fantasy

A Fantasy Viking Paper Doll Costume

A printable paper doll dress with boots, a comb and knife inspired by Viking apron dresses and Norse mythology. It's free to print in black and white or in color, but it's not very historical.

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So, I first got into viking clothing back when I did a ton of research and created my Viking paper doll and wrote a little article about 10th century Viking dress. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of work.

The truth is that while I enjoy drawing historical paper doll clothing, there’s always some pressure there. I want things to be accurate (to the best of my ability) and well cited.

So, sometimes I just want to draw something that is inspired by a period of time without feeling like I need to do track down a source to justify my decision. This was one of those times. I just wanted to drawn an apron-dress.

I didn’t want to mess around with trying to decide of dwarf brooches were worn by unmarried women and how long the dress was based on fragments of braid found in graves.

I mean, that’s all fascinating stuff, but… sometimes I just want to draw a worm ouroboros and be done with it. That’s the symbol on her apron. It’s a serpent biting its own tail and it shows up all over the world.

In Norse mythology (for those of you who weren’t obsessed with the ouroboros in high school), the serpent Jörmungandr encircles the earth, biting its own tail forming an ouroboros. Ragnarok (the end of the world) will begin when Jörmungandr lets go of its tail. Thor, the God of Thunder, will fight Jörmungandr, slay it and then die from the poison of the serpent.

Anyway, along with her apron-dress, she has a pair of fur wrapped boots, a knife, cup and comb.

This dress went through several different color schemes. This color scheme was my second one. My first attempt was yellow, reds and greens and I just didn’t like it as much as this blue and yellow version. I did toss up on my Patreon page. Head over there to download and print it, if you want a second color scheme for today’s dress or to build more of a fantasy viking wardrobe. While you’re there, think about joining to help keep the blog on the internets. It really does help offset my costs. 

Need a Doll to wear today’s outfit? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

It’s a Ninja Costume for the Paper Dolls!

A printable paper doll ninja costume design from paperthinpersonas.com.

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True thing- I was asked if I had plans for a male ninja back on my lady ninja costume design by Victoria on behalf of her six year old son. And you know, when parents tell me their kids have asked for things, I am a total sucker. It’s like, “AWWW… of course I’ll draw that for the child I’ve never met/seen/may not be real.”

And now you all know how to get past my defenses.

Now, I don’t know anything about ninjas, but I do have a fear friend who is a talented marshal artist. So, I hope she will forgive my badly drawn katana. One of these days, I’m going to get better at drawing katanas, but that isn’t going to be today.

I wanted a ninja costume design that was interesting and also felt layered- the sort of thing you could imagine someone adding to as they had lived in the outfit. When I work in all black, I worry about the paper doll ending up looking “dull” and sort of lifeless. I love how flat color looks, but it can also look… well.. flat. I don’t know if that makes any sense. So, I try to add depth by using several shades of the same color. In the case of largely black sets, I try to use several shades of dark grey and then another color if I can.

In this case, I added in some dark navy blue to accent the black. I thought about using red, which you see a lot in ninja Halloween costumes, but I thought it was too bright against the black.

I did use a bright purple base though, because I do love color.

Of course, if you want a more colorful ninja there is the black and white version and you can color that one anyway you want. If you follow me on social media or are a Patron, you may recall seeing this set along with my knight armor when I posted a sketchbook picture at the beginning of the month.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Medieval Fantasy Wedding Gown for the A Pose Ladies

A medieval wedding dress design trimmed in pink roses and pale blue with matching shoes for the paper dolls. Available to print for free in color or black and white.

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Whenever I post a wedding gown I seem to start by saying that I don’t often draw wedding gowns. Yet, since I seem to have posted several wedding gowns this year, maybe I should stop saying that. I guess what I would say is that I was never one of those people who was obsessed with weddings or wedding gowns. I like pretty dresses, of course. I draw a paper doll blog for goodness sake.

But there’s a ton of baggage wrapped up in wedding dresses.

I think that’s part of why I have such mixed feelings about the genre.

The medieval wedding gown here is part of the Fantasy Maiden Series. Fundamentally, there’s no reason I couldn’t have recolored it in bright purple or something and not called it a wedding gown. However, the source gown was described as a fantasy medieval wedding gown and who am I to argue?

As long time readers will know, I am a wee bit obsessed with bridal trousseaux and I kinda found myself thinking of the Fantasy Maiden Series in that context. Once I did that, I knew I had to draw a wedding gown.

While this certainly isn’t the last of the Fantasy Maiden Series, I thought it might be neat to see all the gowns together.

The Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll Gowns Thus Far…

It’s very easy for me to lose track of what I’ve done and feel like there is never enough. So, for me, putting together these little galleries reminds me that I have achieved something. That there are a few different gown options. It’s helpful for me to see things as a collection and not just a series of posts. I hope it is helpful for you all as well.

What do you think? Should I keep going with the series? Comment if you like and let me know.

I’d like to add a Happy New Year to everyone who (like me) is celebrating today. Shana Tova! Happy 5779! May you all have a sweet wonderful year.

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

A C Pose Knight in Armor (It may or may not be shining)

A set of paper doll knight's armor to print and play with for the male paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com. Great for kid's birthday parties or just fun to color.

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Full-plate armor like today’s paper doll outfit is always a bit stressful for me, because I want it to be functional and I know pretty much nothing about how actual armor works. I mean, I get the basic idea- wear metal on your body so you don’t get hurt when swords try to stab you- but I’m not exactly fluent in the nuances.

Still, it doesn’t bother me much when I design things that may or may not be practical (this armor comes to mind), so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it too much.

If you’re interested in seeing how a paper doll outfit kinda “comes together” I did post progress pictures of the “bottom” part of this armor being drawn in my Instagram stories. That was a while ago, but as I’ve said many times. There is a long turn around from idea to finished product.

Literally weeks in most cases. Sometimes even longer.

Part of the reason things take a while to get from sketchbook to blog is that I like to work in batches. Today’s C Pose paper doll outfit is one of six I recently finished. Since I’m posting three times a week and interspersing my C Pose content with outfits for the A & B Pose ladies, it will be a long time before I get all of that material posted.

Frankly, I couldn’t function any other way. I’m constantly impressed by people who can do things once a day for a prolonged period. The only way I survived my recent #100dressproject on Instagram was by drawing two to five dresses at a time. I tried to do the whole “one a day” thing, but that’s just not how I work best. This used to bother me, because you read so many things about how you should just have a “daily art practice”. I do work on my art everyday, but once I feel like I have to do it than somehow my motivation disappears like a ghost at dawn.

Isn’t human motivation odd?

Anyhow, if you like the blog and want to support it consider donating through Patreon. A dollar a month really does help off set my costs.

And if you’d like to give me some non-financial support, comments are always lovely.

Plus, Happy Labor Day to anyone whose celebrating.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll Gown in Sunset Colors

A fantasy maiden gown for a paper doll in sunset colors with accessories from paperthinpersonas.com.

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Today’s paper doll gown is a new addition to the Fantasy Maiden Series. I really wanted something that felt soft and drapy to contrast with the corset over top of it.

In my continuing efforts to come up with medieval fantasy style accessories that made sense, I gave her a primitive looking embroidery frame. 

The color scheme of today’s dress was inspired by the sunset. I wanted it to be rich and warm, which I think I worked pretty well. 

I wanted to thank the folks (there were a few) who emailed me after last week’s foray into coloring pages. Your emails were super kind. Thank you! And I learned things about people who like to color. I always love to hear from folks and it is kind emails that keep me going when I get full of ennui.

Ennui does happen occasionally. Fortunately not as much ennui as I felt when I was 14 and thought that “Darkened Shards” was a totally rational name for a paper doll website. I am not making this up- I really did have a site named that.

A few folks asked about my pets, so if you want to see my cat, she is occasionally featured on my Instagram feed which is also full of sketchbook photos, little videos of me inking and other fun stuff. 

And if you’re a Patron (or become one), there’s a second purple based color scheme for today’s paper doll gown over there.

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Week of Coloring Pages: The Dandies Get Some Fantasy Clothes

A paper doll coloring page printable featuring guy paper doll clothing with two jerkins, leggings and a book.

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You may have noticed that there’s no color version of today’s paper doll set. That’s because I thought it would be fun to do a week of coloring page printable paper dolls. Sorry, I realize that phrasing doesn’t really roll of the tongue.

Of course, you can always print the paper dolls in black and white (as well as color), but I thought it would be fun to just do some plain black and white sets. When I am designing a paper doll coloring page printable, I am thinking a little differently than when I am working in color. 

In this set, for example, I wanted to leave space for people to draw their own patterns on the clothing if they wished. So, for this whole week, it’s paper doll coloring pages. Today there’s a C Pose set. Wednesday there will be a B pose set and we’ll wrap up on Friday with an A pose set.

I’ll confess that I was never much into coloring when I was a kid, but I know a lot of people really enjoy it and find it super relaxing. I find inking relaxing, so I suppose I can understand the instinct. 

Let’s talk inspiration. I was inspired by three different images I found on Pinterest. I try to find similar silhouettes to make up a set like this so it feels like all the pieces belong together. I was inspired by this jerkin, this vest and this outfit. You can see more men’s fantasy clothing in the Gents section of my Fantasy Clothing Pinterest board.

Love today’s paper doll coloring page? Hate the idea of a paper doll clothing page? Let me know in a comment. I’d love to see what people think of my coloring pages week. 

Need a paper doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Big Fancy Bow Covered Ball Gown For the B Pose Paper Dolls

A fantastic bow covered princess ball gown for the paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com in purple or black and white for coloring with matching gloves, jewelry and shoes.

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In the continuing epic of big skirted dresses, I offer up this princess ball gown. I imagine it comes from the same world as this dress and this dress. Now that I have three, maybe I should make it a collection? I am very conflicted about that idea, because I’m not sure I’ll draw more.

Okay, I probably will draw more, because I love me over the top ball gowns. The more wild, the better. 

Today’s gown is partly inspired by dresses from Japan that I learned about from Liana’s paper doll blog years ago- color-dresses. They are these completely over the top colorful ball gowns worn to the reception after the wedding. Liana’s blog has the proper Japanese word for them, but I am hesitant to copy it, because I don’t know any Japanese. As I understand it (and I am not an expert on Japanese wedding customs), the bride often wears a kimono for the ceremony, a white wedding dress for part of the reception and then a colorful dress like this for the evening party. The gowns are wild and wonderful and remind me of what a princess ball gown might be.

I love them. 

I would like to point out that today’s down is more restrained than a lot of these gowns. Here’s a few more that I adored. Seriously, this might be the best rabbit hole to go down ever if you love over the top gowns and who doesn’t love those?

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this latest colorful ball gown. For my Patreons, there’s an even more colorful version in teal, pink, orange and purple. As always, thank you for supporting the blog and donations are totally welcome. 

So, what do you think of today’s ball gown? Would you wear it? Let me know in a comment. I’m not sure I have the guts to wear such a dress. 

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

 

A Patriotic Ballgown for July to Color and Cut Out

A rococo inspired fantasy paper doll princess gown with wig to print, color and cut out from paperthinpersonas.com.

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For July, we chose a patriotic/colonial theme for the paper doll collaboration between Julie, Missy and I. I really love over the top roccoco inspired gowns as you may have already guessed from this paper doll and this paper doll and this paper doll and this paper doll. And that’s not even all of the ones I’ve ever drawn, it’s just a few of my favorites.

So, today’s foray into the genre, I wanted something that could be patriotic (if you colored it in red, white and blue) for the July 4th Holiday in the USA, where I live. But since I know not all my readers are from the USA, I also wanted it to be a gown that could be celestial if you preferred. I think in purples, blacks and blues this gown could become something for the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s Magic Flute, for example. I could also see it in red, white, black and gold and have a circus theme. The possibilities are really endless. 

One the things I love about playing with color (and one of the reasons I so often do extra color schemes) is that I love how much changing the color can really dramatically change the look and feel of a single paper doll gown. I like to play with color (and I love color), so that’s a big part of why I do that. 

If you want to see more of the collaborative paper doll fashions, check out Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls my partners in this adventure. They’ve been such inspiring and good sports about the whole thing. We’re just over six months in and I couldn’t be happier at how the whole thing has gone. 

Need a paper doll to wear these clothes? Grab her and more clothing here.

A Banquet Gown for the A Pose Medieval Maiden Series

A fantasy paper doll dress to print inspired by medieval gowns and Lord of the Rings.

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Normally, the last Friday in the month is my paper doll collab day, but because of “life” we all agreed to move the usual sharing of the collaborative paper doll project to Monday. So, be sure to tune back, so to speak, for that. Today, instead, there is a new addition to the Fantasy Maiden Series.

As some of you may recall, I introduced this series back on the 6th of July.

Today’s addition to the Fantasy Maiden Series is a more formal down than my last one. I think perhaps something meant for an event or maybe a banquet. I also imagine it as being made of velvet and silk, but, of course, you may decide yourself what fabrics are in use.

I didn’t want to draw yet another sword/dagger (which is my default medieval accessory), so instead I drew a book of music and a flute. I’m not very musical myself, but I like to think my paper dolls have all sorts of talents that I don’t possess.

 One of my personal challenges with this color scheme was not to use any black at all. Instead, I used a deep navy to accent the other shades which I think gives a sort of seaside or mist filled morning feel to the gown. 

If you want to help keep the blog on the internet and ad free, than consider joining the Patreon page. For my patrons, there is an alternative color scheme in reds and purples.

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

Fairy Wings & Clothes for the B Pose Paper Dolls

A set of fairy wings and clothes for the B pose printable paper dolls with wings, boots and a blouse. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com

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A few months ago I asked my Patrons what they wanted to see as far as themes. Fairies blew every other option out of the water in the poll (and no one voted for cyborgs at all.. poor cyborgs). So, I decided that a set of fairy wings and fairy clothes made so much sense for the paper dolls.

All right, confess, I mostly wanted to draw fairy wings.

Anyway, the fairy wings are designed to glue against the back of the doll with the wings themselves free, so you can slip the tabs behind the doll’s shoulders. That way they can still wear clothing and most paper dolls I think want to be wearing clothing.

I’m also super conflicted when I draw fairies. I tend to just draw like flower inspired fairies, but deep down inside I often find myself thinking of older, darker and more traditional fairies. Those fairies are not at all nice and probably weren’t wearing flowers…unless those flowers helped them lure humans to some sort of horrible doom.

Anyway I haven’t drawn those fairies yet, so let’s just think of nice happy flower fairies. Much less likely to steal children or drown unwary travelers.

Love the fairies? Not sure about them? Should I do more? Let me know in a comment and if you want to have a vote in the next poll, than join the Patreon group. 

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing