pink

White Cake Dress with Pink Ombre Rosettes for Broken Age

Larger size
Black & white
PDF to print
Get dolls
11 comments
Share

A very light ivory ballgown with an almost exaggeratedly large, floor length skirt. It is off the shoulder, with a line of pink rosettes across the top. The bodice is fitted and decorated with a pattern of white lines and dots arranged into a sunburst shape, with a polka dot and grid pattern covering the background. Both patterns are shaded to look as if they're white frosting on a white cake. The waist is V-shaped and is edged with a line of small silver balls. The overskirt is open at the front, showing a large part of the underskirt. The top half of the underskirt has a pattern of delicate white scrolls and the words "Treat Yourself!" written in loopy cursive in pink frosting. The bottom half consists of three large rows of rosettes, designed to look like they were made out of icing. The top rosette row is very pale pink, the second is a shade darker and the third is even more darker, creating an ombre effect. The overskirt is edged with lines of small silver balls and is decorated with sunburst-shaped patterns of lines and dots going up the front sides and a polka dot and grid pattern covering the background.This ballgown was inspired by a recently released adventure game, Broken Age. Vella, our heroine and one of the two protagonists, is a young woman who lives in a town of bakers that is terrorized by a horrendous monster called Mog Chothra every 14 years. In a scene that you’ll always remember whenever you see a cake made to look like the skirt of a Barbie doll or a princess, our heroine, along with four other young women of the village, is offered to the monster as a human sacrifice at an event called the “Maidens Feast.” They are all embedded in gigantic cakes that look like skirts, which are gorgeously decorated with all the skill the villagers have and inscribed with tempting slogans like “Delish,” “Hot Stuff” and “Up For Grabs!” Each of the young women is hoping to protect her village and bring honor to her family by being selected (that is, eaten) by Mog Chothra… except for Vella. But how do you escape a floating monster the size of a mansion when you’re stuck in a cake, ready to be served up?

Broken Age is a point-and-click adventure game, notable for being one of the first Kickstarter successes. To put it simply, adventure games are rather out of fashion, but two years ago Tim Schafer, known for other classics like Grim Fandango, said to the Internet “We’ll make a new game if you give us money” and people got out their wallets, leading to this game’s release. In games like these, you solve puzzles by exploring, talking to people, finding objects and using them in the right place. Some were notorious for being unforgiving (looking at you, King’s Quest series), and some had goofy, implausible puzzles (like one where you had to disguise yourself by making a mustache from cat hair and syrup), but Broken Age is nicely designed: you can never get in a situation that you can’t get out of, and the puzzles are entertaining but not exasperating. The art is lovely, with a style that looks almost as if it was all painted, and the settings are all detailed and fun to explore. Vella is also a fun, capable heroine, who rejects her world’s passive acceptance of Mog Chothra and breaks free of the cake skirt to find a different way to protect her village. The other half of the game explores the story of a young man named Shay, whose world couldn’t be any more different from Vella’s…

Right now, only the first half of the game is out, with the second half to come later this year. I think it’s well worth the price, and if you check it out, please let me know what you think of it!

It looks our our Oscar night winner is Lupita Nyong’o’s blue Prada gown! I don’t know when I will have that up – I will try for before the end of the month, but it might be later. Also, a 1910s outfit will be our contest prize; it beat out a pirate outfit and an evening gown with over half the vote. I will do some research and some sketches, so come back next Friday for a contest and a Japanese fairytale! Until then, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for site updates, sneak previews and ridiculous amounts of fashion plates. If you enjoy my work, I’d also appreciate your support through Patreon.

Pink Satin Dress with Lace Trimming

4 comments
Share

A pink satin dress with straps over the shoulders and an empire waist. The above-the-knee length skirt is covered with white lace, with a sparse pattern of flowers near the top, and an elaborate pattern of ribbons, flowers and leaves by the hem. Another row of lace adorns the hem. There is a layer of sheer white fabric attached at the bodice, which drapes over the skirt and is cut away in front, trimmed with more lace.Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

You may have noticed that the original black and white masquerade dress had rows of lace that the recolored versions did not. That’s because to color in Photoshop I start by tracing the original drawing with the pen tool. I looked at those little fussy bits of lace and realized that, should I take the time to retrace them, I would be choosing the way of pain, and that I should be able to find another method of making lace. So for a few days now I’ve been working on using Photoshop’s tools to make lace. This is all done with brushes, paths, patterns and shapes, all of which I made myself (well, the ribbons are a default Photoshop shape). Farewell to simple half-circles indicating lace… This is just a beginning, but I think once I have more brushes and more practice I should be able to do some gorgeous lace for paperdoll outfits!

Would you believe this dress started life as a Regency gown? I lopped off the puffy sleeves and everything below the first layer of skirts. I hope it doesn’t show too much, but I was getting rather frustrated with it toward the end! But now it’s done I’m reasonably happy with it.

Masquerade Gown with Cherry Blossom Bodice, Pink Skirt and Sparkly White Ruffles

3 comments
Share

A masquerade gown with a white bodice, patterned all over with clouds of pink and reddish-purple cherry blossoms. The neckline is off the shoulders and slightly V-shaped, and is trimmed with a line of sparkling white sequins. The sleeves are three-quarter, and their edges are trimmed with more white sequins. There are long ruffles attached to the edges of the sleeves, and they are pink and patterned with abstract white swirls. The bodice extends over the top of the skirt and is gathered at one hip, decorated with a light reddish-purple bow. From the bow, four rows of ruffles fall towards the base of the skirt like a waterfall. Each one is covered with sparkling white sequins. The skirt is light pink, and falls to the floor. It is patterned with abstract white swirls.Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

I admit I’m very proud of the sparklies on this one. Those are some serious sparklies. I will have to work hard to out-sparkly things tomorrow! The pattern on the bodice is from gimei, and the brush I used on the skirt is from Pixels & Ice Cream.

I’m running out of things to say about these recolored dresses! I’ll be happy to do new things. I’m thinking I’ll try for a Monday – Wednesday – Friday schedule…

Masquerade Gown with Sparkly Pink Bodice, Red Velvet Trim and Blue Flowered Skirt with Cream Ribbon

5 comments
Share

A masquerade gown with a sparkly, light pink bodice The neckline is off the shoulders and slightly V-shaped, and is trimmed with a line of light blue ribbon ribbon. The sleeves are three-quarter, and their edges are trimmed with more blue ribbon. There are long ruffles attached to the edges of the sleeves, and they are dark red and decorated with large, lighter red swirls. The bodice extends over the top of the skirt and is gathered at one hip, decorated with a cream-colored bow. From the bow, four rows of ruffles fall towards the base of the skirt like a waterfall. Each one is dark red and decorated with large, lighter red swirls. The skirt is light blue with an apple blossom pattern. The flowers are cream, pink and dark red, and are interspersed with white butterflies. The skirt is long, and falls to the floor.Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

Sparkle Week continues! I must admit that everything I know about making fabric sparkle in Photoshop I learned from the Disney princesses. Yesterday was sparkles over dark color, today is sparkles over light color. I made this brush myself, too, with help from this tutorial. The pattern on the red fabric is from Pixels & Ice Cream, and the pattern on the skirt is from flashtuchka’s Vintage Floral Patterns.

I’m very annoyed by how Photoshop handles brushes and patterns. I always find myself saving and losing brushes, and if I download a pattern set I have to remember how to credit it. It’s all very kludgy, it seems to me. Am I doing things wrong? Is it improved in future versions? (After all, I’m using CS2, which was released in 2005…)