ninja

Ninja Paper Doll for the End of 2020!

It’s the end of year and I am happy to wrap up with this little cute ninja warrior. You might be wondering- why a ninja paper doll? There’s nothing winter thematic about a ninja?

And you are right! There isn’t.

However, I have a new logo which I love (see top of the site) and I want to start putting it on all of my printables and that means some reformatting. So, rather than try to make something wintery to end out 2020, I decided to use my last finished piece and then have a clean slate for 2021.

Hence the ninja paper doll, who has been sitting quietly in my “to be posted” folder for longer than I like to admit. Poor Diamond deserves better than that, but these things happen.

A ninja paper doll coloring page with six mix and match pieces to print and color. Her accessories include a sword, throwing stars and some other fantasy weapons.

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I originally planned to do this a very traditional ninja set with lots and lots of black, but in the end, I concluded that it was sort of boring. So, I guess my ninja is just really into the color blue. I don’t see why ninjas have to wear just black. The origins of which I think have to do with Noh theater, but I’m not 100% positive. If you know, feel free to correct me in the comments.

A ninja paper doll with mix and match pieces, weapons and fun style. Great indoor play for kids!

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As 2020 comes to an end (and thanks goodness for that), I am so pleased to say I will be taking a few days off to rest and recoup. Patreon will be on pause during January (no content, but no one is being charged either, a feature I love of Patreon), but feel free to join us to check out the wrap up for the 365 Day Project!

Okay, it was 366 days, because when I named it I forgot that 2020 was a leap year.

Also, it will be available as one huge download on Etsy once I get it all combined. It’s um… pretty large.

My big new project for 2021 is an email newsletter. I am so excited! Sign up here if you’d like to or read more about it, if you’d like. There will be a paper doll coloring page in every issue and links to neat stuff and ramblings from me.

Ninjas, Can be Lavender, too? Right?

Paper doll ninjas design with armor and weapons.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
Let me start by saying that I don’t really believe in “artist’s block,” because I think the way you get over such things is by actually drawing. I will confess that sometimes when I am stumped on what to draw, I end up looking at my Master Paper Doll Index and picking out a theme I haven’t done yet for the Jewels and Gemstones.

The four I know I need to work on include gothic, punk, astronauts, and ninjas.

Well, gothic, punk and astronauts will have to wait. Today, I decided to explore ninjas.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
One of the perks of having drawn a lot of paper dolls is that sometimes I go back to my own older work for inspiration, but I also wanted to look at other things as well. One thing I knew I didn’t want to do was an all black ninja outfit. Seriously, coloring things in all back is kinda boring. This is likely why I haven’t done that gothic set yet, now that I mention it.

Specific Source Images: This Illustration and This Image from Pinterest & This Ninja design from Last Year

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Jewels & Gemstones paper dolls & More Ninja Stuff
Around the Internet: Some info on actual Ninjas

Last Thoughts
Mostly, I base my ninjas outfits on wrap designs, but I wanted to draw a qipao inspired piece instead. Maybe I should have said that up under my inspiration…

Joining on Patreon means getting extra paper doll content and now is a great time to join, because I just posted the August rewards.

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

Dabbling in the World of Ninja For the A Pose Ladies

A set of ninja inspired paper doll clothing for the A Pose paper dolls with swords and accessories.

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So, a few weeks ago I made a list of themes I hadn’t drawn for the Dames and Dandies yet and I have been gradually inching my way through the list. Today’s paper doll is one of those themes- the ninja.

I have to admit I do basically no research for this ninja paper doll outfit. Everything I know about ninja I learned watching martial-arts films in college. Most of which were subtitled from Hong Kong and only half of which I actually completely could follow the plot.

I wasn’t as much of a fan of the genre was some dear friends were.

Anyway, the films heavily influenced my ideas of what ninja might wear, though (as mentioned) there’s no historical basis of this interpretation. I also watched a lot of Teenage Mutant  Ninja Turtles as  a child and this probably impacted me in strange ways. 

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

Mini-Maiden’s Are Secretely Ninjas

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Ninjas and How Bad I am at Drawing a Katana
mini-maiden-ninja-paper-doll-outfit-coloring-page

Yesterday, I did a way more detailed explanation of why I drew this ninja outfit then I am going to do today. Mostly, it was because I didn’t have many ninja paper dolls. I especially wanted a ninja coloring page paper doll outfit. Why you ask?

Well, because I was asked for one.

Not recently, mind you, but years and years ago I was emailed to see if my Ninjas Vs Pirates paper doll set for Marisole Monday and Friends was available in black and white. It wasn’t and it won’t be, because I no longer have the master files for it. So, when I decided to draw ninjas, astronaut and circus themed paper dolls, I knew I needed to do one in black and white. Why those these topics? I explain in yesterday’s post.

So, here it is! Of course, my more recently Marisole Monday & Friend’s ninja is also available in black and white, but now there’s another option if you perfer Mini-Maidens to Marisole Monday & Friends. Everyone should have options.

Seriously, I swear this logic made sense in my head at the time.

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Also, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Mine should be quiet which, frankly, is exactly how I like my weekends to be.

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

Ninja! Paper Doll Ninja!

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Ninjas, Obi Belts and The Lack of Ninjas On the Blog. 

A paper doll ninja outfit for the Marisole Monday & Friends series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com

Sometimes, your paper dolls just want to be Ninjas. To solve that problem, today’s outfit is a free printable paper doll ninja outfit. Everything I know about ninjas I learned from watching Kung Fu movies in college which means I really don’t know anything at all. Mostly, I tend to think that ninjas fall into the “vaguely Asian feeling assassin/spy territory” and I can live with that.

Part of my decision to draw a ninja outfit for the Marisole Monday and Friends paper doll series came from the realization that I hadn’t done very many ninjas over the years. Last time I did one was 2014 and she was less ninja and more scantily clad Asian warrior chick.

The general idea of creating an all black paper doll outfit doesn’t hold much interest for me, so I brightened up my Ninja paper doll outfit design with some red trim.

I did seriously consider making the outfit all white, because the color white is associated with funerals in China. However, I didn’t think white would be a very logical color for a sneaky stalker of the night to wear. Along with the outfit, there are some accessories. I did some throwing stars and knives, because they are cliche.

And a kusarigama which translates to “chain-sickle.” I omitted the chain for both space and practicality when cutting out the pieces. So, I guess mine is just a sickle.

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Well, what do you think of today’s paper doll ninja? Let me know in a comment.

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

Akemi, A Fantasy Warrior Paper Doll

logo-asian-warrior-paper-dollToday’s paper doll is named for a very close friend of mine in childhood named Akemi. Akemi was a very talented singer and dancer. Also, her family kept ducks.

The ducks got carried off by bald eagles on a rather regular basis.

And Akemi had all of the She-ra action figures including the horse and the cloud palace. I can not express how jealous I was of this She-ra collection. Hours were spent in her backyard feeding ducks, chasing off eagles who wanted to eat the ducks, and having epic She-ra battles.

So, when I was looking for a good name for my fantasy warrior paper doll, I immediately thought of Akemi and She-ra.

I’ve no idea what happened to Akemi. (Also, I’m not positive she didn’t spell her name Akimi, but I think it was Akemi. Now, this is going to bug me… Short of getting my mother to pull my old middle school year book from storage, there is no way to easily answer that question.)

asian-warrior-paper-doll

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Moving away from my childhood for a moment, today’s paper doll is a fantasy warrior with five mix and match clothing pieces, two pairs of shoes and some serious weapons. I’ve done a lot of swords, axes and spears, so I wanted to some crazy scythe like thing. I don’t think it would be a very practical weapon in the real world, but it does look cool.

And fantasy warriors should get cool looking weapons.

Of course, if she needs more weapons than she can borrow them from Rebecca Grace, Latanya, Robynn, Astrid, Kelli, or Philippa to name some of my weapon wielding Pixie paper dolls.

asian-warrior-paper-doll-color
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All in all, I am pleased with the color scheme I ended up with.I knew I wanted to use red and gold, cliche though they are, for her armor. I added black and cream for contrast after trying out brown and disliking how it looked with the red. Her hair changed color several times over the course of deciding on the black and blond dip dye look (for a while it was red and blond, also blue briefly).

That is all I have to say about that. Enjoy the paper doll.

Marisole Monday: Pirate Vs. Ninja- Ninja Edition

So, this paper doll began when I was asking for paper doll ideas and my friend said, “Pirates vs. Ninjas.”

He was joking. I wasn’t.

marisole-ninja-paper-doll-150

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I actually gave some thought to the matter and decided I could do both a ninja and a pirate version of the paper doll. Today is the ninja and then next week, there will be a pirate paper doll for Marisole. I did a pirate paper doll a while ago, but I was never really pleased with how it turned out. So, I decided I should have another go at it.

In paper dolls, unlike in life, there are plenty of second chances.

On a totally unrelated note, I was looking at my poll results and I noticed that Marisole won as the favorite paper doll by a landslide. While I always thought she would win, I didn’t think she’d win by as much as she did. So I am curious, why Marisole won. To help answer this question, I have developed a contest.

The Contest

The question is: Which paper doll series on the blog is your favorite and what makes it your favorite? A one word answer will not count, the “why” is very important to me.

The Rules:
1) One answer per person.
2) Contest will run for this week.
3) At the end of the week, I will put the names of everyone who answered into a hat, draw one randomly, and announce the winner on next Monday with the Marisole post.

The Prize: A custom paper doll for a series of your choice- Curves, Marisole, Pixie & Puck or Flora (though Flora has to stay in the Regency Era).

All right, I look forward to reading people’s answers.