brunette

Denise… Pixie and Puck Paper Doll in Floral’s and Pleats

logo-denise-pixieSo, this feels a little bit summery to be going up on this fall day, but I had so much fun with the color scheme that I shall not be denied. Even if it’s cool and crisp and the leaves have already begun to turn their beautiful yellow and red colors.

It’s apple pie and cinnamon weather these days, and I am utterly enjoying it.

But Denise is clearly living in a warmer world with her freckles and her florals. I’ve discovered an unexpected love of abstract florals which used on Denise. I think her pleated skirts look fun with the floral designs decorating them. The blouses are all meant to match with the different skirts.

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{Download a PDF to Print and Color} {Download a PNG to Print and Color}

I tend to think of Denise as being friends with my old printable paper dolls Constance and Prudence, there is something similarly vintage about her style and sensibility.

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{Download a PDF to Print in Color} {Download a PNG to Print in Color} {Click Here for More Pixie and Puck Printable Paper Dolls}

Here’s an amazing fact… today’s printable paper dolls is number fifty in all of my Pixie paper dolls. I feel like I should do something to celebrate, but I don’t know what. Ideas from the audience? Comment below.

Marisole Monday & Friends: Mia with Seagulls and Seaside In Color


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

The colors on this Mia paper doll set were inspired by the Pantone 2013 Spring color report and by signal flags for nautical ships. When I was a kid, I remember my father was practicing for his captains license from the US coast guard and I would quiz him on signal flags. It was also the first time I ever heard Morse code in person.

Remarkable stuff, Morse code.

Anyway, I’m rather pleased with how the color scheme came out. Mia will be quite stylish at the yacht club in this set of costumes. I have complete faith in her sense of decorum and style.

So, normally I have no problem coming up with ideas, but lately, I’ve been feeling a little stumped on the Marisole paper doll front. So, I am open to suggestions. Anyone got something they desperately want to see?

I’ve recently had requests for cowgirls, ballerinas (probably not going to happen since tutus sort of freak me out), saris, swimsuits and opera (though I confess I don’t know a THING about opera).

Marisole Monday: Coastal Princess in Coastal Colors

coastal-princess-color{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

So, my original idea was to make today’s paper doll a little bit latino looking with a darker skin tone than I’ve done with a Margot paper doll before, but I think she rather turned out just looking like she got a bit of a tan. So, next time I’ll rethink the color choice. Skin tones are hard, as I think I’ve mentioned many many times before. Personally, I really like the dark blue dress the best. I think it came out just like I wanted it to.

Stumbled across a new tumblr today, called Paper Doll Central. Beautiful work. Makes me wish I still was trying to keep up with my tumblr. Lots of nice paper dolls there worth checking out if you have a few minutes and want to indulge.

I mentioned last week I was inspired by the Mediterranean ocean when I colored this paper doll. I was also inspired by the idea of not using any pinks or reds, just clean clear cool colors. I imagine Margot walking on the beach, wind whipping through her skirts while she watches ships on the ocean. Then, possibly, being attacked by giant crabmen from the planet Neptune.

Maybe I should have drawn her a sword.

Pixie & Puck: Philippa… Named for a Queen

Another fantasy Medieval sort of Pixie Paper Doll for the this week. I have been on this fantasy Pixie kick for a while… I have one more of a similar style to post and then I shall have finished my flight of fancy in this direction until I get distracted and decide to turn to something else.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Phillipa in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Phillipa in Color} {Click Here for More Pixie Paper Dolls}

She is named for Philippa of Hainault who was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England in the 14th century. Philippa of Hainault is buried in Westminster Cathedral, so you can go visit her there should you be in London and feel like it. Westminster is pretty darn cool, I have to confess.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Phillipa in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Phillipa in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie Paper Dolls}

So, the response to the new lips on the Pixies has been uniformly negative. I tend to agree with the concerns leveled by my readers and therefore won’t be continuing in the style after this paper doll set.

Magnetic Marisole… A New Layout for New Year

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

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?

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{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.

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{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

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

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{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

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.

 

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

color-swatch-mangoWhen 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

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{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

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{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!