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fantasy
Unlock with PatreonSpring Princess Gowns for Jade
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Sure, there’s still like feet of snow on the ground here and sure yesterday the high was under freezing at 29 degrees, but it is spring darn it! (Signs of spring include a longer day, muddy streets, and trees that are starting to bloom.) It’s just been a much colder spring than usual, but I would rather have a long slow slide into break up than a rapid one, so I’ll take it.
I will also complain loudly about it.
I can have contradictions in my life.
All righty, so let’s talk paper dolls. Back in 2019 or 2020 or something, I started drawing some very fancy big-skirted princess gowns that I called the Princesses and Their Gowns collection. Not really because I thought it would be a big collection, but because all the gowns used the same basic color scheme and style, so I figured it would be simple enough to group them together.
All of last years additions to the collection ended up being Patreon content, so I knew I wanted to add some more for this year and make them blog content.
I chose daffodils to decorate these gowns, because my mother always planted them and they were a favorite flower of mine. I remember my mother would always order her bulbs in the fall and sometimes they wouldn’t arrive until after the ground was frozen and, not about to let that stop her, she’d go out with boiling water and spade to plant them anyway. They always came up, one way or another.
My other favorite flower is peonies which has nothing to do with this paper doll set, but are gown up here and are just amazing in a few weeks when the farmers’ market reopens.
So, do you have a favorite flower? Let me know in a comment!
DDJ: A Medieval Inspired Set of Fantasy Gowns
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So, I tend to categorize my fantasy paper dolls in my head based on the time periods that inspired them. This paper doll is vaguely medieval while last year I did a Renaissance inspired Twilight paper doll set. Evening is my newest member of the Dolls Du Jour family who I created because I wanted a more medium-brown skin-tone.
Evening has two dresses which in my head are a Winter Dress and a Summer Dress, though I suppose they could be anything you might want them to be. I had particular fun with this color scheme that I wanted to feel soft and muted, but also rich. I am of the Lord of the Rings Movies generation, so those costume designs have long impacted the way I have thought about fantasy gowns for paper dolls.
Evening, like all the Dolls Du Jour, was named with the help of my Patrons. So, as always a big thank you to those folks without whom this site would be a lot less fun. Also, tomorrow is a newsletter day, so sign up here if you want to get that sent straight to your inbox.
DDJ: It is Pirate Paper Doll Time!
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Happy March!
There are paper doll themes I think I’ve done a lot of- like pirates-, but then when I actually go through my own archives I realize- I really haven’t done that very many pirate paper doll sets. (I have a similar relationship with fairy paper dolls.)
The problem, I suspect, is that I don’t feel like there are that many ways to draw a pirate. So, I guess that’s a factor. I should expand more into space pirates or steampunk pirates or… I dunno… Need to think on it.
Anyway, one of the things I am doing over on Patreon is working on my goals for 2022. One of those goals is more Dolls Du Jour, I was slightly embarrassed to realize I only did 4 last year. Plus, they were nearly all based on things I actually drew in 2020. (This isn’t super uncommon. Some things sit on my computer a long time before I finish them, because I am fickle and have more ideas than time.)
So, anyway, one goal is more Dolls Du Jour. I have been finishing up my Goals post. The hope is to get that up later this week, so it’ll be “Official”. I like having all that sort of thing in one place, because I will refer to it later. I know I will.
More and more over the last few years, I havecome to think of the blog as a long form sort of art project. I like having most things here, because I know I own this space. No algorithm can interfere with what I’ve built here.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to support the blog, then there’s a way to do over on Patreon. My Patreon projects for this year is a gothic/steampunk fantasy thing for Vivian and a set of Antique Doll paper dolls. I’m super excited about both.
Pearl as a Pulpy Fantasy Warrior
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Yes, I did watch a lot of Xena: Warrior Princess at a young impressionable age, why do you ask?
Seriously though, I get the whole idea of the male-gaze and I get the whole idea that this sort of armor isn’t practical and I understand that there’s a lot of patriarchal sexist BS wrapped up in the whole “women warriors must be sexy” concept. I get it. I really do.
And yet, I just like drawing sexy pulpy armor. It is important to acknowledge the problems of the patriarchy, but still like what you like. And lord knows I’ve done by fair share of non-pulpy armor over the years (here and here and here and here and here and here and…. I could go on.)
Meanwhile, this set began with my first ever Pearl paper doll from 2019 which was inspired by Callisto’s Armor from Xena: Warrior Princess. I really liked that armor when I used to watch that show as a kid, but now I look at it and I think- Wow, it’s so short! I can’t imagine it was comfortable for the actress, but I digress. I tried to use the elements from the original paper doll set to design the additional pieces so that it would feel like a cohesive piece.
Next week there will be a round-up of all the 2021 Jewels and Gemstones paper dolls (and yes, I know it is 2022 already but I drew all these in 2021). And then I am taking a few weeks off to continue resting and recovering from some surgery (in case you are wondering, almost everything I’ve posted here and on social media was pre-scheduled, because the internet is like that). I hope to be back in time for Valentine’s Day (as you know, I love Valentine’s Day) and with some new paper doll content. We’ll see!
Lapis the Swashbuckler and Adventurer Paper Doll
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Okay, so here’s a wild thing I learned when looking up where the term Swashbuckler came from. The term originates back in the 1550s and meant something like “blustering, swaggering fighting man.” I find that so fascinating, because I’ve always associated the term with Errol Flynn and other sort of pirate films of the 1950s. So, I assumed it was a more modern term. Who knew?
Anyway, Wikipedia describes it as adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordplay, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. Sounds about right. I do love me a good fun adventure movie with sword fights.
Yes, I watched too much Highlander in the 1990s.
Anyway, I really wanted to diverge from my usual fantasy gown looks into something a little more adventurer, though let’s be clear- it isn’t any more practical. Practical fantasy clothing sort of seems to defeat the whole point, I think.
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Topaz- A Fairy Paper Doll in Layers & Flowers
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One of the nice things about working with the Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 collection is when I feel a little stumped or frustrated, I have a back log of older Jewels and Gemstones stuff to refer to and build on. This set, for example, came from a Topaz as a Woodland Fairy set combined with a Fairy Wings and Gown set. I added a few things, removed a few things and then recolored everything to feel cohesive. This is actually the first of two fairy sets I have been working on.
While I recommend gluing the fairy wings to the doll for sturdiness, you could also use adhesive Velcro (or hook and loop tape if we’re being more general) dots and apply on to the back of the doll (or maybe two, depending on size) and then one or two to the wings and that would give you a way to have removable wings. I would add that not all adhesive velcro is paper friendly (some is specifically designed for fabric), so I would double check that.
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A Fantasy Paper Doll: Lady of the Tower
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In my head, this paper doll belongs in the same fantasy world as Diamond as an elven archer. I think all of these dresses share a lot of design elements and feel coherent- there’s high collars and flared sleeves on all of them. A big influence on this set of paper doll fantasy gowns are my desire to experiment with pattern which is not something I do on my fantasy gowns as much as I would like. I tend to do a lot more trims (like on this Pearl fantasy set or this Norse influenced set with Topaz). Not to say I have never done all over pattern, just that it is rarer.
Color scheme wise, I wanted to use colors I think I don’t tend to gravitate too as much as I tend to gravitate to warm pinks and colors. So, I used teal (which I do love) and paired it with purple and yellow. It’s a pretty close to the classic split complimentary color scheme, though not quite perfectly spaced I don’t think. Not that I am too worried about perfectly splitting my color schemes along the color wheel, but I do think about color schemes carefully.
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Beautiful Fantasy Gowns for Paper Dolls with Pearl
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I always struggle to name these fantasy paper doll sets, but I do like naming each set. It’s useful to have names, because then I can refer to them later. I threaten to just number things occasionally, but I think that would annoy me in the long term. I used to number sets way back in the day. That was when I thought of this project as more of a web comic model than I do now.
I did create today’s printable paper doll with two different color schemes for my patrons over on Patreon. If you’re a patron, check those out here.
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Crocus inspired Princess Gowns with Jade
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Ruby’s Summer Princess Gowns
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I hope you all enjoy this fun foray into princess gowns. In 2021, my plan is to do monthly rather than weekly updates for all my Patreon folks (thank you for all being amazing) and try to them in the first week of the month. We’ll all see how that plan works out together. It’ll be fun!
I chose to draw blue poppies on the ball gown, because I love blue poppies. They grow up in Alaska where I grew up and my mother always had some in her garden. Whenever I see them, they make me smile.
They are, I’ve been told, pretty rare outside the colder temps we get up here. Ruby’s other gown is more of a “day” sort of dress I imagine. Of course, these are part of the Princesses and Their Gowns Collection which has been steadily updating for a long time.
DDJ: A Renaissance Fantasy Princess Printable & Her Gowns
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Maybe because I saw Ever After at a young age, but I have a deep affection for Italian Renaissance inspired gowns and these are a few of them. Fantasy paper dolls rival historical paper dolls as some of my favorites to draw. This set of printable fantasy paper dolls is from my Dolls Du Jour series, lovingly known as DDJ. Named by a Patron (thank you!) these paper dolls are part of my goal to make some more curvy paper doll ladies. Each doll is named after a time or day, so this is Twilight.
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