grey

Grey High-Collared Suit Based On Anna’s Outfits from V

19 comments
Share

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

I’ve been watching V, ABC’s remake of an older show about an alien presence on Earth, out of sheer love for Firefly’s Morena Baccarin, who plays the alien queen Anna with creepy aplomb. Inexplicably, V got renewed, and inexplicably, I’m still watching each episode the whole way through, instead of just skipping to the scenes that she’s in. A story about evil aliens and scrappy resistance members sounds great, but the focus seems awfully narrow considering that the whole world is involved, and our main characters seem just a little Too Dumb To Live at times. Plus, the dialogue is leaden. Erica, the main character, had a line when she was trying to reassure a regular guy who had gotten in over his head, saying that she, too, up until recently, had just been a normal mom… oh, and also an FBI agent. It sounds like it could be funny, but it just felt like it hadn’t really been thought out all the way. My husband commented, “There should be certain lines where, if you write them in your script, the orbital Hollywood satellite fires its laser and the laser hits the ground and forms a little crater.”

The only reason I’m still watching is because I keep hoping that Anna’s going to snack on Tyler, Erica’s massively unsympathetic son. Hopefully there’d be just enough time between the big reveal and dinner that he could truly comprehend the depths of his own gullibility before making himself useful for once and providing Anna with some nutrients. (And believe you me, I wouldn’t say no to seeing fawning newscaster Chad served up as dessert, either.) Actually, the more annoying humans Anna ate on-screen, the more I think I’d like the show. Unfortunately, it’s a little shy about revealing anything that matters, such as what exactly the Vs are actually here for, the mysterious “mineral” they supposedly want that no one seems to want an explanation about, or the hybrid baby’s face. (A wiggly tail doesn’t do it for me, I want to see goo-goo eyes and a full set of chompers.)

Anna’s wardrobe is about as far removed from Inara’s sumptuous silks as you can get, with the exception of that peach robe that I longed to run over my palms. For me, it does a good job of conveying the thought the Vs put into human clothing — a point that is underscored by Anna’s contemplation of a purple kimono in one of the early episodes, as she contemplates a pose of modest femininity to impress and reassure the very people she plans to eventually run generically creepy tests on. She could be an executive in her somber outfits, but the high collars are just sci-fi enough to be out of place. No pants, ever (that I remember): she sticks to skirts, conveying just a shade less power. No jewelry, minimal decoration. It’s all unearthly in a style specifically designed to appeal to modern humans. (Oh, and she has a fantastic wardrobe selection mechanism. For the sake of the doomed Earth fashionistas, I hope she at least bestowed it on humanity along with the healing centers and blue energy.)

This outfit is based on the various outfits she’s worn. I thought it could be something she could wear to create a softer image, because of the rounded corners of the jacket, the less severe hemline and the gentle grey tones. I’m sure there are times she’d want to project a softer image, don’t you think? Like, as she lulls Tyler and/or Chad into a false sense of security in order to get them relaxed so that their meat tastes better. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for such a scene next season.

No one’s got the right answer yet… One hint, it’s under 1,000. You guys realize that these pencils are about $1.25 if you buy them individually, right? Thanks to online shopping and that store closing I haven’t paid full price for them in a while, but… still!

Question: How many Prismacolor pencils do I own as of May 18th?
This includes the ones that I use, all the stubby little pencils that are too short for my current sharpener but I just can’t toss, all the ones I have in reserve and my set of Verithin pencils I hardly ever use.

Just to restate the rules:
1) It’s a new year, so even if you’ve already won one, feel free to guess again.
2) One guess per person per post.
3) If no one gets the exact number by noon EST, May 25th, I’ll pick the closest guess.

Halloween Masquerade Costume Series #7: The Cursed Sisters, Part 6

62 comments
Share

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.
The buzz of voices around them grew so loud, and her partner seemed so tense, that Linnetta squeezed her eyes shut, wishing herself anywhere else.

“Whoever that one is, she’s gone too far,” he said quietly, and she forced her eyes open and found the cause of the commotion: at the top of the stairs, a newcomer in a black and orange gown. “This must be unbearable for you,” he continued. “Or do you know her?”

“I don’t,” she said uneasily. “It’s someone’s idea of a joke…”

“Perhaps,” he replied. “Or perhaps not.”

As they were talking, the strange women Linnetta had been trying not to notice all night had gathered at the base of the stairs; the other revelers had given the five of them a wide berth, and they stood motionless, staring out at the dance floor.

“I think you do know who she is,” her partner continued. “I think you’ve known each of them since you saw the third one; possibly the second.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. Wisps of hair fell out of her updo, sticking to her face. “It must be some kind of joke. A trick, to try to scare everybody.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“But how? How is it even possible that they’re…?”

“They have made their own pacts,” he answered lightly. “There are other powers than those you have dealt with, you know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Liar,” he replied, with an indulgent smile. “I know all about the bargain you made… Almost all, anyways. Was it that you were already sick, and you traded their lives for your own? Or was your illness part of the ruse, so you could avoid suspicion?”

“I — I could never do such a thing,” Linnetta whispered, but it was unconvincing even to her.

“And so you were able to possess them, and manufacture their deaths one by one. But Georgiana has been seeking her revenge ever since the night you directed her off that cliff. Did you think she could let such a thing rest, even in death?”

Linnetta turned reflexively towards the woman in the black spangled dress, and her eyes were so captivating that she didn’t even realize the queen of the ball was being announced. Her partner had to give her a little push towards the center of the dance floor; a crown was placed on her head and everyone started applauding. She smiled graciously and waved, but faltered when she saw her sisters. Why had no one else noticed they had taken their masks off? While everyone else was clapping, they stood motionless, their hands linked, their faces mangled and ghastly; the only face she could bear to look at was Lenora’s, bloodless and as pale as her gown. Panicking, Linnetta turned back to her dance partner, and while he still wore his mask there seemed to be no difference between it and the skin beneath. He reached for her hand; the embroidery on the cuff of his sleeve pulsed as if stitched with blood vessels, and the bright lining of her gown was setting her skin on fire.

—————————

I hope you enjoyed my little Halloween story… In the end it really was just an excuse to do some creepy masquerade gowns, but it was fun to write too. Thanks to my husband Brian for brainstorming the original idea with me and editing it.

No thanks to Brian for writing a Python script to vote automatically for fairies 20 times. That’s right, the proper fairy vote count ought to be whatever-it-is-minus-nineteen… That means it looks like literary characters get next week, probably, since I doubt he’s going to try a stunt like that again.

You know I had to do this poll… vote for your favorite masquerade costume!

poll by twiigs.com

Halloween Masquerade Costume Series #5: The Cursed Sisters, Part 4

6 comments
Share

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

When her partner suggested they sit, Linnetta agreed immediately, hoping that it wasn’t obvious that she was stumbling, rather than gliding, to the edge of the dance floor. He guided her to a chair beside another stranger, a woman dressed in shades of blue that seemed to shift and flow. Linnetta’s fatigue must have been getting to her; her head was swimming. Linnetta accepted a glass of punch, and — when she’d finished the whole thing in one decidedly un-aristocratic gulp — the woman in the blue gown had gone.

“I think I had better leave soon,” Linnetta said tentatively. “I’m exhausted… I think I’ve been overdoing it tonight.”

“But you can’t leave yet,” her dance partner answered, “the queen of the ball hasn’t been announced!” He leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorially, “You’re bound to win…”

This cheerful thought made her sit up a little straighter, eyeing her competitors. Certainly no other gown was as striking as hers, and no one else had a prayer of causing as much sensation as she had simply by showing up. Her partner scanned the crowd too, frowning.

—————————

… Some dresses, like yesterday’s, take pages and pages of sketching and redrawing, and some dresses you sketch with a cheap pen while waiting for your car to be repaired and they come right together and couldn’t be any other way. Not complaining. I like this one, although the two middle blue shades are more different on the original than they are in the scan. (Today, after a good night’s sleep, I like the green one too…) The poll is still up, so please vote.

poll by twiigs.com

Halloween LOTR Costume Series #7: Galadriel’s White Layered Gown with Silver Circlet

14 comments
Share

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

I didn’t really intend to return to elves for the last day of this series… I wanted to do an Entwife with an orange blossom theme, but I got started too late and my patience with making a dress out of leaves and bark just ran out. You can always tell when I just want to get done for the day, because the dress will be white. No matter how crazy and detailed it ends up, if it’s white, it usually means I started out in a grumpy mood.

Galadriel doesn’t get a lot of description besides “white,” making her good to paperdoll on a grumpy day. I really rather like how this gown turned out, although if I was to redo it I would probably cut off the gauzy middle layer of material on the sleeves.

That makes my seventh costume for Halloween: a whole week of Lord of the Rings, all finished. Uh, those of you who have followed me for a while (like, for more than a week) may have figured this out already, but it’s slightly rare for me to finish up a project so well and consistently: it’s usually one or the other. (See also my poor dancing princesses…) I’m rather proud of myself. Since I don’t think masquerade gowns are likely to be upset at this late hour, I’m putting up a new poll just to satisfy my own curiosity… It’s rather unfair to pit the black and white elf dress against the others, because I think it’ll be lovely when it’s colored, but oh well.

poll by twiigs.com