Marisole Monday & Friends: A Tudor Inspired Printable Paper Doll Dress


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me
A printable paper doll fantasy gown inspired by the dress of the European Renaissance for the Marisole Monday & Friends paper doll series. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

A printable paper doll fantasy gown inspired by the dress of the European Renaissance for the Marisole Monday & Friends paper doll series. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

Yesterday I posted fantasy garments based on some traditional Asian attire. Today I am hopping back to Europe to post a riff on 15th and 16th century dress.

Today’s Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper doll dress crosses Italian clothing in the late 1400s with English costume in the mid-1500s. There’s a definite Spanish Farthingale thing going on in that skirt shape. Spanish Farthngales were hoop skirts of their era and gave dresses a distinct cone shape. It was all the rage in England towards the end of the 1500s. Here’s an example of what I talking about.

The sleeves of today’s paper doll gown are pretty Italian. The style in Italy at the very end of the 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s. It was considered fashionable to have the shift sticking out through the spaces the sleeves- my paper dolls are nothing if not fashionable. Here is an example of the sleeves I mean and here is another one.

When it came time to color today’s paper doll, I fell back on the colors I tend to like when it comes to Tudor feeling things. I settled on copper and black for the color scheme. While I experimented with brighter options, I loved the sophistication these colors created.

As with many of my fantasy paper dolls, I added shoes and stockings to round out the outfit. After all, I do love to draw shoes. These shoes are neither English nor Italian, but more a pair of modern ones. So, that continues the cross-cultural experience here.

So, what do people think of my English-Italian Renaissance love child of a paper doll dress? Leave me a comment and let me know.

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Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here

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.

A Curvy Fire Slinging Sorceress & The First Dress of a New Project


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Fire & Ancient Greek Fashion
A fire inspired paper doll dress with matching boots. Part of the Sorceress Gowns' Project from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print in color or black and white.

A fire inspired paper doll dress with matching boots. Part of the Sorceress Gowns' Project from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print and color.

You know what every paper doll needs? Sorceress outfits!

As some of you may recall, I posted the first part of my creatively named   on April 10th. You can read that post here

My first four gowns (three of which are done) are all based on the elements- fire, water, air and earth. I have fire, water and air all finished. Earth is… well, giving me some trouble.

I have faith I will finish it eventually.

Each gown has two accessories- a staff to channel magical power and a pair of boots.

Today’s fire gown was inspired by ancient Greek dress. I start most of my paper doll creations with a thumbnail doodle and I did the same here. Then I expanded the doodle into a full on paper doll dress.

I share my doodles mostly on Patreon, but once in a while one appears on Facebook, usually after I’ve shared with it my Patron’s first.

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Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.

A Sorceress Paper Doll & Her Gown in Muted Colors, Plus the Beginning of a New Project


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Sorceresses, really. Just Sorceresses.
A tanned paper doll with a fancy blond updo decorated with braids and a gown with boots. Free printable in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

A curvy paper doll with an elaborate updo decorated with braids and a gown with boots. Free printable coloring page in black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

So, a few months ago I posted this outfit which I had originally drawn to be part of the Greta’s Trousseau project and I realized how much I missed doing longer term themed projects.

I polled my Patrons asking what they would like to see and while I secretly hoped the Space Princess idea would win, the Sorceress ended up winning. I’ve opened the post up, so you can see the options that I offered.

Frankly, all the ideas would have been fun.

Anyway, I didn’t draw this first, I started with some dresses based on elements- fire, water, air, earth. But I really wanted to post a doll to go with the dresses and I thought she should go up first.

She is the Sorceress doll. She has two books for recording her magical experiments, a hair style to keep it out of her face and a layered gown.

The colors of the gown were inspired by moss and wild flowers. Muted colors and soft shades, I settled on.

I was playing around with my camera when I sketched this doll’s face, so you can watch me draw it in time-lapse (though not great timelapse, let’s be clear). I posted it on the blog’s Facebook page back in February.

I hope to do more of these time-lapse things, but I need to get a better set up and use my tripod. Otherwise, the camera will shake as it does in the facebook version.

By the way, what do people think? Do you like the idea of a series of sorceress gowns? Is there something I should draw after I finish the four elements? Other theme ideas?

Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from you all.

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

A Mini-Maiden Fantasy Outfit & Some Words on the Design Process


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A pair of cosplayers, a red tunic and this fantasy gown
A paper doll coloring page featuring a three piece fantasy outfit with leggings and tunics. Free to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com.
For someone who is as opposed to leggings as I am in the real world, I sure do enjoy drawing them as part of a good looking paper doll fantasy outfit.

When I am working on fantasy things, I often start by going through my Pinterest boards. I collect inspiring images there and it’s a great way to track what I have seen. So, as hard as it maybe to believe, this fantasy outfit as inspired by this pair of cosplayers, this red tunic and this fantasy gown.

Then I think a little about silhouette. Silhouette is the shape of a design and it’s critical when identifying different fashion eras. It is also a great way to design a consistent set of pieces.

The silhouette I settled on for this set was a high waisted tunics defined by a belt and leggings. This means all three pieces feel like they “go together” even if they are original fantasy designs.

I’d recommend thinking about silhouette when trying to design fantasy pieces. It makes things feel more consistent and therefore more realistic.

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

 

Marisole Monday Medieval Maiden


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Medieval Dresses, Sort of…
A black printable paper doll with curly hair and her medieval fantasy dress up gown, shoes and stockings. A paper doll to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

A black printable paper doll with curly hair and her medieval fantasy dress up gown, shoes and stockings. A paper doll to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

So, today’s paper doll doll is Monica of the Marisole Monday & Friends crew with a fantasy dress up thing going. Her gown is vaguely medieval, vaguely not. Sometimes, I just want to draw a pretty dress. Nothing more, nothing less.

And this was one of those times.

I went with a pastel color scheme, because I thought that would look best against Monica’s rich skin tone.

Not sure which Marisole Monday & Friend’s doll is which? Here’s a guide I created last year when people had questions. I need to update it. I probably should write similar guides for all the paper dolls. Would folks find that helpful?

I confess that now that I have been looking at the colors in today’s paper doll dress for a while, they have begun to remind me of a sunrise. The blue dress being the pale sky and the pink and peach the colors of the clouds as the sun rises.

Along with her gown, Monica has white boots and stockings to fill out her paper doll fantasy dress up experience.

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

A Nurse or Doctor Paper Doll Outfit for the B&B Series


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:A Request from The Steger Family for Community Helper

A nurse or doctor paper doll outfit with teal scrubs and a white lab coat. A free printable paper doll from paperthinpersonas.com in color or black and white.

A nurse or doctor paper doll outfit with scrubs and a lab coat. A free printable paper doll coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com

So, I was asked by one of my Patrons, The Steger Family to create some paper dolls of community helpers like policemen, librarians, firefighters, that sort of thing, I struggled.

Let’s just say my attempt at a police women ended up looking like a stripper, rather than an actual member of the police force.

So, I tabled it for a while.

When I came back, I thought I would try something like scrubs to create a nurse or doctor paper doll. One of my friends here in Birmingham is a nurse and I’ve always really respected women in the medical field. I don’t know if this is really a doctor paper doll outfit or a nurse paper doll outfit, but I tend to think it could go either way.

The hardest part was drawing the stethoscope. Not a tool I draw that often, I must say.

I made the scrubs the same color as one’s I’ve seen the local hospital, but I have no idea how scrubs work. Are they like a uniform? Do people have to wear certain colors? Do certain colors mean different things?

Someone in the medical field should let me know in a comment. I have no clue.

Either way, here’s either a Doctor or a Nurse paper doll outfit for the B&B series to help out their community.

While it might be a while before I tackle a police woman printable paper doll outfit again, I might try a firefighter. I have no idea what firefighters wear, but that’ll be some research.

And I know some of my readers have been wanting a librarian paper doll for a while.

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Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out 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.

Marisole Monday & Friends Now Have an 1820s Inspired Winter Walking Dress


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pelisses from the 1820s, such as this one from 1822
A fantasy winter walking costume for a paper doll based on pelisse of the 1820s from paperthinpersonas.com.

A fantasy winter walking costume for a paper doll based on pelisse of the 1820s from paperthinpersonas.com in black and white for coloring.

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day and this paper doll has nothing to do with it. 🙂

Last Friday, I shared a ballgown inspired by the late 1860s, but today I have a winter walking costume inspired by the 1820s pelisse like this one from 1822, this one from 1818 and this one from 1825. It is the companion piece to last week’s printable paper doll dress.

The pelisse from 1822 was the one that was today’s paper doll gown’s strongest influence.

I went back and forth about the color scheme for a while, but I really wanted to do something in the red family. As it happens, I super like red.

Monochrome color schemes aren’t something I do much, but maybe I should play with them more. I find I often go back to the same colors for paper doll clothing over and over again.

I was trying to get all my wintery paper doll stuff backlog taken care off before it gets too warm, but frankly the weather has been freakish.

It keeps switching between Spring, in the 70s, and Winter, in the 30s and 40s. I don’t really care which one it chooses, but I dislike having to check my phone every morning to see if I need to grab my coat.

That’s enough complaining about Alabama’s wacky spring weather.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon. I’ve opened up two example behind the scenes blog posts one with sketchbook photos and one where I talk about how I decide what to work on, so if you like those then seeing more just costs a dollar a month.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here

Isadora as a Faun


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Patron Requests for More Fantasy Creatures
A fantasy faun paper doll in black and white for coloring from paperthinpersonas.com.
Not a lot to say tonight about today’s faun paper doll. It’s been a super productive weekend in paper doll creation land, but I rather forgot about today’s post until late Sunday night.

I admit I don’t mind working against the clock, but I don’t write my most compelling posts when I am up against the wire like this.

So, fauns… I wanted to do a fantasy creature that I had never done before. Something that wasn’t a mermaid or a fairy or an elf. I spent some time gathering image source ideas on my Fairies and Fauns Pinterest board.

I’ll confess that at first I was thinking a deer woman, but only male deer have antlers, and I don’t think without horns it would be obvious what I was drawing. Unless I did like a caribou woman (caribou females have antlers).

See, I did some research.

So, I settled on a faun which is basically a goat woman. Both male and female goats have horns. (See, more research.)

Meanwhile, I designed this set so that the hooves and legs can fit any of the Mini-Maiden dolls.

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Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here