Only one week in to my new schedule and I feel lamentably behind. But not for lack of working, I promise! In fact, I spent the lion's share of the weekend drawing so many dolls! Click on the image at the right to see the evidence with more clarity.
I've really been struggling with my doll anatomy and proportions for a very long time. Generally when I draw people, they tend to be on the short and compact side. I have a bad habit of making their legs stubby and their torsos too big. I learned how to draw paper dolls from studying the massive body of work by Tom Tierney, learning especially how to handle hands and feet from his simple, effective linework. But I've always tried to avoid having my dolls look like his and in the end, the plain truth is that his proportions are pretty perfect and by avoiding scaling my dolls like his, I've basically been shooting myself in the foot.
So I drew 11 dolls this weekend, based on his style (anatomy-wise and also mimicking his large "stand" for their feet). On the one hand, I look at these and think: geez, they look like copies because the poses are so similar (especially the women). That makes me cranky. On the other hand, they're kind of nice-looking, generally, and it's rare for me to be pleased enough with my dolls to actually follow through on them (in case you hadn't noticed).
I'm going to continue working on these for the time being. Some of them need adjusting still (and a few I haven't decided arm positions just yet). And then next weekend I am hoping to go on a doll-making binge. And if you are still wondering when, oh when, am I ever going to get around to the clothing, I promise I have amassed a collection of reference materials the likes of which you cannot begin to imagine ~ and that once I am finally satisfied with the dolls there will be more clothes than you'll know what to do with!
2010 is my year of getting things done. Hang in there with me!
I've really been struggling with my doll anatomy and proportions for a very long time. Generally when I draw people, they tend to be on the short and compact side. I have a bad habit of making their legs stubby and their torsos too big. I learned how to draw paper dolls from studying the massive body of work by Tom Tierney, learning especially how to handle hands and feet from his simple, effective linework. But I've always tried to avoid having my dolls look like his and in the end, the plain truth is that his proportions are pretty perfect and by avoiding scaling my dolls like his, I've basically been shooting myself in the foot.
So I drew 11 dolls this weekend, based on his style (anatomy-wise and also mimicking his large "stand" for their feet). On the one hand, I look at these and think: geez, they look like copies because the poses are so similar (especially the women). That makes me cranky. On the other hand, they're kind of nice-looking, generally, and it's rare for me to be pleased enough with my dolls to actually follow through on them (in case you hadn't noticed).
I'm going to continue working on these for the time being. Some of them need adjusting still (and a few I haven't decided arm positions just yet). And then next weekend I am hoping to go on a doll-making binge. And if you are still wondering when, oh when, am I ever going to get around to the clothing, I promise I have amassed a collection of reference materials the likes of which you cannot begin to imagine ~ and that once I am finally satisfied with the dolls there will be more clothes than you'll know what to do with!
2010 is my year of getting things done. Hang in there with me!
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