medieval inspired

Marisole Monday & Friends: Marisole as an Elven Maiden

So, a while ago I had a contest to name the Mini Maidens. Natalie won my contest and therefore won her very own custom paper doll. Natalie selected a Marisole Monday & Friends paper doll as the basis for her paper doll, specifically Marisole.

Natalie Wrote:

I would love to have an Elf themed sort of thing like in the Lord of the Rings (with marisole)… Also can you make sure she has a bow and arrows?(that would be awesome!)…. I’m sort of imagining her with a little medievial themed clothing.

marisole-elven-princess-color{Click Here for a PDF of Elven Maiden in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Elven Maiden in Color}

So I openly confess that the last time I read Lord of the Rings I was thirteen, stuck in Italy and only got through it due to the lack of other English language reading material. I’m not much of a Tolkien fan, truth be told. Never the less, I liked the movies (not enough to own them, just enough to not mind watching them with others) and I do think Tolkien was the father of modern epic fantasy. Not being a huge epic fantasy reader, the jury is out as to whether or not this was good thing.

Needless to say, I wanted to try to capture the spirit of the LOtR elves from the movie to the best of my ability without actually copying anything from the films. The Costumer’s Guide to Movie Costumes was a godsend in this regard, proving me with a wealth of photos of elven costumes to pull from. The kimono sleeves are my addition, because I love kimono sleeves and the modified mandarin collars give everything a tiny bit of Asian flair.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Elven Maiden in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Elven Maiden in Black and White}

Normally, I don’t post both the black and white and the color versions at the same time and I won’t be doing this again, but I didn’t want to make Natalie wait for the color version of her paper doll set. Both are here for printing, so people can select their choice. I did a sort of autumn theme for the colors. Natalie didn’t give me any guidance on the color scheme, since she said she wanted to be surprised.

Natalie, if this color scheme is a little too surprising, let me know. I can re-color them for you. 🙂

So, did I capture the spirit of Lord of the Rings or totally fall flat? Let me know in a comment, since I’m not going to be picking up those books again if I can help it.

Pixie & Puck: Philippa… Named for a Queen

Another fantasy Medieval sort of Pixie Paper Doll for the this week. I have been on this fantasy Pixie kick for a while… I have one more of a similar style to post and then I shall have finished my flight of fancy in this direction until I get distracted and decide to turn to something else.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Phillipa in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Phillipa in Color} {Click Here for More Pixie Paper Dolls}

She is named for Philippa of Hainault who was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England in the 14th century. Philippa of Hainault is buried in Westminster Cathedral, so you can go visit her there should you be in London and feel like it. Westminster is pretty darn cool, I have to confess.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Phillipa in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Phillipa in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie Paper Dolls}

So, the response to the new lips on the Pixies has been uniformly negative. I tend to agree with the concerns leveled by my readers and therefore won’t be continuing in the style after this paper doll set.

Pixie & Puck: Robynn, a Huntress

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{Click Here for a PDF of Robynn in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Robynn in Color}

Every paper doll I do is a little different. Today’s Pixie Paper Doll has a few things that are different from normal. I’ve been experimenting with how I draw the Pixie faces, so you might notice her lips are distinctly different from the other Pixies. I’m not sure how I feel about this new style, I think I’ll stick with it for the next few (since I already have their heads drawn this way) and see how I feel. Feedback, as always, is enjoyed and very useful.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Robynn in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Robynn in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie Paper Dolls}

So, I got an email a few weeks ago from a nice young lady name Megan who asked for:

Pale
Blue eyes
ginger
Female

Style:
Commando
Outdoors
midevil

And, debates of the spelling of Medieval aside, I was intrigued. What was a Medieval outdoors commando? I wondered and how would one dress, anyway? And so, mostly to forefill my own fascination at the concept, I drew this Pixie set. Free advice to people who make requests, the weirder the request, the more likely I am to take it on.

A couple things that are different about this Pixie than what was asked for. I did not give the doll blue eyes (mostly because I forgot) and the set is only medieval in the vaguest of senses. Still, I think she came out pretty cute. I do rather wish I’d remembered to give her blue eyes, per Megan’s request, so I hope she will forgive me that oversight.

Robynn is named for Robin Hood, of course, who robbed from the rich, gave to the poor and was generally a cool dude, though did not, necessarily exist. I had a great love of Robin Hood stories when I was a child.

Astrid- Printable Paper Doll

When I was in middle school, I played a character named Astrid in a school play… but that is neither here nor there.

Personally, I really like her axe. That’s probably my favorite part of the paper doll… is that weird?

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{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, Boots asked: since you do a lot of coloring, etc. on the computer, what (if anything) do you do with the original art? Also: have you ever considered attending a paper doll convention?

Well, I draw in sketchbooks. So, my paper dolls end up in sketchbooks and the sketchbooks get labeled with the date and the year that they were done and get stuck in a bookcase. I don’t really “do” anything with the original art, except save it, because someday I might need it for something…. I keep a xerox of every common base paper doll (Marisole, Pixie & Puck, Dictionary and Shadow and Light) in a binder, so that I can have something draw off of without damaging the original art. I live in terror of losing the original art, since I tend to beat up my copies.

As for going to a paper doll convention, I totally want too. I’ve wanted to go to one for forever, but they’ve never been in locations or at times that were convenient for me. Living in Alaska was a huge hurdle and then school was a huge hurdle, but I’m hoping next year or something, I might get to go to one.

Mostly, I just think it would be cool to meet people who get as excited as I do about these paper people I love to draw so much. 🙂

Speaking of paper people, I was pawing around the internet and I found this beautiful horoscope paper doll on a dutch (I think…) language website. She’s really lovely and I adore her “theme costumes”.

I draw paper dolls… (Plus here’s a chick with some fantasy dresses)

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{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… here’s the thing… I said to the apartment people..I need a second bedroom, because I want a work space and a guest space…

What I didn’t say is this:

I draw paper dolls.

I don’t know why.

It’s not because I have an artistic vision or something… I just like them.

It’s a little nostalgia, a little amusement. It’s my hobby.

Why do some people knit or crochet or make pottery?

I don’t know.

I don’t even really know why I draw paper dolls.

Except this…

Every paper doll is a potential story. What humans wear are physical manifestations of social and cultural forces. We dress ourselves so we can become what we want to be. We dress ourselves as what we think we should be.

Every paper doll is a potential character. What that paper doll wears is about what that paper doll can become. Every time I draw a paper doll, I can create a world.

Also, I like pretty dresses.

This is my hobby.

I don’t knit. I don’t crochet.

I draw paper dolls.

Plus… well… I do need some guest space.

Sophia… Medieval Fantasy Paper Doll to Dress

One of the things I think a lot about is “playability” which is a term I’m not sure is actually a real word, but what the heck, I use it anyway. What I mean when I say “playability” is how much a single paper doll sheet (one Pixie, One Puck, One Marisole) can be played with. Does the printable paper doll have options? Can she (or he) be dressed up in different styles? Are there choices?

The problem with this, of course, it that pretty soon you run into wondering if printable paper dolls like Sophia are a good idea. There’s no real way to fit more than two full dresses onto one page and with one or two pairs of shoes that really only renders up two to four outfit options.

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

On the other hand, I really like both of her dresses and I think, particularly the one with the leaves on the sleeves, are really beautiful. I don’t want to stop drawing such things even though perhaps Sophia isn’t as versatile a paper doll as say Kandi (who has 18 outfit options). So instead I just assume Sophia will raid the closets of Gianna, Grace and Masquerade. She’ll have a nice set of dresses once she’s done.

I just realized, linking to all those other Pixies, that I haven’t done enough fantasy maiden Pixie paper dolls. Clearly this is a problem I shall have to fix. Though perhaps not immediately, I have next weeks Pixie printable paper doll already finished. And she’s a cutie.

By the way, I have a drawing for a custom paper doll going on. Enter if you haven’t.

Baroque Maiden: Fantasy Printable Paper Doll

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}
Today’s Marisole was supposed to go up last week, but somehow it didn’t happen. I feel like I start every post apologizing these days which I am trying to stop doing. I have mixed feelings about how she turned out. I really like the colors, but the style seems like I do a lot. I have mixed feelings about it. When I think of the baroque era of art, I think of rich dark colors with golds and reds and purples and black which was the inspiration for this color scheme. I gave her blond hair to contrast with the dark colors of her dresses.

A friend of my send me the link to these wonderful paper dolls from the Museum of Childhood in London. You can download them and print them out. Beautiful full color historic dolls. It’s so nice having friends who support my odd hobbies. So a big shout out to my friends.

Spirit of the North: Black and White Printable Paper Doll

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

So, I have good news, bad news and slightly indifferent news. The good news is- Hey, look it’s a paper doll post. The bad news is that it will probably be the only one for the whole week. The indifferent news is that the paper doll is in black and white. I chose to post Spirit of the North in black and white since the dolls dresses have a lot of pattern to them and I thought it would be more interesting to color than some of my other paper dolls.

I think it might be cheating to recycle content like this… But so far people have been nice about it. 🙂

Spirit of the North: Printable Paper Doll

We still haven’t had much snow here, but I don’t mind. I’m able to walk home from work which is just about a mile and a half and it’s a nice walk to do when the weather isn’t too cold. I’m dreading when it gets colder and I’ll have to decide between wait ten minutes for the bus or walking 25 minutes in the cold. It’s a hard call and depending on how horrid it is, I usually decide right after work.

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for More Paper Dolls in this Series}

I’ve been playing around with color pallets a lot lately. I realized, I’d never done a sort of Norse/Anglo-Saxon/Medieval fantasy paper doll in a pale color scheme. Somehow that lead to this and then the idea of giving the paper doll blue skin came to me last minute. Once the paper doll was fully colored, I knew she had to be some sort of other worldly winter fairy or something. She might be smiling, but I get the feeling she might be very dangerous. Not someone you’d want to cross.

And, in case I haven’t mentioned it or you haven’t noticed, there’s a poll. Feel free to vote or tell me what you think in a comment.

Shadow and Light 12: Paper Doll to Print

So, I’ve been a little lazy lately with getting things posted. Rather than going home to Alaska, I went to Arizona over the holidays. It’s a very dry place, Arizona. Full of cactus and other desert plants, but the landscape has a desolate arid sort of beauty to it and I’ve been enjoying watching rabbits (also known as mobile coyote food) hop around the backyard. Still, a part of me missed the cold wet forest of my homeland. But I am back in Illinois, land of the corn now, and since I don’t go back to work for a few days, I have devoted myself to working on the blog and paper dolls.

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{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’m always looking for paper dollsPrintables 4 Kids is a pretty ad heavy site. I’m not a huge fan of most of these sloppily made ad heady websties aimed at children. I think they usually teach bad lessons about internet veracity (and there are plenty of good kids sites out there). But I’m a sucker for an interesting paper doll and this site has two I’ve found. First there is Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 Printable Paper Doll Activity which allows you to print and dress up a Chihuahua, which always seemed a little mean to the Chihuahua to me. Princess Kate Printable Paper Doll is also available, though I think you have to go to the Disney site to find it.

What and where are other people’s well loved paper dolls?