Tag Archives: pleats

Punk Girl… A black and white paper doll…

Posted on May 8, 2013 by RLC

{Click Here for a PDF of the Paper Doll}{Click Here for a PDF of The Paper Doll’s Stylin’ Clothes}

My best friend in middle school and in high school and college was a girl with a distinctly punky style. I admired her guts at wearing vynal pants in our small Alaskan town. This was before the days of days of universal internet shopping (we had Amazon and it pretty much only sold books back then), so the school was pretty sedate in style. (Not from desire, as much as lack of access.) Her style, on the other hand, was loud and bright and adventurous. I’ve always admired her for having the gall to go for it when I didn’t.

Since I wasn’t going to actually wear the clothing I admired so much, I made up for it by drawing paper dolls. This was dates from my college years, back in 2005. I remember planning on doing that brick pattern, by hand, for the entire sheet of clothes and then concluding life was way to short. Unlike a lot of my stuff from college, I’m still pleased with this one, though I see a few flaws that I would correct now, except that I want to keep the integrity of my old art.

Enjoy her. She’s been added to the index as well.

I have also, quietly, migrated the Dictionary Girls into retired status. The series hasn’t been updated in six months and I hate to leave it hanging as a “possibility” when I know, secretly, that it’s probably not. I do want to have a full figured paper doll series, I just need to think about how to handle it. Having said that, inspiration might strike and they might return. I just don’t want people to think they update often when, in truth, they don’t.

Posted in Black & White, Printable Paper Dolls, Short Run Dolls | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Magnetic Set for Grandma…

Posted on April 26, 2013 by RLC

Vintage Magnetic Paper Doll So, I made my Grandma a set of magnetic paper dolls. And she was very happy. And she sent me this very nice thank you note and she observed that her paper doll was lonely.

So, I made her additional dolls. Since she does not use the internet, I feel completely safe posting these here. The originals have been cut out and, along with more clothing from the other Marisole Magnetic sets, been sent off for her to enjoy. I am thinking of them as an early Mother’s day present for her. I’m working on something for my Mother as well, but since she actually reads this blog, I have to be tight lipped about the whole affair.

Please note that these girl’s can wear anything that the Magnetic Marisole’s can wear, so feel free to make them pirates or something.

You can get directions for making magnetic paper dolls, if you need them.

Vintage Styled Paper Doll
Vintage Paper Doll Download Vintage Paper Doll’s Friends
Posted in Magnetic Marisole, Magnetic Paper Doll | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Meet Faye: A New Paper Doll Series is Born

Posted on March 15, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print}

Some of you probably remember my Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day Paper Dolls which I did last month. After I did them, I found myself drawing a lot more for this pose. So, I decided to actually name the first of the dolls. I have named her Faye, after a Chinese foreign exchange student I knew in graduate school. Her wardrobe, like that of my grad school friend, is girly and a hint of boho. I haven’t updated the Printable Paper Doll Index with her yet, but I will be soon. Probably this weekend.

By the way, the new series needs a name. So, I am asking for recommendations for a good name for these little paper dolls. I’ll select my favorite from the comments in a week (Friday the 22nd) and the winner will get a custom paper doll set of their choice.

It’s been a while since I did a contest and so the rules are as follows:

    1. You can enter up to three names.
    2. You can only win one contest a year.
    3. I will announce the winner on the blog on the day the contest ends. I will also email the winner at their email address attached to the comment. If I do not hear back from the winner within a week, I will use a random number generator to select the next winner.
    4. The winner will receive a one page custom paper doll based on one of my paper doll series within a month of the end of the contest. Sometimes life gets in the way of this goal, but I will email the winner if that is the case and we can make other arrangements.

So, enter your paper doll series names and we’ll see what we’re going to call this new set of paper dolls.

Posted in Black & White, Faye, Mini Maidens, Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Marisole Monday: Vintage Roses

Posted on February 4, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

After two set of Margot, I thought we’d pop back to Marisole for a while. This paper doll also has no pants. I just realized this.

So, a while ago, I was asked about programs I use to work on my paper dolls. I don’t remember who asked me the question, but as I worked on this paper doll set, I tried to figure out the answer. Not exactly rocket science, but it took some thought.

I use Photoshop CS3 for all my paper dolling (a bit out of date, I know) and I like it, though the learning curve on it is steep. To color my paper dolls, I use a filter called the Bpelt filter, which is designed for flatting comics. Flatting is the process of coloring in shapes with no black line border. Traditionally, newspapers printed all of the color and then over printed the line work. I think comics, in the real world, may still be printed this way though I’m not sure… my printing history gets fuzzy once computers enter onto the scene.

I like Bpelt because it allows me to have my line-work on a separate layer which is useful for me.

Frankly, I don’t have much experience with other programs. I would like to learn Illustrator and Indesign, but I never have. I can’t really provide a helpful review except to say that I am certain I use Photoshop for about a tenth of what it is capable of.

Posted in Marisole, Marisole Monday & Friends, Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Marisole Monday: Spikes and Pleats… In Pinks and Purples

Posted on January 28, 2013 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

I seriously feel like I should have saved this for Valentine’s Day, but I didn’t have anything else finished, so up it goes.

It’s not like I started with a plan for the obnoxious color scheme, but somehow the traditional black and red thing I do for punk clothing just wasn’t hitting the mark. So, pink, purple and black became the name of the game.

I sort of like it.

I do wish the fuzzy sweater looked… well… fuzzier. By the way, the neckline of that sweater is low and it’s meant to go over one of the corsets or other tops, otherwise she shows off more of her swimsuit than perhaps is decent for polite society.

So, I think I’ve mentioned my wacky formula for calculating the number of outfit combos a paper doll set contains before which is the number of tops multiplied by the number of bottoms and then by the number of shoes and then by the number of “jackets” plus 1. Now often the formula doesn’t work, because the pieces aren’t really totally interchangeable, but this is a rare set where I think everything really can go with everything else. The result is a total of 146 outfit combinations (not taking into consideration accessories) which is pretty remarkable.

Posted in Full Color, Margot, Marisole Monday & Friends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Shadow & Light… The 22nd One

Posted on December 27, 2012 by RLC

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

Here we are at nearly the end of December and here is another Shadow and Light paper dolls. Today’s paper doll is a bit steampunk-ish (though lacks the gears and goggles that seem to be required), still I hope no one will hold that against her. Truth be told, I can’t draw a gear to save my life, though I have tried on occasion to mixed success.

I forgot, living in Alabama, how pretty the snow is, but I also forgot how annoying it is to sweep off your car in the morning in the cold wearing black ankle boots. Toes freezing and fingers freezing and snow sticking to eyelashes under a grey sky with lights from the buildings flickering through, there’s nothing like winter in Southeast Alaska.

It’s a beautiful place up here.

Oh and by the way, there’s a poll on the sidebar. Please fill it out. I do actually pay attention to what people vote for and I use it to decide what I will do in the coming year. If there’s something you’d like to see and it’s not on the list, please comment.

Posted in Black & White, Shadow & Light | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cora: In Stripes!

Posted on November 27, 2012 by RLC

{Link to a printable PDF of the Cora paper doll}

College paper doll, I believe. Actually, I’m certain it’s a college paper doll, because I distinctly recall drawing her while sitting at a very large table and playing Dungeons and Dragons. I’m not sure which is more geeky- the paper dolling or the D&D playing… Hard to say really.

I went through a phase of drawing lots of paper dolls wearing knee high boots and thigh high stockings. I’d say I’ve gotten over it, but I haven’t really. I just came to dislike the limitations it put on their colothing options. It is odd to think that I probably drew this paper doll seven years ago.

My art is still improving, but I have a long way to go before I feel totally comfortable about where I am.

By the way, I wanted to thank everyone who sent me such lovely links during my search for Native American paper dolls. I need to go through them carefully, but I hope to have a better post on the topic with a little lest annoyance and a little more substance before the end of November, but it probably won’t happen until December.

Let’s be honest.

Posted in Black & White, Printable Paper Dolls, Short Run Dolls | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Calla in Color: Mango and Strawberry

Posted on October 17, 2012 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {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 will be at work late tonight, so I am writing this post early in the morning. I do evening reference shifts about twice a month and I enjoy it. Since I work down in the Special Collections, I tend to get specialized varieties of questions, but when I’m at the reference desk, I get all sorts of random questions. My favorite was an evening when I got asked about both Chinese acrobats and the economics of fisheries on the Gulf of Mexico.

Anyway, my point is that when writing blog entries early in the morning, you have to lower your standards for my coherence.

When I use these cheery fruity colors, I always find myself thinking of the tropics. I imagine Calla walking the streets of somewhere warm- Miami or Brazil- and drinking something iced out of a coconut. By the way, I totally think Kandi would steal the black skirt with the pink piping.

I seem to have some weird conviction that tropical colors means tropical places.

The only downside of writing posts in the morning is that it makes it so I end up posting two in the same day…. I shall have to think on that one was a problem. Oh well….

Posted in Full Color, Pixie & Puck, Pixies (Girls), Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Calla in Colors… Avacado and Cream

Posted on October 17, 2012 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

There’s something intensely 1970’s about this color scheme on Calla. Avacado is a color I’ll always associate with the 1970s. My highschool was decorated in avocado, burnt orange and sort of a muddy yellow color. Whenever anyone talks about how “classic” a color combination is, I think back to the rather horrid colored lockers and wonder if some design team thought that about them.

Of course, after I graduated, they did a remodel and now it’s a much more attractive grey, red and teal building.

I have included the color swatch for this set, so you can see how the colors turned out when put on the actual paper doll. I usually collect colors on swatches if I am doing a large set (such as the Flock Modern Girl) and then keep them carefully saved as a file called something creative like “Color Palette”. I am particularly pleased with how nicely Calla’s warm mocha skin tone goes with the spicey orange red color and, in hindsight, I wish I’d used more of it in the set.

My love of Calla’s hair remains intense.

By the way, I just discovered a new paper doll blog. I am rather annoyed that I didn’t know it existed before this. I am so out of the loop sometimes… Yeesh. Paper Doll School is fairly new on the blog scene, only been around since June. I adore her tutorials and will probably be trying out some of her techniques myself, especially her advice on Photoshop, a tool I’m always trying to learn more about. Plus she has the cutest grinning bride paper doll on her blog. So, go visit her if you get a chance.

Posted in Full Color, Pixie & Puck, Pixies (Girls), Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Calla in Colors… Black and White

Posted on October 16, 2012 by RLC

Thumbnail link image printable paper doll {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

For the next three days, I’ll be posting a different version of this paper doll in color each day.

So, Calla started out as a hip-hop infused paper doll project born out of my own ignorance of the genre. I don’t think that, in the end, she looks terribly hip-hop, but I did my best.

Calla began when one of my student workers and I got into a conversation about Chicago hip-hop style that ended with her giving me the names of several brands including Apple Bottoms, Rocawear and Baby Phat. Using their designs as a starting point, I carefully researched and then drew Calla’s face.

Somewhere between the “head” being drawn and the clothing being drawn my own natural inclination for pin-tucks and pleats took over. So… I guess Calla is less of a hip-hop paper doll than she was meant to be. I still think she’s really really cute.

Each of these swatches is a little different. And each one was adapted and became one set of colors I used when coloring a version of Calla including the skin and hair colors, but not the eye or lip colors.

I’m curious about which one people like the best, so I have a poll.

poll by twiigs.com

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Posted in Black & White, Pixie & Puck, Pixies (Girls), Printable Paper Dolls | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment