Fall Fashionista:A Printable Brunette Paper Doll

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I worked on this printable paper doll while I was visiting my family for a week. My niece helped me pick out the colors for her and I was happy to create a printable brunette paper doll for her.

My niece’s choice of this color scheme from my Pinterest board injected a splash of vibrancy into the project, particularly with her love for the color purple. I found that I needed more than the four colors of the scheme, so added the pink in for coordination. Like many kids, she loves bright colors with strong contrast. She also asked for brown hair and blue eyes.

Any time spent with my niece and nephew are highlights of my trips. We played paper dolls, went swimming, and went to the theater.

While I thought of this paper doll as being autumnal when I drew her, I suppose she could also be a spring paper doll- transitional clothing for the warming weather. I did give her a rather autumn themed title. Anyway, she’s here and she can share clothing with all the other Ensemble Eclectica paper dolls.

The weather is warming where I live, but it’s still very cold. However, it’s above zero and that’s something to celebrate.

Warmest Wishes: A Cozy Winter Paper Doll

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When I was designing this winter paper doll, I wanted her to have glasses (because I hadn’t done any Ensemble Eclectica dolls with glasses yet) and I wanted her to feel distinctly different from my other winter paper doll in pastels. I also wanted to make sure things could layer well, because on thing about winter clothing is that layering is critical.

I basically live in layers in the winter- lots of long underwear, lots of socks. So, everyone I know has at least two parkas, sometimes more. I have my “wet weather” set up- which is a fleece under a raincoat. I have my light weight parka, which I wear until it gets below -10 and then I have my heavy parka, which I bust out for colder weather. If I end up needing it, I also have a variety of layering pieces I can add- wool and silk long underwear and heavy socks.

But up here in my part of Alaska, this winter has been weirdly mild, until this week when it’s finally dropped down to -30 where it should be this time of year. Since it’s been above 10 degrees several days this January, which is not normal, everyone is sort of relieved to get some actual winter. I actually busted out my big parka, finally. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised- climate change- but I don’t love the increase of snow. Usually, it’s too cold to snow here and the roads stay pretty dry and easy to drive on. I’m not a snow lover, even if I don’t mind the cold.

Anyway, I do try to match my paper dolls to the seasons, but this is hard, because it can take me a long time to finish things. Working digitally has sped me up a bit, but I’m still someone who tends to ink a bunch and then color and bunch and then do layout and then… etc.

Do you have a favorite season? Let me know in a comment. Despite the cold, I really don’t mind winter. However, I think autumn is my favorite.

Yellow & Blue Medieval Fantasy Gowns

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Today’s fantasy printable dress-up doll has a pair of medieval inspired gowns with girdles, swords and books, of course. Because all paper dolls are happier with books.

When I’m in the mood for some “basic fantasy,” I tend to go back to medieval stuff. Not the actual medieval period, but rather what the Victorians thought the medieval period was. It’s all big castles, princesses in fancy dresses, dragons, and noble knights. In a nod to actual medieval gowns which were worn over kirtles or underdresses, I like to add the layers. You can see more of this sort of thing on my fantasy medieval Pinterest board if you’re curious.

I confess though that these aren’t the most unusual or inspired pieces for me, but I feel like I am stretching myself enough with the digital art thing without trying something totally new.

I chose the colors for these dresses from classic Norwegian design and old-fashioned children’s book illustrations. I used yellows, blues, and soft ocher shades to make them feel cozy and cheerful, like a sunny day or a calm, clear sky. These colors remind me of curling up by a fire with a big picture book.

And since I was thinking of books, I drew some books to be accessories along with swords. I like drawing books. It’s the librarian in me.

This is the first sort of fantasy set for the Ensemble Eclectica series. My hope is always that this fantasy printable dress-up doll will inspire imaginative play and storytelling. That’s the best part of playing with paper dolls, isn’t it? While I’ll admit that I have been on more of a modern clothing kick as of late, don’t worry. Eventually, I’ll come back to fantasy, sci-fi and other elements. I always do.

Pastel Winter Printable Paper Doll

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Something about winter and pastel colors makes me really happy. I think it might be that where I grew up in Alaska, there was a very long dusk, especially in winter. The sun would never get very high in the sky and so the snow on the mountains would turn the most brilliant pink color as it reflected the light.

Maybe that’s why I associate pastel colors with winter. They feel softer and somehow more mellow and quiet- all things I also associate with winter.

The truth is, if I maybe honest, I wanted to do this set in pastel, because I had this idea of experimenting with texture and I wanted to see how the texture would look on different color schemes. So, this is the first of several dolls I made for this purpose.

Now, since I don’t think I should call this series “Texture Experiment 2.0”, please let me know if you have a series name suggestion. There will be, at least, three of these ladies.

Edit: For a million reasons involving layout and dresses and other things, I ended up resizing and redoing the layout on these paper dolls, so I’ve updated the PDF files. – Rachel 9/12/2023

Galactic Fashions: Another Printable Paper Doll

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So, I wanted to experiment with texture and style. I wanted to see if I still liked the effect of noise texture if the style was less romantic and more something else.

And well, clearly, that something else should be space princesses.

I’m actually really happy with how it came out. I played around with the texture in a way that I think worked well- a larger scale noise effect in the background, but something more subtle for the doll herself. I’m actually very pleased with that part.

Something about this paper doll keeps making me think of 1980s and 1990s cartoons of my childhood like the X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and She-ra. I was a huge She-ra fan as a kid. One of my friends had a bunch of the She-ra action figures and we would play with them for hours in her bedroom and on her porch. I have a lot of fond memories of that.

All in all this was an successful experiment. I confess I’ve been frustrated a bit with working in Procreate lately (which I think is 100% normal when trying to learn a new skill), so we’ll see how I feel about everything in a few more days.

A Stylish Paper Doll July: Sharp and Edgy Sci-fi Dress

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All right, here is number 18. I wasn’t really sure where this was going when I started it to be totally honest, but I somehow ended up with this sort of 1980s edgy dress fashion.

This actually started, if you can believe it, as an evening gown. Somehow this did not end up being an evening gown. That’s okay! Creative processes are rarely smooth, right?

I’ll openly admit this is the last piece I have done for this project, so it might be a few days before I get more finished up, but I still plan to hit 31 by the end of the month.

Nordic Winter Wishes: The February Printable Paper Doll

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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!

Autumn Looks: Printable Paper Doll

Printable paper doll coloring page with autumn themed clothing. Nine mix and match pieces.
Printable paper doll with autumn themed clothing. Nine mix and match pieces.

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Very similar color scheme here to my November Vivian Gown. I really like purple, orange, and green together. Also, I realized I hadn’t done a doll with glasses in a long long time, so I wanted to fix that.

One thing I’ve noticed this year is a lot of maxi-skirts and a lot of cropped tops, so I tried to use both of those in this set. The other thing I’ve noticed is that pants are starting to veer away from the skinny jean to more of a straight leg style which I think is great, because I much prefer it. Sort of sad to see tunics being less popular as I also tend to prefer those.

Oh well, can’t have everything.

Meanwhile, I wanted try to do something seasonal. Though it was -3 outside this morning and I had to plug my car in (I live just below the arctic circle), so the battery would survive my work day and all I could think was, “Why do I live here?”

Also, it’s only November, she whined.

Still, I love Alaska and 90% of the time, I don’t mind the cold so much.

So, two little things:

  1. If you’re a patron, there’s a poll on last Friday’s post about the future of Vivian. Please vote. Thanks!
  2. If you want to get in on some Newsletter paper doll goodness, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. Next issue comes out Friday! And I am super excited.

Witchtober Continues: 18th Century & Winter

Download the 18th Century Page PDF to Print | Download the Winter Page PDF to Print | The Rest of This Project

If there was one thing I knew from the beginning of this whole Witchtober adventure, it was that my 18th century gown was going to be big. When Julie and I picked out our 8 themes from this list by Juan Joltaire of witch themes, I immediately loved the idea of an 18th century witch.

First off, it has been a while since I drew anything 18th century inspired. Secondly, my love of giant paper doll dresses is well documented on this blog. And is there a better century for giant paper doll dresses than the 18th century? I think not.

For me, nothing in Western Fashion can beat the 18th century for pure over the top glorious absurdity in dresses like this one or this one. There will forever be a soft place in my heart for eras when things are just more is more and that is where the 18th century lives (also, the 1830s, because what even is this?).

Once I decided I was going to go big on the 18th century design, I had a technical problem. I knew that dress was going to fill the whole page. So, when it came time to design the Winter costume, which was the other theme for this week, I knew I needed to at least try to make something that could hold its own against the 18th century spider-queen delight I’d just drawn. After all, a little shift dress was not going to stand up.

So, I went with a sort of coat/top-thing with a bit of a train. For my Winter costume, I wanted something that would feel actually warm, but also I realized none of my outfits were trousers. Since that seemed a pity, I decided at least one of them should get trousers. There’s a little 1890s/1900s in this one with those sleeves and the cut of the bodice. Boots and a fur trimmed hat complete the outfit.

You can, of course, check out Julie’s takes on these two themes over on her blog. They’re great! I especially like like the hat to go with the 18th century gown.