brunette Archives • Page 7 of 9 • Paper Thin Personas

Magnetic Marisole… A New Layout for New Year

October 21, 2019December 31, 2012

Everything about the magnetic paper dolls is getting revamped this year.

The old Magnetic Paper Doll Index has now been replaced with a new version that resembles the Printable Paper Doll Index much more closely. This is an attempt to streamline updating the magnetic paper dolls, allowing me to do more single sheet updates, like I do with the other printable paper dolls on the site, but it is still a work in progress.

Magnetic paper or adhesive sheets are more expensive than printer paper (as I am sure anyone who has ever printed them out has learned) and so I have re-organized the Marisole Magnetic Paper Dolls to have the shoes on the same sheet as the paper dolls. This means that they are now three dolls per sheet with four pairs of shoes and required re-doing the layouts on all of the magnetic sheets.

I just finished that, so I am posting them today instead of a traditional Marisole Monday update. You can see them here.

The Magnetic Marisole Printable Paper Dolls

{ Directions for Making Printable Magnetic Paper Dolls }

The Dolls


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Contemporary Clothing Sets


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Fantasy Clothing Sets


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Historical Clothing Sets


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Everything here has been adapted from paper version of the printable Marisole posts, except for the shoes and the magnetic dolls, many of which have been re-colored to provide for the six different skin tones. If anyone has requests for skin tones which don’t appear here, please let me know. I try to have as much diversity in skin tone as is possible.

Thoughts? Feel free to comment. I know I don’t always answer every one, but I do read them all.

Puck as a Super Hero… In Full Color

May 21, 2020December 9, 2012

I’ve never really gotten into superhero comics unless you count Deadpool or watching the Batman cartoon when I was a kid. When I do read comics, I stick to the compilations and some of my favorites have been Lucifer and Hellblazer, and of course, Sandman, but then, who doesn’t like Sandman?

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

So, for the coloring of my superheros, I decided to go with simple primary and secondary colors without a lot of complicated depth. I wanted to reproduce a little of the feel of the old fifties comics, before computer printing made a lot of depth possible. I think I will always think of comics as being bright flat color, even though I know there are some wonderful and skilled artists who bring so much more to the genre. I’m sensitive enough to color that badly colored or art I don’t like, can ruin a comic for me.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

Needless to say, I really enjoyed drawing this set and I hope I will get to draw more sets like it in the future.

After I finished it, I did a little digging looking for other paper dolls aimed at boys and I found this nice list of free paper dolls for boys. And though it’s not a paper doll, I think one of my favorites was this paper city of paris. As I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for unusual and interesting paper toys of all kinds, paper dolls are just my favorites.

Dictionary Girl’s get Ruffled Paper Doll Clothes

May 21, 2020October 25, 2012

Confession time: This might be the last Dictionary girl paper doll post for a while.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Dolls to Dress}

I have been feeling really ambiguous about my Dictionary Girl paper dolls lately and I haven’t even been able to get myself excited about drawing for them. Originally, I wanted to do this fun vintage thing which I did, but lately I’ve been feeling less then inspired. Their feet freak me out and I’m not in love with their faces. The truth is that I have moved towards a more cartoon style of drawing lately and these dolls feel… forced and awkward.

I’m really divided about this, because I think it’s important to have paper dolls of all body types and I think it’s important to show that healthy figured women are… well… healthy, but on the other hand… I’m having trouble getting excited about them…

You know, I feel like I’m writing an awkward break up letter… “It’s not you. It’s me.”

Anyway, I’m taking a break from these girls to see if inspiration strikes and if it doesn’t, I might be slipping them into the retired section with Curves paper dolls the first version, Flora the Regency paper doll and Florence the 1870’s paper doll.

But I do want to know how people feel about this and I was going to do a poll, but instead I thought I would just ask.

How important is it for the site to have a full figured printable paper doll? And if I decide on a different one than the Dictionary Girls, how would people feel?

Calla in Color: Mango and Strawberry Paper Doll

May 21, 2020October 17, 2012

I will be at work late tonight, so I am writing this post early in the morning. I do evening reference shifts about twice a month and I enjoy it. Since I work down in the Special Collections, I tend to get specialized varieties of questions, but when I’m at the reference desk, I get all sorts of random questions. My favorite was an evening when I got asked about both Chinese acrobats and the economics of fisheries on the Gulf of Mexico.

Anyway, my point is that when writing blog entries early in the morning, you have to lower your standards for my coherence.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

When I use these cheery fruity colors, I always find myself thinking of the tropics. I imagine Calla walking the streets of somewhere warm- Miami or Brazil- and drinking something iced out of a coconut. By the way, I totally think Kandi would steal the black skirt with the pink piping.

I seem to have some weird conviction that tropical colors means tropical places.

The only downside of writing posts in the morning is that it makes it so I end up posting two in the same day…. I shall have to think on that one was a problem. Oh well….

Roccoco Fantasy- Printable Princess Paper Dolls

May 21, 2020September 10, 2012

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

Just for Boots, I didn’t make anything pink in this set. 🙂

Originally, there was pink in it, but I do use a lot of pink… which is odd, because I don’t like pink that much in the real world… So, I decided to be anti-pink for a while. Plus I think these dresses are fro-froo enough without adding pink into the mix.

Not that I have anything against pink, mind you… just a thought, really.

And now for a question:

Julie asked: What advice would you give an aspiring paper doll artist? Are there Fashion Illustration books you recommend? How about Figure Drawing books?

To aspiring paper doll artists (and I’m not sure I’m not that far from ‘aspiring’ myself), I’d say the following:

Draw a lot

Look at paper dolls you like and try to figure out what you like about them

Don’t be afraid to copy a style you like- imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Reference images are your friend

Draw what you like and what you love, not what you think is popular or other people will like

Have fun and stretch yourself… even though that’s scary a lot of the time

As for books, I would recommend… I think that’s worthy of it’s own blog post. So, I will work on putting together a list. If i had to name one, it would be Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm. It’s old, but it’s solid and I still use my copy when I need to draw a face in profile. (You might notice, I don’t do that much… cause I suck at it, but I use Hamm whenever I think I want to try again.)

Here’s a question for my readers, would you be interested in knowing what books I use and/or recommend about historical costume or figure drawing?

Peter Pan Collars in Yellow and Green Paper Doll Dresses

May 21, 2020September 5, 2012

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Dolls to Dress}

These guys feel totally Easter like to me… I think it’s the spring green and the yellow.

I can’t shake the feeling I did a set for “peter pan collars” before, but maybe I just thought I did, because I couldn’t find it when I did a prowl of the archives. (I decided “Prowling” through the archives sounded better than “staggering” which might be more accurate.)

Speaking of archives, (see what I did there? I’m proud of me), I am nearing my 350 posts mark which I think is entirely more exciting than it really aught to be.

It’s the second week of classes at the University where I work and it’s been hectic. I adore the students and I’m glad they’re back, but it makes my life quite crazy. I hope things settle down soon. 🙂

I really like clothes more than dolls when it comes to paper dolls, but I have gotten curious how other people feel. Hence… A POLL!

Flock Modern Girl: Magnetic Paper Dolls

May 21, 2020June 19, 2012

So, I know I said these would be up last week (or maybe the week before that), but some things came up and I didn’t get around to it. The irony is that I drew this set last year and it’s been sitting on my desktop waiting to be finished for a while.

I tried to make sure each page of this set was a consistent color scheme, so that each page can be printed and played with alone, along with combining with the other pieces in the set. I walso wanted to play a little with the options of a magnetic set of paper dolls which are different than the options for a non-magnetic set of paper doll. I think magnetic paper dolls have interesting options, but are not the same as paper paper dolls for various reasons.

**The Modern Girl Set PDF Downloads**

Dove PDF Download	Oriole PDF Download	Phoebe PDF Download

Robin PDF Download	Starling PDF Download	Wren PDF Download

Clothing Set 1 PDF Download	Clothing Set 2 PDF Download	Clothing Set 3 PDF Download

Clothing Set 4 PDF Download	Clothing Set 5 PDF Download	Clothing Set 6 PDF Download

Clothing Set 7 PDF Download	Clothing Set 8 PDF Download

Sophia… Medieval Fantasy Paper Doll to Dress

May 21, 2020May 27, 2012

One of the things I think a lot about is “playability” which is a term I’m not sure is actually a real word, but what the heck, I use it anyway. What I mean when I say “playability” is how much a single paper doll sheet (one Pixie, One Puck, One Marisole) can be played with. Does the printable paper doll have options? Can she (or he) be dressed up in different styles? Are there choices?

The problem with this, of course, it that pretty soon you run into wondering if printable paper dolls like Sophia are a good idea. There’s no real way to fit more than two full dresses onto one page and with one or two pairs of shoes that really only renders up two to four outfit options.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

On the other hand, I really like both of her dresses and I think, particularly the one with the leaves on the sleeves, are really beautiful. I don’t want to stop drawing such things even though perhaps Sophia isn’t as versatile a paper doll as say Kandi (who has 18 outfit options). So instead I just assume Sophia will raid the closets of Gianna, Grace and Masquerade. She’ll have a nice set of dresses once she’s done.

I just realized, linking to all those other Pixies, that I haven’t done enough fantasy maiden Pixie paper dolls. Clearly this is a problem I shall have to fix. Though perhaps not immediately, I have next weeks Pixie printable paper doll already finished. And she’s a cutie.

By the way, I have a drawing for a custom paper doll going on. Enter if you haven’t.

Meet Fleur, our new Dictionary Girl Paper Doll

May 21, 2020May 9, 2012

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Dolls to Dress}

Today’s Dictionary Girl paper doll was colored after a friend of my friend complained that I didn’t have enough brunette pale-skinned blue-eyed paper dolls like her and she thought this wasn’t fair. Well, there is some truth to her remark, since I tend to favor variety of skin tone over variety of hair color. That all began when I realized the internet was full of printable paper dolls and they all seemed awfully white. Still, when a someone demands a blue-eyed brown-haired paper doll, and when they live in the same apartment building, it seems hard to refuse.

So, here is Fleur. She has the same skin tone as Alyssa and therefore can share shoes with Alyssa though I can not promise wigs will work since they have two different hair styles.

What sort of coloring would people like to see for the next Dictionary Girl?

Constance: Paper Doll to Print

January 31, 2016December 11, 2011

I would like everyone to meet Constance. Isn’t she cute? She’s the best friend of Prudence, I decided after I finished coloring her, though she has a less vintage inspired style. Her trousers came out a less perfect color of camel then I thought they would, but her shoes are totally cute and I love her freckles. (I blame my love of both freckles and red hair to reading Anne of Green Gables at a young and impressionable age.)

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

A woman I used to work with was named Constance, though everyone called her Connie. I have an odd soft spot for virtue names like Constance or Prudence or Faith or Grace, though I am less a fan of a few of the odder ones which were common back when the Puritans were naming their children. Naming your child Temperance is one thing, but calling them Condolence just seems odd (and that’s not even getting into some of the odder names which hung around when the Puritans were naming things). Still, I suppose that’s easy for me to say since I’m not naming a child in 1615 or something.

On a totally unrelated note (because segues are for other people), I have just recoded the entire gallery page and have folded it into the indexes and now there is a Printable Paper Doll Index page which links to all the printable series and individual dolls. If you click on the image on the page it will take to to either the blog post devoted to the paper doll or to a separate page with the PDF’s and PNG’s to print on it. I’d love to hear what people think of the change.

Kadeem and Gabriel: Boy Paper Dolls with Suits

May 21, 2020October 30, 2011

So, a few weeks ago before I dropped off the face of the earth, before I ended up sick, and before I discovered what fascinating colors old chicken curry can turn, I had a little drawing to celebrate the 65th Marisole paper doll ever. A wonderful reader known as Kat won by drawing and was so kind as to send me the following guidelines for what sort of paper doll she would like to see for her prize.

I was wondering if I could request a Puck doll. If so, I’d very much like to see him in a suit, so that he can take the gussied up Pixies to their soirees :). No real preference on the colors but I would like a boutonniere.

Now, I’ve never been pleased with the Puck paper dolls, but I was willing to try to make some dapper Pucks for her, so I set to work and it took a lot longer then I thought it should, but sometimes these things do.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

It might be a few weeks late, but I am proud to provide two puck paper dolls in stylish suits. The first is Kadeem who I think of as a modern young man heading out for a date, though I suppose in his clean cut suits he could also be heading to work or something else. He has two different boutonnieres and a corsage for his date.

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

He’s joined by his good friend Gabriel, a slightly old fashioned gentleman, with a pair of black suits with red ties. Something about double breasted suits always makes me think of the noir movies, so I gave Gabriel an old fashioned hair style and shoes to go with it. Gabriel, Gabe to his friends, also has two boutonnieres and a corsage. If you slit along the dotted line on the suit jackets, the gentleman can wear their boutonniere.

I hope these guys were worth the wait, Kat and now any of the Puck paper dolls are ready for dates. Love maybe in the air.

Marisole Monday: Sporty Girl

May 21, 2020August 15, 2011

Lately, I’ve been thinking about children (or, as I think of them, proto-people) and paper dolls. Recently, a friend, upon finding out I drew paper dolls as a hobby, remarked that children must like them.

There was a beat as I thought about this and then I said, « Yeah, I guess. » But truth be told, I don’t think much about children when I’m drawing my paper dolls.

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

I think about play-ability a fair bit- will these pieces go together and could someone really play with this paper doll. And I think about color and shape and a bit about skin tone (ie: I don’t want all my paper dolls to be white skinned blond Babarbie-esque creatures), but I don’t think a lot about message.

Except a friend has decided she would like to turn some of my paper dolls into magnets for when she is working as a school librarian to have at a play table for the kids. And while I have assisted her by removing tabs and resizing the dolls (instructions and versions of printable magnetic Marisole). I still haven’t quite gotten over the idea that children will be playing with them.

I know just enough about toys and modeling behaviors to feel like its important that I draw some versions of Marisole as something other then a ninja or a pirate. So, I decided to draw some sporty clothing (from a basketball uniform to a tennis dress), because I figured it was a good thing to show Marisole as a sporty girl as well as a girly girl, but I also think this sense of obligation is one of the reasons the paper doll sort of fails. I don’t know much about sports wear and outside of my erratic yoga class, I don’t do a lot of sports. I think it’s pretty clear I wasn’t committed to the set when I drew it. So, while I don’t think it’s the worst set of Marisole stuff I’ve ever drawn, it’s not at the top for me. But, I do like all the neat little sport balls and the tennis racquet, so it’s not a complete loss.

Edit 1/6/2014: Get a colorable version of this paper doll to print here.