Full Color

Flowers and Jewels: Paper Doll Coloring Page

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I always have high hopes for October. I mean… it’s Halloween. Could there be a better holiday to celebrate with paper dolls? Any yet despite my idea that I’m really going to be festive, I hardly ever am.

I think I’ve done one Marisole Halloween set (which I didn’t feel like digging around the archives for). I remember fondly Liana’s wonderful Octobers with fantastic costumes and I always think I’m going to do something like that.

Clearly, once again, that didn’t happen.

But hey… here’s some pretty prom dresses/evening wear and it’ll be in color next week. I could say I planned on using halloween colors… but I don’t. I plan on using a lot of teal and maybe some purple.

Another sheet of paper doll clothing for Ms. Mannequin

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{Click Here for a PDF in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Color}{Click Here for a PDF of Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Black and White}

So, I actually drew this, colored it and re-sized it before I left for Alaska and before my apartment flooded. It feels weird to be posting it now, but also very nice to be getting back to the blog a little. A tiny moment of normal in what has been a very insane few weeks.

I normally tend to be someone who carefully considers options, procrastinates, gets distracted, gets bored and then, after much dawdling, finally does something. If my parents are reading this, then they are saying… Yeah, that’s about right.

Except my apartment flooded.

So, suddenly all of my procrastination habits went out the window and I found myself having to just get things done.

Finally, I’m sitting at my tiny dining room table in my new place feeling good, dislocated, confused, frustrated, but…. at least not homeless. And not homeless is a pretty impressive state at the moment.

I’m still unpacking, organizing, looking for things that got thrown into boxes. I am pleased to say that none of my sketchbooks were ruined (a few were damaged) and none of my journals were ruined (a few were damaged). I still have my master copies of all my paper dolls (thank the heavens for plastic containers). I’m pleased and thankful for all of this and for the kind words I’ve received from readers.

I don’t know if I’ll get a Marisole up next week or when the next post will happen, but hang in here with me guys. I’m trying my best.

Meet Kira… An African American Paper Doll

I decided my Tanya paper doll was lonely and needed a new paper doll friend. So, I created Kira, a stylish African American paper doll sporting a retro look. Her hair was inspired by the 1930s. Her shoes are very modern though and she can wear any clothing from the Ms. Mannequin paper doll series. If she needs more friends, eventually I do plan to draw more Ms. Mannequin dolls. These things take time, so be patient with me.

I’m traveling at the moment, back in Alaska for a little while. I really love my home state and it’s great to be able to be home and see the beautiful mountains and things…

Of course, I’ll have to return to Alabama, which is lovely as well, soon, but in the mean time, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much I love and miss Alaska.

An african-american paper doll in color with two pairs of shoes. She can wear any clothing from the Ms. Mannequin paper doll series. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com. An african-american paper doll coloring page with two pairs of shoes. She can wear any clothing from the Ms. Mannequin paper doll series. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

{Click Here for a PDF in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Color}{Click Here for a PDF of Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Black and White}{More Paper Dolls Like this}{Clothes for This Paper Doll}

Anyway… I think of Kira as a vintage inspired sort of elegant lady. Her style is distinctly art deco, in my head. How much of this resembles reality? That’s hard to say really… there’s nothing terribly vintage about her shoes. Still… she’s elegant and put together and that’s what I’m going with.

Have I mentioned I’m a little sleep deprived from the traveling thing? Well… I am.

Hearts, Denim and Bows: Paper Doll in Color

marisole-hearts-denim-bows-paper-doll{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

So, I thought I hated this color scheme. I really did.

Except when I opened the file late last night to check on it and make sure it would go up today, I discovered (to my own shock) that I actually rather liked the paper doll set all of a sudden. I’d planned to write a whiny post about how muddy it all looked…

And now I feel like she has a sort of funky 1970s vibe to her. (That might just be the little afro talking…)

Speaking of afros, there was this woman at the local Target yesterday who had the most amazing afro and I wanted to ask her to stand still so I could draw it, but I decided that would just be creepily stalker-ish, so I simply admired it from a distance.

One of the things people sometimes ask is where I get my color ideas. I’d love to say I create them all from scratch, but the truth is that I create a lot of them from scratch, but I also use Color Lovers. I mention this, because I just discovered a wonderful new site for color pallettes called Design Seeds. I haven’t used Design Seeds much yet, but I think I will soon.

Meet Fiona: Printable Paper Dolls

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Brights are on display today.

I haven’t really anything remarkable to say about Fiona except that I am rather in love with her floral dress. I’ll be traveling a bit in the middle of this month, I don’t think anything should fall apart here, but things might slow a little.

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Should be a lot of fun, I think.

So, as I said, not much to say. Enjoy the paper doll.

Look! Clothes for Ms Mannequinn Paper Dolls

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{Click Here for a PDF in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Color}{Click Here for a PDF of Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Black and White}

Ms Mannequin has some clothing, because without clothing a mannequin has no real purpose in life and the last thing you need are paper dolls having existential crises.

I’m not very comfortable sharing private stuff on the blog. I’ve never been much for public confessions and I have no desire to gain notoriety, but as Rosh Hashanah approaches, I always find myself getting introspective.

I’m a pretty secular Jew, but it’s the new year and I think it’s a good time to pause and think about things. Truth be told, as I sat down to write this post, I was expecting to say negative things, because lately I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by the blog, but in truth I have no real bad news to share.

Here we are on the eve of 5774, and really… there’s nothing to moan about. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can always find something to complain about, but the truth is the blog has been more regular this year than last year. I’ve managed to sell a few pieces to various museums and I’ve managed to pretty much do what I’ve wanted to get done.

I am, in fact, fairly happy and content with the blog. I wish I could post more, but I know that unrealistic. I wish I had more readers, but then I always wish that. I do need to get some sort of child paper doll up, since that was the winner of the poll at the usual New Year.

So, all in all… not a bad 5773. Bring on 5774, I say.

Marisole Monday & Friends: Mia with Seagulls and Seaside In Color


seagulls_seaside_mia_paper_doll_color{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

The colors on this Mia paper doll set were inspired by the Pantone 2013 Spring color report and by signal flags for nautical ships. When I was a kid, I remember my father was practicing for his captains license from the US coast guard and I would quiz him on signal flags. It was also the first time I ever heard Morse code in person.

Remarkable stuff, Morse code.

Anyway, I’m rather pleased with how the color scheme came out. Mia will be quite stylish at the yacht club in this set of costumes. I have complete faith in her sense of decorum and style.

So, normally I have no problem coming up with ideas, but lately, I’ve been feeling a little stumped on the Marisole paper doll front. So, I am open to suggestions. Anyone got something they desperately want to see?

I’ve recently had requests for cowgirls, ballerinas (probably not going to happen since tutus sort of freak me out), saris, swimsuits and opera (though I confess I don’t know a THING about opera).

Marisole Monday & Friends: Late Summer Flowers in Full Color

summer-flowers-margot-color{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

Full color version of last week’s paper doll. I wanted the colors to be a little unexpected and I really like how the patterned shorts came out.

I don’t do very many blond paper dolls, so here is one, though in hindsight, I think she’d be cuter as a brunette. I could change her, but we all know that won’t be happening, because I hate re-doing old work.

Speaking of redoing old work, there might be some black and white versions of old Marisole’s showing up on the blog in the next few weeks. It’s related to a project that’s in the works. If anyone has requests, drop me a comment. This might be the only time I ever do this.

I find I tend to work in spurts. I realized I hadn’t done a paper doll with glasses in a really long time and now I’ve done two in a row. Chances are that I won’t do another one for six months now. Funny how that works.

By the way, the summer heat of Alabama is pretty bad. I sort of wish I was living somewhere colder, like my home of Alaska, but I’m learning to survive the 90 degree weather.

Dionisia: Printable Fantasy Paper Doll

So, I used to think that cockroaches were the most annoying pest ever known to man, but recently fleas have taken over as my least favorite pest. I have been working on eradicating them from my apartment over the last few days. The Flea Eradication Effort (FEE) is progressing well, I think, though now everytime I enter my apartment I start itching (fleas or not..). Ugh….

Anyway… Let’s talk about paper dolls.

As far as paper dolls go, Pixie is pretty versatile. So, is Marisole, but perhaps because Pixie sets take fewer pieces (the average number of pieces on a Pixie paper doll set is 8 vs 11 for a Marisole Monday paper doll set), I tend to find them less intimidating. I also think the pose is easier to draw for.

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{Click Here for a PDF in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Color} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

Anyway, I was inspired to do this paper doll set by the episode The Outsider (specifically Belle’s outfit here) from Once Upon a Time. I openly confess I haven’t gotten up the energy to watch the second half of the second season of that show. I enjoyed the first season, but the second season just got a little two soap opera complicated. Trying to follow three different plot-lines each episode was confusing and I found myself feeling like I just didn’t care enough about any of the people involved. I might not finish the season.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

Despite my apathy towards the series as a whole, here’s a paper doll inspired by it, vaguely. I don’t dislike today’s paper doll, but her eyes are kinda huge and a little to faun like. Anyhow, enjoy the paper dolls and let me know if it is worth it to finish Season 2 of Once Upon a Time. 🙂

Lord of the North in Color: Fantasy Paper Doll to Print

lord-of-the-north-marcus-color{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

The Spirit of the North paper doll is sort of the same world as this one, I think, sort of the female counterpoint to this male paper doll.

Now that Julie pointed out to me that his head is out of proportion in comparison to Marisole, it’s been bothering me… but since he was in color I wanted to post him anyway. His head might be getting some surgery.

I spent a chunk of my weekend looking for a dress to wear to a wedding and trying to treat a flea problem which my apartment is currently suffering from. I used to hate cockroaches, but I have decided that fleas suck more.