to post more sets on the blog. These one-page sets or short series help me practice and refine my technique. I have loads of programs I'd like to test out both on the iPad and on my desktop. I've also had questions about workflow and publishing: can I complete the whole process on an iPad, can I complete it all in Procreate, what other apps, etc... So I want to continue experimenting.

Can a paper doll be completed start to finish in Procreate? For me it's a no. I find the selection and move tools to be utterly useless in Procreate. The app simply isn't able to rotate without a serious loss of crispness. It's always pixelated and blurry when I try. I also used vector shapes to create tabs and I just don't think tabs would be as sharp in Procreate.

 

Click on the image for full resolution. Feel free to download and print.

 

Procreate automatically records a time-lapse unless it's toggled off and I thought it would be fun to include that here. My oldest son is taking film at the high school and he's teaching me how to use Premier Pro! In the video you'll see that I used a hair color chart. I grabbed that on Pinterest via DeviantArt.

I really liked the Jester paper doll from last week and I didn't feel like starting over completely. Instead, I changed a few things. I work in layers (a LOT of layers) and that makes changes easy. I kept the pose, the skin color, the shoes, and face pretty much the same. I drew new hair, made the base outfit a mini dress, and changed the eye color using the hue/saturation adjustment tool. All total, it took less than 4 hours to turn this whole doll around, from editing to sketching to coloring to layout. And that includes preparing the patterns in Photoshop for use in Procreate. 

The patterns are from Nadia Grapes and the now defunct Design Cuts site. I think of patterns like this like fabric - sure I COULD design it myself but there are so many beautiful patterns out by artists with much stronger skills than mine for me to buy. And I have TONS and TONS of patterns and brushes and fonts just sitting on my hard drive, begging to be used. 

For the clothing, I let the patterns sort of inform the design. I did, however, come across this fabulous sewing pattern cover and LOVED the pants and short sleeved blouse. 

Anyway, my plan for this month it to add a sheet each week to go with this set. I couldn't come up with a clever title. Maybe you have one to share! Look for another page next week!

Jester Paper Doll in Color

 This is going live a bit later than I would like. My week has been filled to the brim with kid stuff! Initially, I wanted to take about my layer management and how I use that to color, what my workflow is, etc, etc. Yeah, that didn't happen. In fact, I finished coloring and laying this out on Friday morning when I had every intention of having it ready to go last night. 

Having said all of that, it's finished and I wouldn't miss the "kid stuff" for the world!

 Feel free to expand this image to full resolution, right-click to save and print.

I like the doll here quite a bit. Her face is slightly too wide and her eyes might be slightly too big but I can live with both of those things. I think I might just reuse the doll for a new page next week, maybe begin a series! That would be fun...

The colors overall look more dull than I would like. I'd like to go in and push up the saturation a bit to make it all more vivid. The dress is ok. Both the dress and the collar have a tentacle look to them - I need to figure out how to make pointy drapery thingies better. I had the same issue with my 2023 holiday card. Also, I completely hate the shorts. I didn't like them as I was drawing them, then I thought I could save them with some coloring trickery. Nope. Still hate. And that's ok. The beautiful thing about these one-page sets is that I can practice! Practice and failure are the keys to learning and growing.  I am, however, happy with the accidental movement in the torso of the doll due to my poorly drawn pattern! It gives her pose a twist. I do love a happy accident. 

If you have any random themes you'd like to see, just send them my way!

 

Using Paper Doll Templates

 In the post last week, I shared some paper doll templates I'm working on. It's something I've wanted to do for a while. Blank canvases and pages scare me a lot more than they used to and these seemed like a fun way to tackle that. 

This week, I put them to use! One I'm using for a project that isn't quite ready yet. The other is the paper doll at the end of the post. 

After sketching out all of the pose parts, I went into Procreate and lined each part individually. Each arm, leg, etc, was lined and placed on its own layer. It was tedious but didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. Everything needed to align correctly so that I'd have a closed shape at the end of it. Once I lined the sketches, I popped them into Photoshop. 

I'm not a fan of Procreate's selection, move, and rotate tools. No matter what setting I use, the image ends up blurry. If I need to do any of that I either plan on re-drawing it or do it in Photoshop. That's what I did here - instead of re-drawing each arm, I flipped and aligned them in Photoshop.

 

Here are all of the various layer groups, named in a way that made sense to me. I ended up with 27 possible poses because the downward arm has two hand options. 

On the left, all of my layers turned on. On the right, lines are colored to show the separate layers.

I really, really wanted to draw a doll for this week but I had NO inspiration! I've been playing a lot of video games lately (mostly Animal Crossing). My husband just started playing a card game called Balatro and it looked kinda fun so I grabbed the mobile version for me and the kids to try on our phones.  

We're all addicted now. We talk about it at dinner. We discuss runs and strategies. It's an obsession! 

 These are my sons, sitting head to head playing and comparing strategies! 

And it occurred to me that jesters and jokers would make for a fun paper doll. I don't think I've done anything like that before! 

Here's my jester! As always, click on it for full resolution and right-click to save and print. Everything will layer over the dress except for the shorts. I'm not sure I'm crazy about those and may rework that before I color it.

Let me know what you think! I'm hoping to have the color version of this ready for next week...if I can pull myself away from the game....