blond hair

Brass & Brocade: A Steampunk Paper Doll Design

A Victorian steampunk paper doll coloring page. There is a doll with a wardrobe of ten pieces to color.
A Victorian steampunk paper doll with blond hair and pink color scheme. There is a doll with a wardrobe of ten pieces.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Ensemble Eclectica Series

This paper dolls color scheme comes from a card in the Color Cubes by Sarah Renee Clarke. I ended up picking color scheme 229 for this set. It was beautiful soft pink, black, sand and a dark coffee color. I loved the idea of the black, brown, and sand with the pink. Keeping some pink in the color scheme was important to me, because a 2011 steampunk paper doll called Neapolitan Ice Cream inspired this paper doll’s wardrobe and that paper doll’s scheme is cream, brown, and pink. I had planned to stick to that color scheme, but darn it, I couldn’t make it work.

Actually, if you look closely, you’ll see a that my paper doll Neapolitan Ice Cream inspired pieces on both Victorian Whims and Straps and Lace. So, all three of these Victorian steampunk paper doll printables took some inspiration from that earlier paper doll. As my art has improved over the years, I sometimes find going back to things I really like and trying to draw them again is a chance to revisit favorite ideas and see what they might look like now.

I teach a class on research and I while I know “self-plagiarism” is sort of a thing, I also sort of feel like it is silly. I mean, I don’t think you can steal your own ideas, but you can not give proper credit to your own earlier work.

This is the last of these steampunk ladies for the moment, but who knows, I might draw a few more. They were a lot of fun.

Bright Geometric Paper Doll Dress Up

A super cute 1980s inspired paper doll dress-up with a mix and match wardrobe.
A super colorful paper doll dress-up with a mix and match wardrobe. She has over 40 different outfit combinations.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Ensemble Eclectica Series

So, I wanted to try drawing patterns in Procreate and practice using some of the shape tools. Today’s paper doll dress-up brings the geometric patterns and some 1980s flare. She can dress-up in circles, squares, or triangles. Not literally… that would be a totally different paper doll dress-up experience.

(My concussion on shapes in procreate- I miss my plastic stencil. It was MUCH easier to use.)

Personally, I think today’s paper doll has a kinda 1980s vibe. Not super 1980s, just in the patterns. I was not very old in the 1980s, plus we were living in rural Alaska, so fashion wasn’t exactly making its way to me. However, when I think of the 1980s, I tend to think of really bold colors and graphic lines and geometric patterns. (Also big hair, shoulder pads, and excess, but that’s not really visible on this paper doll.)

By the way, have you seen Julie’s new 1980s paper doll? It’s great. (And I’m not just saying that because I think Julie is great, though I do.)

The older paper doll that inspired this paper was Candy Coated Couture which is a good name for a paper doll set, if I do say so myself. Normally, I stick with 4 to 5 colors for a single paper doll set, but this one is stretching that rule of thumb. I wanted a sporty vibe, so I did sneakers for the shoes.

I’ve been drawing more crop tops. I was in high school during the “belly-shirt” fad of the early 2000s. And therefore for years I’ve been staunchly anti-crop top; however, I’ve been sort of impressed by the newer high-rise pants and shorter tops. So, I am more open minded about it.

Talia Tuesday is Having Adventures

Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll coloring set has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.
Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.

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

Last week was a lot of “housekeeping” sorts of posts- announcing changes to Patreon, letting people know about the new 1960s paper doll set– and I don’t mind those posts. They have to happen. Plus, I am proud of what I put on Etsy and I like getting to share it with you all.

But my Etsy products are always a a little higher stakes for me. Does everything fit? Do all the instruction make sense? Will someone who doesn’t know me really love the printable paper dolls as much as I hope they will?

I figure you are all my fans and will likely forgive me a foible for two.

So, I’m excited to return to a week of just sharing some printable paper dolls. It’s nice to get back to basic. Starting off with this fantasy set for Talia Tuesday feels right to me. Sometimes I do fantasy paper doll sets and I 100% know the narrative, but it’s not very common. It’s much more common for me to chose an element (in this case the scalloped sleeve detail) and think- how do I apply this across several things. You’ll see it in the sleeves of the gowns, but also repeated in the tunic trims.

I drew this paper doll at the same time as I drew my Tanya Elegant Empress paper doll. My original plan was to do a set that was all gowns and a set that was all pants. However, once I got down to the nitty-gritty of layout, I had too many gowns and not enough pants. Oops. I decided to call this printable paper doll “Having Adventures,” because the combination of nice gowns and more casual tunics made sense for someone who goes out and has an adventure. So, there’s a bow and arrows, but also an elegant gown. At least, that’s my justification after the fact.

Don’t forget to cut between the doll’s shoulders and her hair for best results when trying to dress her up.

Citrine is a Mermaid

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