Under The Table #2

Hello lovely patrons! This is the second instalment of Under The Table which is a behind-the-scenes series I add to whenever I have the time. 

This is only available to patrons Tier 2 and above <3

This instalment covers some various outfits I was testing out for Jenna after I decided I wanted to introduce her to the Not A Toy series. Its always somewhat important to me that the characters in my work dress in ways that don't feel purely for the audience's gaze or enjoyment. I like my characters to wear clothes that reinforce or uplift their personalities - or at the very least, feel sensible to their setting. That doesn't mean a character can't wear something revealing or sexy, but just that that it should feel appropriate to the context of any given scenario. I find this helps make the characters and world feel more believable and immerses the reader more. I'm not saying this approach is inherently 'better', but just that it helps me enjoy the work more so.

You can see Jenna's original hairstyle in most of these tests as well, it took me awhile before I landed on something that felt like it really suited her. The style in these renders could have definitely worked, but it was missing something to me. The final style you can see in option E on this post.

In option A, I was trying out a very typical business/work attire for Jenna. This is absurdly cute, to be sure, but felt too 'proper' for the character and a little out of place for someone who works at an after school centre. If the story had taken place in an office setting, this would have been a strong contender.

In option B, you can see I'm starting to try and recreate outfits worn by actor Jenna Coleman in her role as Clara Oswald on the series, 'Doctor Who'. This definitely felt like a better place to start, and had a bit more character. I was a little reluctant on this outfit for several reasons though. One; it was feeling a little out of character for a teacher. Two; I was concerned about have Jenna shrink out of her clothes and also wearing stockings. Three; I was actually running into cloth simulation issues with this outfit in general so I eventually moved away from it.

In option C, much of the above applies and its even closer to Clara's outfit in Doctor Who. However, the simulation concerns around the stockings remained here and as soon as they were removed, the entire outfit started to feel more 'youthful' which was at odds with what I wanted for her in Not A Toy. That said, I have used this outfit on her in renders since, you can see those here.

Option D was purely me being a woman loving woman and getting distracted by dressing up the lovely Jenna! Moving right along...

The renders you can see on the far right on the image above were quite promising as they felt like something a teacher would wear, and they evoked Jenna and Clara's style to me. I had decided to move ahead with this outfit but ran into multiple issues with the cloth simulation that became so much of a headache that I had to go back to the drawing board. That said, I do think she looks very cute in this!

Finally we come to option E which I'm sure looks familiar to you all! This to me ticked the same box as the option above in that it definitely evoked those Jenna/Clara vibes, it felt appropriate for a teacher, and it didn't age her down like some of the other outfits I tried. What was more, this outfit simulated gorgeously and became my favourite outfit to shrink people out of as you get such wonderful results. The keen eyed among you might have noticed the same garment in the recent 'La Fée Verte' series! You can also notice that I changed up her footwear here as well, the boots felt very Clara to me so I opted for those!

That brings us to the end of another instalment of Under The Table! Which outfit would you have chosen for Jenna? Would you have mixed and matched something? Let me know in the comments!

Also, what kind of things would you like to see in future Under The Table instalments? What kind of 'behind-the-scenes' content would you enjoy?

Thank you again to all my Tier 2 and above supporters - you really do make my heart sing! <3