cyberpunk Archives • Page 2 of 4 • Paper Thin Personas

Monica in a Cyberpunk Future with Some Super Cool Shoes

December 6, 2020October 30, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: These Super Amazing Shoes That I Would Fall Over In

Every paper doll has a beginning. Sometimes, the beginning is more complicated than other times. Today’s paper doll and cyberpunk dress came about because of the shoes.

A few months ago I saw these amazing shoes on Pinterest and I immediately thought, “Oh, my goodness. I want to draw those.”

And so, I did.

But a paper doll set needs more than one rocking pair of shoes, so I tried to image who/where one might wear a pair of strap covered platform shoes. Strap covered platform shoes immediately equate with cyberpunk in my head.

I mean, you sure as shooting aren’t going to wear them hiking.

So, the amazing shoes obviously needed a cyberpunk dress. I designed the dress to try to match the shoes. The narrow straps on the dress mirror the straps on the shoes. The two tone colors on the dress highlight the narrow strapping details. After all, if I am going to draw tiny narrow straps than I darn well want them to be obvious.

Then I realized that I had drawn a fair number of paper doll outfits in the latest batch of Marisole Monday & Friend’s content, but I did not have a lot of dolls. So, I needed hair for Monica. The hair would also need to be to toned, I decided.

Because if you can match your hair to your shoes, why wouldn’t you?

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here.

Marisole Monday Goes Cyberpunk with some Amazing Boots

December 6, 2020September 4, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: The white dress in this Sprite set and the dress on the right

There are styles I come back to over and over again. This dress is very much like the white dress in this set and this dress, both designs I did years ago.

This is by far the most complex thing I have ever tried to create with the “shiny” look. It’s not perfect and there are problems, but I am not unhappy with how it turned out. Finding latex or vinyl reference images for the full bell skirt was basically impossible.

Also, google image searching the phrase “vinyl full-skirt” sometimes causes interesting results that are probably not kid friendly.

As for her hair, I was thinking of retro 1960s styles. I really wanted something that felt a little retro sci-fi. I

As for the color, I can’t really explain, but somehow once that dress was drawn I just knew it was going to be bright orange.

It’s like someone went clubbing and said, “I know! I want to look like a piece of cartoon fruit.”

And before I forget, I want to wish everyone a Happy Labor Day! In the words of Mother Jones, “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here.

Janette in Space! The Paper Doll Frontier Apparently Involves Short Shorts

August 16, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Science-Fiction Television

Once I decided I was going to devote the whole week to Janette, I knew I needed to draw three really different versions of her. The first set on Monday was Janette: Contemporary Edition and now I’ve got Janette: Science Fiction Edition, or as I have nicknamed her- Janette in Space!!!

(Yes, all three exclamation points are needed.)

I love sci-fi tv, especially if it isn’t too heavy. I think I’ve mentioned before that I am super enjoying watching Dark Matter on Netflix. I just finished Season One (No spoilers please) and I am going to dive into Season Two soon. I also binged Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency recently. I’m also watching Midnight, Texas which I can’t decide if I like or if I think is sorta dumb.

The Midnight, Texas books are pretty good, if you like Charlene Harris‘s brand of goofy absurdist paranormal fiction, which I always have. She also has a great blog that I read for her book recs.

Anyway, to get back to the paper doll, today’s Janette has a ray-gun, or regular gun, it’s really up to you. I like that some of the latest sci-fi shows are just showing normal guns in space, rather than focusing on laser guns. I think it makes the violence feel more authentic, in a good way. Disintegrating people makes it too easy to pretend that wasn’t a person who just got killed on television and softens the danger in a way I often dislike.

I have no idea if that last paragraph made a lick of sense to anyone whose not me, so let me know in a comment.

Meanwhile, I hope everyone enjoy’s today’s Janette Mini-Maiden paper doll and there will a third Janette posting Friday. If you like her style, but aren’t sure about her specifically, I have a bunch more sci-fi and cyberpunk paper dolls to choose from.

Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here.

Mini-Maiden’s Paper Doll Sci-Fi Dress & Serious Boots to Print

June 23, 2017June 23, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Dark Matter and My Sci-fi Fashion Pinterest Board

So, when I drew today’s printable paper doll outfit, I thought to myself, “Man, those are some serious boots.”

And I think I like the serious boots.

I love sci-fi shows. Currently, I’m watching Dark Matter. I started Dark Matter a few weeks ago and I just about done with season 1. It is a good paper doll drawing show- engaging, but not so complex that I can’t look away from the screen for inking purposes.

The costuming, however, is uninspired thus far. It’s a lot of very basic pieces and I find myself wishing for a little more interest. I suppose it is more realistic, but then I’m honestly not sure.

Is the assumption that people would be wearing basically what we wear today in the far future really that realistic? I mean, this is what people were wearing a 100 years ago. Certainly not what I am wearing as I type this blog post.

(In fact, any self respecting Edwardian would be scandalized by my sweats and over-sized t-shirt.)

The truth is that science fiction is more about the present than it is about the future, but that’s true about just about every art form on the planet, I suppose. Still would like some more interesting costuming though. Any shows out there with really stellar costumes I should check out?

Anyway, I had fun designing this strange dress. It was partly inspired by my Sci-fi Pinterest board, but mostly just kinda a random fun piece.

Need a Mini-Maiden paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Mini-Maiden Paper Doll Here.

The Sprites Are Space Pirates!

June 7, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Space! And this Picture from Pinterst

When I designed today’s Sprite paper doll outfits, I was thinking of Space Pirates. Why? Well, because sometimes I think about Space Pirates. I mean, doesn’t everyone?

(Don’t answer that.)

The thing is that I saw this image on Pinterest and I really liked her outfit and I thought, I should draw something inspired by that and then well… things went from there. I’ll be among the first to admit it is hard to image a world where hot-pants and thigh high boots are really practical spacewear, so they weren’t going to be space marines or something.

Therefore, Space Pirates it was!

Coloring this set was super hard, actually. I initially had an all black thing planned, but as Boots remarked when she was talking about create her Star Wars paper doll of Kylo Ren, workimg in black can really obscure some of the details of the outfits. There’s a lot of detail here and I wanted to embrace it.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Ms. Mannequin: On Future Streets, Again

May 28, 2020January 26, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Cyberpunk Fashion and my 2014 paper doll set- On Future Streets

Last year, I decided I would draw some paper dolls based on older sets I have as a way to revisiting older work. So, today’s Ms. Mannequin outfit was inspired by this cyberpunk paper doll clothing set called “On Future Streets” that I created in 2014.

The amount of cyberpunk stuff I draw for the paper dolls is directly proportional to the amount of Shadowrun I am playing at any given time. So, given that my usual group has gathered once more to play, I suspect 2017 will have more in the cyperpunk paper doll clothing genre.

I like revisiting my older sets for two reasons:

It helps me get ideas when I don’t have any ideas. A totally blank piece of paper is both the most inspiring and the most scary thing in the world.
It helps me write about the post when I have to write the post. Because writing about these paper doll outfits is sometimes the hardest thing.

So, I have the following things to say about this paper doll outfit today.

I did wanted to make something that could be cyberpunk, but could also just be scifi. I totally can imagine someone from 5th Element wearing this get up. Actually, all the costumes in the 5th Element are amazing. I love that movie.
Making things look shiny is a skill I was really out of practice at. I used to be so good at it. I shall have to practice more. Shiny things here I come!
Writing blog posts as numbered lists is actually kinda fun. I should do this more often.

As always, if you love PTP and want to donate to keep it up on the internets, please consider becoming a Patron. If you just want to know what I’m up too then you can follow it on Twitter. And if you want to make me feel less alone on the internet, leave a comment.

Tell me- Are you excited about more cyberpunk paper doll clothing?

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick out a Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll Here

Yumiko- Digital Girl: A Cyberpunk Paper Doll

December 6, 2020January 8, 2016

One of the rules of long term blogging (or anything really) is build with the assumption of growth. So, while I feel kinda absurd referring to the Sprites as a series, because this is only the second one and so it’s more like a sequel situation, I also recognize that in two years when I look back on this post (or more likely, when someone else does), it still needs to have all the links and make sense.

Speaking of building with the assumption of growth, I am currently converting from using my server to host my image files to using WordPress’ native image management tools. This is prep for a larger shift in the blog infrastructure. If I do my job right, y’all shouldn’t notice a thing; however, if you do find some posts those images are screwy, just drop me a note and I’ll look at it.

There are over 756 posts on this blog, so converting all those images over is going to take a bit of time and I wouldn’t be surprised if I miss something accidentally.

All right, so about today’s paper doll. Yumiko is a Japanese name. Again, there aren’t a lot of names for women that start with Y. I almost went with Yasmine, before I remember I already have a Yasmine paper doll. One of the problems of having drawn over 500 paper dolls for this blog is that at some point, you kinda run low on names.

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Anyway, Yumiko is the first Asian Sprite paper doll, though I confess that’s a little meaningless. I mean, there’s only two Sprite paper dolls right now. I also started the Pixie series off with an Asian paper doll named Zoe. I’d say there was something intentional with my starting series off with Asian paper dolls, but I’ll be darned if I know what it is.

Yumiko’s theme this week is cyberpunk, just like Zachary’s cyberpunk set last week.

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I chose a very different color scheme for Yumiko-Digital Girl. I knew from the start that I wanted to give her pink hair and black lips (it felt sufficiently cyberpunk), so than it was a matter of selecting colors that I thought would coordinate with those two colors. I really like how she came out.

Thoughts on the new series? Feel free to drop me a comment.

And if you’d like to support the blog in 2016, consider becoming a patron.

Zachary Goes Cyber: Printable Paper Doll

May 19, 2020January 1, 2016

Happy 2016!

I thought it would be fun to start the new year off with my new printable paper doll series- The Sprites. So, for the whole month of January, every Friday will be a new Sprite paper doll. The Sprites are really close to being Pixie & Puck 2.0, but I wanted to give them a whole new name since they absolutely can not share clothing with Pixie and Puck..

Unlike Pixie and Puck, the Sprite printable paper dolls will feature the same faces over and over again, much like Marisole Monday & Friends and the Mini-Maidens. Unlike Marisole Monday & Friends, all Sprite paper dolls will be in paired themes. So, today we have Zachary, a male cyberpunk paper doll and the next Sprite post (which will be next week) will be a female cyberpunk paper doll.

There will not always been two Sprite paper dolls in a row, just to clear that one up. I mean, I suspect there usually will be, but I also suspect that me promising there will be will only end in a stressed out Rachel. No one wants that, right?

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So, after some debate, I decided to name my Sprite base paper dolls in reverse alphabetical order. Why? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. I’d love to claim I’m starting with a male paper doll to appease my readers who love male paper dolls, but in reality it was because there aren’t a lot of names that start with Z. I was thinking of using Zoe, but then I was reminded I already had a Zoe paper doll. Therefore, Zachary it was. Plus I have known several different Zacharies and they have all been delightful.

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So, I went pretty traditional with my cyberpunk color scheme- black, white, yellow and red. I knew I wanted to do a two toned hair style and so I liked the idea of a bleached/non-bleached look.

I imagine, in my head, that his neon green eyes are actually cybernetic, but hey- you can decide if they’re natural. (Though I don’t think anyone has neon green eyes naturally.)

Thoughts on the new series? Ideas for the New Year? Drop me a comment and, as always, if you like the blog, I always appreciate support through Patreon.

Alien Fashions for the Ms. Mannequin Paper Dolls

April 8, 2020July 31, 2015

Yesterday, I posted Xylra my new alien paper doll and I wanted to get her fashions up today. Not just because I think they are neat, but because I have been rather neglectful of the blog this July and if I post these this week then I won’t feel so guilty.

Blog guilt is a powerful motivating factor in my life.

Xylra is a fashionable intergalatic astrophysist and I confess I have no idea how practical any of these pieces would be for someone studying astrophysics. Truth be told, I have no idea what an astrophysicist does all day, but then I suppose most astrophysicists probably don’t know what Special Collection librarians do all day which makes us even. (For those of you who haven’t read my about page, I am a Special Collection librarian when I’m not drawing paper dolls.)

Anyway, one of my rules with paper dolls is to avoid being bogged down by practicality or common sense when designing fantasy or sci-fi clothing. A rule I haven’t violated here.

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I did want to take a moment and talk about the colors in today’s set of paper doll clothes. Originally, I was planning on a more traditional cyberpunk color scheme, but I wanted to see if I would work with colors that I actually didn’t like. Perhaps an odd mental exercise, but important, I think, to growing as an artist. I considered doing two coloring jobs, one with colors I liked and one with colors I didn’t, but once I’d colored the paper doll clothes with my “ugly color scheme”, I found that I actually rather liked them. Perhaps spending time with the colors softened me up towards them or perhaps I just didn’t want to recolor the whole thing. Either way, enjoy my foray into an “ugly color scheme” and if you don’t like it, well… there’s a black and white version for a reason. Enjoy!

A Futuristic Cyberpunk Paper Doll Named Ololara

May 22, 2020July 25, 2014

By my nature, I tend to be a private person, particularly online. It’s not that I’m irrationally scared of stalkers (rationally scared of stalkers maybe…), but I do feel that it’s important not to post anything on a blog that you wouldn’t want your boss/mother/random stranger to read. So, I tend towards the general rather than the specific. It’s a habit I urge anyone who wants to do this for a while to get into.

Remember, the internet has a LONG memory.

Never the less, I’ve already admitted to playing Shadowrun, an table top RPG with some cyberpunk overtones, so I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that when I’m doing a fair bit of that than cyberpunk paper dolls tend to emerge. I guess in the grand scheme of things, admitting to pretending to be in a dystopian future on Sunday nights isn’t really that embarrassing of a confession.

ololara-cyber-punk-paper-doll-black-white

{Download a PDF to Print in Color} {Download a PNG to Print in Color} {More Pixie & Puck Printable Paper Dolls}Ololara was chosen as the paper doll’s name, because I liked how it sounded. I don’t really know much about the name, to be frank. The websites I found it on said it was “African”, but that’s about as specific as saying, “Asian” and ignoring the fact that Africa is a continent, not a language. It maybe entirely invented by the internet, but I thought it was a pretty name anyway.

{Download a PDF to Print and Color} {Download a PNG to Print and Color}{More Pixie & Puck Printable Paper Dolls} So, I wanted to go with a black and white based color scheme for this paper doll set with only a few other accent colors. Bright green is I think a cheerful choice and the blue seemed a nice counter balance. I had some red in the set at the beginning, but I ended up cutting it when I decided that it clashed with my greens and felt a bit harsh.

By the way, I was recently asked by a reader named Amy if there would ever be another Marcus paper doll. The answer is… um… Probably not. Marcus was originally meant to be a companion to Marisole, but actually the proportions are pretty far off for that to happen. I have been very very slowly working on revamping him, but it is taking a LONG TIME. In the meantime, feel free to draw your own male friends for Marisole. Male paper dolls would get more love if I liked drawing men more.

On Future Streets… Paper Doll to Print

May 22, 2020February 17, 2014

So, last week I was feel very meh about this paper doll set.

Now, I’m rather in love with it.

I have a very on again, off again relationship with my paper dolls sometimes. I mean, if I was dating this blog, I would definitely declare the relationship highly unhealthy. As it is, the Blog is a demanding associate.

Anyway, I have decided on a name for this new “face” of Marisole. I’m calling her Magnolia, after the magnolia trees that aren’t blooming at all in the dead of winter in Alabama, but which are beautiful anyway. She’s stuck in the Other Friends category though until I decide if I like her enough to draw more sets for her.

marisole-2014-cyberpunk-paper-doll-full-color

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I went back and forth and back and forth about Magnolia’s skin tone. I wanted to something darker than my standard Marisole skintone. I’ve posted before about my Skintone Pallette which I use to select skin tones for the blog. Now I was going to go with my darkest color which is #3b2219 which, as you can see, is a very dark brown. The trouble with #3b2219 is that it makes seeing the black lines on the drawing nearly impossible, especially when you print out the paper doll.

So, I lightened the skin-tone to a new shade which is #502e22 which I like a lot better, though it lacks the richness of the darker brown. I want to use #3b2219 more, but I am having trouble with it allowing the line-work to show up. I need to think about how to fix that problem in the future.

One last thing, I finally got the PDF of Seagulls and Seaside In Color fixed. Never let it be said I don’t get things done… eventually. 🙂

Oh and before I forget, I want to wish a happy President’s Day to those celebrating here in the United States.

Zippers, Ruffles and a New Paper Friend

December 6, 2020December 9, 2013

Today, we have our printable paper doll showing off her slightly girly wardrobe of ruffles in purples and pinks. As you may recall, last week this printable paper doll was in black and white for coloring.

For those of you who play Shadowrun, the little iphone looking device she wears strapped to her arm is her commlink (she’s a technomancer, so she mostly wears one for show) and the glasses are her AR vision glasses. You may need to extend the tabs and paste them together to slip them over her head. For those of you who don’t play Shadowrun, then she’s just a chick with some crazy glasses, a teddy bear and some really ruffled skirts that she likes to wear.

On the left, you can see some of the outfit options. There are actually fifty-two outfit combinations here. (I’ve posted before about how to do paper doll clothing combination math) since everything is mix and matchable. I think there are actually a few more since two of the tops can be worn either over the tanks, as I tend to imagine them, or as separate pieces. If you include the two sweaters as layer pieces than you have 76 outfit options. Not bad for a wardrobe of 13 clothing pieces, not including the gloves or the glasses or the commlink.

Also, apparently I’m not the only one whose ever been possessed to make paper dolls out of Shadowrun races. Personally, I think they’re wonderful paper dolls, but not really my style. My style is much more girly.

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