Regency Doll Tutorial

Although I have written this tutorial for Paint Shop Pro, any program that support layers, like Adobe Photoshop, Serif Photoplus, Corel Photopaint or Ulead PhotoImpact, can be used. It does assume that you are familiar with whichever graphic program you are using.

1. Open the base you are going to use. I usually give mine a white background to work. Create a new layer named Dress. Use the Paintbrush tool with a size of 1.	2. For this tutorial, I am using a different shading technique than my Silk Dress tutorial. I have created several colour palettes that you can use, but you are free to use your own colours! I have labelled the colours on the palettes to make them a bit easier to pick.	3. Choose the number one colour of the palette and draw the outline of the dress. It always helps to Zoom in on the image while you do this. A few trademarks of dresses in the Regency period were very high waistlines, low cut tops, puffy sleeves and straight skirts. Make the dress finish at about ankle length. Don't worry if it's a bit messy, we'll clean it up later.
before after
4. Choose the Eraser tool and set the size to 1. Zoom in on your image and erase any extra pixels - you want the dress to be 1 pixel think at all points.	5. Select the number 5 colour from your palette and Flood Fill the interior of your dress. At this point in time, you can use the Eraser and Paintbrush tools to alter any bits of the dress you don't like.	6. Create a new layer named Dress Shading. Select the number 2 colour from the palette. Start from the bottom of the dress and draw a little line where the folds would be.

7. Select the number 2 colour from the palette and continue the line a little more, then select the number 3 colour and so on.	8. Select the number 2 colour from the palette and add an elongated triangle of shading on either side of the line you drew in palette colour 1 and 2, as shown above. I find it helps to Zoom in and out of the image while doing this to make sure it looks right.	9. Select palette colour number 3 and draw along the edges of the shading from the previous step. Edge that with a line of colour 4.

10. Your doll should look something like this so far. If you're not happy with the shading, try to make it a pixel thinner or thicker until you think it looks good.	11. Select colour number 6.Create a new layer caller Dress Highlight. Zoom in on your image and draw lines of highlight on the folds as shown above (I have drawn them in red to show you what I mean).	12. Drop the Opacity of this layer down to about 60%. Your doll should look something like above.

13. Create a new layer named Shading 2 and repeat the above shading technique from the waistline down, except start shading with palette colour 2 rather than 1.	14. If the base's arms or hands cover any part of the dress, like they do here, add some shading around them as well, using palette colours 1, 2, 3 & 4.	15. Create a new layer named Highight 2 and, using palette colour 6, draw in some highlights, shown above in red.

16. Drop the Opacity on this layer down to about 80%. Your doll should look something like this now.	17. Create yet another layer, name it Shading 3 (if you really want to, you can put all the shading on one layer, but it's easier to alter something later if you keep each element on it's own layer). Using palette colours 2 & 3, draw shading on the sleeves and bodice as above. Obviously, it doesn't have to be exactly the same, but that is the style we are aiming for.	18. Create a new layer named Highlight 3. Using palette colour 6, add shading to the sleeves and bodice. Again, I have shown this is red.

19. Drop the Opacity on this layer to about 80%. Your doll should now look something like this.	20. Create a new layer named Decoration 1. Select a colour you like, I am using colour number 4 from the yellow palette. Draw lines on the bottom of the dress as indicated above.	21. Select a lighter shade of the colour. I have used colour 7 from the yellow palette. Draw where the the hightlight is. Select a darker shade, I have used colour 1, and draw where the shading is, based on the shading from the dress.

22. Your doll should be looking something like this so far. Stick with me, not much more to go!	23. Zoom in to the neckline of the dress &, using one of the colours from the decoration at the bottom of the dress, add a little pattern.	24. Create a new layer name Decoration 2. Set your foreground colour to a light grey and draw dots all over the dress. Now, on any area that the dress is shaded, draw the dots in a darker grey & on any part of the dress where you have added the highlight, draw the dots in a lighter grey/white. Try altering this layer's Opacity for different effects. Your dress is finished!

25. I hate drawing shoes, so I'll try an keep these simple. Create a new layer named Shoes. Select one of the number 1 colours from any palette or a darker shade. I've chosen a slightly darker shade of blue than is shown in the palettes. The shoes back then, for ladies at any rate, were very delicate, almost like ballet slippers & from looking at pictures, they all seemed to where white socks! Draw a low cut shoes, as above. Select a lighter shade and draw the highlight.	26. Using 3 shades of grey, draw in the stockings as shown above.	27. Create a new layer named Hair. We are going to do a very easy hairstyle. Choose a dark shade for your hair (if your stuck, take a look at my palettes). Draw the outline of the hair as shown.

28. Build up the shading, from darkest to light, as shown.	29. Using the darkest hair shade again, draw a pattern as above.	30. Colour in the curls as shown, using a medium shade and the lightest shade.

31. With the darkest shade, draw a rectangular shape on top of the head as shown.	32. Colour this in. You can always add some little spots of colour as ribbons or flowers if you like, I'm trying to keep it simple so thatyou can see what the hair looks like.	33. Add a face. I'll leave this bit up to you. If you get stuck, take a peak at my Tutorial Listing for face tutorials.

Your doll is complete! Obviously, if you have followed this tutorial closely, your doll will look very similar to mine, but that's fine, she's still yours, you made her! Have fun playing around with different colours, patterns & personalising your doll.
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