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#her first outfit is a reference to the integrity toys doll. because i like it sooo much
colorful-horses · 1 year
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WIP
Well, I promised something really special, and this is very very special both to me and to @moodyladybug. I can’t even describe how happy we are!
Our June 18th post about Sauron’s attack on Osgiliath was illustrated by three gorgeous watercolors by @khorazir​. As I mentioned then, I’m a big fan of her work and of the way she depicts Faramir. So I asked her permission to reproduce two of the tunics she has designed for him in scale for my dolls, and she has kindly given her permission!!!
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So, here we go:
1 - Research:
So, the first tunic we’re reproducing is the red one that appears in three of her watercolors. They were our primary source for color and embroidery.
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Above: “The first meeting of Faramir and Éowyn” (2000), watercolor by Anke-Eissman, reproduced here with permission.
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Above: "He looked at her ..." (2004), watercolor by Anke-Eissman. reproduced here with permission. This is my favorite of the three btw. It just melts my heart and sends me straight to OTP heaven!
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Above: Lasting impression (2003) , watercolor by Anke-Eissman. reproduced here with permission.
I’m taking a wild guess here and supposing the fabric his tunic would’ve been made of would be linen or a very soft silk and wool blend by the way it drapes around him. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any linen or a silk blend that would suit. But we found a beautiful silk taffeta in a very very close shade of red, so we went with it. For the embroidery base fabric, we’ve used a lovely sapphire silk taffeta, and we used a very soft pearl-shaded embroidery yarn for the design itself.
But our research wasn’t limited to the outer tunic. We needed a complete outfit to show this beauty off. By the design of the tunic, and by Tolkien’s own saxonic references, @moodyladybug and I concluded we could place Faramir’s outfit in the High Middle Ages (Roughly 5th Century to 10th Century). So, we went back to Anke-Eissman’s work for references, since Faramir’s lower garments aren’t visible in either of these watercolors. Then we found an example of a complete Romanesque outfit right here:
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Above: “In the Houses of Healing” (2002), watercolor by Anke-Eissman reproduced here with permission.
So, our references and hers match, and that told us what we needed. A Tunic and chemise, which are visible on the first watercolors, plus braies and a crisscrossing leg-warpping. On to it!
2 - Sewing and Results:
Once we knew what we had to do, we referred to “Patterns for Theatrical Costumes” for the Romanesque male patterns, made the adjustments to fit an FR Homme sized body from Integrity Toys, and got to work. We drafted the embroidery patterns straight out of what we could see on the first three watercolors, transferred our design to the sapphire taffeta and embroidered it in pearl yarn with tiny red dots for the red parts. Then we applied it to the tunic and handstitched it close. The final result wasn’t exactly to our liking yet. The embroidery could be a bit smaller and the over tunic’s sleeves should have had a loose fitting, but they ended up quite close to the arm. But it does look pretty if I can say so myself.
Then we went Scooby-Doo on this and split into two teams. While @moodyladybug finished the chemise to go under the tunic, I prepared the setting for the photoshoot. It could be no other than the Houses of Healing, of course, but I was hard-pressed for time. Wish I could play with my hobby all the time, but alas, one’s gotta live... So, I sculpted a tree and painted it, and made a stone-like pattern on a foam core board so that we could have a wall. So now we have our first Gondorian props. I hope in time those will grow to a full scale garden, but one’s gotta start somewhere.
Once the chemise was finished, my IRL OTP also lent me a hand with the props, so that left us with no time for the braies. I did the only thing I could do then. Got one of my old opaque Barbie leggings and opened the top seams to fit the much larger FR Homme inside them. But I have a gorgeous black wool gauze in hand, so I promise real natural fabric braies for the next one!
I hope you guys like the results so far, and I really hope I’ve done justice to Anke-Eissman’s gorgeous works! I know I’m not a pro photographer, but if you guys like my images and would like to create something using them or inspired by them, or simply reproduce them because they mean something to you, please talk to me and let me know. Everyone’s been so kind to me so far, and I’d love to do something in return. One good turn deserves another after all.
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