Sorceress' Gowns Project Archives • Paper Thin Personas

Winter and Spring Sorceress Paper Doll Dresses

May 22, 2020December 22, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Vintage Santa Claus Illustrations and Layers

After I finished my Autumn sorceress gown, I began working on designs for a winter version. I knew I wanted fur and heavier looking fabric. After a few drafts (and with some inspiration from old illustrations of St. Nick), I came up with this design. I wanted it to feel lavish, but also warm.

Like the other dresses in the Sorceress Gowns Project colors really mattered. Initially, I wanted to make her fur trimmed coat red, but that felt a little to Father Christmas for me. So, instead I chose colors that reminded me of my visit to Alaska in November. Blues and greys that evoked the cool peacefulness of a winter day.

I wanted some big statement jewelry for her to really stand out against the turtle neck of her dress. So, I had fun designing that big gold bib necklace.

For her magical staff, I wanted snowflakes and the north star. I also added a ski poll like pointy bottom for hiking through the snow and being safe while doing so. I couldn’t decide between gold and silver for the colors of the staff, so I used both.

Her boots are fur trimmed. The soles are meant to reflect ice skates.

I also had a lot of debate about what color to make her stand. I almost made it white, but then I felt like it looked “unfinished” somehow, so blue won.

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Crocuses and Melting Snow

When I think of spring I think of crocuses. Perhaps, because I grew up in a snowy place. I think of their little flower heads poking out through the melting snow, seeking light and warmth. So, when I set out to draw a Spring inspired Sorceress gown, I knew crocuses were going to be featured.

Beyond the crocus, I knew I wanted drape and layers. I wanted something that was soft and warm, the way I think of spring sun as being soft and warm.

The pattern on the dress is meant to invoke the melting snow. The white dripping down and off the grass and the slow emergence of color again. I love winter. I love the stillness and the peacefulness, but spring is a time of transformation.

Color wise, I returned to the crocus. I wanted greens and purples and rich yellow. I wanted things that were soft and sweet, but also vibrant. Spring is not peaceful to me (unlike winter).

Her corset features a crocus, of course, and so does her staff.

So, today’s two Sorceress Gowns Project paper doll dresses were about two very different seasons. I am deeply proud of both gowns, though there is a lot of diversity in them.

What do you think of today’s gowns? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in a comment.

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The B&B Curvy Paper Dolls Get An Autumnal Sorceress Gown

November 8, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Falling Leaves and Layered Gowns

After I finished the Elements dresses for the Sorceress Gowns Project I wasn’t sure what to draw next. The elements made a lot of sense to me, but then I was like… What other sorts of gown themes can I explore?

However, as autumn has come to Alabama and with it there are lots of leaves turning, I decided an series on the seasons would be a fun thing to work on next. So, today’s Sorceress Gowns Project paper doll outfit is based on the themes and colors of autumn.

I wanted to use colors that I see in the hills around town these days. The rich reds and yellows of turning leaves. I chose to do several different leaf designs.

The staff was inspired by a tree branch, though I’m not sure it entirely works.

And like all the Sorceress Gowns, she has some pretty cool boots.

I haven’t drawn winter, spring or summer yet, so this might end up the lone gown, but I plan on them. I just haven’t decided what I want them to look like quite yet. I’ve been working on thumbnail sketches for those dresses. I think I have a decent idea of what they might look like.

Of course, I tend to change my mind a lot, so it is also totally possible that I will before I do the final dresses.

Meanwhile, Friday there will be a super fun Sprites fantasy set.

As always, let me know what you think of today’s paper doll gown in a comment. I adore hearing from you all.

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A new paper doll for the B&B Sorceress Gowns Project!

December 6, 2020September 1, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Sorceresses and Flowers

Back in April I asked my Patrons what I could do for an ongoing series and they voted on sorceress gowns. So, my goal with the with the Sorceress Gowns Project was to create a series of gowns for a sorceress. That’s probably obvious.

I also thought I should make a few dolls to wear the gowns. So, I designed this one to go with my last one from April. There are plenty of B&B dolls that fit with the theme from before April of this year. I think this doll, this doll, and this doll both have a sorceress feel to them.

I thought about doing another over the top hair style as I did with last doll to go with the gowns. But I decided that the simple long hair was a nice counter-balance to the complex gown.

I had a lot of fun coloring the gown in these muted spring time colors. There’s something very spring feeling to me to this gown. I think it’s the light colors combined with the floral motif that gets me feeling that way.

Of course, she needs gowns to be a sorceress. There are four gowns so far, one for each elements. You can see them all here under the Sorceress Gowns Project tag. I do try to organize these things somewhat. It’s my natural librarian tendencies.

As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed the paper dolls this week and I always love to hear what you think, so leave a comment if you like.

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Sorceress’ Element Dress for Air

July 20, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Tang Dynasty Hanfu, Sort of…

Today’s paper doll gown is for the curvy B&B paper dolls. It’s part of my Sorceress Gowns Project. My goal with the Sorceress Gowns Project was to create a series of gowns for a sorceress, as one might imagine. I started with the classic four elements- earth, air, fire and water. The element of Air inspired today’s paper doll gown.

For a series of gowns based on the elements, most of the Sorceress gowns were pretty easy to design. I created Water, Fire and Earth. Earth was the hardest, but only because my sister is a geologist and I feared judgement if I didn’t get it right.

Air was hard, because air is transparent. So, unless I wanted to post a blank image and declare it an Air dress, I needed to come up with some way to give Air some form. So, I went with flowing garments and soft drape. Her staff references a bird’s wing and the swirls on her dress are meant to be the breeze.

Traditional Chinese dress from the Tang Dynasty influenced this paper doll gown. I saw things like this and and this being labeled as Tang Dynasty. Now, I realize these have about as much in common with actual Tang Dynasty dress as this does with actual Italian renaissance dress. Intrigued by these outfits, I did a little more research and found this painting and this painting. Again, I have no idea how accurate most of this is. My knowledge of Chinese clothing is distinctly Qing Dynasty. And even that era, I know only the most surface of facts.

Still, I love the shape and the drape of these garments, so they heavily influenced today’s paper doll gown.

The chose to use colors I associate with the sky at dawn. I didn’t know exactly what colors would symbolize Air, but I thought pale pastels made the most sense to me.

As always, I love to hear what people think in a comment.

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An Earth Inspired Sorceress Gown for the B&B Printable Paper Doll Series

June 13, 2017June 13, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Earth!

Today’s B&B paper doll gown is part of the Sorceress Gowns Project in which I am drawing gowns for sorceresses (a fact that might be obvious from the name). The theme for this project was chosen by my Patrons. I’ve started the series with a doll and the four elements. This is the element Earth. I’ve also done Water and Fire.

You can see all the Sorceress Gowns and Dolls under the Sorceress Gowns Project tag.

Earth was a surprisingly easy dress to conceive of. I knew I wanted to focus on rocks rather than plant life. The pattern on her under-gown was inspired by the layers and veins in rocks.

The bottom of her over gown is supposed to look like mountains. On her staff, I put a faceted crystal, because I wanted to capture more rock imagery.

While this was one of the easiest of the various Sorceress gowns to draw, it was one of the hardest to color. I went through three color schemes. I will confess I am still not completely satisfied, but at some point you have to say, “Well, I’m not redoing this again!”

There is an Air gown forthcoming, of course, and then another Sorceress doll.

After that, I’m not sure what I’ll do next. I do have an idea for an arctic/snow themed gown, so maybe I should do a desert/sand themed gown to counter balance it?

Decisions, decisions.

Let me know what you think about that idea in a comment or what you think about today’s gown.

Tomorrow there will be a new installment in the Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme series for the Poppets.

Several folks have let me know that there was a problem with the PDFs. I think I have it solved, but if anyone has a further issue, please clear your browser cache and refresh the page. It should solve the problem.- Rachel

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B&B’s Paper Doll Sorceress Gowns Continue!

May 5, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Tridents, Water and Ancient Greece

So, back in early April, I posted the first part of my Sorceress’ Gowns Project (I always come up with the most creative names.) In that intro post, I explained that I had a variety of potential long term projects, tossed them out to my Patrons and this was the winning idea.

I had kinda been hoping Space Princess would win the poll, but you can’t have everything in life. And nothing is stopping me from embracing Space Princesses as a future plan.

Anyhow, today’s sorceress gown is based on Water, just like my last gown was based on Fire. I wanted to pair fire and water with a similar ancient Greek influence. Mind you, this a very Hollywood idea of Ancient Greek clothing owing more to Xena: Warrior Princess than actual history.

I wanted to capture the shades of water I tend to think of which are not light blues. I tend to associate water with such a dark teal that it looks nearly black which is what I remember from Southeast Alaska where I grew up.

Her magical staff is based on a trident which is a nod to Poseidon, the Greek God of the Ocean. It’s probably not a very functional trident, what with the center prong being a jewel encrusted thing, but there you have it.

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A Curvy Fire Slinging Sorceress & The First Dress of a New Project

April 18, 2017April 18, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Fire & Ancient Greek Fashion

You know what every paper doll needs? Sorceress outfits!

As some of you may recall, I posted the first part of my creatively named Sorceress’ Gowns Project on April 10th. You can read that post here.

My first four gowns (three of which are done) are all based on the elements- fire, water, air and earth. I have fire, water and air all finished. Earth is… well, giving me some trouble.

I have faith I will finish it eventually.

Each gown has two accessories- a staff to channel magical power and a pair of boots.

Today’s fire gown was inspired by ancient Greek dress. I start most of my paper doll creations with a thumbnail doodle and I did the same here. Then I expanded the doodle into a full on paper doll dress.

I share my doodles mostly on Patreon, but once in a while one appears on Facebook, usually after I’ve shared with it my Patron’s first.

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A Sorceress Paper Doll & Her Gown in Muted Colors, Plus the Beginning of a New Project

April 13, 2017April 10, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Sorceresses, really. Just Sorceresses.

So, a few months ago I posted this outfit which I had originally drawn to be part of the Greta’s Trousseau project and I realized how much I missed doing longer term themed projects.

I polled my Patrons asking what they would like to see and while I secretly hoped the Space Princess idea would win, the Sorceress ended up winning. I’ve opened the post up, so you can see the options that I offered.

Frankly, all the ideas would have been fun.

Anyway, I didn’t draw this first, I started with some dresses based on elements- fire, water, air, earth. But I really wanted to post a doll to go with the dresses and I thought she should go up first.

She is the Sorceress doll. She has two books for recording her magical experiments, a hair style to keep it out of her face and a layered gown.

The colors of the gown were inspired by moss and wild flowers. Muted colors and soft shades, I settled on.

I was playing around with my camera when I sketched this doll’s face, so you can watch me draw it in time-lapse (though not great timelapse, let’s be clear). I posted it on the blog’s Facebook page back in February.

I hope to do more of these time-lapse things, but I need to get a better set up and use my tripod. Otherwise, the camera will shake as it does in the facebook version.

By the way, what do people think? Do you like the idea of a series of sorceress gowns? Is there something I should draw after I finish the four elements? Other theme ideas?

Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from you all.

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