One of my assignments for my History of Costume class is to do two drawings a week of designs inspired by different periods in history. I was inspired by the shapely female figure of Minoan culture, a civilization from the now-Greek island of Crete, and the beautiful fan and lily-shaped motifs from that time period. Minoans had fitted corset-like garments that left the bust exposed completely, and I wanted to echo the shape without being too literal, so I decided to put the corset over a full-skirted dress with sheer sleeves.
Although I finished the drawing over a week ago, I finally sat down and colored it in on Sunday night. I knew that I wanted to use some sort of turquoise, but other than that I wasn't sure what sort of color scheme to use. I started with the corset and worked the yellow points first, then shaded the rest of the motif with a layer of bluish purple, then turquoise. Next came the dark red edging, and finally the light fuchsia dress - a surprising color combination, but one I like.
The overall process of drawing, inking, and coloring has been surprisingly engaging for me. I start with a general idea, and from drawing to coloring, it changes, becomes more defined and polished, and finally looks like something real at the end. It's pretty neat.
