Second draft design of cottagecore witch

Took another crack at this doll design. I drew another Monster High croquis to slightly alter the costume idea.

I tried the first thing that occurred to me, to make the “overdress” into kind of like a bustle corset, similar to the sort sold by Pendragon Costumes here.



But I found once I’d drawn it, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. The outfit looked unbalanced. I considered doing a back view to draw it as more of a vest with tails, but I didn’t like how the patchwork skirt looked without the overdress to tone it down. So I erased and tried again.



Here I extended the skirt full-length again, but widened the gap. I think I like this better; you can still see most of the elaborate patchwork while still feeling like she’s wearing an overdress. I kept the bustle, but I don’t know if I need that with the longer skirt. I picture her as a simple forest-dweller, and probably wouldn’t wear that kind of frippery.



Here’s the new version with color. I kept the color scheme from the original draft, but changed the hatband to match the patchwork skirt. I think I’m sold on using the mint-green doll and giving her red hair. I also seem to have made the skirt longer, though I still want it to stop at the ankle— that makes sense for wandering through the woods. I also drew her hair significantly shorter, but I think I prefer the longer length in the earlier picture.

I’ve been gathering supplies to make her for a while now, and I think I have everything I need. The paint, the fabric, the tools. I’ve got a doll I can prepare, though I haven’t done it yet. The only thing I should probably do before digging in is draw a plan for her face. I’m excited to try that, as I’ve seen many doll artists do it and it looks like fun. But I want to go in with a plan in hopes of doing a better job, and coming up with something that suits the character in my mind.