black hair

Meet Shirou the New Sprites Gent in a Stylin’ Suit

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Sprites Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Suits! All the Suits!
An Asian guy printable paper doll with a dashing three piece grey suit. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

An Asian guy printable paper doll with a dashing three piece suit. Free to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com.

While my second doll ever in the Sprites printable paper doll collection was Yumiko, I haven’t done an Asian guy yet for the Sprites and I wanted to do that today. I am pleased to introduce to everyone Shirou. Shirou is a Japanese name which means Fourth Son. It’s traditionally given to the, wait for it, fourth son. I though it was super fitting, because Shirou is my fourth male Sprites paper doll. The others are (in order of “birth”) Zachary, Xavier and  Víctor.

I also ended up making his suit grey which is the same color as yesterday’s suit for Teresa. Anyone want to guess my favorite suit color? (Hint: It is not Navy. 🙂 )

Back when PTP began, I was petrified of trying to draw Asian features. Mostly, it was the epicanthic fold that worried me. I was also self conscious that, as a non-Asian, I didn’t want to draw a caricature. While it has taken me a long time, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the whole epicanthic fold thing and come to realize there is huge variation in this feature.

See, more then you wanted to know about the epicanthic fold.

So, what do you think of today’s Sprite paper doll? Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from you all.

Want to help keep the blog on the internet? Donate on Patreon.

Oh, and tomorrow, there will be another installment of the Poppets 1920s series and on Friday, come around for the next piece in the 2017 Collab paper doll project.

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

Poppet Paper Dolls Play At Snow White

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Poppets Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Snow White
A Snow White paper doll printable with a dress, apple and shoes. Free printable in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

A Snow White paper doll printable with a dress, apple and shoes. Free printable in black and white to color from paperthinpersonas.com.

One of my long term projects this year has been drawing fairy tale and nursery rhyme inspired Poppet paper dolls. You can find them all under the creatively named Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhyme Poppet Series. Today, there is a Snow White paper doll. Other fairy tales I have been working on are Hansel & Gretel and Little Red Ridinghood. I’ve already posted Little Bo Peep and the Princess and the Frog (though I did that one long before I started the series.)

In some fairy tales the look of the main character hardly matters, but Snow White is not one of those fairy tales. The 1857 edition of Brother’s Grimm contains the tale of Snow White and it opens like this:

“Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful that she thought to herself, “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame.”

It seems somehow wrong to create a Snow White paper doll without giving her super pale skin, black hair and red lips. Her skin isn’t actually white, but it is fairer than any of the other skin tones I have ever done for the Poppets. So, she won’t be sharing shoes that show flesh with anyone.

For her dress, I wanted to show some of forest elements that are so integral to the story, hence the trees and butterflies. In the 1857 version of the tale there are three attempts on Snow White’s life.

The first is with a bodice lace (like a shoe lace but for a corset) that is laced so tight it strangles her. The second is with a poisoned comb and the third is the apple attempt. I did not draw a comb, but I did was to give my Snow White paper doll a lace up bodice to reference that first attempt.

Of course, the 1857 version also ends with Snow White and the Prince torturing the Evil Queen to death with red hot shoes. As usual, older Fairy Tales are a trifle violent and rather dark.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon. If you’re not sure wha the behind the scenes blog posts are like here’s two I’ve opened to the public- sketchbook photos and Some Stuff about my Process.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Ursula’s Modern Clothes: A Printable Paper Doll

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Sprites Paper Dolls}

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

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Sprites Paper Dolls}

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.

Min-Seo’s Tudor Inspired Paper Doll Fantasy Gown

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Abstracted Snowflakes, Tudor Women’s Gowns, and Pearls
A Tudor fantasy gown and a paper doll to wear it. Print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

A Tudor fantasy gown and a paper doll to wear it. A paper doll coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com

Sometimes, I get to design fun and absurd fantasy gowns inspired by the Tudors. This is totally one of those times. I knew I wanted to do a fantasy Min-Seo paper doll, because I do so many fantasy dresses.

Because of the stiffness of the clothing, a Tudor fantasy gown is a really great opportunity to play with elaborate pattern. At first, I conceived of the pattern on her skirt being snowflake inspired. Since, I didn’t want to make yet another blue and white and grey winter gown. When I actually started coloring it, it stopped looking much like snow.

I do think the eggplant/magenta color on the gown does feel autumnal to me. I can’t imagine this a summer gown, but I’m not really sure it is a winter gown. What do you think of my color scheme? Should I have stuck with my blues and grays?

As often happens with paper dolls who’ve got black hair, I feel like the complexity of her hairstyle got a little lost. It’s much more clear in the black and white coloring page version. No matter how you slice it, black line-work tends to disappear against dark dark grey I use for hair. I also gave her black toenails, because it amused me. No other reason. Painted toenails were not a Tudor thing, but that’s why I say Tudor fantasy gown and not Tudor gown.

So, this gives us one punk Min-Seo from Monday. Today’s Tudor fantasy gown wearing Min-Seo. Tomorrow there will be a historical Min-Seo paper doll from the 1920s, so stay tuned.

As always, if you love the blog, then think about becoming a patron and/or leaving a comment. Always love to hear from you guys.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing for the Ladies Here. 

Marisole Monday & Friends: Marisole In 1968

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1968 Pattern Covers, Jumpers and Harvest Colors

A free printable African-American paper doll with hair and a dress from 1968 from paperthinpersonas.com.

marisole-1968-paper-doll-vintage

I created today’s printable African-American paper doll from the Marisole Monday & Friend’s series after I was inspired by this amazing vintage pattern cover from 1968 that I found on Pinterest. Brown skinned models don’t show up on pattern covers from the big name companies until the 1970s, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t brown skinned girls wearing and making the fashions.

The omission of diversity in historical fashion related documents is the result of the institutionalized racism of the time, but doesn’t indicate a lack of the presence of people of color in fashionable dress.

And now that I have finished my Primary Source Literacy explanation for the day (a danger of being a Special Collections Librarian), we can get back to the paper doll.

My only big frustration with today’s doll is her hair. I tried to get that 1960’s bouffant sorta look with her flip and I just don’t think I quite got it right. People say the 1980s were a time for big hair, but I think that is because they haven’t seen the 1960s. Teasing and hairspray were big things.

I love Pinterest for collecting paper doll inspiration and I have a whole 1960s fashion board, but things there often lack contextual information, so I tend to be pretty critical of what I use.

I know I have readers who were alive in the 1960s, so let me know how I did with today’s paper doll. Did I do justice to that decade? It was, I have to say, a bit before my time.

Love the blog? Think about donating through Patreon.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here. 

B&B: An Asian-American Paper Doll with a Modern Dress

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Bodacious and Buxom Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Shoes! Mostly. 

A curvy Asian paper doll from the B&B paper doll series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

Once in a while, it is all about the shoes and this is one of those once in a while moments, I gotta admit. I just had so much fun designing shoes, plus I wanted to make sure my new member of the B&B paper doll family had at least two options when she went out into the world.

There are other things going on here than shoes, of course, and one of them is that paper doll diversity is super important to me. I realized a few months ago that I hadn’t drawn an Asian paper doll for the B&B series since I made Chic Chick back in 2015.

So, I wanted to add another Asian or Asian-American paper doll girl to the B&B paper doll family. Plus, I just noticed she is in a very similar color scheme to Chic Chick, so she can totally share clothing, no problem. I did not do that on purpose.

I sometimes worry people think I am WAY more organized about that kinda stuff than I actually am.

Tomorrow, there will be a fantasy gown for the Mini-Maiden series. So, that should be super fun.

And if you love the blog, think about becoming a patron.

So, what do you think of today’s B&B paper doll? Do you love her shoes as much as I do? Leave me a comment and let me know. I love hearing from you guys.

Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here

Ms Mannequin: Meet Sunitha

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Ms. Mannequin Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Files I Find on My Computer Years Later

A free printable paper doll of a young woman named Sunitha in color or black and white.

Sunitha is a Hindi name meaning “well conducted, polite,” according to Behind the Name (my favorite name website). When I am trying to find a name from a culture that I don’t know much about, in this case India, I usually google search the name to see if anyone has it who is famous. Sometimes, that tells me if the name is common or something super unusual.

I was comforted when I found out that Sunitha is also the name of an actress and playback artist, Sunitha Upadrashta, in the Telugu cinema industry. For those of you who, like me, didn’t know what the Teluga film industry is, it is a region of India which produces films much like the classic Bollywood movies. My favorite Indian restaurant plays Bollywood films and I find them totally fascinating, though I confess I don’t really get the plots that often.

The truth is that I kinda found today’s paper doll on my computer, but I created her several years ago. Super embarrassing, but it does happen erratically. She has a new skintone to add to the Ms. Mannequinn collection and any future dolls with the same green colored bases will have the same skintone for additional shoe sharing options.

Everything is better with additional shoe sharing options.

Do let me know what you think of today’s paper doll Sunitha in a comment. I always like to hear from my readers. Plus if anyone knows if Sunitha is a common Hindi name, that would be cool to know, too. 🙂

And, as always, if you love the blog, then join Patreon. It helps keep it chugging along on the internets. And a big thank you to everyone is already is a patron.

Need some clothing for today’s Ms Mannequin paper doll? Pick Out Some Ms. Mannequin Clothing Here

B&B: A Curvy Black Princess & Her Amazing Boots

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Bodacious and Buxom Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pageant Hair, The Toddler Paper Dolls of Paper Doll School, A Pixie Set Called Dionsia, and Boots Made for Walkin’.

A brown skinned fantasy paper doll to print with some dark rockin' boots and an elegant gown. Free from paperthinpersonas.com.

Can I confess that my favorite part of today’s curvy paper doll to print are those amazing boots? I want them. I don’t know where I would ever wear them, but I would find a way.

For a while, Julie of Paper Doll School was making Toddler Paper Dolls inspired by some of her older paper doll sets. Like this toddler paper doll set named Riley is based on an older set named Ruby.  I thought this was a really cool idea, but wasn’t sure how to develop it my way.

On occasion readers have asked if I could redraw something from one paper doll series for a different series. I’ve always said no. Drawing the exact same outfit again sounded boring. But watching Julie’s process, I was inspired to look back at my own work and see what ideas were sparked.

So, today’s curvy paper doll to print from the B&B series is based on a Pixie paper doll named Dionsia.  The paper dolls share a color scheme and Dionsia’s clothing inspired both today’s gown and tomorrow’s gown- both for my curvy B&B paper doll series.

If you love the blog, than think about supporting it by becoming a Patron. There’s perks like a unique paper doll series and behind the scenes images. If you’re not up for that, consider following the blog on Twitter and/or telling a friend about it.

Tomorrow, there will be another fantasy gown inspired by the Dionsia paper doll set and owls.

Love the paper doll? Hate the paper doll? Just wanna tell me something? Leave a comment!

Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Mia as a Loon

{View Larger} {View the PDF} {View Black & White} {View the Black & White PDF}
{More Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Dolls}

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Loons and… well, Loons. That’s actually all I got. 

mia-loon-masquerade-paper-doll-dress

Of all the dresses I designed for this week, the only one I was really worried people wouldn’t get was this one. Loons are beautiful birds for which I have always had a fondness, but they are hardly as well known as the Raven or the Flamingo. Interestingly enough, the Loon is the state bird of Minnesota, where my mother grew up. As a child, I had a puzzle my grandfather made featuring a loon, so I have fond associations with the birds.

Wig instructions are available if you’re not sure how to attach the back piece here.

If you love the blog, than think about becoming a Patron and supporting it’s continued existence on the interwebs.

Well, now that the week of bird masquerade gowns is wrapped, I am curious which one people liked the most. So, let me know in a comment. Was your favorite the Owl, the Flamingo, the Raven, the Hummingbird or today’s Loon?

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here.