I recently began working on an art doll and you can see where I began here.
Now, lying amongst the silks and satins on my cutting table, sometimes she looks dejected …
… sometimes she looks hopeful …
She has a strong personality despite her SpongeBob Squarepants body shape. But she’s waiting quietly while I take the time to design and tailor her clothing.
I had always planned to design and print the fabric for the underskirt, so using photoshop to blend multiple layers of texture and color I finally end up with a fabric design that looks like rusted antique lace; nothing like what I had first envisaged.
But the visual complexity and texture seem appropriate; she seems to have ancient wisdom and knowing in her eyes. A fabric to reflect her spirit seems appropriate. It prints out beautifully onto habotai silk; no rough cotton for this little red headed girl.
And so on to auditioning threads for the embellishments. Because this story is all about embellishing.
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Next: The Story of an Art Doll: Embellishing
4 thoughts on “The Story of an Art Doll: The Fabric”
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Great job – She looks fantastic ! I absolutely love the new twist you´ve given that Gibson girl face. The Gibson girls have been around in the rubberstamp world as long as I can think and honestly – I didn´t look at them any more. But your doll is just stunning. The hair she got is beautiful. An amazing transformation!
Thanks Sabine, this was a fun project!
Linda
Linda, I think she is so glamorous! I do have a few questions about the two texture photos you added to this post that I hope you will find time to answer.
First, was the first photo on post a photo of how your texture design looked in photoshop just before you printed it onto your fabric?
Did you notice any difference in how it looked in photoshop and how the color looked when you actually printed it on the fabric? I ask this one because your second photo seems lighter and I’m assuming it is a photo of the printed fabric. Being silk, the light reflection may be why it looks like the the color is lighter.
Last question, I promise…Did you use the pigment inks or dye inks for printing this fabric?
Thank you!
Hi Gloria, The print was not that much different from the actual digital image but between my bad photography and the sheen from the silk, it may look slightly different. I’ve done enough printing on fabric and know enough tweaks to be able to get an almost exact print of a digital image. And yes, I most always use pigment ink, although I also have a printer with dye inks that I sometimes use but not often.