What is simpler than a sticker-based dress-up game?
As Elina pondered this question, she was tidying up her paints.
"Your paints...," the Duke, who had appeared without her noticing, squatted in front of her paint bottles like a cat and marveled, "There are some I've never seen before."
Startled by the sudden voice, Elina nearly dropped the bottle she was holding. Other students, hearing the conversation, also came over to inspect her paint bottles.
How should one say it? Perhaps it's like the saying "a poor student has many stationery items," Elina wasn't particularly passionate about painting, but she absolutely adored collecting paints.
Many people might think that paints naturally come in many colors, but that would be a huge mistake. In fact, many modern paints are manufactured using chemical methods, and in this era, people mostly used homemade mineral and plant-based paints, with only a few chemical paints available, offering a very limited selection.
Though some manufacturers had tried to create paints, just like food counterfeiting, paint counterfeiting was also a problem. Some manufacturers would add marble powder to the paint; others used industrial waste to make the paint, which initially looked beautiful but would turn black after a while; some would grind the paints too finely, causing cracks once the painting dried—this is why painting masters preferred hand-ground paints.
"This is lead white," the Duke pointed to one of the bottles and asked about another, "And what's this white?"
Lead white is the most commonly used white pigment. It has strong coverage and dries quickly, advantages that can completely cover up its toxicity and tendency to turn black when exposed to sulfur. In fact, as long as proper precautions are taken, the toxicity is manageable, unlike the emerald green containing chromium, which, upon oxidizing, produces chromium oxide—commonly known as arsenic.
Elina identified it. "It's clam white, made from ground shells. It's better for watercolor painting, but it turns transparent when wet, so it's harder to blend and requires practice."
Clam white is a traditional pigment from Huaguo, and perhaps its usage hasn't spread to Lundon yet.
The Duke's beautiful blue eyes widened, and he stared at Elina with the look of a puppy, silently pleading.
Unable to resist the charm, Elina weakly said, "If you want to try it..."
"I'm very willing!" The Duke immediately responded, with no sign of the restrained nobility one would expect.
Elina gave him a little of the paint, and the Duke walked away, cradling the paint like it was a treasure.
Once he placed the newly acquired paint on his easel, he clapped his hands. "Now, let's start the lesson."
The students began to paint. Most of them were working on oil paintings, while a few worked with watercolors or gouache. The Duke, however, seemed to be able to guide both mediums effectively.
"Pay attention to the light. The highlights are all wrong, and the shadows are off."
"Your facial features are distorted. Where is the transition on the forehead and brow? The ear position isn't right."
"Are you sure this shoulder structure works? My body and arms won't fit together like this."
Shivering with fear, Elina quietly fixed her paper to the board. She had previously studied watercolor under her tutor and used hand-made paper made from linen. Cotton paper doesn't absorb moisture well, and machine-made paper is of poor quality. Only hand-made linen paper had good water absorption and took color easily.
Most of the paints in her possession were powder-based, some of which she had mixed herself. The process was simple: add water-soluble clay, alum, and potassium alkali to plant dye solutions, which could easily be bought at the pharmacy. After the pigments precipitated, they were ground into powder. To make watercolor, you just grind the pigment with water and a binder.
The paper must first be coated with glue, or the pigments will spread out unevenly. As she coated the paper with a thin gelatin solution, she noticed the Duke had walked around her.
The art studio wasn't big, and there weren't many students, so soon the Duke was right in front of Elina, striking a pose as if he were a famous teacher, exuding an air of "let me test you."
"Since you've prepared so many paints, you must have many completed works. If you'd be willing to let me take a look..."
Elina took a deep breath but restrained herself, pulling out the piece of art she was most satisfied with from her portfolio.
Getting guidance from a renowned artist was a rare opportunity, even if the feedback sounded harsh.
The Duke took the painting and examined it for a long time, which made Elina a bit nervous. She even started to second-guess herself.
She hadn't painted in her past life, but in that information-overloaded era, Elina had been involved in the art world. She had collaborated on commissions with several well-known ladies. Everyone knew that if you didn't know any painting techniques, you couldn't tell the difference between good and bad artwork. In a world full of dubious individuals, it was easy to be scammed in the art circle.
At least she had seen a vast number of excellent modern works and visited world-renowned museums, so when she started painting, she was inevitably influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by them.
"Totally different from what I imagined," the Duke said after a long time, praising the painting. "It's a little strange, but I think it's great. These little white spots on the leaves look like sunlight shining through."
Actually, it was "Constable's Snowflakes," Elina silently thought.
Constable's Snowflakes, as the name suggested, was a technique invented by the painter Constable. It involved adding little white spots on leaves to simulate sunlight. This technique would later become well-known, but it might not have spread to this time period yet.
The students nearby craned their necks, trying to peek at the artwork behind the Duke. Their red outfits were accentuated by his presence, making them look even more frightening. It was like the scene where monsters surround the Tang Monk—Elina couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, but the analogy seemed fitting.
"I think this is the first time I've seen this kind of technique, where you paint with the strokes of color," the Duke continued to praise.
This made Elina break into a cold sweat. She just remembered that Monet, who created the "color separation technique," had yet to hold an exhibition, and she wasn't sure if Monet even existed in this world.
Monet's "color separation technique" was his signature style. Before him, most painters blended their pigments to create a smooth surface, with no visible brushstrokes. But Monet painted with tiny color strokes, which, when seen from a distance, created a "visual blend" effect. This allowed for rich color while maintaining brightness.
The Duke returned the painting to Elina. "Your grasp of color is excellent. Maybe it's because of your love for paints?"
"Perhaps," Elina replied as she took back the artwork. She could see a family portrait she had painted before. Her family had modeled for her more than once. She even remembered how her mother had specially dug out an old evening dress from her wardrobe for the portrait. It was a stunning dress made from rose-red plain hard silk, with glass-bead-like pearl embellishments on the hem, and a wide waist belt tied in a bow at the back...
She seemed to have fallen into a misunderstanding, trying to improve on the existing dress-up games, but in reality, to play dress-up, you don't need adhesive stickers or mobile games. The simplest dress-up toy is paper.
Printing characters, clothes, and accessories on paper, cutting them out, and mixing and matching—this is the essence of dress-up games. Plus, you can even reuse the illustrations from the club's magazine.
Elina had an epiphany.
She was eager to try this out, but when she turned around, she realized that the Duke was sitting on the chair of a neighboring student, resting his chin on his hands and staring at her in an unusually cute way.
Elina jumped, "Sorry, I was just thinking about something... important."
"I could tell, which is why I didn't interrupt you!" The "understanding" Duke asked, "So, what were you thinking?"
She looked at the curious Duke and the classmates sneakily peeking over. A vague idea began to form in her mind.
Elina certainly longed to restore her human appearance, but that wouldn't solve everything. Once any of the crimson skin was discovered, she would be considered a monster, and even if she looked human, the very fact that she was a monster would likely stir up more fear.
All the free people had to shed the appearance of a monster. Moreover, they had to be more beautiful than ordinary humans.
She remembered a viral online trend: "She's so beautiful, what's wrong with forgiving her?" "I knew she was innocent the moment I laid eyes on her." Though it was mostly a joke, it reflected the idea that if someone is beautiful enough, people are less likely to distrust or dislike them.
So, what if they weren't monsters? What if they were just a group of innocent, pitiful, and beautiful humans? If they were like true vampires, with many supporters to defend them... Why couldn't they?
"In my thoughts..." Elina pondered for a moment, pulling a name from the depths of her memory. "Paper Dolls."
The classmates all turned to look at her with curiosity. To be honest, it looked like the scene from an American horror movie, and no matter how many times Elina saw it, it still startled her.
"Paper Dolls?" The Duke repeated, asking, "What is that?"
"It's a kind of toy," she traced the outline of a character on the paper, "You print a doll on paper
, along with its clothes, hats, and accessories, then you cut the clothes out and dress the doll. To save costs, you can even make it black-and-white and let the readers color it in themselves."
The Duke nodded obediently as he listened, but from his blank expression, it was clear he didn't understand at all. "Hmm, so what's the point? I mean, why would anyone buy it? They could just draw it at home, right?"
"Not everyone knows how to draw," Vera, who was listening nearby, interjected bluntly. She turned to Elina and said, "I think I get what you mean. It's like when I was a child and made clothes for my dolls, choosing different outfits to dress them up. It's also a pursuit of 'beauty,' right?"
Elina nodded, adding, "And isn't 'Ladies' Monthly' running at a loss? If we can reuse those woodblocks..."
The Duke, not understanding the appeal of dress-up games, nevertheless agreed to the idea of reusing the woodblocks. "It will cost more paint, but... why not give it a try? After all, it's already a loss."
He tapped Elina's drawing board, confidently saying, "Since this 'Paper Doll' idea came from you, you're in charge of it!"
Elina widened her eyes. She had played many dress-up sticker games and dress-up video games before, but she had no idea how these things were actually made. She looked at the Duke, then at her curious classmates, and sighed.
It turned out she was the only one in the club who knew anything about dress-up games!
"Alright, leave it to me," Elina said, putting on an air of confidence, as if everything was already under her control.
However, once the lesson ended, she immediately packed up her art supplies, returned to her room, and asked the butler to gather every women's magazine on the market, including *Ladies' Monthly*.