contemporary

Ensemble Electica: Sweat in Style

A sporty fashion paper doll with an 11 piece mix and match wardrobe. She's a coloring page.
A sporty fashion paper doll with an 11 piece mix and match wardrobe. She has a micro-afro and a soft ocean inspired color scheme.

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Around the same time I was working on my tennis paper doll, I found myself thinking- I should draw some work out clothing for the Ensemble Electica paper dolls. Mostly, I was thinking this, because I hadn’t yet and who doesn’t want to draw paper doll leggings? (Probably plenty of people, but they don’t run a paper doll website.)

Personally, my favorite workout is yoga. I love how I feel after I do yoga. So, I included a yoga mat and the kind of clothing I would wear to do yoga if I was the sort of person who had dedicated yoga outfits. Aspirational yoga attire. My actual yoga attire is leggings and an oversized t-shirt with a walrus on it from the Indianapolis zoo, because the walrus is really cute and I like walrus.

So, this isn’t really a yoga paper doll, as much as a sporty fashion paper doll. Maybe she’s old school and going to step aerobics. (I actually also kinda love step aerobics.) Maybe she’s just putting on cute workout clothing to go out and buy a bagel. Who can say?

The dress was an extra piece from my tennis paper doll that I thought I would use here, as it wouldn’t fit on the tennis paper doll as I was doing the layout. Maybe she’s a really good tennis player.

Since I drew my sporty fashion paper doll and was coloring her at the same time I colored my tennis fashion paper doll, the most important thing to me was that the color scheme feel totally different. I didn’t want it to have the same vibe at all. So, the tennis paper doll’s vibe is very bright and fresh. This vibe is more calming and low key.

Today, a Hiking Paper Doll for Cut & Color Cotoure

A hiking paper doll printable coloring page with three shirts, a pair of hiking pants, a map and a water bottle. She can share clothing with the other paper dolls in the Cut and Color Couture collection.

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Creating a hiking paper doll isn’t typically my go-to theme. I’ve got some other hiking themed paper doll things though like this steampunk one for my Patrons, this kids set with a super cute stuffed owl, and a marisole version called Walk in the Woods, but it’s not a theme I do back to that often.

Lately, I’ve been immersed in the world of hiking gear, particularly on the quest for the perfect pair of hiking pants. That search has led me through countless hiking clothing websites and caused no small amount of annoyance. While I’m much more of a- go for a walk for an hour or two- than a -hike up a mountain with switch backs all the way up for five hours- sort of person. I do like being outdoors and I like walking.

One thing I have learned about being out doors is how important is to wear the right clothing. Comfortable hiking clothes make a huge difference in the experience. No one wants to be cold or sweaty while also trundling through the woods.

So, in honor of the importance of hiking clothing and despite my somewhat frustrating shopping experience (I haven’t found those ideal hiking pants yet!), I’ve decided to channel my inspiration into creating a collection of paper doll outfits suitable for hiking.

Plus, our hiking paper doll is practicing good outdoor safety with her map and water-bottle. When I was in high school, Nalgene water bottles were super popular and very “cool” even though if you try to drink from them, you run a real risk of spilling water all over yourself. (When people complain about the current trend for whatever expensive water bottle, I think of the Nalgene I begged my parents for in high school.)

By the way, I am going to be at the 2024 Paper Doll Convention from August 15-18, 2024 in Indianapolis. I did some designs for the menus and I can’t wait to see how they turned out. If you’re planning to attend, please come way Hi! I love meeting PTP readers.

Ensemble Eclectica: Specs & Posies

Cute printable paper doll with glasses and several different mix and match pieces. This fun coloring page for kids. She has thirteen mix and match pieces.
Cute printable paper doll with glasses and several different mix and match pieces. She has thirteen mix and match pieces with a modern colorful theme.

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

I don’t often create printable paper doll with glasses, but I wear glasses (blind as a bat without them) and therefore I thought, I should make more paper dolls with glasses. Glasses are cute and fun.

So, I’ll be honest- I am still learning to use Procreate a year after starting. Because I’m still getting used to the tools, I’ve been a little conservative about what I’ve attempted. I did a lot of playing around last year, but this year I’m trying to give myself space to get comfortable.

As part of that process, I’ve been revisiting older paper dolls that I liked. Sometimes, I stick close to the original like I did with Rose, Coffee, And Mint Redux and Coffee Strawberry and Cream, but other times I end up heading off on my own little side trek as I did with Bright Boho from Wings and Petals. This time, I think it is somewhere in the middle.

Marisole Monday & Friends: Late Summer Flowers inspired this new printable paper doll with glasses. I kept the glasses, changed up the hair, and kept the color scheme, though used it in a different way. My two favorite pieces from the original (the shoes with flowers on them and the shorts) I redrew. The pattern on the shorts was a great learning experience about how to manipulate lines in Procreate.

Chic Contrasts: Fun Color Blocking Paper Doll

Printable modern Asian paper doll coloring page with a 14 piece mix and match wardrobe.
Colorful printable modern Asian paper doll with a mix and match wardrobe.

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As I mentioned a while ago, learning to use Procreate (which I am now using for my paper dolls) has been a learning curve. One of the things I dislike about it is that it is not easy to draw a perfectly straight line between two points as I would like. Either way, I am coming around to it slowly.

When I first started using Procreate last year, I decided that learning to use the program was a large enough ask without adding “create totally original art every time” with it. So, I set about drawing paper dolls inspired by pervious paper dolls I’d created.

This set was inspired by Seagulls & Seaside, a set I first drew a decade ago. I still think that paper doll feels pretty modern, though color blocking is not as strong of a trend as it was at the time. I kind of think color blocking is never not in style. The original set’s color scheme was inspired by signal flag colors for ships. I really loved that inspiration. I hadn’t planned on matching the color scheme so closely, but I realized that it looked really good. So, I kept it.

I really do love nautical and ocean themed things. It’s probably because I grew up commercial fishing.

Retro Refinement: A Vintage Fashion Inspired Paper Doll for my Patrons

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Fall Fashionista:A Printable Brunette Paper Doll

A printable paper doll coloring page with a mix and match wardrobe.
A Printable Brunette Paper Doll with a mix and match wardrobe.

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

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.

Bright Boho With Summer Styles

A trendy paper doll with brown skin and black microbraids with a 12 piece mix and match wardrobe. Her clothing is boho and inspired by dutch wax print colors.
A trendy paper doll printable coloring page with brown skin and black microbraids with a 12 piece mix and match wardrobe. Her clothing is boho.

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

I wanted to draw a sort of trendy paper doll. Two trends inspired this paper doll, one from Summer 2023 (boho) and one from fall 2023 (red). However, while I try to keep my paper dolls up to date (as best as I can), the fact is that there’s a bit of lag between when I draw a paper doll and when I actually finish a paper doll. Things move fast in the fashion world.

Fashion is a world that is pretty alien to me, as I live in Alaska and mostly wear hiking boots, cardigans, and hoodies, though the resurgence of grudge means I am marginally in style these days. It’s very weird. I’m not used to that at all.

Most of the paper dolls that I say were inspired by previous work, I think it’s kinda obvious. This one is a little more subtle, because it really took a very different turn than the original set. Wings and Petals, a paper doll set from 2010, inspired this set.

African dutch wax print patterns inspired the colors of today’s trendy paper doll. If you’ve never checked them out, I love dutch wax print fabric. I just adore the color combinations.

Happy Halloween: Here’s a Little Gothic Fashionista

Celebrate the October season with this little printable Halloween dress up doll and her gothic wardrobe. A coloring page, this paper doll has a 14 piece mix and match wardrobe.
Celebrate the October season with this Halloween dress up doll printable. She has a cute modern gothic wardrobe and lots of mix and match clothing options.

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

I created today’s gothic themed paper doll for Halloween. So, I hope you enjoy this little paper Halloween dress up doll. Clearly, I’ve been digging into drawing skulls which I did here. One of the wonderful things about digital drawing is that it is so easy to work with reference images and you can resize them with much more ease, so the skulls are a big part of that.

One thing I’ve noticed about most alt fashion scenes is that there are endless nuances. It seems to me that there’s often “formal” alt-fashion and then also sort of street level alt-fashion. Things people wear and then also go onto the train, rather than just get photographed posing beautifully next to a headstone.

Last week’s three Ensemble Eclectica: Gothic Glamor Collection paper dolls were all more over the top and this paper doll is more street level fashion. While I know very little about where someone buys gothic fashion, The brand Fantasmagoria inspired both the paper doll’s cropped red corset top and also her hairstyle. The brand Heavy Red inspired the corset over the t-shirt look

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this little foray into paper dolls and has a safe, happy, slightly spooky Halloween! Or Samhain or Día de Muertos or anything else that’s happening around this time of year.

Rose, Coffee, And Mint Redux

A black and white children's paper doll printable with a mix and match wardrobe. She has two dresses, pants, two skirts, four tops, a pair of shoes and two purses.
A children's paper doll printable of a fashionable black woman with a mix and match wardrobe. She has two dresses, pants, two skirts, four tops, a pair of shoes and two purses.

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

Today’s paper doll really feels like a children’s paper doll to me. Don’t get me wrong, I would give any of my paper dolls to my niece (or nephew, if he showed any interest.) However, occasionally, I have a paper doll that I make that I think… this is super kid friendly. Today’s paper doll is one of those very kid friendly designs.

When I think about what makes a children’s paper doll different from one I’ve drawn for adults, it mostly boils down to how easy it is to play with. I believe this paper doll is very easy to play with, which makes it a lot of fun. All of her clothing is in colors that go well together. You can mix and match her outfits in many different ways. She has either 14 outfits or 28 outfits, depending on how much you like shoes. That’s like having a whole closet full of clothes for this little paper fashionista. Also, she’s pretty easy to cut out. The only tricky part might be the shoulders under her hair or maybe the purses. Still, I managed those when I was a kid, so I thin other kids could too.

Like my floral retro paper doll, an earlier paper doll, Coffee, Strawberry and Cream, inspired today’s paper doll. I drew that one in 2011, over a decade ago. That’s hard to believe, but true. One thing I loved from that paper doll was the rose dress and the striped dress. Both are so fun then and I still like them, years later. I remember being so proud of Coffee, Strawberry and Cream when she came out.

There’s a similarity between this paper doll and Lillian, a paper doll from Paper Doll School.Actually, a lot of Julie’s paper dolls are super kid friendly, particularly her long running Kawaii Kids series. I digress. Enjoy the paper doll!

Bows & Pearls in Mauve, Cream, and Green

Printable coloring page of an Asian girl paper doll with clothing.
Printable Asian girl paper doll with clothing.

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A few thoughts on today’s Asian girl paper doll and her romantic wardrobe – I wanted to do a paper doll that would have a pearl feeling color scheme, but I also wanted her to not use pink. I really love pink, but I wanted to get away from pink for this set. Pink just feels like the “easy” way to make things feel feminine. So, instead, I decided to lean into mauve, cream and shades of leaf green. This Design Seeds color palette inspired me.

Honestly, I love all these colors, but I think the clothing is a little too feminine for me. However, I am hardly the most fashionable person on the planet. I went back and forth about the hair style. On one hand, putting a bob on an Asian paper doll feels a little cliche. On the other hand, I really liked the smooth hard lines of the hair in contrast with the hyper-feminine fashions.

Much like Retro Spring some of this paper doll’s clothing comes from the same set Hearts Denims and Bows. I really liked the bow graphic t-shirt in that set and I used it as a jumping off point for the rest of the clothing in this set. With 7 tops and 4 bottoms, there are 28 different outfit combinations here. I guess if I really wanted to maximize my clothing combos, I would draw nothing but crop tops, shorts, and shoes. However, I am trying to be a little more diverse then that.

Personally, I’d really love to get to 100 different pieces of mix and match contemporary paper doll clothing. I think that would be a nice round number for this series, plus I think then I could put together a book or something with all those pieces. I’ll get there eventually, but in the mean time, enjoy this latest addition to the Ensemble Eclectica series.

By the way, if there is a contemporary clothing theme you’d really like to see for these little ladies, let me know in a comment. Right now, I am thinking about a gothic set (because drawing skulls is a good challenge and also October seems the right month for that) and something sci-fi with cute little aliens.