Because
I have always learned better and faster by seeing rather than reading,
I have attempted to show you the process of developing a paper doll
by showing each step and noting details. I shall not go into the logistics
of drawing an architecturally correct figure, because there are many
good books available on the subject. I also urge anyone, whether new
to drawing or very experienced, to take life drawing classes to learn
to draw the human form firsthand. Next best is to draw the people
around you, and next best is to draw from magazine photos. If you
feel it is quite impossible for you to draw a figure at this time,
and you are desperate to draw a paper doll NOW, you may enjoy tracing
figures from fashion magazines or catalogues. If you choose to do
this, be creative and use a head here, an arm pose there, and move
leg direction so what you finally have cannot be connected to the
original sources. Be sure that once all the parts are put together,
they make sense and have good balance. One way to check your work
is to look at your drawing in the mirror. Some mistakes really glare
back at you this way.
Materials
In
keeping this exercise as simple as possible, I have used easy to access
supplies: white copier paper, tracing paper, #2 pencil, white art
eraser, and Faber Castel's Uni-Ball pens, sizes Fine and Micro. And
to hold down the tracing paper, Scotch's blue-label Removable Tape.
(A light box may be used instead of tracing paper).
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DRAWING
THE FIGURE
(Fig. 1)
Draw your
figure and undergarments in pencil on copier paper. Use a
fairly light touch, so pencil can be erased. Use micro pen
to carefully draw the finished line work over your pencil
sketches. Use heavier pen to deepen shadow areas, under chin,
breasts, shoes, and to darken any area desired. Keep facial
lines simple and to a minimum. Leave white highlight areas
on hair - do not completely fill in with hair lines. Do repairs
with white out. I use Liquid Paper, red bottle (for copies);
it seems to work just fine over the water-based ink. |
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TAB
PLACEMENT
(Fig. 2)
Taking
a look at your figure, note areas on the high sides where
tabs may go. When you remember how you may have walked your
paper dolls about while trying to keep clothes on, you will
know that tabs need to be on the upper edges, in order that
gravity not pull the clothes off. Also remember: don't make
a tab longer than the width of the member it embraces. Think
of a long tab on a skinny wrist -- it will show on the opposite
side of the arm when you bend it under. There are also the
kind of tabs that tuck behind the figure rather than folding
over. These are helpful when part of the fabric or fur wraps
around the body (or arm or leg), and a regular tab is not
suitable because the garment sticks out past the edges of
the figure. |
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DRAWING
THE COSTUMES (Fig. 3)
Whether
you use tracing paper or a light box with opaque paper, follow
these same guidelines. The illustration shown here is an actual
photocopy of the doll with a tracing paper overlay of the
pencil costume (before inking). With this I hope to show you
not only how to tab and tuck, but to follow the contours of
the figure to create garments that appear to be all around
the doll instead of just lying on top of it. See how the boots
curve around and droop a little at the top. See the fur wrap
around to the back sides of shoulders, head and wrists. Note
the tabs on the topmost edges of the figure and the tucks
in areas where the garment extends beyond the body. I have
drawn the costume fairly heavily in #2 pencil, which is soft
and rather dark, so that my copier will pick up the color
so you can see it. You will want to handle your pencil with
a lighter touch than I have, just so long as you can see your
sketch lines for inking.
Inking
You may
use the Uni-Ball, as I have, or another pen of your choice.
Think of form, light and shadow as you draw. Light usually
comes from above, so darkest areas will be on under sides,
which are in shadow. I generally imagine a light coming from
the upper right hand side, for continuity of light effects.
Though on this costume it looks like my light is more from
the upper left side. Whichever, just keep your shading consistent.
Erasing
and Repairs
Carefully
use a white art eraser to remove all pencil lines. I do a
small section at a time, between my thumb and fingers, because
the tracing paper is so easily crumpled. Also, wait until
the ink is very dry or it will smear, leaving more repair
work to be done. Cover smudges, over-drawn lines and other
unwanted items with white-out, and add any other details,
line work and shading after pencil has been removed. Any remaining
pencil can be picked up by the camera or copier and will mess
up the final copies.
Using
a Copier
A copier
is a very handy tool to have when doing black and white PDs.
I have kept its use to a minimum (or none at all) in these
instructions. One thing I almost always do, however, is to
do my drawing larger than the finished layout. The figure
I worked on for this PD is actually 10 inches high, then reduced
by 70% before cutting and pasting onto the layout with borders
and all. After reducing the doll and costume onto plain white
20# copy paper, I may do further inking. As tracing paper
can sometimes be difficult to draw fine line lines on, it's
nice to have the more accepting surface of the 20# bond to
work on. I'll add shading, clean up edges, widen some lines
and add fine detail with the Micro point Uni-Ball. Another
thing I use the copier for, is to copy the doll full size
onto plain white paper. I use this for doing the costume over-lays
and for inking. Having the doll right there under the costume
while doing final inking aids perfect fit. But using a copy
is safer in case the ink bleeds through while drawing. It
would really be upsetting to mess up the original. |
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Layouts
(Fig. 4.)
To complete
your paper doll page, you can use cut-and-paste methods to
arrange the components of your final layout. Components are:
Figure, Costumes, Lettering and Titles, Borders and Trims.
You can do your own hand lettering if you are very neat, or
computer generated lettering. There are various brands of
press-on type, which you can buy from art and office suppliers
in many type styles that work well for PDs, too. These can
be cut and placed where desired. I use Scotch removable tape
for placement of components because it's easy to change and
move about. If you prefer a more permanent layout, use a glue
stick that is acid free, to prevent any future yellowing.
(Rubber cement is toxic to you and your paper, so we never
recommend it). Remember to keep any design (line work or words)
at least 1/4 inch away from edges. If you work larger, and
will reduce final art - say 11 x 14 reduced to 8 1/2 x 11
- leave at least 1/2" plain white border all around.
This allows for imperfect placement while printing, and gives
the press a "grab" edge, if being done at the printers.
Borders
& Trims
Dover
books and other clip art books such as Graphic Products Corp.
offer endless possibilities for textures, borders, trims and
even lettering to enhance your paper dolls. Using them can
make even simple art work appear more professional. I urge
you to get some that appeal to you and play with them. It's
OK to copy what you want from pages of copyright free books,
so you can cut and paste them on your work without destroying
the clip art books. |
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FINISHING
TOUCHES (Fig. 5)
Sign,
date and copyright mark each page of your work in this order:
(D 1998 Jane L. Artist. If you are making a limited edition,
leave a place in the design just for that. If it's an edition
of 50, hand sign; 1/50 Jane L. Artist, 2/50, 3/50 etc. Then
do not print any issues beyond that number, unless you change
it, add more costumes, etc. to create another set. Have fun!
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