(Most definitely not) the final tutu post

On a bit of a tutu craze. Finished tutu V.2 during the breaks of Early Mod Phil today.

V.2 finished
Inspirations - kimono neck lines, Chinese tops, inadvertently, peacocks
July 22nd - 25th
Not much to say. I really like this one as well. I originally (during the messing around with it today) tried a rounded bodice hem like on Chinese tops, but it really doesn't translate well to tutus. I understand why the standard hemline is pointed, slims out the torso.

More tutu action

V. 1 finished (?)

Inspirations - kimono neck lines, folded tulle

July 21st and 22nd

Fixed the bodice hem line to suit the top plate better and added a little bit more detail work on the top plate to balance everything. Really, really like it. I rarely begin a sketch without a lot of prior thought or planning, so this was a fun exercise. I find it really easy to experiment with photoshop, but I've been holding off using it for the past week  or two (many costume design masters programs greatly prefer traditional drawings). I've been having problems finding a happy medium since photoshop offers speed and a high level of experimentation (case in point, above). Anyways, enough rambling about that, I will probably finish the other variant later. Also, please excuse the lack of rendering in respects to her body; I really just wanted to focus on the tutu (though her face ate up some time and love).

Now, if only I came up with this design a month ago, I feel like this one is far superior to my submitted design. Ah well, my boundaries were pushed and good things came out of it.

More tutus

Continuation from yesterday's post:

 V.1
Finally figured out a design for the top plate and then I decided that the bodice wasn't working, thus I began this:

V.2

Took a more oriental design approach. I feel like it needs a dragon curling around the bodice.

Looks like I'll have a number of designs spawning from this exercise seeing as how I can't decide on a single design. Oh the results of no planning, how odd you are. 

Tutus

I recently submitted a tutu design to a major ballet company for an exhibition; unfortunately it was not chosen (though it may still be published on their various websites!), but defeat only makes me want to work harder and push my boundaries more.

Ode

Inspirations - Odette and Odile Swan Lake, Black Swan, ruff collars, birds

June 2011

Tutu design that I submitted. Around the time I began working on ideas I started work on the Black Swan essay for one of my classes - the two projects quickly became intertwined. The idea behind it was the combination of both Odette and Odile. The intended fabrics would have been raw silk (bodice and basque), linen (collar), organza (sleeves), and tulle (tutu and detail work). The tutu and much of the bodice would have been worked with gradients or layers of tulle to create a feathered effect. 

Inspirations - kimono wrapping at neck; next to no thought process
today
Odd little thing I began working on a few hours ago; not sure how to continue. This is pretty much just an experiment in colour and shape. Liking it thus far.

Fairytales and forest folk

I started reading some of Grimm's Fairytales a week ago and have been thinking about two stories since then, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Snow White and Rose Red" which I stumbled upon while trying to find the gruesome original story of Snow White - the second story has nothing to do with the innocent princess. I've given the better known Snow White little thought compared to Snow White and Rose Red which is an interesting little tale. There are only a few characters, the twin sisters Snow White and Rose Red, a Bear who is actually a Prince under a curse, the girls' mother, and a Dwarf who cursed the Bear/Prince. I started doing some sketches (in Early Modern Philosophy, oh what a horrible student I am) with the intent to try and make the Bear's clothing reflect the shape/proportions of a bear while still being typical human clothing to imply that he's not an actual animal. I also began playing with the idea of masks on the two men constructed out of wood and held together with wire; each wooden piece would be a grouping of muscles/a section of a face.

Dwarf (mask) - "Snow White and Rose Red"

Inspirations - Japanese demon masks for which the name escapes me, very specifically the mask/face of the River Spirt from Spirited Away, African wooden masks

July 2011

The mask would cover the cheek bones up and just the lower jaw leaving the actor's mouth exposed and the white teeth glaring. At one point the Dwarf's eyes light up red; I'd like to see the eye socks glow red to mimic this. A long beard and stringy head of hair connect covering the entire face.

Bear (early drafts) - "Snow White and Rose Red"

Inspirations - Russian clothing, African wooden masks, Japanese kimono (wrapping at neck)

July 2011

Lots and lots of drafts for the Bear character, these are maybe a third or a quarter of them. Only thing that was settled with all for them was that the crotch line had to be low and the sleeves had to be dolman to mimic a bear's proportions. Hands wrapped in black cloth leaving fingers exposed to mimic a bear paw with extended claws (either pale hands or white gloves underneath to act as the claws). There's also the first daft of the Prince design; mostly just continuing with the idea of lots of layers to the clothing to indicate layers of the person under them.

Bear - "Snow White and Rose Red"

Inspirations - same as above

July 2011

More or less final design. Made the overcoat shorter and looser at the front with a lowered curved front hem and a raised curved hem at the back which allows the under-layers to show (one at the back would have a tuft for a tail). Added wrappings on the feet as well in the same style as the hands. 

________________________ 

Inspirations - The forest people in Game of Thrones, antlers, winter

May (?) 2011

Older sketch which I jotted down after watching the first episode of Game of Thrones. I love the costumes for the Northern peoples (and the Dothraki as well). Clothing made of skins with a large fur collar, wing-like antlers at her back, and a bird mask. Not much to say. I'd like to work on this more.

I'm definitely in a mask-craze right now, ahaha. Also, I said "mimic" quite a bit. Clearly I am a very articulate person with a wide-ranging vocabulary today.

More sketches - historical (ish)

My Early Modern Philosophy class is tremendously boring, but I get good ideas and sketches out of it. I can only take so many hours of why God is the solution to everything, Malbranche.

Inspirations: -punk genres like steam punk, mediaeval clothing and armour, Mongolian boots, ball-jointed Japanese dolls

June 2011

Knight sort of man with a robotic arm that loosely works like an armoured arm powered by magic (or God, because as Malbranche has taught me, God does everything!). His pants should be just a pair of leggings. More accurate and looks better. Debating whether his right leg should also be robotic to a point. And yes, I have just suggested Mediaeval Punk. I don't even like the mediaeval period.

Moll - The Roaring Girl

Inspirations: historic concept - provided illustration of Moll in Roaring Girl, cavalier clothing of the 1630's, a pair of gloves from 17th Century Clothing in Detail by Hart

modern concept - Jeffery Kurland's designs for Arthur in Inception

July 4th 2011

Two ideas for Moll - if you've never read Roaring Girl there are plenty of online versions and it is an excellent play - one historic and one modern. Moll's character is very interesting. Masculine, but incredibly fashionable. I did an essay on her costume last winter; she's a forward thinking woman and it really reflects in her clothing. The illustration and descriptions peg her more along the lines of the costume found in the 1630's - over a decade after the play. While doing the sketch for the historical concept I also played around with the idea of a modern interpretation. I'm not sure how well it would work seeing as how she needs a sword at various points in the story, but.... Anyways, once again, a very sleek and stylish design. Both would be in neutral tones with small bits of detail work. Hair tied back with wisps at the front (love locks for the historical design). Both will probably be fully rendered soon.

(More or less) finished illustration

Inspirations: Buddhist monks, Hindu patterns, mosques, summoner clothing from FFX.

June 30th - July 3rd

Can't decide on the pattern - or lack thereof - for the middle section. I feel like her ears need some gold earrings. This is by far the most complex design I've ever come up with. I'm finally getting out of my tendency to over simplify my designs. I'd love to see this one realized.

Sketch backlog

EDIT: Removed some images as they were getting a lot of hits off Goggle. I feel that they were probably being misattributed and am not comfortable with them being up here anymore.

A few sketches from my current sketchbook (chronologically). For no apparent reason two sketches, the colour swatch sketch of Rothbart and a personal favourite sketch, refuse to load. Ah well, another post.

Rothbart -  Swan Lake

Inspiration: Black Swan, masks

February 2011

Sketch done on a plane ride home from Houston after watching Black Swan. Swan Lake was the first ballet I ever saw, so it has a special place in my heart. I greatly enjoyed Black Swan - I'm actually working on a paper this summer on the costumes in it. I find Rothbart's character is the one with the most room for interpretation. Odette and Odile always have the same rough tutu design, but different facets of Rothbart's character are explored in each rendition of Swan Lake. My design follows a more Byronic style with a hint of horror - better seen in the colour swatch drawing. Full illustration will be done eventually.

Inspiration: "The Powers That Be" from Angel, Yinyang

May or June 2011

I began watching Angel a few months back. The costumes are sooo dated. Never been a big fan of 90's clothing. The designs for The Powers That Be in an early episode of season 1 are... cliche to say the least. After seeing it I thought about the concept of "Powers That Be" or "fate" or "seers" and came up with this.

Inspirations: sci-fi and steampunk

June 2011

Came into my head one night. I see her as some sort of action girl sans the stupid black leather cat suit and high heels. Her hair ties around her head in a loose loop.

Inspirations: A book on tatting on my nightstand, Chinese hair styles 

July 2011

Not much to say. Another one that just popped into my head. The left doodle is a sketch of the tatted lace that would be at the hems of her skirt and sleeves.

Blog started

The costume blog of Jess Sheridan has now been born. Please bear with me as I figure out the design and all the little bits and pieces of this site. For now, here are a few sketches and illustrations to start this thing off right! They're all just ideas or things that popped into my mind. None of them are based off of plays, books, or other such works - those are mostly traditional and must be scanned.

Inspiration: Buddhist monks, Hindu designs/henna

June 30th-current

Design I began working on last night. Final version will be done soon. One of my favourite designs yet.

Inspirations: 17th century European men's clothing, Middle Eastern clothing
December 2010- January 2011

Amelia's one of the main characters for a story that's been going around in my head for a few years. I did this to see if I could create a continuous costume history with the following in mind 1. change in her status/wealth 2. limited advancements in costume style similar to costume changes prior to the industrial revolution 3. Amelia is not the most fashion conscious person in the world, nor does she care to show off her wealth. I feel that it was a moderate success, if anything the final design (the starting design) sticks out.

Inspiration: San from Princess Mononoke and Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Spring 2011
Subject of another odd little story like Amelia. To-hi is part of a 4 page comic thing I'm working on right now. She has a bird mask (not shown) that when worn turns her into a large navy bird.