People who have been following this blog for a while know that I like to work in batches. For my sanity, I usually try to keep my batches to four or five paper doll outfits at most. I recently finished a big batch of C Pose guy paper doll clothing. So, since I think they’ve been a bit neglected as of late (the last C Pose set was back in April), I thought I would devote this whole week to guy paper doll clothing.
That’s right. A whole week of guy stuff!
And we’re starting with some contemporary summer clothing.
Last night, I was chatting with a friend as I colored this set and I was like, “I need a color scheme.”
And he said, “Purple and pink.”
So, today’s colorful set of guy clothing is thanks to my friend and his liberal views of men’s clothing colors. I confess I am kinda conservative in the guy clothing color schemes. I am trying to spread my wings and go for something different today. After all, everyone should get to wear whatever colors they like.
By the way, if you missed it, Friday’s paper doll was this fun B Pose superhero and there’s an second color scheme for that on my Patreon page for anyone to download and print if you want. It’s also in a purple and pink color scheme.
I guess I’ve just been in a purple mood as of late!
I usually try not to copy things as closely as I did on this one, but I just really loved the tunic design. I changed the colors to green (though there’s a blue version on my Patreon page for Patrons).
That’s really all I got. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you guys.
So, I wanted to try to draw some formal fantasy paper doll clothing. I originally created this fantasy outfit for the C Pose guys and I think of it as a kinda classic fantasy outfit in a style I draw a lot. I wanted to do a spin-off outfit that would feel more formal and refined- like if this was a peasant outfit, than today’s outfit would be a prince or something.
In my head, the tunic is velvet over a silk shirt. I’m not sure what the pants are made of. Maybe something like really thin fine leather? Or perhaps a very nice soft wool? Silk wouldn’t stand up well to any sort of wear. Rather than my usual sword accessories, I decided a book was more fitting, though I’m sure he can borrow a weapon from here if he needs one.
There’s an alternative color scheme available for my Patrons over on my Patreon page. Join if you want. It’s a fun group and I try to post content there every week from my sketchbook or other sources.
When I first started the Dames and Dandies series, I made a list of some of the things I knew I needed to draw for them. A sort of wish list of sets that I knew I would want, because I try to draw a diverse variety of styles and sets.
One of the things towards the top of the list was to create what I think of as “classic fantasy” attire for all of the poses. To me, classic fantasy is sort of quasi-medieval looks with tunics for men and long gowns for women. Lots of solid colors and boots, maybe a sword or two.
In short, the think of Tolkien inspired stuff that tends to be classic when you imagine fantasy clothing.
There’s an additional color scheme for today’s paper doll on my Patreon page.
I watch a lot of science fiction television. I finished the first season of Dark Matter a while ago. I haven’t gotten into the second season. I’m also watching The Gifted, an X-men like show, and the latest season of the X-files (though I gotta admit, it is not that good.)
Is there another sci-fi show I should check out? I haven’t gotten to the second season of Stranger Things, yet. That’s also on my list.
Anyway, all this sci-fi television watching inevitably seeps its way into my paper dolls. I love imagining the styles of the future. I also find it fascinating the different ways the future is portrayed. I think you can tell a lot about when a show was made by how it describes the future. There’s the idealistic future of Star Trek and the more gritty future of Dark Matter.
I designed this set of sci-fi clothing thinking about a semi-gritty sort of future. Not too gritty, or wearing white leather on boots probably wouldn’t be a great idea. I don’t recall there being a particular set of reference images for today’s printable paper doll clothing. I’m sure I pulled some images from my sci-fi fashion Pinterest board, but I can’t remember anything specific.
So, I am curious. Do you watch sci-fi? Is there a great show I should check out? Let me know in a comment. I love to hear from you guys.
I grew up in Alaska. And if there is one thing that is true about Southeast Alaska, it is a super green place. There’s so many trees and foliage and moss. It’s as though the whole forest is shades of green.
Among all these mounds of different green things, there were many ferns. I grew up referring to most of the ferns as fiddlehead ferns, only to learn recently that there are several species that have that common name.
The “fiddlehead” of the fern is the coiled part that develops as the fern is growing.
I wanted to design a men’s suit to go with all the floral theme, but I couldn’t think of a masculine flower. So, instead I found myself reminded that the top a fiddlehead fern looks a bit like the top of a cane.
Once that occurred to me, today’s 18th century inspired men’s suit for a paper doll prince was born. It’ll fit the C Pose paper dolls, FYI.
Yeah, I confess my brain works in strange ways sometimes.
The fiddlhead ferns trim his cutway coat, decorate the cane and his crown. Full blooming ferns decorate the sleeves. The shapes on the edges of fern leaves echo the trim on the vest. The colors of ferns inspired the green color scheme.
I mean, I could hardly make a “fiddlehead fern suit” and then turn it bright red.
Also, I should add, that fiddleheads are edible and are quite tasty sautéd with butter and garlic. On the other hand, what isn’t tasty sautéd with butter and garlic? I think I would eat shoe leather if it was covered in enough butter and garlic.
I digress.
This suit was designed, of course, for the C Pose dandies and goes with yesterday’s lily ball gown. I don’t draw a lot of prince paper doll clothing, so I had fun designing this suit and crown for a paper doll prince, or king, I suppose.
Every once in a while, I draw something that I can’t wait to share. This was one of those outfits. It’s kinda funky, detailed and a little sexy, I think.
Okay, so to start with I guess you could call this a steampunk suit. I mean, it’s definitely in that genre, but the silhouette is very much Regency, not Victorian. Here’s a few source images to show what I mean. There’s this famous drawing of “Beau” Brummel and this lovely men’s fashion plate as examples.
So, as you can see, the shorter double breasted jacket and the vest and such are all very Regency, as are the fitted trousers tucked into boots. But I made my jacket shorter than would have been common and my vest longer to really show off the style. And, of course, thigh high boots were probably not that common in the period.
Here’s an 1860’s suit in case you’re curious what an actual Victorian suit looks like.
I had some trouble coming up with a color scheme. I really wanted to use a lot of brown, but I didn’t want to just use browns. That seemed boring. So, I accented my browns with orange and teal.
To go with my suit, I drew a top hat and a cane, because it seems to me that any well dressed steampunk gent should have those accessories.
After I’d drawn this outfit and colored it, I decided to try out a second color scheme in blacks and reds. You can head over to the Patreon page and see that version. It’s very Gothic feeling. Sometimes, I think most steampunk outfits would look gothic if you just made them black, not brown.
But the steampunk entranced friends seem to always get irritated when I point that out.
Anyway, check it out if you like and let me know which color scheme you like better.
As I mentioned Wednesday, my initial plan was to start with this set for the Pose C paper doll guys, because I figured- All the guys I know wear jeans.
But then I also thought, ‘Jeans are kinda boring’
And that thought won out. So, here are the jeans and basic tops. I figure the guys of pose C (or guy of Pose C, as there is only Changrui at the moment) can wear these to hang out with friends, go to the bar or on a casual date. The shirts are all based on things I’ve seen college students wearing.
I have no idea what is fashionable for men these days, so I tend to rely on college student observation. I suspect college students tend towards the casual, so if I decide to draw some suits for the guys I’ll have to do some more research.
The fact is that most men’s clothing in the last 50 years has changed in nuance, not substance. The width of the tie worn with a suit. The shape of the trousers. The presence or lack of a hat. These are the things that define men’s clothing.
It’s all much more subtle than most changes to ladies clothing, but perhaps I only say that because I lack the practiced eye to analyze it. Something worth thinking about, I suspect.
Any way, I am pretty satisfied with these jeans and I like the t-shirts. When I think of playing with paper dolls, I am reminded that they need basics as much as they need exotic options.
Originally, I was going to start the guys series with jeans, but after I thought about it, I decided the jeans were too boring. Realistic? Oh yeah, but… not exactly pulpy fantasy armor or an elegant fantasy gown.
So, I moved the jeans to Friday and instead decided to open up with these post-apocalyptic outfits. Plus a reader commented on my Facebook page about how excited she was for more post-apocalyptic clothing.
See? I do actually listen to people.
Anyway, I spent most of Christmas time with my parents in the Southwest. I also spent most of that trip working on paper dolls for this month like mad woman. So, the colors of this post-apocalyptic clothing really reflect the colors of the desert. The thing about the desert is that at first glance it just looks brown. When you really watch how the color changes when the light changes, you realize there’s a whole depth of ochre, hazy purple and soft mossy teal there. Suddenly, the desert doesn’t look brown anymore than a forest is just green.
It is one of the things I love about the desert.
It is also the same color scheme that I used for this Sprite’s paper doll set of apocalyptic clothing. I had planned on developing a new color scheme, but I rapidly realized that my “new” color scheme was almost identical to this older color scheme, so I decided to borrow it instead.
