This is the nerdiest thing I've ever done.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Reconcilable Differences, a podcast on Relay.fm hosted by Merlin Mann and John Siracusa.

During a conversation about clothes on episode 14, Merlin suggested to the audience that they maybe make a paper doll of John so that he could get a makeover without actually getting a makeover. John didn't seem too thrilled with the idea but it sounded like fun so, y'know, sorry John*.

These days, most of my illustrations exist as thoroughly layered Photoshop files - keeping things flexible can be useful when a client asks you to move things around. I figured that a paper doll would be a natural fit for this way of working and, with the exception of a few fiddly bits, it proved pretty straightforward.

So I battered out an unflattering drawing of J-Sir (again, sorry!) and spent an hour or two on the lightbox fitting him with some clothes and things. Scan it all into Photoshop, add a bit of colour and that's a pretty productive Saturday night right there. I know how to party when I need to.

I had planned to add more outrageous items of clothing to the collection but, honestly, I was already plenty embarrassed that I was playing dress up with a man from a podcast. Putting him in a Darth Vader suit wasn't going to make either of us look any cooler. Most of the clothes are things described in the episode, I guess the makeover will have to wait.

You can download a PSD version of the paper doll over here (there's a fully knolled-out illustration on that page too). Turn different layers on and off to create different outfits. Feel free to add to it and share it around.

If people like it, I'll probably revisit the Siracusa doll sometime in the future. Drawing more clothes doesn't take long and it might be cool to try out some different ideas. If you have any requests or feedback, let me know on Twitter or in the comments below and I'll see what I can do.

* A note to JS - if you see this and really don't like this stupid thing that I've made, I'll take it down right away. I know it's weird.