Halloween LOTR Costume Series #2: Black and White Elf Gown with Circlet and Embroidered Edging

Click for larger version (black and white elf dress) (PNG), click for larger version (blue and gold ball gown) (PNG); click for PDF version (black and white elf dress), click for PDF version (blue and gold ball gown).Click here for the list of dolls.

Today’s costume is intended to be a dress for an elf, just something to lounge around and do elfish things in, whatever elves do with their time. (Nope, I haven’t yet started reading the trilogy again, can you tell?) I’m not quite sure how I like this one, but I think with the right coloring it could be really pretty… Well, hopefully whoever guesses this round’s quiz answer has good taste!

I really like Arwen’s dresses, but it seems like my three favorites – the red and blue one, the blue-grey one and the green coronation gown – are so close in construction to each other that if I did a similar style it would feel so much like I was just plain ripping it off. Yeah, the style is pretty enough, and basic enough, that maybe I will rip it off just a little anyways… just once…

As for the 1885 ball gown, Catie asked me to color it in light and dark blue, gold and red for the flowers… I like the way it turned out, I hope you like it Catie! For this week… sorry, I’m not feeling too creative…
What’s my favorite warm Prismacolor?
“Warm” being defined here as red, orange, yellow or pink… so there’s a big clue already, right? Please post your guess in the comments, first to guess it can tell me how to color today’s gown!

The poll for next week’s theme is still open, please vote if you haven’t yet!


Sniper Joe Green and Yellow Outfit with Helmet from the Mega Man series

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

So today is the other costume day that I promised to my husband – he was starting to offer me money, so I thought that I really had better humor him – and he wanted a Sniper Joe outfit. Apparently Sniper Joe is a Mega Man enemy, a mass-produced Protoman clone. (Brian’s been on a real Protomen kick lately, you see…)

Well, of course I get slightly bored with things like that, so I gave Sniper Joe – let’s call her Sniper Jo – a cute little skirt. Her shield is smaller than it is supposed to be, I think, so let’s pretend she’s an updated model who can take down Mega Man just fine without that clunky big shield, thank you…

So now you have a taste of what this blog would be like if my husband was the artist… Tomorrow, back to cute dresses, I think.


Scribblenauts Outfit with Rooster Hat and Pencil

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

So while I promised you all four weeks of to-be-determined Halloween themes, this did leave three days at the beginning of the month, and those I promised to my husband. One of those he graciously returned for my use so I could make an October birthday dress in a timely fashion; the other two days I’m drawing as he wishes.

This first day is devoted to an outfit from the game Scribblenauts. It’s a DS puzzle game where you can solve challenges by writing almost any noun you can think of, then using it in some fashion. For example, in one level near the beginning, you have to knock over a stack of bottles without using “guns or cheating.” I created a bowling ball and tossed it at the bottles. Brian summoned a whale and dropped it directly over the stack. (We’ve been having these conversations that go like this: “How did you get past this stage? NO WAY. You can do that?” He also schooled me on proper summoning of Scribblenaut zombies…)

Anyways, this outfit belongs to the main character, Maxwell (although you can use different avatars in the game – I like running around as a bride). It’s pretty flat, but then the game is like that, so it works out well enough.

I’m sorry I didn’t post anything yesterday. I am almost all done with another paper doll, but her head is all wrong and I haven’t got it fixed to my satisfaction yet. I’ll try to put her up soon, though.

Tomorrow, we have Mega Man (OK, technically we have Sniper Joe, and probably with a cute little skirt at that). And then soon, in a surprise upset, Lord of the Rings beats fairies for week one of Halloween… For most of the time fairies had a comfortable lead. I would think some LOTR fansite linked to me, except for that I don’t see anything like that in my referrers… I guess the poll is not quite done yet, so it could still change, but I’m thinking starting next Sunday is hobbit o’clock.


Evening Gown in Layered Fall Colors

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

So I was talking to my husband about what I should do for today’s paperdoll. “You should make a beginning of fall fairy,” he said. “Nah,” I said, “not if I’m going to end up doing fairies for the first week of Halloween costumes.” “You should make a beginning of fall mermaid,” he said. “Nah,” I said, “I just did a mermaid.” “You should make a beginning of fall human,” he said. “What a great idea!” I replied.

That is what it is often like talking to me, I’m afraid. I’m a lousy brainstormer. But anyways, he’s a good one, and that’s why we have this dress today. Remember that, when you are wondering why I have a Mega Man costume up, sometime in the next couple of days.

Congratulations to Catie, who guessed my favorite Prismacolor color: ultramarine! Now, you may be clicking back to the list of Prismacolors thinking “wait, what, that ugly thing?” For some reason, the color on the website is completely different from the actual color the pencil produces, a heavenly rich blue. I actually don’t use it all that often, because it can be a little finicky to blend with the other blues – it has a kind of reddish undertone, and most of the blues really don’t – but when I do it really makes me happy. The 1893 bathing suit’s blue is primarily done in ultramarine, with blue violet lake and cloud blue blended in – and still the scan doesn’t do the original justice.

The poll is still open for set 1 of Halloween costumes!