Printable Paper Dolls

And Now For 2 Benedita Paper Dolls

A pair of printable paper dolls with brown skin from paperthinpersonas.com. The paper dolls are part of the Dames and Dandies Series and can share clothing with other paper dolls. These cute Latinx paper dolls have dozens of outfit options on paperthinpersonas.com.

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Today’s paper dolls are a double set of Benedita paper dolls, part of the series of sets I created with two dolls each.

I struggle with setting limits. I am the kind of person who doesn’t bake one cookie recipe when I feel like baking cookies. I make two or three. And while my coworkers appreciate my baking spasms, it occasionally creates problems in my creative life.

So, when I started the Dames and Dandies I knew from the start that I needed to set a few limits or would I end up completely overwhelmed. One of those limits was to start with four dolls of four different skin-tones in each pose. Another limit was to start with just three poses.

I regret the second one occasionally, because I think- what if I had a curvy set of poses or a taller or shorter set of poses or a pose in a wheel chair or…

You see how these things spiral for me very quickly. Paper doll diversity is super important to me in both theme, skin-tone and body shape, but I am a one woman show.

Anyway, the Double-Sets like today’s two Benedita paper dolls were a way of tackling a problem I knew existed. I wanted there to be more versions of each paper doll and I wanted them quickly. So, by fitting two dolls onto each page I could get to a more robust collection of options a bit quicker than if I did one doll per page. Plus, I didn’t have to come up with themes beyond different hair styles.

With Benedita, I wanted to do hair styles and colors I hadn’t used for her before. So, I did a lighter brown bob and blond waves. She also has two different eye colors, but it’s so subtle that I don’t think anyone can tell.

I have more double set to share, so fear not the rest of the dames will get their versions.

I’ve always preferred clothing to dolls. So, I would rather have a smaller number of dolls and lots of clothing options. It occurs to me that you all might not feel the same, so let me know in a comment. Do you prefer lots of dolls or lots of clothing?

And, of course, if you like the blog than follow it on Instagram or Facebook and consider becoming a Patron.

Need a clothing for today’s paper doll? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing.

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

A Sexy Retro Space Astronaut Option for the B Pose Ladies

A retro astronaut paper doll inspired by the space age fashions of the late 1960s. High heeled boots can be spacewear, right?

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If you’re going to be an astronaut, why not be a sexy retro scifi astronaut?

The correct answer to that question is probably- Because it’s utterly impractical.

But practicality pretty much never been a consideration in my paper doll universe, because it gets in the way of me getting to draw insane armor and retro space astronauts.

See, one has to have proper priorities.

So, let’s talk inspiration. I have always been fascinated by retro futuristic fashions. I keep a Pinterest board to collect inspiring images of the genre. The classic being the late 1960s work of Pierre Cardin, but the period was full of strange and delightful sci-fi creations like Barbarella. It’s one of the oddest films… I digress.

The point is, I suppose, that I like messing around with different genres. I think I’d get frightfully bored if I stuck to just one thing all the time. So, today we have a foray into retro space and yesterday there was a medieval fantasy gown and tomorrow there’s a ninja. That’s all okay.

I’ve love to hear what you think of today’s retro sci-fi outfit? Impractical, sure, but fun maybe? 

Meanwhile, you can see the sketchbook page this came from on my Instagram feed. If you want more sketchbook pictures, I tend to post them to Patreon first for my patrons before I share them with anyone else. 

Need a Doll to wear today’s outfit? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Medieval Fantasy Wedding Gown for the A Pose Ladies

A medieval wedding dress design trimmed in pink roses and pale blue with matching shoes for the paper dolls. Available to print for free in color or black and white.

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Whenever I post a wedding gown I seem to start by saying that I don’t often draw wedding gowns. Yet, since I seem to have posted several wedding gowns this year, maybe I should stop saying that. I guess what I would say is that I was never one of those people who was obsessed with weddings or wedding gowns. I like pretty dresses, of course. I draw a paper doll blog for goodness sake.

But there’s a ton of baggage wrapped up in wedding dresses.

I think that’s part of why I have such mixed feelings about the genre.

The medieval wedding gown here is part of the Fantasy Maiden Series. Fundamentally, there’s no reason I couldn’t have recolored it in bright purple or something and not called it a wedding gown. However, the source gown was described as a fantasy medieval wedding gown and who am I to argue?

As long time readers will know, I am a wee bit obsessed with bridal trousseaux and I kinda found myself thinking of the Fantasy Maiden Series in that context. Once I did that, I knew I had to draw a wedding gown.

While this certainly isn’t the last of the Fantasy Maiden Series, I thought it might be neat to see all the gowns together.

The Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll Gowns Thus Far…

It’s very easy for me to lose track of what I’ve done and feel like there is never enough. So, for me, putting together these little galleries reminds me that I have achieved something. That there are a few different gown options. It’s helpful for me to see things as a collection and not just a series of posts. I hope it is helpful for you all as well.

What do you think? Should I keep going with the series? Comment if you like and let me know.

I’d like to add a Happy New Year to everyone who (like me) is celebrating today. Shana Tova! Happy 5779! May you all have a sweet wonderful year.

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

A Tiered Evening Gown For the B Pose Ladies

An evening gown for the B Pose paper dolls based on a design from the Marchesa Pre-Fall 2016 collection. The gown has a deep v neckline and a tiered skirt. There is a matching clutch.

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I thought it would be fun to end the week with a fancy paper doll gown since I posted my paper doll tuxedo last week. So, here’s an evening gown for the B pose ladies based on this evening gown from Marchesa’s Pre-Fall 2016 collection. I loved the shape of the original gown.

In case you are wondering, the low cut neckline of the gown is possible because of the skimpy underwear of the B pose ladies. Without those handy leaves, the neckline on this dress wouldn’t be possible. That’s why I tend to draw such skimpy undergarments for my paper dolls. I don’t want to be limited in my neckline options.

Today’s gown isn’t a perfect reproduction of the Marchesa Pre-Fall 2016 evening gown. To start with, my gown isn’t made from lace and the skirts are a lot fuller. I wanted this to feel like a confection. The sort of light weight floating thing that would move beautifully when you walked if, you know, paper dolls could walk.

Marchesa is one of my favorite designers. I adore the elegant evening wear the line produces even though I don’t think I’m skilled enough to draw most of it. The highly detailed textiles they use are hard to render in ink. I think perhaps I just need more practice.

Secretly, I also like drawing evening gowns, because they tend to be complete unto themselves. I don’t have to think about tops and bottoms. I can just draw the gown and maybe a matching bag. They feel like less work than separates and, unlike cocktail dresses, I don’t feel a strange need to always draw two. One evening gown will do.

So, I guess you could say I also look at evening gowns as a lazy option.

I did draw a version of this dress during my #100dressesproject on Instagram. It was dress 41. I also shared the sketchbook page on Instagram back in July. Follow me there if you want more sketchbook pages or join Patreon if you want to help keep the blog on the internet and see behind the scenes stuff and get a totally different color scheme for today’s down. 

Need a clothing for today’s paper doll? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing.

A Foray Into Goth Paper Doll Fashions

A set of goth paper doll fashions for the A pose paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com. The set includes a black picture hat, scull covered leggings, a t-shirt with a coffin on it and a black tunic with a corset belt. You can print them in color or black and white for coloring.

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All fashion styles (main-steam and not) go through evolution. The goth fashion of my teenage years is not the goth fashion of today. Sure, there is some similarities- lots of black, references to death, and corsets. However, like all fashion, it has trends like anything else. When I was younger, goth fashion was a lot of long flared skirts, corsets, crop tops to show off belly-button rings and boot-cut vinyl pants.

Today’s goth fashion (as far as I have observed) is a lot more leggings, tunic tops and large picture hats.

So, I wanted to capture that when I was designing today’s set of goth paper doll clothing. The first challenge was the leggings. A lot of Gothic style leggings are heavily patterned. I chose skulls (something I’m not great at drawing) and roses to go on mine with a background of polka-dots. Conceptually, I wanted the shoes to feel a bit Victorian boot like, but I’m not sure I succeeded in that. I think I should have made them more chunky.

The blouse is based on several I saw online, primarily this one. The hat comes from images like this and this. I wanted it to be clear that the corset belt it part of the blouse, not a separate piece, but I’m not sure I succeeded. Frankly, this whole set is one that I feel like I could have done better on.

The red shirt with the coffin was really my attempt at a gothic t-shirt that wasn’t a band reference, a pentagram (I have several pagan friends and I try not to depict religious symbols in my art that aren’t my own) or a sarcastic saying. Lettering is challenging at the scale I tend to work at.

I made the shirt red, so I could make the coffin black. Otherwise, you can’t really tell it is a coffin.

And on the coffin is a wee little skull.

So, that’s how I ended up with today’s goth paper doll fashions.

All right, so how did I do with my goth fashion attempt? Are there any goth fashion affection-adios out there who can tell me if I am totally off the mark? Let me know in a comment.

And if you love the blog and want to support it, I’m always happy to get more Patrons. You can sign up here.

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

A C Pose Knight in Armor (It may or may not be shining)

A set of paper doll knight's armor to print and play with for the male paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com. Great for kid's birthday parties or just fun to color.

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Full-plate armor like today’s paper doll outfit is always a bit stressful for me, because I want it to be functional and I know pretty much nothing about how actual armor works. I mean, I get the basic idea- wear metal on your body so you don’t get hurt when swords try to stab you- but I’m not exactly fluent in the nuances.

Still, it doesn’t bother me much when I design things that may or may not be practical (this armor comes to mind), so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it too much.

If you’re interested in seeing how a paper doll outfit kinda “comes together” I did post progress pictures of the “bottom” part of this armor being drawn in my Instagram stories. That was a while ago, but as I’ve said many times. There is a long turn around from idea to finished product.

Literally weeks in most cases. Sometimes even longer.

Part of the reason things take a while to get from sketchbook to blog is that I like to work in batches. Today’s C Pose paper doll outfit is one of six I recently finished. Since I’m posting three times a week and interspersing my C Pose content with outfits for the A & B Pose ladies, it will be a long time before I get all of that material posted.

Frankly, I couldn’t function any other way. I’m constantly impressed by people who can do things once a day for a prolonged period. The only way I survived my recent #100dressproject on Instagram was by drawing two to five dresses at a time. I tried to do the whole “one a day” thing, but that’s just not how I work best. This used to bother me, because you read so many things about how you should just have a “daily art practice”. I do work on my art everyday, but once I feel like I have to do it than somehow my motivation disappears like a ghost at dawn.

Isn’t human motivation odd?

Anyhow, if you like the blog and want to support it consider donating through Patreon. A dollar a month really does help off set my costs.

And if you’d like to give me some non-financial support, comments are always lovely.

Plus, Happy Labor Day to anyone whose celebrating.

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

Celebrating the 1960s with the August Collaborative Paper Doll Post

A vintage styled paper doll dress coloring page based on a design from 1968 with matching shoes and wig for the 2018 Collaborative paper doll from paperthinpersonas.com.

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So, the theme for August was Favorite Decade and I almost did the 1920s, because as you know, I love the 1920s so much. I just adore that era.

But then I thought, “But the 1920s is so expected.”

And you know, I have been drawing a fair bit of 1920s stuff for my 1920s Akiko.

Then I thought about other decades I really love- the 1880s and 1960s. Trying to draw a bustle dress was, frankly, more than I thought I could handle this month. Between my allergies (thanks Ragweed) and the start of school again (Hi, students), I just didn’t have the complex layers of the 1880s in me.

I did, however, have a simplicity of a 1960s shift dress in me. Today’s 1960s dress is based on Simplicity 7587 from 1968. The dress came in two lengths. Her shoes are based on this pair from 1962. And, of course, she has a big flipped hair style which you may need to add some floating tabs too.

If you want to see more “favorite decades” head over to Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls to see their August posts. I have no idea what decades they chose and I am looking forward to seeing myself.

Meanwhile, back in April, I started a project to draw 100 dresses and post my drawings on Instagram. It was more about completing my #100dressesproject than any kind of timeline. Of course, I did take a few weeks off in the middle. However, I am super happy that I posted dress 100 today! So, go check out all 100 dresses and let me know what you think of them in a comment there or here.

And, as always, I’d love to know what you think of today’s 1960s paper doll dress.

There’s a second, patron exclusive, 1960s dress over on my Patreon page. So, if you are a patron (thank you) and enjoy! If you aren’t a patron, consider joining. Any amount really does help keep the blog’s costs down.

Need a paper doll to wear these clothes? Grab her and more clothing here.

Tuxedo Time! C Pose Dandies are Puttin’ on the Ritz

A paper doll tuxedo for the C Pose paper doll men with a white jacket, bowtie and black pants. Also available in black and white for coloring.

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I doubt it would shock anyone to find out I tend to be an organized person. I like having a plan. I like setting goals. I like working towards my goals. These things bring me satisfaction and often allow me to manage huge projects without them becoming completely overwhelming. So, when I worked out my plan for the Dames and Dandies back in December, there was a checklist of things I wanted to draw for each of the poses.

One of those things for the dandies (or gents, as I sometimes think of the C pose) was a tuxedo. I wanted to do a suit (which I did back in July), so next up on my list was tuxedo. Why a tuxedo? Because C Pose guys might need to go to a formal event. And everyone needs a tuxedo. 

(This is a lie. Pretty much no one actually needs a tuxedo.)

Well, what do you think? A big fan of the tuxedo? Not sure about the white dinner jacket option? There’s a plain black version on my Patreon page for my Patrons.  

Meanwhile, check out my 100 dresses project over on Instagram. It’s nearly wrapped. I’m on dress 97! 

And do let me know what you think of today’s tuxedo in a comment! Hearing from you guys is always super fun for me. 

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

A Post- Apocalyptic Mini-Wardrobe For A Pose Dames

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So, I knew I weanted to do a mini-wardrobe for the A Pose dolls since my two other mini-wardrobes were for the B Pose paper dolls. It was actually kind of difficult to come up with a theme for one. I wasn’t really interested in doing contemporary fashion, but we are getting close to September and that’s my favorite month for fashion magazines.

Settling on post-apocalyptic, I then thought about mix and match options. Mini-Wardrobes are mini-wardrobes in my head, because they have a variety of outfit options. That usually translates to at least two bottoms and more than two tops. I started with the cropped jacket thing actually and then worked my way through potential layering pieces.

Most of these post-apocalyptic paper doll clothing designs were inspired by things from my Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Pinterest board. The skirt and the cropped jacket thing were both based on these designs. The pants were based on this pair.

The rest of the designs were largely meant to fit in with those piece, rounding things out to increase mix and match options. Mathematically speaking, there are 18 clothing combinations, not including the fact that there are gloves or the fact the that the paper dolls could be barefoot. So, I do think this is a pretty successful paper doll collection, all things considered.

What do you think? Good set of mix and match options? Let me know in a comment. 

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