Neo-Noir Threads: A Little Futuristic Fashion Paper Doll

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Maybe this is just me, but when I draw any cyberpunk fashion paper doll designs, it feels a little absurd. My paper dolls are playful and cute. Cyberpunk is neither playful nor generally cute. However, my art is and I like drawing cyberpunk fashion, so here we are.

Besides a free printable cyberpunk fashion paper doll could be a commentary on the capitalistic society we live in and the commodification of childhood… or it could just be that I wanted to draw improbable zippers. I’ll leave the art analysis to others.

I really do love the cyberpunk aesthetic. Maybe it’s the zippers that don’t quite make sense or the straps that also don’t quite make sense. Maybe I read too much William Gibson in high school. Either way, I’ll always have an affection for cyberpunk and neon. As I’ve gotten older, I confess that I find the whole thing more dystopian than I did as a teen, but then I guess growing up gives one perspective on these things. Truthfully, I don’t read as much of it as I used too, I think it hits too close to the actual state of the world sometimes.

This paper doll was made around the same time I was working on all my aliens (Galaxy GlamourInterstellar SeasStardust Styles, and Astro Allure), but she took a distinctly darker turn than they did, so I don’t consider her part of the series.

Haunting Couture: A Foray into Gothic Fashion

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Today’s paper doll with her gothic wardrobe was inspired by a lot of different things from my my gothic fashion pinterest board, including this corset, this top and this dress. I really wanted to do a take on Morticia Addam’s famous dress, but I added a bit of a puff sleeve, as those are very popular right now. Of course, Morticia Addams is timeless, but I didn’t want to copy the gown in all the details, in part, because I don’t love the bottom of the skirt. It reminds me a little too much of tentacles (true to the comic, but still.)

(Speaking of Morticia Addams, Julie Matthew’s did a nice write up about her paper doll of Morticia Addams.)

Lastly, I wanted to make a gothic baby doll dress which was 65% just a chance to play around with lace and a new procreate brush set. My first plan was to do see through lace sleeves, but then I couldn’t seem to get a version of that which I liked, so I ended up abandoning that idea. I did keep the lace around the neckline with the openings for some detail.

I can’t claim that I meticulously assembled my gothic wardrobe paper doll, because really this was not that organized (am I ever that organized?). I do think of all the pieces of the Ensemble Eclectica: Gothic Glamor Collection as sort of. mixing and matching together. I think the ruffled skirt from Dark Demigoddess, for example, would go well with any of the tops in this collection.

Anyway, stay tuned for more gothic paper doll fun Friday and Tuesday of next week.

A Little Steampunk Paper Doll Experiment in Color

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So, I decided to dip my toes into color in Procreate with this paper doll. I also did some experimentation with noise and backgrounds and other things.

While I wouldn’t recommend home printing for this one, because the ink usage will be through the roof, I have added a link to the PDF if you feel the urge to try to see what happens if you do.

East of the sun and West of the Moon illustrated by Kay Nielsen in 1913.

You do you!

And if you do print it, it is scaled to mix and match with the 365 paper dolls.

I’ve been trying to sort out how to get texture. Of course, I think the effect doesn’t work super well unless you zoom in at which point, like maybe it doesn’t work at all?

Hmm….

So, here’s what I was trying to mimic…

One of the things I love very much is the illustrations of the turn of the century. Generally done with a trichromatic printing process (sometimes black was added and sometimes green was added, which is fascinating in it’s own right), the screens used result in a very specific texture to the solid colors in the prints. You can see it in classic illustrators like Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen, or fashion illustrations from things like Bon Ton. You can see the texture I’m talking about here and here.

Anyway, trying to archive that effect digitally is not as simple as you might think. So I have been experimenting with noise and other texture effects in Photoshop and Procreate. The result, however, is probably not “strong” enough to be obvious. This is one of the problems of working digitally- you are zoomed in or zoomed out or… whatever. It’s actually super hard to tell what the finished product is going to look like at true scale.

The other factor is that digital printing introduces a bit of noise and I don’t like how it looks, but only because it feels unintentional and I really really value being intentional in my work. I want control, or an active lack of control (hello ceramics, I’m looking at you.)

As I keep saying on these posts, Julie has been a huge help in referring me to tools to try to get this effect.

There are many tools and brushes and things for Procreate that it is super overwhelming. There’s a million different tools and things you can do with those. But I suspect I’ll eventually find 3 or 4 I like and use them 90% of the time. That tends to be how I roll.

But you can’t find the three or four you like without trying out a few dozen, so that’s been the current challenge.

Next up, I’ll be sharing an experiment using a less smooth brush and seeing what happens when I have a “rough” line texture. More on that one next week.

Greek Fantasy Dresses with Evening

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We had out first super hard frost a few days ago and now there’s been some snow mixed with rain. Winter is coming! I can tell as the days keep getting shorter. Sigh. Well, that’s the downside of living as close to the arctic circle as I do. Let’s move on.

So, there’s a lot of Xena Warrior Princess/Hercules and the Legendary Journeys wrapped up in this set. Not gonna lie. I wanted an autumnal color scheme without feeling too obvious and I figured the jewelry could help tie together the colors of the dresses. Evening here hasn’t gotten as many sets as some of the other dolls. She’s the newest, but she’s catching up fast.

As I mentioned in my last goals review post, this is my 7th Dolls Du Jour doll this year. Woot!

I want to do a few more historical themes for Dolls Du Jour. I’ve been asked for 1950s. Is there another period people would like to see? I’m leaning towards either 1950s (because someone asked) or 1400s (like this, if you’re wondering.)

By the way, did you know I have a newsletter? You can sign up for that Newsletter here. There’s going to be some super cute Halloween content in there come October. I’m excited, at least.

1980s Work Out Madness

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Sometimes when I go through old fashion catalogues, I notice something and then I need to draw it. When I started working on my 1980s paper dolls I ran into a classic problem- the 1980s wasn’t that long ago. While a lot of clothing looks dated, a lot of it looks like things you could wear today (with maybe different hair and less blush). However, one thing stood out as distinctly 1980s- leotards and leggings for the Jazzercise workout craze.

Seriously, I could have filled a whole paper doll book with these looks. They were wild. A few of my favorites were the 1983 Sears Spring/Summer collection which included puff sleeves (why?). The 1988 Sears Spring/Summer Catalog which features some super high cut silhouettes. And my personal favorite, the 1984 Sears Fall/Winter Catalog with its actually flattering color blocking. Montgomery Ward seems to have mostly sold these looks for kids, like in this 1985 Fall/Winter catalog. I didn’t have access to enough Montgomery Ward or JCPenney catalogs to see if they got into the same styles, though I suspect they did.

The 1985 Sears Fall/Winter collection was the inspiration for the color scheme and several of the pieces for this paper doll. I liked the oddly spring feeling colors and I thought they were more fun than the black and dark tones people associate with workout gear. Ruby, the paper doll here has make up, because clearly everyone in the 1980s had perfect lipstick while exercising. (I look like a half-drowned puppy after exercising, but that’s just me!)

One thing that struck me as I looked at these was that they weren’t badly designed, by which I mean there was effort being given to making them flattering. The use of color blocking and the V going down the body are actually slimming on most people. The belts would have called attention to the waist which, again, can be flattering on some people. However, I do think there’s a bit of a problem because leotards in shiny polyester are never going to be a great look.

While I was too young to really remember the Jazzercise craze, I do remember my middle school in the 1990s did a step-aerobics class for gym for a few days and I loved it. I loved that I didn’t have to do a team sport (which I was awful at) and I loved the music. I wonder if there are still step-aerobics classes in this world? Maybe I should go find one. I don’t see why gym classes in the USA are so obsessed with team sports. Not all of us want to play basketball, darn it!

I digress.

I know it has been a while for my patrons on the “1980s fashion” request front, but I hope this paper doll gets us a little closer to some 1980s fashion fun and there’s another 1980s paper doll forthcoming with a more professional wardrobe.

Ombre Stripes in Purples with Lapis

A printable paper doll in pwith a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe.
A blond printable paper doll in purples and teals with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe.

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So, according to the internet, source of all wisdom, lilac is a big color for Winter 2022. I wanted to really focus on two colors- purple and teal- for the this paper doll. The set was supposed to be a look at monochrome colors which isn’t something I do a lot in my paper doll coloring.

Recently, I got a question from a reader asking if I did anything with my finished paper dolls. At first, I didn’t understand the question. What did “do anything with” mean? I wondered. I told her about my messy files, my boxes of sketchbooks in my office closet, but that answer didn’t feel right. It’s been percolating in my brain for the last week.

What do I “do with” my finished work?

And then the answer occurred to me as I was working on scheduling this months paper doll posts and it was utterly obvious…. What I do with my finished paper dolls is this. PTP is what I do with my finished work. Completing things is deeply satisfying for me and how I complete my paper dolls is sharing them with all of you.

Once I thought about for a while, the answer was obvious. So, thank you for being a part of my process and a part of my little corner of the inter-webs. If you’d like to support my little corner of the internet further, I have a Patreon page, Etsy store, and a newsletter.

Pearl as a Pulpy Fantasy Warrior

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Yes, I did watch a lot of Xena: Warrior Princess at a young impressionable age, why do you ask?

Seriously though, I get the whole idea of the male-gaze and I get the whole idea that this sort of armor isn’t practical and I understand that there’s a lot of patriarchal sexist BS wrapped up in the whole “women warriors must be sexy” concept. I get it. I really do.

And yet, I just like drawing sexy pulpy armor. It is important to acknowledge the problems of the patriarchy, but still like what you like. And lord knows I’ve done by fair share of non-pulpy armor over the years (here and here and here and here and here and here and…. I could go on.)

Meanwhile, this set began with my first ever Pearl paper doll from 2019 which was inspired by Callisto’s Armor from Xena: Warrior Princess. I really liked that armor when I used to watch that show as a kid, but now I look at it and I think- Wow, it’s so short! I can’t imagine it was comfortable for the actress, but I digress. I tried to use the elements from the original paper doll set to design the additional pieces so that it would feel like a cohesive piece.

Next week there will be a round-up of all the 2021 Jewels and Gemstones paper dolls (and yes, I know it is 2022 already but I drew all these in 2021). And then I am taking a few weeks off to continue resting and recovering from some surgery (in case you are wondering, almost everything I’ve posted here and on social media was pre-scheduled, because the internet is like that). I hope to be back in time for Valentine’s Day (as you know, I love Valentine’s Day) and with some new paper doll content. We’ll see!

Autumnal Evening Gowns with Amethyst

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It feels funny to me to be talking about autumn when the temp hasn’t been above zero here in at least three weeks. Well, it was warmer when I designed these gowns, I guess. The thing about them that feels autumnal to me is the color scheme. Jewel tones feel like winter and fall to me. Not sure that other people agree with me on that one, but that’s how I’ve always felt about it.

Weirdly, I know these gowns have source images, because I almost never draw formal gowns without using my Pinterest Formal Gowns and Cocktail Dresses board (creatively named), but I’ll be darned if I can find the source images. I usually save them carefully… So, read into that one what you like I guess.

Meanwhile, snow is falling, Hanukkah has begun, and I hope those who celebrate a holiday in the coming months have a wonderful one. As I move towards the end of the year, I always find myself beginning to think about the future and what has been done this year. It’s a funny time of the year for me. I plan to take a few months off soon, so I’ll have time to be contemplative.

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A Fantasy Paper Doll: Lady of the Tower

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In my head, this paper doll belongs in the same fantasy world as Diamond as an elven archer. I think all of these dresses share a lot of design elements and feel coherent- there’s high collars and flared sleeves on all of them. A big influence on this set of paper doll fantasy gowns are my desire to experiment with pattern which is not something I do on my fantasy gowns as much as I would like. I tend to do a lot more trims (like on this Pearl fantasy set or this Norse influenced set with Topaz). Not to say I have never done all over pattern, just that it is rarer.

Color scheme wise, I wanted to use colors I think I don’t tend to gravitate too as much as I tend to gravitate to warm pinks and colors. So, I used teal (which I do love) and paired it with purple and yellow. It’s a pretty close to the classic split complimentary color scheme, though not quite perfectly spaced I don’t think. Not that I am too worried about perfectly splitting my color schemes along the color wheel, but I do think about color schemes carefully.

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