Sidetracked by a Story

Sorry I have not been posting in a while. I have taken a break from my sketches for a moment to work on a side project :) I guess all that posting about dolls I have made in the past got me itching to make another. This one is still very much in the works, since she still needs some final touches (like clothes and a better wig), but she is coming along! I learned some new sculpting techniques for her face, which was fun, but I feel like I still have some kinks to work out.

I am also writing a short story for her, with a teaser included below.

Ella was finishing her last bite of a late breakfast when Fershim, Lady Aurelia’s butler, entered and coughed softly. “Good morning Fershim” “Good morning Miss Ella, if you will excuse me, a certain lady has called here several times in your absence, saying it is of great urgency that she speak to you. She returned again this morning, with two young ladies, and though I told her that you returned late last night and were not yet receiving visitors, she insisted I ask you. If you wish I will have them sent away directly” Fershim said. “Did she give her name?” Ella asked, scanning her brain to think of who could need to see her so urgently in Duren. She hadn’t been home in over a year now, between travelling with her father Sir Markan and then as her godmother Lady Aurelia’s companion. “Well, miss, she said that it was Lady Markan…” Fershim trailed off. Ella glanced up quickly, meeting Fershim’s gaze for just a moment before he transferred his to an impersonal study of the ceiling. “Lady Markan”... Ella repeated, then trailed off as well. Her mother had died ten years ago, when Ella was only nine, so if this truly was Lady Markan, it could only mean… Ella broke off her thoughts hastily and said “Tell her I will be down to see her in a moment” Ella said.

Can you guess what color her dress will be? I'll finish up the story and the doll in the next few weeks and then get back to sketches. Until then!

17. Exploring the Ruins

Just like archery, ruins have something magical about them I think. They have a sense of mystery that always hints at an adventure. 

That sense of mystery is heightened when the ruins are in a foreign country, so it is no surprise that when I came across a photo in a National Geographic photography book of some ruins in South America, it sparked my imagination. 

I sketched the photo, and I added a few explorers.

Unfortunately this was before I learned the importance of recording sources, so I can't find or credit the original photo. However, I think it was from the book Through the Lense, which was a beautiful book either way. 

Do you have a photograph that sparks your imagination?

16. Hakama Archer

For some reason I have always found archery very "epic", there is something adventurous and romantic, in the old sense of the word, about it.  

Watching this video also made me think about how the Japanese like to take things from life (like archery or making tea) and turn it into a ritual that centers them and brings spirituality into their life. I think it would be an interesting concept to apply to my own life and also possibly make a cool magic system in a story I might find time to write some day...

This sketch's outfit was inspired by the following image from Albert Racinet's The Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes which is a really great book if you are in to historical or world costumes.

Getting dressed as a samurai looks like a lot of work, but I liked the look of his initial layers, so I took those and played around with it a little. I made up this outfit for a doll, someday I try to post a picture!

And in closing, another cool video of Japanese archery. The second half has better shot angles I think.

15. Fairytale Princess and Imperfection

So this is again not one of my favorite sketches ever. However, I remember when I first started this sketchbook being so scared of sketching something I didn't like and "ruining" the book, that I wouldn't draw anything for several days. In the end I did draw some things that I don't really love, but they didn't ruin the book. I think I have talked about this idea in previous posts, but I think it is so important as a creator of any kind to realize that not everything you make will turn out, but that's OK. Failures allow us to achieve success later on. 

I listened to an interesting TED talk on this subject a while back. You can watch it here. I like the idea that just because we can't do it perfectly yet, that doesn't mean we never will be able to.