Marisole Monday: Coastal Princess

Posted on April 29, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

Today, we have Margot rocking a fantasy look. I know the title seems of today’s paper doll seems a little odd. There’s nothing obviously seafaring about this paper doll, but I already knew that I wanted an ocean color scheme for her before I posted today’s Margot. On Saturday, I went to my favorite game shop to pick up some new dice and met a nice art student with whom I chatted for a while. He spoke so vividly about the colors of the entertainment sea that I knew I wanted to use them in my next paper doll set. You’ll have to wait to next week to see her colored, but I think she’s going to look wonderful.

Spring has come to Alabama and with it pollen. I never used to have allergies and now I am sniffling and sneezing up a storm. No one warned me about this problem when I moved here… It’s beautiful. The trees are blooming. The birds are singing. And I have forgotten what it feels like to have both nostrils working. People keep saying it will be over soon, but I wonder what “soon” actually means.

Back on the paper doll front, I always have trouble coming up with accessory items for the paper dolls. Does anyone have ideas for medieval fantasy-ish sets like this one? I seem to draw a lot of books and boxes and scrolls and swords. I suppose more jewelry would be an option… I need to think on it. Though this might be the last fantasy paper doll set for a while. I’m feeling a little restless with the style.

Posted in Black & White, Margot, Marisole Monday & Friends, Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Magnetic Set for Grandma…

Posted on April 26, 2013 by RLC

Vintage Magnetic Paper Doll So, I made my Grandma a set of magnetic paper dolls. And she was very happy. And she sent me this very nice thank you note and she observed that her paper doll was lonely.

So, I made her additional dolls. Since she does not use the internet, I feel completely safe posting these here. The originals have been cut out and, along with more clothing from the other Marisole Magnetic sets, been sent off for her to enjoy. I am thinking of them as an early Mother’s day present for her. I’m working on something for my Mother as well, but since she actually reads this blog, I have to be tight lipped about the whole affair.

Please note that these girl’s can wear anything that the Magnetic Marisole’s can wear, so feel free to make them pirates or something.

You can get directions for making magnetic paper dolls, if you need them.

Vintage Styled Paper Doll
Vintage Paper Doll Download Vintage Paper Doll’s Friends
Posted in Magnetic Marisole, Magnetic Paper Doll | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

“Klippdocka” is Swedish for Paper Doll…

Posted on April 25, 2013 by RLC

Logo for Paper Dolls Around the Web One of my readers, Erin, reminded me that klippdocka is the word for paper doll in Swedish (since I did that post on Påklædningsdukker) and so that sent me scurrying off to image searches (I actually like Bing more than Google for this sort of thing) and I found a lot and got reminded about a blog I’d rather forgotten about, despite having it on my links page.

Anna’s Blog hasn’t been active in a few years, but since the archives are available, its worth checking out. Her paper dolls are beautifully rendered in pencils and markers, always full color and vibrant. Her main paper doll has incredible historical costumes (this is my favorite) and she has other beautiful paper doll sets as well. I can’t say enough nice things about her work, and I wish she was still blogging with us.

Other Swedish dolls about include a vintage aesthetic paper doll by Agnes Brandels and a Fröken Hallonsemla paper doll with a really cute cat.

Here’s a high fashion paper doll and here’s one that is a ballerina paper doll.

A 30th birthday paper doll with a great Hula outfit is pretty funny.

Vintage style pin up paper doll, safe for work, I promise… and another vintage feeling paper doll named Emily with jumpers, lots of jumpers.

I have noticed a lot of vintage styling in these Swedish paper dolls. I think people associate paper dolls with the past more than the present, which is a pity I suppose. Online dress up games are very popular these days, but for me, as a child, the best thing about a paper doll was getting to draw my own costumes for them. I wonder if that are of the equation is missing, both with magnetic paper dolls and with the online kind.

Who knew looking for klippdocka would make my nostalgic? As always, enjoy the paper dolls.

Posted in Sets of Links | 2 Comments

Marisole Monday & Friends: Marisole as an Elven Maiden

Posted on April 22, 2013 by RLC

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

So, a while ago I had a contest to name the Mini Maidens. Natalie won my contest and therefore won her very own custom paper doll. Natalie selected a Marisole Monday & Friends paper doll as the basis for her paper doll, specifically Marisole.

Natalie Wrote:

I would love to have an Elf themed sort of thing like in the Lord of the Rings (with marisole)… Also can you make sure she has a bow and arrows?(that would be awesome!)…. I’m sort of imagining her with a little medievial themed clothing.

So I openly confess that the last time I read Lord of the Rings I was thirteen, stuck in Italy and only got through it due to the lack of other English language reading material. I’m not much of a Tolkien fan, truth be told. Never the less, I liked the movies (not enough to own them, just enough to not mind watching them with others) and I do think Tolkien was the father of modern epic fantasy. Not being a huge epic fantasy reader, the jury is out as to whether or not this was good thing.

Needless to say, I wanted to try to capture the spirit of the LOtR elves from the movie to the best of my ability without actually copying anything from the films. The Costumer’s Guide to Movie Costumes was a godsend in this regard, proving me with a wealth of photos of elven costumes to pull from. The kimono sleeves are my addition, because I love kimono sleeves and the modified mandarin collars give everything a tiny bit of Asian flair.

Normally, I don’t post both the black and white and the color versions at the same time and I won’t be doing this again, but I didn’t want to make Natalie wait for the color version of her paper doll set. Both are here for printing, so people can select their choice. I did a sort of autumn theme for the colors. Natalie didn’t give me any guidance on the color scheme, since she said she wanted to be surprised.

Natalie, if this color scheme is a little too surprising, let me know. I can re-color them for you. :)

So, did I capture the spirit of Lord of the Rings or totally fall flat? Let me know in a comment, since I’m not going to be picking up those books again if I can help it.

Posted in Black & White, Full Color, Marisole, Marisole Monday & Friends | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Pixie & Puck: Philippa… Named for a Queen

Posted on April 17, 2013 by RLC

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

Another fantasy Medieval sort of Pixie Paper Doll for the this week. I have been on this fantasy Pixie kick for a while… I have one more of a similar style to post and then I shall have finished my flight of fancy in this direction until I get distracted and decide to turn to something else.

She is named for Philippa of Hainault who was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England in the 14th century. Philippa of Hainault is buried in Westminster Cathedral, so you can go visit her there should you be in London and feel like it. Westminster is pretty darn cool, I have to confess.

So, the response to the new lips on the Pixies has been uniformly negative. I tend to agree with the concerns leveled by my readers and therefore won’t be continuing in the style after this paper doll set.

Posted in Black & White, Full Color, Pixie & Puck, Pixies (Girls), Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Marisole Monday & Friends: Mia Goes to the Bathing Place… and gets some colors…

Posted on April 15, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable 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, as I mentioned last time, I always liked the idea of multiple costumes for various activities that was such a part of the Victorian way of dressing. Personally, I think it would be rather fun to have a special outfit I wore while visiting or yachting, but jeans and a t-shirt seem to see me through nearly all of my social engagements. I suppose that says something, perhaps not flattering, about the nature of my social engagements.

The outfits today, are, as I mentioned last week, a grey and teal skirt which can be paired with either the corset, jacket, and top hat to make a traveling or promenade suit or can be worn with the bodice trimmed in pleats for a dinner toilette. The yellow and white yachting costume is sort of practical (barely) and the bathing dress (a swimsuit to most of us) has matching slippers. All things considered I think Mia would do quite well for herself with this set on vacation. Of course, she can share her dresses with Marisole and Margot.

Personally, I just got back from gallivanting around Alabama for work and then finishing up my taxes (I hate doing taxes) and now I can consider all of my obligations for filled for the moment. As always, enjoy the paper doll and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think. Next week, there will be elves.

Posted in Full Color, Marisole Monday & Friends, Mia, Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How to Draw a Shirt for a Paper Doll

Posted on April 13, 2013 by RLC

Marisole paper doll template I think I’m grossly unqualified to be writing this post.

I don’t have any formal art training after high-school. In fact, I think of myself as an avid doodler more than I think of myself as an artist, but I’ve had a few requests for thoughts on drawing clothes for paper dolls, so I am going to try to offer a tiny tutorial on how I draw.

I encourage people to draw their own clothing for the paper dolls. That is how I learned to draw by drawing for my own paper dolls and those my mother drew for me. I think the best way to learn is to do it over and over again. I have some of my old paper dolls from high school… perhaps I shall post them for people to see my early works.

If you want to learn how I draw a t-shirt, the post continues below. I don’t normally do that, but this ended up LONG, mostly due to the photos. Speaking of the photos, I am really bad at them… so, please forgive the remarkably poor iPhone pics.

Continue reading →

Posted in Tutorials | 5 Comments

Little Wren Riding Hood…

Posted on April 10, 2013 by RLC

Little Red Riding Hood Flock Paper Dolls

So, I was asked where the name Flock came from. Basically, I wanted a name that would allow for each of the paper dolls to have a unique name, but wouldn’t force me into a specific culture or letter of the alphabet. The idea was that since so many girl’s names were based on birds like Robin or Raven or Oriel, than it wasn’t a far reach to suggest names like Dove or Swan. In many ways, the names of the Flock are intended to be place holders, so that someone could name the dolls anything they wanted and they give me a way of talking about them and keeping tack of them in my head.

Today, Wren is being Little Red Riding Hood (and I am not apologizing for the pun) and she’s pretty cute. The color palette is not the same as Rapunzel, but it’s the same family of colors, so the two dolls can share some pieces of clothing I think that’s important, since the fun of paper dolls is dressing them up. There are two other Fairy Tale sets in the works, one for Rose Red and Snow White and the other for East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I don’t know which one will be done first. I’d like to also do Morgiana from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but I haven’t even got it drawn yet, so I recommend people don’t hold their breaths on that one.

Despite my small set of examples, there are actually 136 outfit combinations here, I just didn’t have time to play as much as I wanted. Sometimes life is like that… Oh well… Enjoy Little Wren Riding Hood.

Fairytale Flock: Wren as Little Red Riding Hood Set PDF Downloads
Thumbnail Image of Magnetic Paper Dolls-Dove Modern Girl Magnetic Paper Doll Thumbnail Image of Magnetic Paper Dolls- Oriole Modern Girl Magnetic Paper Doll
Wren Doll PDF Download Little Red Riding Hood
Clothing PDF Download

Posted in Flock, Magnetic Paper Doll | 11 Comments

Marisole Monday & Friends: Mia at the Bathing Place…

Posted on April 8, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

The thing I think I find most fascinating about the Victorians is how many times a day they changed their clothing and the idea of having a specific dress for a specific activity. I love reading through old fashion magazines to find out what was proper to wear for a carriage ride or afternoon tea. As a child, I loved the idea of having special outfits for riding or hiking or going for a walk. It felt exotic and fancy.

My original idea was to do a bride and her trousseau inspired by the Victorian inspired styled I love so much. I always think of this as a chance to draw Victorian inspired fantasy clothing with no guilt about lack of historical authenticity. I realized, after I started that I wasn’t sure I wanted to draw that many items, so instead focused on a smaller set of “bathing place” costumes for Mia.

So, there’s a yachting costume, a traveling suit with an alternate dinner bodice and a swim suit with slippers to match. All in all, she can handle a weekend in on the coast rather well, I think.

Posted in Black & White, Marisole Monday & Friends, Mia, Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pixie & Puck: Robynn, a Huntress

Posted on April 5, 2013 by RLC

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

Every paper doll I do is a little different. Today’s Pixie Paper Doll has a few things that are different from normal. I’ve been experimenting with how I draw the Pixie faces, so you might notice her lips are distinctly different from the other Pixies. I’m not sure how I feel about this new style, I think I’ll stick with it for the next few (since I already have their heads drawn this way) and see how I feel. Feedback, as always, is enjoyed and very useful.

So, I got an email a few weeks ago from a nice young lady name Megan who asked for:

Pale
Blue eyes
ginger
Female

Style:
Commando
Outdoors
midevil

And, debates of the spelling of Medieval aside, I was intrigued. What was a Medieval outdoors commando? I wondered and how would one dress, anyway? And so, mostly to forefill my own fascination at the concept, I drew this Pixie set. Free advice to people who make requests, the weirder the request, the more likely I am to take it on.

A couple things that are different about this Pixie than what was asked for. I did not give the doll blue eyes (mostly because I forgot) and the set is only medieval in the vaguest of senses. Still, I think she came out pretty cute. I do rather wish I’d remembered to give her blue eyes, per Megan’s request, so I hope she will forgive me that oversight.

Robynn is named for Robin Hood, of course, who robbed from the rich, gave to the poor and was generally a cool dude, though did not, necessarily exist. I had a great love of Robin Hood stories when I was a child.

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Posted in Pixie & Puck, Pixies (Girls) | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments