Marisole Monday: Coastal Princess

Posted on April 29, 2013 by RLC

{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.

Marisole Monday: Maurader Princess

Posted on March 11, 2013 by RLC

{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 and apparently she’d decided to become a brigand and rob from either the rich or the poor… though robbing from the rich does have the advantage that they have stuff unlike the poor who are, generally, poor. I wanted to call this set pirate something, but I didn’t want to use the word pirate, so I went in search of a synomyn and came up with maurader. And yes, I was thinking of Xena: Warrior Princess when I added the word princess to the title.

I know I’ve mentioned my weird love of that show on this blog before. Speaking of shows I like, I did see the latest Grimm episode on Friday, during which I did draw paper dolls, and while I enjoyed the show, I was struck with how exposition filled it seemed. I thought it was sort of weak. I hope for better things soon enough.

I feel like this Margot paper doll could be friends with my Gypsy Rose who exists in black and white and color. It’s weird to me to think that I posted that set just under two years ago. I can see a lot of things I still need to improve and a few things that have improved.

So, it’s pretty late on Sunday as I write this and I really should be getting into bed since once I start talking about my TV show watching habits, I know there’s a problem. By the way, did anyone else see the new Grimm episode and what did they think?… or you can comment on the paper doll. That would be cool too.

Marisole Monday: In the Mid-1860s… Full Color

Posted on January 14, 2013 by RLC

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

Here we are today with the colored version of last Monday’s post. Color for historical garments is complicated, because colors are very much a matter of taste and a matter of time. Just as the avocado and burnt orange polyester shirts of the 1970′s seem dated to us today, the colors of the past are rarely how we imagine them to be. I always picture the Victorians in tones of sepia, not because that was what they wore, but because I always see sepia photographs. I once had a professor point out that the way we picture the past has little to do with how the past actually was, but I enjoy my fantasies of the past as much as the next person.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

For this set of paper dolls, I chose to use colors from reproduction quilting cottons as a basis for the garment. They turned out to be a little muddier than perhaps I would have chosen on my own, but I wanted something different than the oranges, blue, pink, and green combination of colors I find myself most often drawn too. The ballgown in pink and black is based on the fashion plate which I drew it from, though I made a slightly darker version of the original.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

I’ll confess openly that I’m not entirely pleased with how some of these came out in color. I went muted and I think that was the right call, but I’m not sure that I didn’t lose some of the lusciousness and the vibrancy of the era. They also came out less romantic than I had hoped they would be. I do think Margot is awfully cute with her freckles and red hair (yes, I do have a weird thing for redheads). In truth, I am pleased with both the dolls. I think Marisole is a warm brown this time and I like how Margot came out. All in all, though I had some second thoughts about drawing a new face for Marisole, I am pleased with Margot and I think she’ll show up a bit more around the blog.

On an unrelated note, child paper dolls have pulled into the lead in the polling… a fact which I am very much surprised by.

Magnetic Marisole… A New Layout for New Year

Posted on December 31, 2012 by RLC

Everything about the magnetic paper dolls is getting revamped this year.

The old Magnetic Paper Doll Index has now been replaced with a new version that resembles the Printable Paper Doll Index much more closely. This is an attempt to streamline updating the magnetic paper dolls, allowing me to do more single sheet updates, like I do with the other printable paper dolls on the site, but it is still a work in progress.

Magnetic paper or adhesive sheets are more expensive than printer paper (as I am sure anyone who has ever printed them out has learned) and so I have re-organized the Marisole Magnetic Paper Dolls to have the shoes on the same sheet as the paper dolls. This means that they are now three dolls per sheet with four pairs of shoes and required re-doing the layouts on all of the magnetic sheets.

I just finished that, so I am posting them today instead of a traditional Marisole Monday update. You can see them here.

The Magnetic Marisole Printable Paper Dolls

{ Directions for Making Printable Magnetic Paper Dolls }

The Dolls


Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF

Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF

Contemporary Clothing Sets


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Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF

Download PDF	Download PDF

Fantasy Clothing Sets


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Download PDF	Download PDF	Download PDF

Historical Clothing Sets


Download PDF	Download PDF

Everything here has been adapted from paper version of the printable Marisole posts, except for the shoes and the magnetic dolls, many of which have been re-colored to provide for the six different skin tones. If anyone has requests for skin tones which don’t appear here, please let me know. I try to have as much diversity in skin tone as is possible.

Thoughts? Feel free to comment. I know I don’t always answer every one, but I do read them all.

Noir Punk or Punk Noir…. Magnetic Paper Doll

Posted on September 21, 2012 by RLC

Starling Noir Punk Image
I don’t really know where this started…

I mean, I might have watched “Blade Runner” one to many times or maybe I’ve been collecting to many steampunk reference images in my files, but somehow I just thought that combining 1940′s and 1930′s noir film suits with platform heels and facial peircings seemed like a good idea.

Truth be told, I am rather pleased with the outcome. I figured out a way to do hats that “work” on magnetic paper dolls (who can not have things layered “behind” them very well”) and got to play with some of the diversity that might be possible from the Flock. I chose Starling to show off this style, because there was something about her little smirk/half smile with the hair style that I thought looked good.

So, I am quite pleased with the outcome.

One of the things I wanted to do with the Flock magnetic sets was make sure there was versatility. The pieces which “only” Starling can wear are on her page- the shoes and the hats with the hair attached. The pieces on the other page will fit any of the Flock magnetic dolls.

I think this style should be called “Noir Punk” as in “Steampunk” or I think it should be called “Punk Noir,” but I can’t really decide which one. Either way, you’ll find the downloads below. Let me know what you think in a comment.

**Starling: Punk Noir Set PDF Downloads**

Starling Doll PDF Download	Punk Noir Clothing PDF Download

The Best Friends…

Posted on September 2, 2012 by RLC

{Click Here to Download for a PDF of all pages of this paper doll to Print}

So, this is going to be a Big Image, Small Post sorta day.

Here are the eight pages which make up the Best Friends paper doll set. (Yeah, I need better names for these things… I’m not good with names…)

My goal with this set of paper dolls was to experiment with slightly different body builds and poses while maintaining a similar enough over all style that the paper dolls would seem cohesive. I’ve never tried to draw this way before. I think I succeeded, but only because I drew them all at once. I can’t imagine trying to do this any other way.

Eventually, this set might get a sequel, but probably not for a little while.

I was going to wait until Monday to have my first paper doll post since I went on haitus, but I felt like people waited for two months and the least I could do was give some rapid paper doll gratification.

I hope everyone in the United States is having a fantastic Labor Day weekend. I have spent mine getting caught up with some work things, eating delightful barbecue and tomorrow I might do something radical and go see a movie. Mostly, I’m enjoying getting the time off work to get a little more settled here in Alabama.

Flock Modern Girl: Magnetic Paper Dolls

Posted on June 19, 2012 by RLC

So, I know I said these would be up last week (or maybe the week before that), but some things came up and I didn’t get around to it. The irony is that I drew this set last year and it’s been sitting on my desktop waiting to be finished for a while.

I tried to make sure each page of this set was a consistent color scheme, so that each page can be printed and played with alone, along with combining with the other pieces in the set. I walso wanted to play a little with the options of a magnetic set of paper dolls which are different than the options for a non-magnetic set of paper doll. I think magnetic paper dolls have interesting options, but are not the same as paper paper dolls for various reasons.

**The Modern Girl Set PDF Downloads**

Dove PDF Download	Oriole PDF Download	Phoebe PDF Download

Robin PDF Download	Starling PDF Download	Wren PDF Download

Clothing Set 1 PDF Download	Clothing Set 2 PDF Download	Clothing Set 3 PDF Download

Clothing Set 4 PDF Download	Clothing Set 5 PDF Download	Clothing Set 6 PDF Download

Clothing Set 7 PDF Download	Clothing Set 8 PDF Download

Pixie & Puck: Prudence and Constance in Black and White

Posted on April 22, 2012 by RLC

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

Happy Earth Day! There’s an Earth and we should be grateful or else we’d not exist. So, I’m glad for that. Beyond that, I try to avoid politics on this little corner of the web. There are other corners of the web for politics. Here is the corner of paper dolls.

Two of my favorite recent paper dolls are Constance and Prudence, who I’ve always thought of as best friends, and so today I present them both in black and white for coloring enjoyment. Each paper doll was meant to have a distinct casual and slightly indie style. Prudence is a little bit vintage and Constance is a little bit tomboy. The t-shirt styles for the Constance paper doll are based on mandala designs which are simplified for the small size.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

So, today, I’d like to also call attention to a new blog with some delightful black and white paper dolls called Inflammation Of…, which is about both paper dolls and raising a child with chrons disease. I have had several thank yous sent to me over the years from parents with health issues in their families who like the paper dolls and I always feel very touched that my paper dolls can help in any small way for people in need. Plus there’s a whole set of clothes for her paper dolls inspired by Scoopy-Doo and who isn’t in favor of paper dolls inspired by Scooby-Doo? I loved Scooby-Doo when I was a kid.

(Actually, I still sorta love Scoopy-Doo, but I try to be more of an adult and not admit these things in public.)

New Full Color Paper Doll Named Mara

Posted on December 20, 2011 by RLC

{Click Here for a PDF of the Paper Doll set to Print}

If this were a dating game show, I would describe Mara as a charming young woman with a love of flowers and long walks through the woods. Since this isn’t a dating game show, as far as I know, I think I’ll just stick with saying that Mara is a one page paper doll with a wardrobe of nine pieces that can be mix and matched to make up 18 different combinations.

In case you’re wondering how I got to that number, the calculation looks like this:

((Number of Tops * Number of Bottoms)+ Number of Dresses)*Number of Shoes= Outfit Combinations

It gets a little more complicated if you add in jackets and other layering pieces, but usually it works out well and, of course, it doesn’t consider things like how well the pieces match with each other. Yes, I might be a little OCD to have come up with a formula for calculating paper doll wardrobe options. (Only sort of math I can really imagine doing…)

Later or tomorrow, there will be something fun and new for the first day of Hanukkah (a holiday no one likes to try to spell) which starts tonight at Sunset.

Pixie & Puck: Constance

Posted on December 11, 2011 by RLC

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

I would like everyone to meet Constance. Isn’t she cute? She’s the best friend of Prudence, I decided after I finished coloring her, though she has a less vintage inspired style. Her trousers came out a less perfect color of camel then I thought they would, but her shoes are totally cute and I love her freckles. (I blame my love of both freckles and red hair to reading Anne of Green Gables at a young and impressionable age.)

A woman I used to work with was named Constance, though everyone called her Connie. I have an odd soft spot for virtue names like Constance or Prudence or Faith or Grace, though I am less a fan of a few of the odder ones which were common back when the Puritans were naming their children. Naming your child Temperance is one thing, but calling them Condolence just seems odd (and that’s not even getting into some of the odder names which hung around when the Puritans were naming things). Still, I suppose that’s easy for me to say since I’m not naming a child in 1615 or something.

On a totally unrelated note (because segues are for other people), I have just recoded the entire gallery page and have folded it into the indexes and now there is a Printable Paper Doll Index page which links to all the printable series and individual dolls. If you click on the image on the page it will take to to either the blog post devoted to the paper doll or to a separate page with the PDF’s and PNG’s to print on it. I’d love to hear what people think of the change.

Paper Thin Personas

Printable Paper Dolls

Tag Archives: freckles

Marisole Monday: Coastal Princess

Marisole Monday: Maurader Princess

Marisole Monday: In the Mid-1860s… Full Color

Magnetic Marisole… A New Layout for New Year

The Magnetic Marisole Printable Paper Dolls

The Dolls

Contemporary Clothing Sets

Fantasy Clothing Sets

Historical Clothing Sets

Noir Punk or Punk Noir…. Magnetic Paper Doll

The Best Friends…

Flock Modern Girl: Magnetic Paper Dolls

Pixie & Puck: Prudence and Constance in Black and White

New Full Color Paper Doll Named Mara

Pixie & Puck: Constance