asian paper dolls

A Mia Paper Doll and Her Printable Summer Clothing

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pantone 2017  Color Report
A printable paper doll in color of an Asian girl with some summer clothing based on the Pantone 2017 color report. She's one of hundreds of paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com.

A printable paper doll with some summer clothing based on the Pantone 2017 color report. She's one of hundreds of paper dolls to color from paperthinpersonas.com.

I had the realization that the last time I had posted a Mia paper doll was back in November of 2016 when I was doing my Bird Masquerade series. She got a masquerade gown based on a Loon. I loved that gown.

Anyway, I felt pretty strongly that I wanted to create a new Mia, since it has been six months. I went back and forth about a style for her. I thought about doing a fantasy set or a cyberpunk set, but I ended up settling on a casual summer set.

Color scheme wise, I based these colors Pantone’s 2017 Spring color report. I set a personal rule for myself that I couldn’t use any warm colors- no pinks, yellows or reds. Those are some of my favorite colors, so saying no to them was hard.

However, limitations sometimes create better stuff and I really love the peaceful feeling that this Mia clothing set has without the warm colors.

To give credit where credit is due, the blouse on the left was inspired by one I saw a student wearing at the college where I work. Hers was in reds and yellows, but since I was on a “no warm colors” kick, I ended up doing with blues and greens.

Well, what do you think of Mia’s outfit? Love those colors? Wish I’d gone with my tendency towards pink? Let me know in a comment. I always love to hear from you.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here. 

Faye as a Printable Mermaid Paper Doll

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Mermaids! Because I like Mermaids… & My Patrons Asked for Them
A mermaid paper doll coloring page with a tail and two tops. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.
Several patrons asked for more fantasy things in 2017, specifically non-human races. So, mermaids!

In a strictly practical sense I have no idea why mermaids would wear clothes. In the ocean, that hardly seems to provide easy movement around the ocean and I tend to be of the view that since modesty is a social construct defined differently by various cultures, I don’t really see why mermaids would have the same concept of modesty as we have in the modern Western world.

In short, I don’t think mermaids would wear clothing if they actually exist.

However, since I am in the business of drawing paper dolls, not writing a thesis on the socio-cultural assumptions that underly how mythological creatures are depicted, I decided to draw clothing. After all, without clothing, mermaid paper dolls are just kinda dull.

I actually really enjoy drawing mermaid paper doll tails, but they take a little bit of work. They are only of the only things that I always draft full-sized before I try to draw them on the nice sketchbook paper. The reasoning is how easy it is to get the curve of the tail wrong and then it looks like it is broken or off. Plus, you have to cover the whole dolls legs which takes some extra work.

I chose Faye to be the mermaid today, because I haven’t done a Faye paper doll in a while and she was the first of the Mini-Maidens, so I think she deserves some love.

I mean, I haven’t done one since November 2016.

And that’s all I have to say about today’s mermaid. Tune in tomorrow for the first of a pair of Sprites paper dolls and probably not another post in which I’ll get to write the phrase “socio-cultural assumptions that underly how mythological creatures are depicted” which is a pity.

As always, I love to hear what y’all think of today’s paper doll. So, let me know in a comment.

Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here. 

Meet Shirou the New Sprites Gent in a Stylin’ Suit

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Suits! All the Suits!
An Asian guy printable paper doll with a dashing three piece grey suit. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

An Asian guy printable paper doll with a dashing three piece suit. Free to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com.

While my second doll ever in the Sprites printable paper doll collection was Yumiko, I haven’t done an Asian guy yet for the Sprites and I wanted to do that today. I am pleased to introduce to everyone Shirou. Shirou is a Japanese name which means Fourth Son. It’s traditionally given to the, wait for it, fourth son. I though it was super fitting, because Shirou is my fourth male Sprites paper doll. The others are (in order of “birth”) Zachary, Xavier and  Víctor.

I also ended up making his suit grey which is the same color as yesterday’s suit for Teresa. Anyone want to guess my favorite suit color? (Hint: It is not Navy. 🙂 )

Back when PTP began, I was petrified of trying to draw Asian features. Mostly, it was the epicanthic fold that worried me. I was also self conscious that, as a non-Asian, I didn’t want to draw a caricature. While it has taken me a long time, I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the whole epicanthic fold thing and come to realize there is huge variation in this feature.

See, more then you wanted to know about the epicanthic fold.

So, what do you think of today’s Sprite paper doll? Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from you all.

Want to help keep the blog on the internet? Donate on Patreon.

Oh, and tomorrow, there will be another installment of the Poppets 1920s series and on Friday, come around for the next piece in the 2017 Collab paper doll project.

Looking for something else for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Min-Seo With a Fur and Pearl Trimmed Winter Fantasy dress

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Holiday Barbie, Pageant hair-dos and Fur Trim
A fur trimmed fantasy gown and an Asian paper doll with blue fur trimmed booties

A fur trimmed fantasy gown and an Asian paper doll color page with fur trimmed booties. Print from paperthinpersonas.com

So, back when I decided in December to do a winter paper doll each week, I did what I often do. I messed around on Pinterest and went looking for ideas. A lot of what I saw were those Christmas Barbies and I think a little of that went into this dress.

Today’s Min-Seo paper doll’s dress is sort of weird medieval fantasy meets an ice staking costume. Or, in other words, Camelot on Ice. Everything is better on ice.

And the thing you need to do with such a gown is clearly fur trimmed blue booties and a pageant sort of up-do. Why not? What are you losing? The dress is already absurd. So, I say- go for gold on the absurdity scale.

Plus, somehow in my head “winter = fur trimming” and I can’t seem to shake that.

Not even sure I should be trying to shake that, but that’s neither here nor there.

Meanwhile, if you like the blog, then consider donating through Patreon, plus there’s a behind the scenes blog and early paper doll previews and other fun content. For example, earlier this week, I posted my annual Year In Review 2016 post.

Also, to my Patrons, Patreon is having some issues with their email system. So, if you usually get an email to know when I post there, you might want to pop over and see if you missed anything. I will let you know when the problem is resolved.

And this ends Min-Seo printable paper doll week. Regular blog posting will continue next week.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here. 

Meet Min-Seo: A New Asian Friend of Marisole Monday

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Punk Fashions, Blue Hair, and Crazy BootsA punk fashion paper doll with blue hair and black nail polish. From paperthinpersonas.com.

Punk paper doll

Happy 2017! I am starting off the year with by introducing a new friend to the Marisole Monday & Friend’s series. I am so pleased to introduce Min-Seo who was named by my patrons on Patreon, though Mariko and Malai were runners-up when I asked them to vote. (You can join Patreon here.)

Min-Seo is a Korean name. The meaning changes depending on the characters used to spell it. It’s also the name of Kim Min-Seo, a Korean drama actress. Korean names, like Chinese names, use the family name first and then the personal name.

Anyway, I sketched out this face a few months ago, but I wanted to wait to introduce her until it was the new year. So, this whole week is Min-Seo paper dolls and outfits. I figure that way she can catch up a bit with the other ladies of the Marisole Monday & Friends crowd.

The first Min-Seo paper doll is a punk fashion girl rocking some blue hair, black nail polish and a pair of amazing boots. Seriously, I want those boots.

I don’t know where I would wear them, but I want them.

So, what do you think of the first Min-Seo paper doll? Let me know in a comment.

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Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here.

B&B: An Asian-American Paper Doll with a Modern Dress

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Shoes! Mostly. 

A curvy Asian paper doll from the B&B paper doll series. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

Once in a while, it is all about the shoes and this is one of those once in a while moments, I gotta admit. I just had so much fun designing shoes, plus I wanted to make sure my new member of the B&B paper doll family had at least two options when she went out into the world.

There are other things going on here than shoes, of course, and one of them is that paper doll diversity is super important to me. I realized a few months ago that I hadn’t drawn an Asian paper doll for the B&B series since I made Chic Chick back in 2015.

So, I wanted to add another Asian or Asian-American paper doll girl to the B&B paper doll family. Plus, I just noticed she is in a very similar color scheme to Chic Chick, so she can totally share clothing, no problem. I did not do that on purpose.

I sometimes worry people think I am WAY more organized about that kinda stuff than I actually am.

Tomorrow, there will be a fantasy gown for the Mini-Maiden series. So, that should be super fun.

And if you love the blog, think about becoming a patron.

So, what do you think of today’s B&B paper doll? Do you love her shoes as much as I do? Leave me a comment and let me know. I love hearing from you guys.

Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here

Flower Fairies: Yumiko as a Flower Fairy

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Flower Fairies, Cicely Mary Barker, and the Book, Fairie-ality

A cute little flower fairy paper doll free to print in color or black and white.

A few weeks ago, I posted my flower fairy outfits for the Sprite paper dolls inspired by nasturtiums. At the time, my two Sprite fairy paper dolls weren’t done yet, but now they are. So, today Yumiko of the Sprites paper doll family today is showing off her fairy side. Tomorrow, her male partner in crime Xavier will make his fairy debut.

Even with this new format, I do plan to post Sprites as sets. I like having a lady and a gent of the same theme posting two days in a row. I think it is fun.

And it is my blog, so I get to decide what is fun here.

All of my flower fairy designs owe something to Cicely Mary Barker who illustrated what are now “classic” flower fairy illustrations starting in the 1920s. Here are some of her fairy illustrations.

There is something so innocent about Cicely Mary Barker’s art. I still really love her books and I loved them when I was a child. My favorite was the Willow Fairy. Of course, the book Fairie-ality was also a big influence. Highly recommended.

I went back and forth and back and forth about the color scheme for this one. I tried out blue skin and green skin, but I really like how the purple turned out. If you think she needs a different color, then there’s always the black and white version.

So, here’s my question for my readers today, was I the only Cicely Mary Barker flower fairy fan as a child? Let me know in a comment!

And if you like the blog, and want to see what goes on the behind the scenes, then join us on Patreon. A dollar a month gets you access to the Behind the Scenes blog and five dollars gets you the Vivian Paper Doll Project. Right now, my patrons are voting on a name for a new Marisole Monday and Friends paper doll.

Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Faye in Fall Fashions: Printable Paper Doll

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Fall Fashions 2016 and… Well, not much else

An elegant contemporary outfit based on the Fall fashion magazines with a black and white Asian paper doll. Free to print.

I love September fashion magazines. It’s when all the fall fashion magazines come out and it such a great time to see what is currently “on trend.” I am a huge believer in classic dressing, but I also believe you can’t start to understand fashion unless you know what is going on in it.

So, today’s Faye paper doll of the Mini-Maiden series is based on the September fashion magazines.

There is a real trend this year for romantic blouses. To go with that, I created a pair of skinny trousers and some ankle boots. I tend to think a person can’t have enough pairs of basic ankle boots.

My question for all of you is this: What is your favorite fall fashion item?

I am a sucker for tweed trousers and getting to pull out my oxford shoes.

As always, if you love the blog, think about becoming a Patron, following it on Twitter or telling a friend about it.

Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here. 

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Mia as a Loon

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Loons and… well, Loons. That’s actually all I got. 

mia-loon-masquerade-paper-doll-dress

Of all the dresses I designed for this week, the only one I was really worried people wouldn’t get was this one. Loons are beautiful birds for which I have always had a fondness, but they are hardly as well known as the Raven or the Flamingo. Interestingly enough, the Loon is the state bird of Minnesota, where my mother grew up. As a child, I had a puzzle my grandfather made featuring a loon, so I have fond associations with the birds.

Wig instructions are available if you’re not sure how to attach the back piece here.

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Well, now that the week of bird masquerade gowns is wrapped, I am curious which one people liked the most. So, let me know in a comment. Was your favorite the Owl, the Flamingo, the Raven, the Hummingbird or today’s Loon?

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here. 

Faye in the Woods: A Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll

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mini-maiden-ridinghood-doll

This week we have Faye dressed up in some fantasy clothes.

Some paper dolls are easier to write about than others. Often this has to do with how long ago I drew the paper doll and how much I remember about the original conception. I confess I try to make notes, but I don’t often succeed at that.

I seem to remember thinking of Little Red Ridinghood when I designed these garments, but really it could have been any maiden in the woods. It seems to me there’s always in fairy tales, a young woman who lives in the woods and then there’s a woodcutter or something else.

Often there’s an evil stepmother eventually who sends the maiden out to find something and we all know how that goes. Or she is kind to an old woman and then gets something like gems every time she speaks.

I think a bit part of the pleasure of black and white paper dolls is coloring them in. I wasn’t much into coloring books as a child, but I liked details when I did color. In these costumes, I tried to add details that a person would like to color.

Plus, I’ve always loved how lavished embroidered folk costumes looked.