black paper dolls

A Stylish Paper Doll July: Sci-Fi Wardrobe

A black paper doll coloring page with a sci-fi theme.

Download the PDF of Number 19 | More July Project Paper Dolls

So, as I was finishing up my next batch of Stylish July Paper Dolls, I decided to try to share them in groups based on theme. I figured that was a better option and more logical and then just trying to dump a bunch of stuff all at once and share like six things today to get caught back up to where I should be. There will be three today and two shared over the next two days. That’ll get us all caught up.

To start with, here’s three different sci-fi outfits all inspired by Star Trek. I love Star Trek. I’ve become a huge fan of both Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, because they both seem to understand Star Trek in a way most of the newwer Trek hasn’t. Anyway, they were the primary inspiration for these paper doll outfits.

Download the PDF of Number 20 | Download the PDF of Number 21 | More July Project Paper Dolls

I got this great book on Star Trek costumes called Star Trek Costumes (okay, obvious title) and I think it’s where I learned that one of the things they did in The Next Generation era Star Trek is that they didn’t have visible fasteners in general on clothing. It’s subtle, but it does actually make the clothing feel just a little… different. In high def you can totally see the zippers, but in the original definition, they would have been invisible to the viewer at home.

It’s really actually kinda a cool thing to notice. It somehow works really well.

So, I was thinking about that when I designed these sci-fi inspired paper doll pieces.

Is she a space explorer? Is she a space princess? I had no idea, but I did have fun and that’d what matters.

Tomorrow, there will be evening gowns!

A Stylish Paper Doll July: Braids & Strawberries & Sundresses

A black paper doll with braids as a coloring page. Her dress is a crisp empire waisted sundresses with a midiskirt.

Download Black and White PDF | More July Project Paper Dolls

Inspiration:

  • The Attempt to Make a Braid Brush

One of the cool things about Procreate is that you can build your own brush shapes. One of the things I wanted to try was building a braid brush. I tried to follow this tutorial which was excellent, but the results weren’t what I really wanted.

In the process, I became sort of obsessed with drawing a paper doll with box braids- hence how I ended up here with this cute little black paper doll with braids. Because once I get an idea in my head, I tend to try to push through.

Or I don’t. It really depends.

While there’s a few things I would do differently next time, I think the braids came out pretty well. I didn’t figure-out how to make a functional braid brush, but I’m not crying over that. I am not convinced that I like brushes- I mean, I like brushes, but some of the shaped ones are not as useful as I’d have thought if you’d asked me when I started with Procreate. I don’t love how they look and I sort of like hand-drawing things, because I like to draw. If I was working in color, I might feel differently.

I think playing around with the sizes of line gave me a lot of the texture I was looking for and, as a first try, the hair looks pretty dang good. So, I’m proud of it.

Today’s paper doll is part of a series of paper dolls I sketched out all the at the same time (I was in an airport), each of which had a single summery outfit (mostly dresses) and different patterns on their underwear. There will be two more that I’ll share tomorrow and the next day.

For this one, I designed a strawberry and polkadot pattern. There were also flowers, but the flowers looked way too much like the polkadots from a distance, so they didn’t make it to the final finished piece. One thing I am still learning is how thing scale and resize when working purely digitally. The ability to zoom in and zoom out messes with me.

Additionally, this paper doll did inspire me to work on a strawberry themed Lolita dress which I hopefully will finish before the month is out. I think I will. It’s nearly done. I wanted to practice ruffles and that seemed a great way to do that.

A Fairy Tale Paper Doll Experiment

A black fairy tale printable paper doll with curly buns wearing a blue and purple corset. The paper doll's dress is a red overdress with yellow and blue trim. Underneath it, there is a cream blouse. In the background, there are hills, a path, and a castle with a flag. The linework is done in a sketchy style, similar to a colored pencil.

Download a PDF Version

So, I thought I would try a sketchier looser style for this paper doll, but I’m not convinced it works. Generally, my rule of thumb is to never apologize for my work.

However, I also think it’s okay to talk about things I don’t think were super effective.

I actually don’t think I took the “looseness” far enough. The result is something that just sort of feels like my usual stuff, just a little more loosely colored and I don’t love that. It feels like it’s neither fish nor fowl. The trick to trying out a different style is that you need to “commit” to it and I don’t think I did.

The experience was valuable. I might be a little “meh” about the outcomes, but I’d not unhappy I tried it.

As I told someone recently, I have less of a comfort-zone and more of a comfort puddle. So, getting out of my puddle is very frightening. It’s a big world out there.

I’m also realizing that there’s some core functionality to the program Procreate that I still don’t 100% understand. That’s a big learning curve too- figuring out how to make it do what I want it to do and deciding if it is best tool for certain parts of the process.

Slowly but surely, I am getting there though.

Right now, I am thinking Procreate may end up like my sketchbook used to be and Photoshop will remain my preferred tool for final finishing work. It’s selection tools and resizing abilities are so much better than Procreate and I like how it’s text tools work (I still haven’t figured those out in Procreate.)

Oh, I have a link to the printable pdf, but as with my other experiments lately, I’m not 100% sure I’d recommend home printing due to the massive ink usage the background is going to take. I mean- you do you! But that would be my concern if I was going to do it.

Jewels & Gemstones: Floral Elves Paper Dolls

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

Well, when I decided to shift to this newsletter and monthly update schedule, I did not consider the downsides. The biggest one being that it’s much harder for me to step away as might be needed from time to time. I need to think on that, but I am enjoying the newsletter most of the time.

This month has just been very busy with non-paper doll related tasks. The statewide library conference was in-person for the first time in years, so I went to that. And I have two more library related conferences I’m attending this year. Plus, I’ve been working on a side project that isn’t quite ready for prime time (soon it will be and I couldn’t be more excited). And I’ve been prepping things to become prints for the paper doll party in May. Any leftovers from the party, I plan to offer for sale on Etsy, so maybe that’ll be an interesting change of pace.

Anyway, about this paper doll set- I admit that I started on these paper dolls largely, because I wanted to work with an old Marisole Monday set- Fabulous Fairy that I’ve always had a fondness for. Originally, I had planned on drawing wings, but actually ended up running out of paper in a sketchbook and not having a back up one. Opps. I really didn’t want to deal with paper I didn’t like. So, needless to say, the wings never happened.

Influences were largely flowers and the fact that I like gardens. I’m not much of a gardener, though I keep thinking I should take it up. I rent, so I don’t really know if tearing up the yard would be okay. I do keep herbs on my porch when spring comes and I like flowers. Flowers are pretty, useful to insects, and smell nice. It’s hard to be opposed to them, really. Plus, you can eat some of them.

The other big influence over this drawing fantasy hair which I don’t get to do nearly as much as I’d like. I love complicated hairstyles. You can check out some of my influences on my fantasy section of my Hair pinterest board.

If you’re a patron, there will be a Vivian gown sometime next week (exact date depending on how life shapes up) and we’ll continue on from there.

Nordic Winter Wishes: The February Printable Paper Doll

Download 3 Page Black and White PDF | Download 3 Page Color PDF | More 365 Paper Dolls

For those of you who have been following along in my newsletter, you’ll likely notice there’s a few extra pieces on this set (specifcally the winter coat and one pair of the shoes). I went back and forth about what to do with that coat. I’m not 100% sure it will layer over all the sweaters and I didn’t feel right giving just one of the dolls a coat (what if the other dolls get cold?). So, I thought- I’ll just keep it as a fun extra for folks when they get the whole set.

Another little detail I didn’t talk about in the newsletters was the coffee cups. I don’t know why I thought it was a fun idea to draw a mug for every paper doll with a different motif, but I did and so I drew one. To give a secret look at my process- I actually did all this layout and design work before I split it up for the newsletters. I’m very happy with how it turned out.

A few differences in these dolls and my usual stuff- I gave the dolls permanent shoes. I go back and forth on this a lot. I used to be strictly anti-attached shoes. But then I spoke with my 5 year old niece and she was deeply bothered by my paper dolls that didn’t have shoes.

So, I realized that shoes were more important than I had often thought. If you’re an attached shoes fan, you can thank her for showing me the error of my ways (though I still think I’m a bit ambivalent on the subject.) And I tend to think it depends on the paper doll- like mermaids SHOULD not have attached shoes.

That’s just silly.

Speaking of shoes- largely thanks to the shoes, there’s over 85 outfit combinations- well over 100 if you add in the scarf or the coat into the mix. So, that’s super fun!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this collection of paper dolls as much I enjoyed drawing and sharing them all with you!

Sapphire as Gallant Lady

A black and white printable paper doll with curls and medieval fantasy dresses.
A black printable paper doll with fantasy dresses

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

So, occasionally, I have a reason to dig into my own archives, which is always a kind of weird experience. Seeing art I made like 10 years ago feels… strange. Anyway, I was looking for something else and I came across Knights and Ladies for Marisole Monday from 2011. It was a paper doll printable that I made way back in the early days of site which, at the time, was only 2 years old.

Man, I was back in Library School then. Wow, it’s weird to think about that era of my life.

A medieval inspired printable paper doll from Paper Thin Personas.
The Original Knights and Ladies Paper Doll

Anyhow, this was a paper doll I have very distinct memories of. I drew her in the library while I was in grad school and I was stuck between classes and I didn’t want to leave campus. I based the sleeves on some 19th century fashion drawings I’d been skimming through.

I saw it and I thought, man… I could do so much better now.

There’s things about the original Knights and Ladies that I found super compelling. I liked the hair and I was interested in the belts.

So, I decided to would draw the paper doll printable design once more for the Jewels and Gemstones series. This time I tried to think about how the belts would actually “function” if they were made of leather. I added some new details to the dresses and I fixed the skirts- before they clung way to much to the doll’s legs and I wanted more pooling. Though I debated recoloring the dresses, I decided against it. I thought I’d stick with my original color scheme.

I did go with a lighter hair color, because I wanted to keep the doll’s hair brown and I wanted a nice contrast with the skin-tone. I also was pretty sure that the original crown wouldn’t work very well on the doll, so I redesigned it to have the doll’s hair integrated.

All in all, I am very happy with how the new version of the Knights and Ladies came out. I don’t know how often I’ll do this, but it was a fun diversion.

What do you think of this paper doll? Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from y’all.

Sapphire is a Fairy in Blue

To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon!  Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
To view this content, you must be a member of Rachel's Patreon
Unlock with Patreon
Already a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to access this content.

The Vivian Dolls Collection 1

To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon!  Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
To view this content, you must be a member of Rachel's Patreon
Unlock with Patreon
Already a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to access this content.

Tanya has a Formal Evening

Printable paper doll coloring pages with a black paper doll and her five evening gowns and three pairs of shoes. The dolls has an afro-puff.
Printable black paper doll with her five evening gowns and three pairs of shoes. The dolls has an afro-puff.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

Today, we have Tanya with some evening gowns. This set has actually been sitting on my computer for way longer than I like to admit. However, it’s done now, so that’s okay.

Tanya’s last collection was very fantasy themed, so I thought she should get some more modern things, but I confess now I feel like the poor girl needs some pants. I’m not 100% in love with how her afro-puff came out, but I can live with that. I think that angle is wrong…

I digress.

All right, so yeah, paper doll! I know for like Search Engine Optimization I should really try to write between 300 and 500 words per post, but I haven’t got that much to say here. It’s a cute printable black paper doll. That’s kinda all I got today.

Tanya and Her Princess Gowns

A paper doll printable coloring page with one doll and her eight piece wardrobe. This fantasy inspired paper doll is two pages.
A black paper doll printable with one doll and her eight piece wardrobe. This fantasy inspired paper doll is two pages.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

I’m still sort of playing around with getting used to drawing for the Talia Tuesday and Friends dolls. I enjoy the pose and I like playing around with the motion, though I am still not 100% confident with it. It’s a fairly new pose to me and so it’s a bigger stretch than drawing for poses I’m used to drawing for. Since I’m not formally trained as an artist, and I don’t really enjoy drawing figures, it’s always a little scary working with a new pose for me.

So, anyway, this is Tanya. Tanya is the Russian diminutive of Tatiana. I named the paper doll Tanya, because I already have a Talia and a Tashi. I felt like the name Tanya fit in with the other names neatly. So, nothing too fancy there- I picked it because I liked how it sounded.

Tanya here has my first fantasy foray for the Talia Tuesday and Friends dolls, but I do love drawing princess paper dolls. Her crowns are designed to fold around the head, so you have some flexibility, if you want to use them on another doll with different hair.

If the pose is a stretch for me, this style is like cooking a recipe you’ve made a million times and know will probably come out okay. I both like drawing medieval fantasy gowns and am super comfortable drawing these fantasy princess looks. The color scheme was a bit different from many I tend to be attracted too. It feels more autumnal than I intended when I started, but I am super happy how it turned out.

As usual, a big thank you to my patrons who got to see the first proto Talia last year and helped me name Tashi, though I picked out Tanya’s name on my own. You all are the best!