I was working on my Marisole Monday paper doll, coloring the set, and I just didn’t like it. It was 8pm on Sunday night when I decided this. Now sometimes when I decide I hate things, I finish them anyway, but this set is for the one of the winners of my drawing and I would feel horrible giving as a drawing prize, as set I didn’t like.
I have had some requests for “working” Marisole sets. The truth is that I don’t really know what would do into a working Marisole Monday set, outside of drawing a bunch of suits or something. But a lab coat seems doable, so I’ve been sketching and thinking about a scientist. I think this kinda set is all about the accessories, so I have to give some thought to that. Drawing lab equipment is hard.
I’m very pleased with the plans for this set. I love the theme of Spring Showers with lots of fun florals. I’ve recently been learning and playing with creating repeating patterns in Photoshop from hand-drawn motif elements and so I think florals would be a fun way to play with that ability. So, I’m quite excited at the prospect of this set.
All right, I hope everything enjoys these doodles. There will be a real paper doll tomorrow (an Ms. Mannequin post, I think) and something on Thursday as well. 🙂
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When I first drew the Poppets paper dolls, I knew I wanted to do historical costumes. This isn’t historically accurate by the way, but it does have a 1300s flair, I think. One of the reasons I steer clear of certain periods of history is that I feel like I don’t know enough about them. I am familiar enough with Victorian and 18th century costume that I feel fairly comfortable simplifying it without losing it’s authenticity, but I know very little about clothing in Europe before 1400.
As a result, I tend to categorize my forays into the “medieval” look as fantasy, rather than history. It keeps me from feeling guilty about not really knowing what I’m doing. However, Gwendolyn asked for a paper doll of a 10th century Anglo-Saxon when she won my drawing last week, so I guess I better learn something about the 10th century.
In the meantime, here’s a Poppet Medieval outfit strictly in the realm of fantasy being modeled by Petunia. I like to think she might be a princess, but I haven’t given her a crown, so the jury is out.
I’m also really pleased to say I’ve recently stumbled across a new paper doll blog called Paper is Suffcient. It’d a new blog, so go over there, check it out and drop Natalie a comment. We need all the paper doll blogs we can get. 🙂
One thing to start off with before I forget, I set up an email service that will email you when the site updates. There’s a place for an address in the sidebar.
During the January polling period, several people expressed interest in seeing more of the nuts and bolts of the paper dolling process. Eventually, I hope to write a full tutorial, but that’s a very time consuming process and I need to think about structure. In the meantime, I thought I would post some of my thumbnail doodles.
I carry a half-sized lined notebook (the lines don’t appear on the scans… I’m not sure why) in my purse and often doodle designs in it when I’m planning a paper doll set.
These designs are for a future Flock Fairytale set based on Cinderella. The Brother’s Grimm version in which she goes to three balls, people chop off parts of their feet and there are lots of birds.
Birds are a major players in the Grimm version of Cinderella, as they assist her in a variety of ways. I wanted to feature birds as a motif on one of her ballgowns. Since the paper doll set will be magnetic, each gown needs to have a bodice and separate skirt for mix and match options.
The bird gown was the idea that started the whole set, so it got several pages of doodles as I tried to figure out the placement of the shoulder mounted birds, so they wouldn’t look dead or like they were about to attack her or something.
Cinderella also needs servants clothing. I wanted to keep with my “steampunk/neo-victorian” fairytales theme, so heavy soled boots, leather garters and patched stockings seemed typical. If the ballgowns are going to be very “girly”, I wanted the servant clothing to feel a bit more like Victorian street urchin wear, or maybe a reject from the cast of Newsies.
I’ve been hesitant to post doodles like these before, because I doodle a lot of paper doll sets that never get made. Still, I’ve scanned some sketchbook images that never got posted or finished, so I think that’s okay. Would people like to see more of these?
Last week, I posted this paper doll set in black and white for coloring. I promised I would talk a little about each of the gowns and where they came from.
I need to learn to streamline my method for dealing with elaborate florals, or I need to never do one ever again. Normally coloring a paper doll set takes about 2 to 4 hours, at most. Sometimes longer, but only if I take a lot of breaks and am doing a lot of other stuff. If I have my colors picked out and I’m on a roll, I can do the set in about an hour when I’m really on the ball, though formatting, saving and other detail work takes longer. That single floral dress took me nearly an hour, by itself, to color. NEVER AGAIN.
(I say that and I’m already thinking of other cool florals I might draw… I have a problem, people.)
Let’s talk about where each gown came from. The floral gown, the blue gown and the red gown are all from the V&A in London.
The blue gown is based on this red dress from 1957. The red evening dress was drawn from this evening gown by Hardy Amies was made right after fabric rationing was lifted in England (1949), so lacks the layers of lace and silk that were common in evening gowns on this period. I love the simplicity and shape of the dress. The last dress from the V&A is my favorite, the floral evening gown made in Paris and worn by the wife of the British Ambassador. I tried, but I don’t think I captured the beauty of the rose patterned skirt and layered bodice.
The last pink dress comes from The Met, known as “Tree” this gown was designed by Charles James. Of all of the gowns I drew, I feel like this one didn’t work. My style of flat color just can’t capture the layering of the gowns beautiful fabric. Liana did a beautiful version of Charles james Butterfly dress on her blog several years ago which I think captures his work better than I did here.
Okay, that’s everything. Happy MLK Day to those in the US who are celebrating like me.
Originally, I was going to have just one winner, but then I took a good long look at the wonderful and constructive comments I got from my readers and I’ve decided that I should do more than that.
So, I decided to have two winners of my drawing. This does mean that it might take a little longer for their winning paper dolls to be finished.
Congratulations to Gwendolyn and Jo– my winners. Jo emailed me directly, so her comment does not appear on the site.
If I don’t here back from my emails to them (which I will send in the morning when I am a wee bit more coherent) in a week, there will be a second drawing for a new Winner.
In case anyone is interested, what I did to find a winner was number all the comments and emails in chronological order, ignoring places where people posted more than once. I ended up with 23 entrants, including three people who chose to email me rather than post a comment on the blog. Because I placed those three entrants into my chronological list where their emails would have fallen if they had been comments, the numbers don’t line up with the comments perfectly.
Number 19, which was Gwendolyn, and number 23, which was Jo, according to my list, were the number produced by Random.Org at 12:03 and 12:05 tonight.
On that note, I am crawling into bed which is what rational people do after midnight. Seriously, next time I do a drawing, I’m going to schedule the end at like 3pm in the afternoon when sane people end these things.
This poll is no longer accepting votes
I’m trying out a new polling code thing. We’ll see if I like it long term.
I am excited to introduce everyone to Latanya, the first Pixie paper doll of the New Year. I drew her last year, technically, but that’s not really so uncommon for me. It can take months (years…) for a paper doll to move from my sketchbook onto my blog. I’ve had a request to do a full paper doll tutorial which is a lovely idea, but considering how slow I am at getting things done… it might be a year before its finished.
So, I wanted to do a fantasy paper doll with a autmunal color scheme. So we have Latanya rocking some darn lovely fantasy gowns and a little bit of armor. She’s apparently both a lover and a fighter.
Her colors remind me of autumn leaves and crisp fall days. I am really adoring her curls and the pattern on her dress which I am very proud of. I am trying to draw more patterns. I say that every year… And every year, I usually end up chickening out because patterns take time and I am lazy.
My Drawing/Contest closes tonight at midnight. So, if you haven’t entered and would like too, please do so today. I’ll contact/announce the winner tomorrow. 🙂 By the way, I haven’t responded to any of the answers, because I didn’t want to skew the results. I have read them all and I appreciate everyone’s honesty. Winner will be decided using a random number generator.
Nearly a year ago, I was asked to draw a paper doll of 1950s evening gowns.
Initially, I didn’t do it, because I couldn’t find any 1950’s evening gowns that I liked. Eventually I felt guilty enough to check out the V&A and the Met, both have strong collections from the 1950s.
I told the requester that I was working on the paper doll and asked what the hair should look like. The immediate answer was, “Like Mine.”
“Well,” I said, “Micro-braids with streaks weren’t really a thing in 1950 something, but okay. If that’s what you want…”
So, we have Marisole here, rocking her micro-braids with some couture 1950’s evening gowns to show off. As inspired by Liana’s comment a few days ago about stories, I offer the following scenario to justify this strange juxtaposition:
Marisole, working as the fashion editor of a major publication, has been invited to the Met’s annual gala whose theme, this year, is the designers of the 1950s. Eager to make an impression on the red carpet, she’s choosen to wear a vintage gown from the period. I am sure she will be the hit of the party when she arrives. 🙂
By the way, in a totally unrelated note, that floral pattern on the full skirted gown was the most complicated floral pattern I have ever done. I’ll rant more about coloring next week when I post the colored version. All I have to say is that normally, a paper doll takes me four to six hours to color, layout and get set up for blog. This paper doll… took longer. Much Longer.
Remember yesterday when I posted those sporting costumes? Well, today I want to talk about sources of inspiration.
Sometimes, everything I see seems paper doll related. Ideas flow from carpets or co-workers hair styles into paper doll form, almost like magic. Other times, it feels like the wheel is spinning, but the gerbil is dead. Nothing looks good. Ideas don’t exist. I hate everything I draw and nothing looks good. I know what I want to make, but I can’t seem to make it happen.
I went through one of these slumps lately. I knew I needed to do sports costumes for Greta’s Trousseau, but I hated everything. The fencing costume was the worse. I kept looking at fencing gear and feeling uninspired…
So, I finally did what I usually do when I can’t come up with ideas. I started collecting source images. Somewhere, I thought, there must be cute fencing gear and… what do you know? There was.
This was the first women’s historical fencing jacket I found and I thought it was beautiful. Plus, I was struck at how stylishly it was constructed. I mean, check out those sleeves. I knew I’d want to change the collar and the placement of the buttons, but I thought it was a viable option for a top.
Thanks to Costume and Construction on Tumblr, I found this picture of this very bad ass looking women holding a sword with a Gibson girl bun. Seriously, she looks amazing, also I think she could totally hurt anyone who insulted her bun. Originally I conceived of the fencing outfit has having a skirt, but after I drew it I felt odd that her skating costume and riding habit didn’t have skirts, but her fencing outfit did. The skirt got nixed in favor of leggings.
The idea of women fencing in bustles amuses me. (Not that these chicks are wearing bustles, but still… it is 1885.) The masks in this set were what I based her mask on. I liked that they didn’t cover down over the neck like some fencing masks do (though neck coverage is probably safer).
Another Met piece, because the V&A totally let me down on my fencing search. I love the bleeding heart on the top and the flirty style. I would totally learn to fence if I got to wear this. The bleeding heart motif I thought would be really cool on a fencing jacket and added something a little dark and almost flirty to the otherwise rather plain outfit.
This is how I get out of slumps. I collect and then I draw. I often use my Pinterest board to collect my source images. Mostly I use them as electronic bulletin boards. What inspires your art? How do you find what makes you want to draw?
Today, we have some sporting outfits for our steampunk paper doll bride. Since the fun of Victorian trousseaux (or should it be neo-victorian trousseaux?) are their costumes for every occasion, I had a lot of fun thinking up outfits for Greta to wear while she did a few different sports. Being a highly talented paper doll, I’m sure no sport is beyond her skill (and I have a few more sporting outfits planned- though perhaps not for a while).
Greta has a steampunk/neo-victorian inspired riding habit, a hunting costume, a skating toilette and a fencing toilette. What else could a steampunk paper doll bride want? (Okay, more outfits, but I am working on that. 🙂 )
Wealthy women have actually been involved in sporting activities for longer than most people think. Archery teams in the Regency were regularly co-ed. I’ve been 18th century illustrations of women doing archery, but I’m not sure women actually did it that often, sepcially since a lot of those illustrations are intended to be erotic- oh, the scandal. Women had been riding horses forever and in the South, prior to the Civil War, hunting or shooting was a common activity for women of wealth. By the 1900s, women could choose between tennis, golf, bicycling, skating, croquet and a variety of other sporting events.
My favorite is the fencing toilette. Someone asked for a fencing outfit (a long time ago) and I don’t know much (anything) about fencing, but I had a lot of fun drawing it. I suspect having open laces on the sides of your leggings is not… you know… very practical, but what’s the fun of drawing steampunk fashions if they have to be practical?
This is the 500th post on Paper Thin Personas. YAY. Go Me! (I feel like I should do something more celebratory, but I’m not really sure what.)
Anyway, I’ve had several comments lately requesting old paper dolls re-done in black and white for coloring. So, today I’ll be posting three older Marisole Monday Paper Dolls in black and white.
Plus I didn’t quite get done with my planned post, so there’s always that too. I’m doing my usual January poll about what th blog should gain in the next year. Feel free to vote and there’s a drawing/contest with details here.
This was a pretty early Marisole paper doll. I think she was the first Caucasian Marisole paper doll (which still looks odd to me) and she’s, unsurprisingly, a redhead. I’d had a few requests for redheads, which is where she came from. I see a lot of problems with her now that I’ve drawn a lot more Marisole paper dolls, but I still like her hair.
I love winter coats and I drew this right after moving to Illinois. It was a cold chilly snow filled place and I particularly like the snowman and the snowball. This remains one of my favorite sets. It’s also a rare set where Marisole’s original hairstyle is visible.
I was never really pleased with how this Sporty Girl paper doll came out. I drew her because I got a request to do some spots outfits and the requester wrote a really nice email about the importance of girls in sports.I thought the intention was really good, but I think the desire to do something that my heart wasn’t in really shows. I was drawing it because I thought I should, not because I liked the idea or I was committed to it. On the other hand, I like her shoes.
And that is all for this Monday. There will be another edition to Greta’s Trousseau later this week.
Every January for the last few years, I have posted the same poll. I’ve asked readers to tell me what they want to see on Paper Thin Personas. I usually make a list of a few different things I think I’d like to do and I let people tell me what they want.
This time things are going to be a little different.
This time I’m asking for a tiny bit more involvement. If you want to vote in the usual annual poll, it’s over on the sidebar and will be there for the next two weeks and I encourage everyone to do it. I really do pay attention to the results. Heck, that’s how the Poppets and the Pucks and my poorly drawn male companion to Marisole happened (he’s getting a reboot… someday).
BUT… if you want to possibly win a custom paper doll AND get some input on what you’d like to see… than post a comment as well (or email me if you’re concerned about privacy) and answer two of the following three questions:
A. What would you like to see on PTP in the next year? (This can be anything. More contests, a paper doll of a librarian, or tutorials or something that’s on my poll) B. What brings you to PTP? (I get most of us come for the paper dolls. Some of us come because they know me (Hi Mom & Dad), but what draws you in and what makes you return or not return?) C. What do you dislike most about PTP? (Please be honest. You don’t hurt my feelings. I promise. Do my spelling errors bother you? (Hi Dad) Do the sometimes broken links really get on your nerves? Do you wish you could just find every black and white Marisole Monday paper doll easily?)
If you answer one of my questions (either here or through email) then you will be entered in the drawing. If you won a contest last year, it’s a new year, so you can still win this one. The drawing/contest is going to be open until Wednesday the 15th of January.
Otherwise, my usual contest rules apply (see the FAQ) and the prize is a custom drawn paper doll from any of my series. I will contact the winner via the email entered in the comment form, so make sure that email actually works. If I don’t hear from my winners in a week after the email is sent, I’ll draw another name.
By the way, this is my 499th post. Next one is going to be 500. Maybe I’ll do something special.
Edit: Congratulations to Gwendolyn and Jo winners of my drawing. The contest is officially closed, however, feel free to continue telling me what you think you want. 🙂
I’m pretty pleased with the year as it has turned out. I’ve been more consistent with my posting and I think the blog has grown in positive ways. I do have changes I would like to make in the future and some of them are the same changes I’ve been wanting to make for a while.
2014 will be here in a few days and I will return to work in a few days. I’m excited and nervous and looking forward to the New Year. The next post on this blog will be in 2014. YAY!
Meanwhile, I am totally pleased to show off the Queen of the Dusk fully colored. (By the way, I keep typing Queen of the Duck, which would be a totally different paper doll set, I think.) I started with a more traditional color scheme for me, which means I found a set of colors which I liked and was going to use on each paper doll dress, but after I used them I decided I really didn’t like them and instead went with each paper doll dress being monochromatically one color. I think this causes some problems for the shoes, but I rather like how the dresses came out.
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