I love designing characters and have made many over my decade of making webcomics. I have put a lot of effort into my world-building of Spidersilk. It occurred to me some months ago that though I'd considered many things about the cultures,I hadn't really decided on the clothing worn in different cultures throughout the world of Spidersilk. While it may never come into play in the comic, I thought it was a wonderful exercise and I can incorporate elements of this into the wardrobes of the characters of this culture. My aim: To create the costumes for the Saaliet'ssan Process notes: I wanted to consider the people who made the clothes, including what technologies they might've had. With a degree in Fashion Design, it's a bit easier and I cut out a lot of research ... just some quick check-ups! First I looked up clothes online from many cultures, from Russia to Inuit to Celtic to ... well, you get the idea. I absorbed the colors and looked up more images of the ones that struck me so I could see the common elements or themes carried throughout the different pieces of clothing. It was a bit much, but soon I was brimming with inspiration. Then I decided to just draw. The first attempt was a mess because I hadn't focused enough. It was eclectic and did not seem practical for the climate, so I narrowed the focus and tried again. While I liked this a lot, I didn't feel it was a fit. I reflected on what I'd done right so that I could improve on the next attempt. I narrowed my focus and took inspiration from a few key sources. I liked the drape and color of the outfits found in a picture I saw of Masai women's clothing. I liked the type of clothes and the cut used in traditional Russian clothing that my research turned up.
I made sure to work on cohesion in the designs. I used the triad colors of red, blue, and yellow as I was inspired by traditional Sami clothing. The final piece includes surface design achievable by techniques such as batik, bound resist, tie dye, and other dye techniques. Low-water dye baths turn up some great mottled effects, and I tried to replicate that in the color version of this sketch. Many surface design techniques can be used to add adornment when the wearer does not have the time or money for fine embroidery and jewels. The fabric would be simple and cool for the warm climate of Saaliet. The bright colors are the only thing carried over from their distant homeland, which is cold and covered in show nearly half of the year. All garments have loose drape, allowing for ease of sizing and wearability by anyone. The sketch is below, but the final version is in my portfolio here.
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