fantasy

Marisole Monday: Fantasy gowns in…vibrant colors

Today’s printable paper doll is so bright, you might find yourself thinking “Good god, it’s radioactive” and you wouldn’t be wrong. She’s extremely a little eye-watering, I confess, but I had a lot of fun. Like Kandi, I wanted to play with the contrast of bright color to dark skin. Also, once I colored all the clothing and I looked at my Marisole skin tone color palette, I realized that most of them clashed with that obnoxious delightful green color.

Seriously, if there was ever a good post to do in black and white and in color… this was it. I doubt I would have had the gumption to go this bright if I wasn’t going to also post her in black and white.

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And now to answer a question….

So, B asked: Are you going to make another set of Flock dolls? It’d be pretty cool to see fairy tales, or maybe cyberpunk!

The short answer is: Yes.

The longer answer is that the next set of Flock paper dolls will be modern and will consist of the six dolls and a over a hundred pieces of clothing. After that I want to do smaller sets, because seriously the whole “hundred” pieces of clothing was a bit much. I have a “noir punk” set in process and a sort of futuristic set as well. Neither is close to being done though and the casual set is very close. As in, I hoping sometime this week or next, close.

I have to say I love the idea of doing something fairy tale inspired… sort of a bad ass Red Ridinghood and Cinderella set… I shall have to think about that more.

Speaking of the Questions, Tuesday is the last day to enter my drawing. I know I said yesterday that I would draw a name on Tuesday, but I realized for it to be open for two weeks it was going to have to go until Tuesday until midnight. I’ll announce the winner Wednesday. Hopefully along with a Dictionary Girls update, but since I don’t have one yet… well… we’ll see.

I’ve been thinking about doing a series of posts about things I wish I knew about paper doll blogging back when I started paper doll blogging… is that something people would be interested in? I mean, it’s not terribly paper doll related.

Miana: Paper Doll with Dresses

This post will go up midnight on Sunday, so you all can print her out and play with her. I will be spending my Sunday driving back to Illinois from having been in Alabama. It’s a nine hour drive back and I am not really looking forward to it. We’ve been listening to Harry Potter on audio book while we drive up through the hills and then through the flat lands and then to the soybean and corn filled land that I call home at the moment.

The hills (they call them mountains here, but they are wrong) here in Alabama are lovely, but they are nothing compared to the sort of landscape I grew up in. I suppose that little out there compares to the awesome beauty of Alaska.

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Despite my post Friday about wanting a two bedroom, I ended up with a nice one bedroom for less then I thought I would have to spend. I’ll need to buy a washing machine, but I got a break on rent because of it. There’s a balcony which I’m excited about and a nice desk spot. Hopefully I can fit a good sized desk for paper dolling and a couch in the same space.

Guests might have to sleep on the couch.

Today’s paper doll is named Miana. She’s sort of Greek inspired, but I also thought of a young woman walking down a beach with the wind whipping through her skirts. Marisole has rocked a similar style. I thought about doing Miana all in whites and things, but that seemed boring.

If you have a question that you’ve always wanted to ask me, I’m having a drawing. Ask a question and that will enter you in my drawing. On Tuesday, I will draw a name and I’ll announce it.

I draw paper dolls… (Plus here’s a chick with some fantasy dresses)

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So… here’s the thing… I said to the apartment people..I need a second bedroom, because I want a work space and a guest space…

What I didn’t say is this:

I draw paper dolls.

I don’t know why.

It’s not because I have an artistic vision or something… I just like them.

It’s a little nostalgia, a little amusement. It’s my hobby.

Why do some people knit or crochet or make pottery?

I don’t know.

I don’t even really know why I draw paper dolls.

Except this…

Every paper doll is a potential story. What humans wear are physical manifestations of social and cultural forces. We dress ourselves so we can become what we want to be. We dress ourselves as what we think we should be.

Every paper doll is a potential character. What that paper doll wears is about what that paper doll can become. Every time I draw a paper doll, I can create a world.

Also, I like pretty dresses.

This is my hobby.

I don’t knit. I don’t crochet.

I draw paper dolls.

Plus… well… I do need some guest space.

Sophia… Medieval Fantasy Paper Doll to Dress

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.

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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.

Argh… ’tis a Pirate Lass: A Pirate Paper Doll Set

So… this is practically late. I mean… it’s like 11:50 here in Illinois, but I really really wanted to get a Shadow and Light doll up since it’s been a while since I did one and I have been feeling bad about that.

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Back in the 1980’s I was pretty young, but I remember wearing overall shorts, which were the latest thing, and having a weird affection for when I was old, because I was going to wear thigh high boots. I don’t know why I was so into the idea, but I remember drawing lots of paper dolls sporting thigh high boots and miniskirts in elementary school. Perhaps I saw Pretty Woman at too young of an age…. Oddly, my mother was never concerned as far as I could tell with my thigh high boot obsession.

As an adult, I have never worn thigh high boots… a pity perhaps.

Needless to say, my love of shoes was founded young and even now I love shoes (which I think comes through on my paper dolls.)

And, as you might notice, our pirate is sporting some pretty darn sexy boots.

Beneath the Waves in Black and White Paper Doll

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So… slightly slacker post from me today. I as out of town last week in Alabama and just got back. I prepped this while sitting in the Chicago airport waiting to get on a plane to go home. I posted Beneath the Waves in color last year in June. I found the file and decided to put it up in color. I have been getting more and more requests for paper dolls to color, so here is another one.

I love spring when the rains come and the paper doll blogs are in bloom. Actually, I joke, but I have stumbled across a few new blogs over the last few days. My latest find is called Miss Missy Paper Dolls, slightly unnerving for me since I have a good friend named Missy, never the less, I am enjoying the posts as I work my way through her archive. I recommend her blog to those of us who like such things (and if you don’t like such things, what the heck are you doing here anyhow?).

Meet Ethan… Boy Coloring Pages Paper Doll

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{PDF Download of all four pages for Ethan and his Wardrobe}

Confession time: I think men’s clothing is boring.

I know I shouldn’t, but I do.

Historically speaking, there’s some neat stuff for men, but right now it’s all trousers and shirts and jeans and shirts and suits and maybe some swim trunks and really… that gets old.

Still, my poll in January (and I, like apparently the candidates for president, take polling seriously) said that what people wanted to see was male paper dolls.

Originally, Ethan here had a girlfriend or just a friend… I shouldn’t make assumptions about my paper doll’s sexual orientation. However, I thought she looked like she’d just been hit with a brick or something, so I decided not to post her or draw her any clothing. She won’t be returning to the blog unless I decide I really feel like it and I doubt it.

Instead, I gave him a some clothing (including a styling Star Trek uniform) and have posted him.

Baroque Maiden: Fantasy Printable Paper Doll

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Today’s Marisole was supposed to go up last week, but somehow it didn’t happen. I feel like I start every post apologizing these days which I am trying to stop doing. I have mixed feelings about how she turned out. I really like the colors, but the style seems like I do a lot. I have mixed feelings about it. When I think of the baroque era of art, I think of rich dark colors with golds and reds and purples and black which was the inspiration for this color scheme. I gave her blond hair to contrast with the dark colors of her dresses.

A friend of my send me the link to these wonderful paper dolls from the Museum of Childhood in London. You can download them and print them out. Beautiful full color historic dolls. It’s so nice having friends who support my odd hobbies. So a big shout out to my friends.

Spirit of the North: Black and White Printable Paper Doll

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So, I have good news, bad news and slightly indifferent news. The good news is- Hey, look it’s a paper doll post. The bad news is that it will probably be the only one for the whole week. The indifferent news is that the paper doll is in black and white. I chose to post Spirit of the North in black and white since the dolls dresses have a lot of pattern to them and I thought it would be more interesting to color than some of my other paper dolls.

I think it might be cheating to recycle content like this… But so far people have been nice about it. 🙂

Pixies Printable Paper Dolls in Black and White

Since my primary concern for the next few weeks is class work, thesis writing and job searching, I thought I would just post some Pixie paper dolls I have already posted in color, but post them in black and white. I felt a little guilty doing it as just one, so there are two this week- Blossom and Masquerade– both are paper dolls which I think would be fun to color as they have some pattern in their clothing and bows.. a lot of bows…

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Plus I have been getting requests for paper dolls in black and white, so I guess I could pretend I was listening to people rather than just doing what I knew I could get done and posted without having to spend too much time on it. Despite the practical concerns of getting something up to, as I like to say, “feed the blog”, I know people like to color and I think its important to give people the chance to do that.

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These are also both paper dolls which I really liked the full color versions of (which you can see here and here), so I hope people also like the black and white versions.

Magnetic Paper Dolls for a Quilting Retreat

Click on the images to download the PDF file for printing the magnetic paper dolls.

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First off: I was not abducted by aliens or eaten by a polar bear or killed by some strange monster which lives in the depths of the library stacks.

Rather, I was busy working on class things, working on work things and working on thesis writing things. The truth is that for the next semester, the blog is going to be neglected and I am going to feel guilty about it, but I am really really crazy busy.historicalquilter

My mother attends a quilting retreat each January with some friends and there is a tradition of bringing a little gift for the other quilters. Since I gave her a set of magnetic Marisole paper dolls this year for the holidays, she decided she wanted a set for her quilting friends. Everything about these paper dolls was produced with her consultation.quilterhikingandfishing

The magnetic paper doll (who can can clothing with magnetic Marisole) has gray hair, red glasses. She comes with her sewing machine, a rather lopsided quilt and several different important quilting accessories (scissors and things).

After she approved the paper doll design, we went through all of the Marisole paper dolls I have drawn and selected a collection of clothing to go with the doll. Each attending person got one main doll and then one page of extra clothing.queenquilter

It was fairly entertaining to sit down with Mom and have her select what she liked. Sometimes, I guessed right on what she would pick, but often I was surprised. My mom and I have similar taste in clothing and jewelry and fabric, so I suspected we’d have similar taste in paper dolls.

I knew she’d like the pirates and the commercial fishing paper doll. I was fairly certain she would go for something fantasy and I thought the art deco stuff was a shoe in. I knew Tones and Shades would be important since she shares my love of beautiful textiles that are used in Kimono. I was a little surprised by the fantasy set she liked, since it’s one I’m not totally pleased with.

I have come up with some quick fixes which I think should at least feed the blog while I’m so very busy. There will be some sketchbook posts, probably some black and white posts (mostly of things which have already appeared once in color since that is the easiest sort for me to do) and possibly something else as I figure out what I can find time for. I don’t want to give up PTP, but I do have a thesis to write.

One last note on these magnetic paper dolls, they are sized as an 8 by 10.5 inch image, rather then my usual 8 by 10 inch, since I knew which printer I would be printing them on. Double check the PDF settings before you print them to make sure they will fit. On some printers, they might print slightly smaller than the other magnetic Marisole paper dolls, which is why I’m not putting them in the same category. Enjoy them.

Spirit of the North: Printable Paper Doll

We still haven’t had much snow here, but I don’t mind. I’m able to walk home from work which is just about a mile and a half and it’s a nice walk to do when the weather isn’t too cold. I’m dreading when it gets colder and I’ll have to decide between wait ten minutes for the bus or walking 25 minutes in the cold. It’s a hard call and depending on how horrid it is, I usually decide right after work.

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I’ve been playing around with color pallets a lot lately. I realized, I’d never done a sort of Norse/Anglo-Saxon/Medieval fantasy paper doll in a pale color scheme. Somehow that lead to this and then the idea of giving the paper doll blue skin came to me last minute. Once the paper doll was fully colored, I knew she had to be some sort of other worldly winter fairy or something. She might be smiling, but I get the feeling she might be very dangerous. Not someone you’d want to cross.

And, in case I haven’t mentioned it or you haven’t noticed, there’s a poll. Feel free to vote or tell me what you think in a comment.