#hidden doll

Alt versions:

The reasons for the slight color differences in the final pieces is how I saved the image - using the in-game save option gave more accurate and vibrant colors but a blurrier image, while using screen capture provided more clarity with muted colors.

This doll was really fun to make! I wanted to play into the blocky shading in the original piece, make the dividing lines more solid, both as a test of skill and as an art style I hadn’t experimented with as much. Shading with draggies can be tricky, and I wanted to see how it could work if I forgo all the DD-typical shading tools and just focus on building lines with colors. I think it turned out pretty well! I couldn’t decide if I liked it better with or without lines, so I’ve posted both. I tried further shading the ground and bodies, but it didn’t work out very well, so I think I just need more practice with shading on this maker.

Flutterbug is a maker I’ve always struggled with in the past, but this was exactly the project I needed to appreciate what it can do. Winterstar’s art style, and this piece in particular, really play to my strengths when making hidden doll scenes. I’ve grown to love the wide array of draggies available, as well as the muted color palate, and of course brush mode which has probably saved me hours! It really is just an optimized ND palate for hidden dolls. I’m excited to try more of the transparency options in the future, and play around a bit more with the multiple shading options. You can read my rambles while making the doll here.

The only thing I’m unhappy with is that Scar’s face is ever so slightly too small. Unlike traditional artists, I can’t just erase and redraw - I’d have to manually remove every individual draggie and rebuild it from scratch. So, he’s stuck with a small head. Oh well! The fact that Grian’s face came out so well completely offsets my disappointment in Scar’s face. The whole time I was building it I was chanting “trust the process trust the process” in my head, and it was well worth it!

It was only after I’d finished the doll that I realized that using Flutterbug instead of Gemsona (as originally planned) would make this a non-entry for me. Unlike works made entirely by Ola, Inkscribble does not have blanket permission to monetize works made with her dollmakers, so I do not feel comfortable entering this into a contest for physical rewards. Therefore, I am treating this as a for-fun only challenge only.