I may never finish this reference page completely so I might as well post the Work In Progress since I wrote a little more of my thought process on it.
On the left side are notes about the story she’d be in, her design, colour palette and even some sketches of the clothes in real life which inspired this look in the first place.
Outfits are (left to right) casual, fighting/coat, crashing a masquerade ball. Sea background to check colours.
I wanted to keep her colour theme in the dark blues with a hint of green like the ocean, highlighted by white, red and gold.
The first outfit would be what she wears in her cabin (this is the one that inspired the whole thing). I love drawing the long, flowing sleeves, and I like that the bandana matches the teal of the bodice. The single gold and ruby necklace is to draw attention up and to her eyes (yes, they are meant to be that colour- bright and magical).
The second is what she’d wear above deck, sailing and fighting etc, so I wanted it to have a more practical design/function. I know the navy colour scheme doesn’t at first show she’s a pirate, more of an officer, but I’d like to imagine that the pirates use the moment of confusion to their advantage. Story-wise, she’d have been raised by the captain so she gets a more captain-y attire (the hat and coat) and she has pearls for buttons. I also wanted the whole outfit to be a bit more practical than many interpretations I’ve seen-
Hair is tied up so it doesn’t get caught. There’s sun, there’s sea spray, there’s enemy weapons- something’s got to protect your skin.
Then is what I predict will be the most fun and most painful to draw; the masquerade outfit. Much like the last outfit in hat and coat style but much more extravagant/luxurious with more pearls, gold and a peacock’s feather. Even the fabric is like this, being a more saturated and cobalt blue (a very expensive dye in the era, fantasy world notwithstanding). I also decided on a mask to cover her face, and thought the most suitable material given her backstory would be mother-of-pearl (moments later I realised I don’t know how to draw mother of pearl). I was going for a sea-at-night look, but I’ve noticed the pearls on the navy border of the coat make it look more like a butterfly wing, especially given the shape.
Even if I never fully render this picture, its good to have this character reference if I do pick up this story idea again.