Snow-White and Rose-Red: Magnetic Paper Dolls

Snow-White and Rose-Red (Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brother’s Grimm. It’s not the same as Snow White (Schneewittchen), though a lot of comics and stories do connect the two, like Fables (which is wonderful, by the way, if you like comics).

I know Snow White and Rose Red is not the most well known story, but basically it’s your standard girls meet bear, girls meet evil dwarf, girls cut off evil dwarf’s beard, bear kills dwarf, bear becomes prince sort of affair.

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The moral of the story probably has something to do with being nice to bears and/or dwarfs, but that all seems rather unimportant.

I decided to draw a new Flock doll to go along with Dove for this story, so everyone can meet Swan. Swan, here with blond hair in ringlet curls, is the latest member of the Flock family and the second Asian doll (or at least my attempt at it). I was going to do a fairytale from the Asian continent, but I don’t know much about Asian fairy tales (and even sticking and entire continent’s culture into one block is totally painful to me, but I digress).

Before someone suggests Mulan, I should say that Mulan is not, technically, a fairy tale, but rather it is a legend. Fairy tales, generally, are defined by folklorists as containing magic, mystical creatures and generally not being perceived by the tellers as being true. In other words, no one ever through Rose-Red and Snow-White actually happened.

Legends, generally, at some point in their history, were perceived to be true. King Arthur and the Holy Grail is a legend.

Anyway, enjoy Snow White and Rose Red. I certainly had fun drawing them.

 

Fairytale Flock: Dove & Swan as Rose Red & Snow White Set PDF Downloads
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Swan as Snow White PDF Download Dove as Rose Red PDF Download Snow White & Rose Red Clothing PDF Download

 

Sketchbook Pics on a Wednesday

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Sketchbook preview post. I thought I might actually get around to doing it. I used an old red woolen shawl as a background, but I think it was not the best choice. Still, here they are.

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So, one of the requests I got during my New Year poll was for a child paper doll. I have really no real interest in drawing children, but I do like drawing paper dolls based on dolls, so this is as close as I am likely to get to drawing a paper doll of a child.

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Some clothing for the paper doll above. I haven’t really figured out if it’s going to be a stand alone piece or something more serial or even when it will be done, but here some of it is.

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I recently stopped my current curvy set, and I rather liked the idea of the curves. This new curvy doll is here. I don’t know if she’s going to be a series or what. But I rather love her hair.

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A bit of sci-fi cyberpunk clothing here. 🙂 A theme I rather often use, I must confess.

Lord of the North: Male Paper Doll Coloring Page

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

Another Marcus paper doll today… Marcus was the subject of a conversation with my friend who I stayed with during my travels…

Me: See, I made a boy for the Marisoles…
Friend: He looks really unhappy…
Me: No, he doesn’t.
Friend: Or maybe just constipated…
Me: Humph…

Now, of course, when I look at him all I can think is… “Does he look depressed or constipated?”

So, clearly, you can’t show your friends anything.

This is my second Marcus paper doll, ever, so I do think I’m still working out the kinks. I must confess he still feels very big to me, next to Marisole. I can’t decide how much the size difference bothers me. Anyway, think of him as a prince or huntsman or whatever you might need to provide a friend for some of the fantasy paper doll sets I’ve done over the years.

Providing Some Cutting Diagrams Paper Dolls

So, a reader named Elizabeth made the following comment:

I just wanted to let you know that lots of your paper dolls (like this one) don’t work when you cut them out because of their hair. It’s too long so when you try and put the tabs over the shoulders the hair is blocking the way. I’ve found a way to fix it but it would be nice if you could improve that! I’m not trying to be rude so if it is then sorry!

First of all, your comment is not rude at all Elizabeth. I’m more then happy to respond to this and I’m happy to take constructive criticism.

I have a lot of paper dolls with very long hair and it’s true that I have never indicated where I expect people will need to cut in order to make the clothing wearable. I always thought it would be obvious that you had to cut along the shoulders and the sides of the paper dolls body to allow for the tabs to fit, but perhaps this is not as obvious as I always thought it was.

So, I have done some rather quick and dirty diagrams here of where you may need to cut in order to allow long haired paper dolls to wear the clothing.

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PandP-diagram
Hope this helps. As I say fairly regularly, questions are always appreciated and I try to answer all the questions that I can.

Kalisha: Paper Doll to Print in Color

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{Click Here for a PDF in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Color} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

I try to be balanced in paper dolls. I want to have a variety of styles, a variety of skin tones, a variety of hair styles, a variety of genders (okay, maybe not the last one so much…), but I haven’t done a paper doll with glasses in a while.

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{Click Here for a PDF in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

Recently, I have been watching a lot of Black Adder, particularly Black Adder Goes Forth, which I have never seen before. I’m really enjoying it, though I don’t know if that has anything to do with today’s paper doll creation, actually, I expect it doesn’t, but it has allowed me to draw some paper dolls.

Kalisha’s color scheme was inspired by flowers and sunsets- warm soft tones. I love pale grey trousers which perhaps explains why they show up so often in my paper dolls (also in my closet).

Divergent: Paper Dolls Inspired by the Book

So, when I was in Chicago last week I visited a good friend who works as a children’s librarian and she recommended a book she’d just finished called Divergent, which is a recent Young Adult novel by Veronica Roth. I read the book while I was riding the train from Chicago to Minneapolis and drew the paper doll outfits soon after.

marisole-divergent-color{Click Here for a PDF to Print in Color} {Click Here for a PNG to Print in Color}

In a slight change of pace from usual, the black and white version is posted today along with the color version. Each of the sects is defined largely by color and I didn’t think spacing out the two posts was really worth it. Plus I got both paper doll versions done at the same time, so I might as well show them off.

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 {Click Here for a PDF to Print in Black and White} {Click Here for a PNG to Print in Black and White} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

In the distopian future of Chicago, as told by Divergent, all people belong to one of five sects. In alphabetical order- Abnegation (self-denial) wear grey, Amity (fellowship) wear red and yellow, Candor (frankness) wear black and white, Dauntless (fear-less) wear black punky style and Erudite (scholarly) wear blue.

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The story follows Beatrice, born into Abnegation, through her choice to join Dauntless on her sixteenth birthday and everything which comes with this decision.

I enjoyed the novels engagement in questions of identity, a topic I think that is important to a young adult audience, plus Chicago was shown as a swamp which, without the various canals currently in the city, it certainly would be. And we don’t get enough novels these days that pull out esoteric words like abnegation into common speech.

This isn’t a paper doll of Beatrice, since I don’t draw other people’s characters, but rather some other member of the society. I didn’t look at any of the movie promotional stuff, because I wanted to draw what I saw people in, not what the costume designer on the film saw people in. Though I did see the camera stuff around downtown Chicago where they are currently filming the movie.

I also went to the Chicago City Museum’s exhibit on the Ebony Fashion Fair and you can expect to see that in paper doll format soon as well.

Oh, and I haven’t read the sequel yet, so no spoilers in the comments please, though I’d love to hear that other people thought of the book.

New Clothes for the Magnetic Marisole

So, this isn’t a very big update, but I did get some more clothes for the Magnetic Marisole series formatted and resized for the magnetic dolls. All contemporary stuff. I brought some magnetic paper dolls to one of my hosts over my travels and she remarked that she really thought her magnetic paper dolls needed more clothing. Needless to say, I am working on that. 🙂

{ Directions for Making Printable Magnetic Paper Dolls }

{ The Rest of the Magnetic Marisole Series }

 

Some New Contemporary Clothes

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Download PDFDownload PDFDownload PDF

Happy 4th of July… Printable Paper Doll

Happy Independence Day!

So, in celebration of the 4th of July, here in the United States, I offer a paper doll, as usual. I mean, I don’t know how else I was going to celebrate. I’ve done some 4th of July paper dolls in the past… like these Marisole Monday rocking some 18th century attire which I had a lot of fun drawing.

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the Rest of the Series}

 

At home, in Alaska, they have fireworks at midnight on the 3rd of July, because it doesn’t get dark until about 10 pm. In Alabama, where I live currently, I have no idea what they do, but I can hear the fireworks from my apartment. I had a quiet 4th which, after two weeks of constant travel and stress, was just what I wanted.

This is a new member of the Mini-Maiden Family. I am thinking of naming her something that begins with H, but I am having trouble coming up with an idea. There aren’t a lot of good H names out there… So, at the moment I am divided between Helen or Hannah… neither of which I’m too smitten with. Suggestions from the audience?

Some Stuff I learned in my Travels….

So, I had a plan.

And it was a good plan.

I looked at the calendar and I thought… I have two weeks before I present a conference and then go to two other conferences, I have time.. I can get ready for July. It’ll be easy.

And it turned out I was really really really wrong.

So… no real post today, but instead I offer a list of the things I learned while traveling:

    • 1. It is possible to use the word “visioning” in the sentence and not be sarcastic, though probably not by me.

2. It is possible to get lost within 5 blocks of my destination more than once.

3. Some of the buildings in Chicago are quite beautiful, though most are just really tall.

4. Being called Miss. Rachel is not JUST a Southern Thing…

5. That lake in Chicago is really big… Also, on a clear day, you can see Michigan. Hi, Michigan…

6. Academic papers on the history of the escalator are surprisingly engaging.

7. The Chicago City Museum’s Ebony Fashion Fair exhibit is really cool and is up until January and everyone should go see it if they can. It rocked.

8. There was this dude named Beverly Nichols who wrote this great book I want to read called Crazy Pavements and then faded into obscurity.

9. Librarians are nice people and sometimes being one means that publishers give you free stuff.

Normal paper doll service will resume later this week. 🙂

Bone Fairy…. and Hiatus

A fairy paper doll with bone and spiderweb wings and three outfits. From paperthinpersonas.com.{PDF of the Bone Fairy Paper Doll} {150 DPI PNG of this Paper Doll Set}

I think everyone goes through a “drawing creepy things in college” phase.

This paper doll was part of my “drawing creepy things in college” phase. I was obsessed at the time with the Duino Elegies by Rilke. The First Elegy contains what remains my favorite Rilke quote, “Because beauty’s nothing but the start of terror we can hardly bear, and we adore it because of the serene scorn it could kill us with. Every angel’s terrifying.” I memorized the entire first elegy out of the A. Poulin Jr. translation I bought for a dollar at a thrift store in college.

Anyway, this paper doll was inspired by angels (the terrifying kind) and fairies (also the terrifying kind) and so she’s a little dark. She’s up in the Printable Paper Doll Index along with the rest of the random non-series paper dolls I’ve ever posted.

Since it’s the last day in May, this also begins my month long hiatus. I will still be checking in on the blog, and checking my email, but I have conferences and work obligations that are going to make this coming month nearly impossible for my usual update schedule.

I hope that when I return on the first of July, I’ll have had time to make some changes to the site, built up a big of a backlog and be able to continue out the year strong. We’ve had 55 posts over the last five months and I’m quite proud of that. See you all in a month. 🙂

Calculating clothing combinations…

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So, I was quite sick for the last few days and so didn’t get a Monday post up. Rather, I spent my Memorial day in bed, sleeping and eating soup. I hope other people had a better day off. Since I didn’t want anyone to think I’d dropped off the face of the Earth or was eaten by a wild goat, I have decided to post something I wrote last week and never got around to posting. I hope no one minds.

In the wake of doing my astronaut scientist paper doll Emily, I started thinking about paper dolls and math…

Now, I’m pretty bad at math, but I do have a formula I use for calculating outfit options. (By the way, I also use this when packing for trips where it works pretty darn well too. 🙂 )

Here’s how I calculate the number of “outfits” possible from a set of paper doll mix and match clothing pieces. First, we must define our variables. I know a certain former math teacher who would be quite irate with me if I failed to define my variables.

      X=Number of Tops

 

      Y=Number of Bottoms

 

      Z= Number of Jackets

 

      W=Number of Shoes

 

      V = Number of Dresses

 

    N= Number of Outfit Combinations

So… the formula looks like this:

    ((X*Y)+V)*(W+1)*(Z+1)= N

Why the formula works…

An “outfit” consists of one top plus one bottom. Since every top can be worn with every bottom, the tops multiplied by the bottom gives us the number of outfit options. Dresses are generally not worn with tops or bottoms and therefore they are added after the multiplication has taken place. The shoes (W) and the jackets (Z) both have to have one added to them, because it is possible to function without wearing shoes or jackets and the one provides for that option. If the assumption is being made that shoes will always be worn than the 1 can be omitted from the (W+1) calculation.

The formula doesn’t always work. Some sets, such as Mia at the Bathing Place or Blossom are done with the assumption that certain pieces will always be worn together or aren’t really mix and match to begin with. Further, not all paper doll sets are mix and match oriented. I generally do not take necklaces, scarves and other accessory items into consideration, because I think they don’t dramatically change the outfit enough to warrant being counted as separate outfits. For example, had I considered them, Spikes and Pleats would have included 5920 combinations, which seems a bit much, even to me.

However, if you want to include the accessory items… than take N and do the following:

      N= Number of Outfit Combinations

 

      A= Number of Necklaces

 

      B= Number of Bracelets

 

      C= Number of Scarves

 

    D= Number of Outfit Combinations including Accessories

So… now the formula gets to look like this:

    N*(A+C+1)*B=D

And with that little foray into math, I am now going to go take more cold medication. Enjoy the calculations… And ask if you have questions.

Astronaut Paper Dolls… Color & Black and White

Disclaimer: I know NOTHING about astronauts.

However, I got an email from a young reader named Emily who wrote:

…would you please consider to draw astronaut paper dolls because when I get to grow up I’m going to be an astronaut scientist.

In the words of one of the college students I work with, “You go girl!”

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{Click Here for a PDF of Emily in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Emily in Color}{Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

I have named the paper doll Emily for reader who requested her. Emily comes complete with a graphing calculator, space suit, lab coat, safety goggles and a rocket t-shirt. Who doesn’t need that? Emily has short hair so that her space helmet fits properly. I realized after I drew it that the boots should probably not be separate, but it was already colored by the time this occurred to me. I didn’t put a flag on her space suit, because I know I have a lot of international readers, but feel free to add your own.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Emily in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Emily in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

Personally, I rather like the flag of Yap an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. Now, I’ve never been to Yap, but it’s fun to say and they speak a language called Yapese, which sounds pretty cool to me. (Okay, most of them speak English, but Yapese sounds a lot cooler than English…)

Happy Slightly Belated Birthday, Emily and Enjoy the paper dolls!

Now, I just need to do the cowgirl set people keep asking for… I wish I knew how to draw a cowboy hat… or that I didn’t find horses kinda creepy…

Thoughts? Questions? Ideas about Space? Drop me a comment.