Tag Archives: Drawing

the paper-doll project

10/01/2013 5:00 am \ 44 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve been thinking about things for the year ahead. Apart from continuing to make all my own clothes, I mean… that’s a given 😉
It’s fun to set little goals to think about and complete. I like list-making and box-ticking, if that explains anything.

So, this year I am going to wear only my own self-made clothes, and sketch the outfit I am wearing each day in my Fashionary. I’ve written before how much I enjoyed and was thoroughly inspired by Natalie Purschwitz’s journey, and this is kind of a homage to her Makeshift project. Although Natalie made her own shoes as well as her clothes; which blows my tiny mind!! So needless to say, making my own shoes is way beyond me. Actually it’s probably impossible in Perth.
However I can do the clothes! and document them.
I’m calling this the paper-doll project.

1-9 January

The outfit on the right was drawn on white paper separately and then stuck on with stickytape afterwards… this is because my first attempt at drawing that skirt underneath looked horrendously weird. Awful. Since I completely suck at drawing. I’m hoping this project will change that.

However, I did like the way the white paper stuck on top made my outfit look just like it is; an all-white outfit, and not just like I had forgotten to colour it in. So I started drawing all the other white garments on white paper, and sticking them in for other days.

So practice makes perfect and hopefully my drawing skills will improve and… oh, who am I kidding; I just like fiddling about with paper and scissors and coloured pencils and sticky-tape, doodling fashion-y type stuff. Playing fashion designer! I loooooved paper dolls as a child. This is fun!

The hairstyle on each paper-doll is the hairstyle I had for that day too. Since I basically rotate between three hairstyles; ponytail, “out” and messy bun (day 8) then this shouldn’t be too challenging to draw 🙂
The other reason I am doing this: well, apart from fun, and does there need to be any other reason, really?? of course no. But I started out using my Fashionary as a brain-storming and planning tool for my future creations. But it didn’t take long for me to notice something of a downer; only about half the things I’d drawn as a firm “yes” for a future project, actually end up looking like I initially planned. I’ve found that by the time I finally get the fabric and the patterns out and get going I’ve often mentally moved on and incorporate a whole host of little changes!! There is no point in showing examples here, suffice to say they are many!

It’s cheering to see the creations that did get made but the drawings of things that might have been but are not and never will be; are a bit sad, like wasted space and wasted effort. This year my Fashionary is going to reflect the clothes I actually am making, and choosing to wear. 🙂
(I didn’t put in any links to the construction posts with photos, but I can do that if it is useful to anyone 🙂 )

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: drawing, Fashionary, paper-doll project

Fashionary

10/02/2012 5:18 am \ 23 Comments \ Carolyn

Thank you for those compliments on my sketch in the previous post; but I have to own up right now that I’m not really much of an artist… I cheated! 🙂
My “artistry” is all thanks to the Fashionary….

I first heard of the Fashionary about two years ago and immediately got one for myself and one for Cassie that Christmas (and posted about here). I bought them here; and if you click on that link you can see how other truly artistic people are producing absolutely beautiful fashion drawings like mini works of art in their Fashionarys, compared to my very basic sketches depicting my prosaic little sewing plans in a practical manner without frills nor spills. That is pretty much why I do not usually post my pictures of my own rather ordinary sketches up here….
But I still use it to mock up most of my ideas before they get made, and I looove to play with it!
Why?
well first and foremost, it is fun! It’s like being in kindergarten all over again, except in a grown-up and (ahem) acceptably adult format…. It caters to that wannabe fashion designer inside of me, yet dispenses with that pesky requirement to have any actual drawing talent…
Since it is so easy! Just like doing dot-to-dot drawings when you were a teeny kiddy…
Most of the notebook comprises pages of these templates of figures; 3 to each single page. You can get a female one or a male one. They are drawn in with very faint red dots; like so…
and since I realise they are very faintly drawn in and you might not be able to see them very well, I have pencilled one in to show it off better…

When a new sewing plan or outfit or something starts to transpire in my head, or maybe if I am toying with ideas, then it is sketching time, and even better; colouring-in time…
Here’s one I prepared earlier 🙂 (it’s unrecognisable, but the one on the left is supposed to be my Sunset maxi-dress, lol!)

And a hint of autumnal things to come 😉

Cassie, a far more well-organised person than her mother, also keeps samples of the fabrics along with her sketches, and actually remembers to take it shopping with her. This is an excellent idea that I really must adopt too… would take the guesswork out of thread and button matching…

I find my Fashionary useful to keep me on the straight and narrow, to keep me to my fabric and sewing “promises” to myself if you like. The act of drawing up my design sort of commits me to it. Like, there it is all drawn up and coloured in, now I have to make it happen!
Once I’ve completed sewing the garment I put a little tick beside it, thus satisfying my list-keeping-and-ticking-things-off tendencies.
And, did I mention it is fun?

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Cassie, drawing, Fashionary, inspiration

“Rooster”, a drawing

26/10/2010 3:00 am \ 12 Comments \ Carolyn

Of course my first love is sewing, but very occasionally from time to time, I dabble in other creative stuff.
This is a pencil drawing I did for my father’s birthday a few years back. Mum and Dad now have it hanging in their kitchen, and I took these photos the last time I visited them down in the country.
I know we have an abundance of livestock here in our house already, but if I could be allowed to have just a few more I would choose to get some chooks. We always had them in our garden when I was growing up and my parents still keep chooks today. I love their attitude; they are such busy, comfortable, bustling sort of birds. Their gentle grandmotherly clucking is a very soothing sound to have in the background. Plus they are productive. And a good way to dispose of kitchen scraps. Maybe one day…
Funny memories: we always named our chickens. This sometimes caused problems, particularly when a favourite was being served up for dinner. “But we can’t possibly eat Ophelia!” would go up the protest. After a while Mum and Dad learnt to keep quiet about that aspect of farming.
In later years and when my own children were staying over with Granny and Grandpa for a holiday, no one would breathe a word about the absence of Fang or Fluffy from the chook pen, and the subsequent appearance of roast chicken on the dinner table. One learns to deal with it…!