Sprites

Asian Inspired Fantasy Outfits for the Sprites Printable Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Kimono, Qiapo and Stuff
A pair of fantasy outfits for the Sprites printable paper doll series based on qiapo and kimono. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

A pair of fantasy outfits for the Sprites printable paper doll series based on qiapo and kimono. Free printable paper doll coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com.

It has been a while since I dabbled in Asian dress inspired fantasy attire for the paper dolls. Sometimes, I feel a little strange borrowing from Asian traditional attire, because I don’t feel like I have the right. I pointed this out of a friend and they asked if I didn’t have the right to borrow from Japan, why did I have the right to borrow from Europe?

I really didn’t have a good answer to that one. I am certainly not now, nor have ever been, European. I was born in Alaska, after all.

Cultural appropriation is one of those areas that I never quite know how I feel. Still, being aware is important and trying to be culturally aware matters. Respecting other cultures and trying to depict them respectfully is important.

So, today’s fantasy foray crosses qiapo and kimonos in a way that doesn’t make much logical sense, but does look neat. And looking neat is an important critera for my fantasy paper doll creations. (Hence why I once drew this and got to call it armor.)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the colors in today’s pair of Sprite paper doll pieces came from this kimono. I love kimonos and their color combinations are often surprising to me. Probably, because I lack the cultural context to understand the color choices, but I always seem to enjoy the surprise.

According to this chart I saw on the internet, and we all know how trustworthy that is, orange and purple are common colors for May kimonos. In the world of kimonos, colors signify season, status, gender, age, and all sorts of other things. It is actually a fascinating area of study, if you know, you happen to be into dress.

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Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Paper Doll Skinny Jeans for Gents and Ladies (Also, T-Shirts)

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Stuff I see College Students Wearing
A pair of jeans and two t-shirts for the Sprites printable paper doll clothing series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

A pair of jeans and two t-shirts for the Sprites printable paper doll clothing series. Free to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com.

As some of you may know, I work in an academic library, so I spent a fair bit of time observing the fashion choices of college age students. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that colored skinny jeans remain popular and that even jeans for gents have gotten much more fitted.

I actually really enjoy taking break from fantasy, historical, steampunk or scifi paper doll creations to just draw some  jeans. We all wear jeans, so I think embracing that idea is well worth it.

I’ve been seeing a lot more guys wearing skinny jeans, so I ended up trying to draw a pair of skinny jeans for a the Sprites’s Gents.

For the lady, I made her skinny jeans lavender. I’ve seen a lot of colored jeans this next summer season.

I created t-shirts for them both. T-shirts are easy to draw, but hard to create new ideas are tough.

For accessories, we have a pale pink purse and a statement necklace designed to match the jeans.

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Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Steampunk Fashions for the Sprites Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Corset and These Shoes
Paper doll steampunk clothing designs for the Sprites paper doll series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com

Paper doll steampunk clothing designs for the Sprites paper doll series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

This is a week of first, it seems. Yesterday was my first 1930s dress for the Mini-Maiden series and today is my first attempt at steampunk clothing design for the Sprites printable paper dolls.

Whenever I try my hand at steampunk designs, I worry some secret cabal of steampunk clothing design purists are going to come along and say, “That’s not steampunk enough!”

I never said it was a rational worry. Let’s be clear.

Mostly, because I’m pretty sure there isn’t such a thing as a secret cabal of steampunk clothing design purists.

(But if I’m wrong and anyone is a member, wanna put in a good word for me?)

Anyway, I know this isn’t doing to be the last time I try to my hand at steampunk clothing design for the Sprites, so I did try to establish some neutral shades that I liked. That way, in the future, I can use the same browns and things to improve the mix and match options.

And now it is sources time! So here we go… The corset is based on this one, the shoes are based on these. The gent’s clothing is much more from my imagination. His trousers are vaguely inspired by 18th century men’s pants, but that’s about it.

One quick thing- tomorrow is the last say for the Reader 2017 coupon in the Etsy store. It’s 25% off of an order of 4 dollars or more. There’s steampunk designs in the Etsy store, too, if that’s your thing.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Sprites Borrow Clothing From a Coastal Fantasy World

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Fish! And This Dress on Pinterest

A set of gothic fashions for the Sprites printable paper dolls in color or black and white.

Today’s paper doll costumes are a pair of renaissance inspired fantasy outfits with an elaborate fish pattern on the gown.

In today’s renaissance fantasy paper doll fashions, I gave the Lady Sprites a blue and white dress. The Gentlemen Sprites a pale blue and grey outfit. Rather than giving the Lady Sprite shoes, I opted to create several accessory pieces including the instrument, book and sword.

So, I’m going to make a confession here:

I don’t have a lot of say about these paper doll outfits.

I drew them. I had fun drawing them. I’m actually super-duper proud of how that stylin’ fish pattern came out. But honestly, that’s about it.

After writing yesterdays long post about Snow White, I feel sorta odd that all I can say is that I picked blue and I liked fish.

And I will say that I think fish are a super cool motif. They’re a wonderful shape and I really enjoyed drawing my fish, but that’s kinda all I got.

Not the worlds most insightful post, but they can’t call be.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon.

There’s still my Reader2017 coupon for 25% off still running in the Etsy store until the end of the month. And the blog has a facebook page now, so go there, like it, and spread the word about the fun of PTP!

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Sprites Get to be a Space Prince & Space Princess

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Space Prince & Space Princess, Also This Coat
Space Prince and Space Princess printable paper doll outfits in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

Space Prince and Space Princess printable paper doll outfits in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

I go through periods of super productivity and then I go through periods when I really struggle to come up with ideas. During one of these periods, I asked my Patrons for ideas.

Boots, of the blog Popculture and Paper Dolls, suggested searching “Outrageous Dresses” and seeing what came up.

So, bereft of ideas, I did.

And then in my second “Rachel Fails to Keep Her Sources” event of the week, I failed to Pinterest save the dress I found. But I found this super cool dress that had like gold armor on it and I thought, “OMG, Space Princess!”

And so, this set of Sprite Clothing was born.

This coat from my Sci-fi/Cyberpunk Fashion Pinterest board inspired the Gent’s outfit. I added the closures and made them gold to match the Lady’s outfit.

When I’m designing fantasy stuff based on history, I often think in terms of eras. I want to combine the 1820s and them maybe something renaissance and then… Well, you get tomorrow’s post.

But with sci-fi stuff, I think a bit about the world the clothing would belong in. Clothing is, after all, always a reflection of the society that birthed it. So for these outfits, I imagine a very technologically advanced society, maybe a utopia (or perhaps distopia?) sort of place.

What sort of world do you imagine these outfits belong in? I’d love to know.

Meanwhile, if you love the blog, and want to see more about how my process works, then become a patron. As little as 1 dollar a month gets you behind the scenes of PTP and is super appreciated.

Plus, my Reader2017 is only good until the end of the month which is approaching, so pop over to the the Etsy store  if you haven’t yet.  Also, the blog has a facebook page now, though I suspect most folks probably already know that.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

The Sprites Paper Dolls & Their Gothic Fashions

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Gothic Fashions
A paper doll page of gothic fashions from the Sprites printable paper dolls in color or black and white. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

A set of gothic fashions for the Sprites printable paper dolls in color or black and white.

Sometimes, I create paper doll clothing set and then I forget about them. This happens to me with disturbing regularity. So, I could have sworn that I posted these gothic paper doll Sprites outfits back in November of 2016. As it turns out, I had them totally done, but didn’t get them formatted or saved as PDFs.

So, clearly my memory was deeply flawed. Here they are in today all their gothic paper doll fashion glory. Better late than never.

When I dabble in gothic fashion, I try to create things that are interesting and not all black. Black is a challenging color for printable paper dolls, because printers have varying sensitivities to it. So, sometimes the tones are too dark and other times they are too light. I try to find a compromise by using several different shades of black in the same outfit which keeps the outfit from feeling flat.

This is a trick I use with pretty much all my paper doll clothing, but in black pieces it is particularly important

The other big challenge of the Sprites printable paper dolls is the fact that they exist in pairs. Every lady printable paper doll outfit is accompanied by a gentlemen’s printable paper doll outfit. This symmetry is both part of the fun and part of the frustration.

In today’s gothic fashions, I gave the Lady Sprites a black and purple scheme. The Gentlemen Sprites have a black and red color scheme.

This is the last Sprites printable paper doll set from my stash. So, I have to get working on finishing some things in progress for March. The problem with a strong backlog is that it lulls me into a false sense of confidence.

Meanwhile, if you love the blog, then consider donating through Patreon.

There’s still my Reader2017 coupon running in the Etsy store and the blog has a facebook page now.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

A Fancy Valentine’s Day Affair with the Sprites Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Valentine’s Day & James Bond

I seriously thought I had done a set of suits for the Sprites before this, but I think I was thinking of the Sprite’s predecessor the Pixie and Puck series. So, here is the first suit for the Sprites gents and, I think, the first ballgown for the Sprites ladies. A bunch of first today.

Also, it’s Valentine’s Day! So, Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s a paper doll!

On the left, there’s a tuxedo with a white jacket, very James Bond, for the Sprites Guys. On the right, there’s an evening gown for the Sprite’s Ladies.

The pink heart was supposed to be one of those padded boxes of chocolate, but I’m not sure that’s very obvious.

Looking for other Valentine’s Day paper dolls? There’s a few more options here.

Also, there’s an different color scheme for these Sprites outfits over on my Patreon page. It’s open to the public as a Valentine’s Day treat. Of course, if while you are there, you want to become a patron, well, I wouldn’t mind at all. 🙂

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Ursula’s Modern Clothes: A Printable Paper Doll

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  What I see College Girl’s wearing
A black paper doll with her dreads in an updo and cute contemporary clothing. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

First off, my favorite thing about this Ursula paper doll is her hair. I love dreads and I particularly think they look cool when they are styled up into an updo.

Because the lady Sprites have much smaller stands then the guy sprites, I could fit two pairs of shoes onto this page with with Ursula. So, I did a pair of white shoes and a pair of black shoes. I figured that covered all the basic shoes a person might need.

All the Ursula dolls have the same skintone, so she had borrow some sandals from her mermaid version if she wants too. If there are more Ursula paper dolls (and there probably will be eventually), then you can pick out shoes from those dolls as well. Any of the shoes that don’t show skin tone, of course, will fit any of the Sprites ladies.

And if you enjoy the blog, but want to see my process and get early previews, then join us on Patreon. It’s a lot of fun.

Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Zachary: A Modern African-American Guy Paper Doll

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  What I see College Guys Wearing, But With More Color
A casually dressed African-American guy paper doll with shorts, sandals and short hair. Part of the Sprites series, he can share clothing with of the other Sprites guys. Free to print in color or black and white.

Back when the Sprites started, I had planned to start with a lady paper doll as the first Sprite. However, I’d decided to name them in reverse alphabetical order. I find if I have a naming scheme it makes coming up with paper doll names easier.

So, I was stuck with starting with Z. There just aren’t that many names that start with Z, so I started with Zachary here instead of starting with Yumiko.

I’m sure you all really cared about this random piece of paper doll blog history.

Anyway, I do think there are advantages to contemporary dolls. I think they sort of act as basic options. There’s no colorful hair here, so this version of Zachary could be a mermaid or he could be going to the park or borrowing this nifty elf armor, The point is that he’s a bit more neutral than the two pervious Zachary versions I have created.

Tomorrow, there will be a contemporary fashion Ursula to join Zachary.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog on Patreon I would be mighty appreciative. If you are interested in the process of how I work, there’s a behind the scenes blog there.

Alternatively, you can follow the blog on facebook for blog updates, some random sketchbook photos (which my Patrons see first, I confess), fun historical fashion things I find, and picks from the Archives.

Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Sprites as Superheroes

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  The Golden Age of Superheros
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Every year, I ask my Patrons to for ideas in December. I try to get to all their suggestions over the course of the year. And some of their suggestions were already in the works! That works out well for me and for them, because no one wants to wait eight months for a paper doll request to happen.

(Of course, sometimes people do, because that’s just how the cookie crumbles, but I do my best to be responsive to my Patrons.)

The Steger Family, some of my Patrons, asked for Superheroes. Well, today there are some. I don’t really know why Superheroes are required to wear absurd jumpsuits, but that seems to be the thing they do.

I try to draw what my Patron’s request. They, after all, giving me money. Join if you want to here.

When I was designing this set, I wanted to do a call back to classic comics. Back in the old days, comics could only be printed in a limited collection of colors- red, blue, yellow and black. Back in those days, the colors were printed as tiny dots and the dots overlapped each other creating the other colors.

The limitations of this printing style often meant that the color schemes for heroes and villains were very boldly defined by their colors. The Joker, for example, wears green and purple. Superman wears red and blue for the same reason. As a nod to that practice, I wanted to do this set of Sprites paper dolls in a limited color collection.

I was inspired to draw this set when I read that Superheroes out sold Princesses for Halloween in 2016. I have no idea where I read it, but there you go.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.