medium-brown skin Archives • Page 6 of 12 • Paper Thin Personas

B&B: A Curvy Black Princess & Her Amazing Boots

May 28, 2020November 7, 2016

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pageant Hair, The Toddler Paper Dolls of Paper Doll School, A Pixie Set Called Dionsia, and Boots Made for Walkin’.

Can I confess that my favorite part of today’s curvy paper doll to print are those amazing boots? I want them. I don’t know where I would ever wear them, but I would find a way.

For a while, Julie of Paper Doll School was making Toddler Paper Dolls inspired by some of her older paper doll sets. Like this toddler paper doll set named Riley is based on an older set named Ruby. I thought this was a really cool idea, but wasn’t sure how to develop it my way.

On occasion readers have asked if I could redraw something from one paper doll series for a different series. I’ve always said no. Drawing the exact same outfit again sounded boring. But watching Julie’s process, I was inspired to look back at my own work and see what ideas were sparked.

So, today’s curvy paper doll to print from the B&B series is based on a Pixie paper doll named Dionsia. The paper dolls share a color scheme and Dionsia’s clothing inspired both today’s gown and tomorrow’s gown- both for my curvy B&B paper doll series.

If you love the blog, than think about supporting it by becoming a Patron. There’s perks like a unique paper doll series and behind the scenes images. If you’re not up for that, consider following the blog on Twitter and/or telling a friend about it.

Tomorrow, there will be another fantasy gown inspired by the Dionsia paper doll set and owls.

Love the paper doll? Hate the paper doll? Just wanna tell me something? Leave a comment!

Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Monica as a Hummingbird

May 28, 2020November 3, 2016

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, Chokers, and Yellow Hibiscus Flowers

This was the only dress I based on a specific bird subspecies. I knew I wanted to so the Red Throated Hummingbird from the start. Hummingbirds come in so many color combinations, I really felt like I had to pick just one to focus on with this paper doll masquerade gown modeled by the wonderful Monica.

Of course, the choker is red to match the red throat of the hummingbird. The flowers decorating the wig and the gown are yellow hibiscus which are a hummingbird friendly flower. If my Raven masquerade gown was a gothic fantasy, than this gown is much more romantic and soft.

I have some wig instructions if you’re not sure how to make the pocket by pasting on the backing piece. Read them here.

If you like the blog, please think about supporting it on Patreon and/or following it on Twitter-@paperpersonas.

Tomorrow will be the last bird masquerade gown- a gown based on the Loon.

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

Bodacious & Buxom: A Curvy Fantasy Paper Doll & Her Nightgown

May 28, 2020September 19, 2016

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Our theme this week is fantasy gowns and this is the first Bodacious & Buxom set of paper dolls to be posted in the new format! Exciting, no? (Okay, maybe just for me.)

A few things, every dress this week was colored based on the color scheme of an older paper doll set which I thought was kinda a cool idea. Plus it saved me from having to come up with color schemes all my own. See? Saved by my own laziness.

That’ll start tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our curvy fantasy paper doll has a nightgown, because every girl needs a nightgown. My only big regret with this paper doll is her hair. I had planned on a big, over the top, fantasy hair style, but then I thought it didn’t go with the dresses and I think I redrew her hair about six times before finally saying, “Good Riddance!”

And just making it long and simple.

If you’re thinking, her hair is boring, I want a different model… I’ve set up a Dolls category and a Clothing category for the Bodacious and Buxom paper dolls and I am currently working on populating those categories for the other paper doll series. So, you can find all the dolls and all the clothing.

Meanwhile, please feel free to follow the blog on Twitter @paperpersonas. And if you love it, support it through Patreon. Patrons get early previews, extra outfits and to listen to me ramble about process.

And who doesn’t want to listen to me ramble about that?

Patron or not, I hope you enjoy today’s paper doll and her dresses this week.

Marisole’s Fresh Summer Fashions: Jumpsuit & White Shorts

December 6, 2020September 12, 2016

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Originally, back when I was making plans, I hadn’t planned on doing two contemporary fashion sets in a row. I thought I would do something else between, but then I ended up needing to move and life has away of laughing at our best laid plans.

So, here I am posting two contemporary fashion printable paper doll sets in a row, but they couldn’t be more different. Last week, I forayed into Hip-Hop paper doll fashion. This week we are sticking with what I am far more comfortable with, summer fashions from the fashion magazines like In-Style and Vogue.

This week, our paper doll model is Marisole. As some of you probably remember, Marisole is the first of the Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper dolls and she leads our charge. Today, she has a strapless jumpsuit and a pair of white shorts. I swear later on there will be top options to go with her shorts.

This week’s theme is fresh summer fashions- expect a lot of whimsical prints including lemons and flamingos, plus sundresses and cropped tops.

And of course, there’s Patreon if you want to help support the blog, plus PTP is on twitter- @paperpersonas. Twitter is a great way to ask me questions, because I tend to answer them faster than comments.

Ursula & Zachary Under the Sea: Mermaid Paper Dolls (Tails to Come!)

May 28, 2020August 1, 2016

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I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Mermaid paper dolls? Where are the tails?”

So, yeah, there are no tails. This wasn’t my original plan.

My original plan was to have Zachary with a tail on Monday and Ursula with a tail on Tuesday. Then to post joint outfits for them on the following days. I thought this was a great plan, until I realized I could not fit the tail and the Zachary paper doll on the same page together. It simply did not fit.

And to think my layout problems were a thing of the past? Sigh.

So, instead we get two paper dolls and a promise of tails tomorrow. I swear these are mermaids. They’re just tailless mermaids.

Reminder that the black and white versions are linked up at the top of the post, if anyone is looking for it.

Anyway, Zachary and Ursula are both from the Sprites series which I introduced WAY back in January. As some of you may recall, I have been naming the Sprite faces in reverse alphabetical and I had gotten to the letter U, so Ursula it was.

I realized later that making the first Ursula paper doll a mermaid does bring up connotations of Disney’s A Little Mermaid, but that wasn’t my intention. I named the paper doll LONG before I picked out a theme and I could have started with a modern set, but mermaids were more fun. Her hair was inspired by this pin of a woman with teal hair on Pinterest.

Lastly, you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon. If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve moved them over to @paperpersonas.

Monica’s Neo-Victorian Wardrobe: The Doll & Her Visiting or Promenade Toilette

May 28, 2020July 18, 2016

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So, here we are in week two of the new system for PTP. It’s very exciting. I am feeling excited. Also a little nervous, I must confess.

Monica is our model today. She is, of course, from the Marisole Monday & Friend’s series. This whole week will be a neo-Victorian/Steampunk inspired week with hats, skirts and jackets. As I know I’ve said before, I have a THING for the whole idea of different outfits for different activities. When I’m in Victorian fantasy land, I like to decide which outfit goes with which Victorian activity.

A lady of quality in the Victorian era had a variety of gowns at different levels of formality. At one end of the scale was the house dress or morning dress and at the other end of the scale was a ballgown or full-dress.

Monica’s suit today is a promenade costume, I think. To channel my inner-19th century fashion magazine (everyone should have an inner 19th century fashion magazine), here how I would describe it:

A promenade or afternoon visiting costume in purple wool with a matching jacket. Underneath the jacket, the model wears a lavender shirtwaist. The jacket is trimmed in pale teal and aqua velvet and satin. A wide band of lavender satin decorates the skirt and then several rows of aqua ruffles. The chapeau is dyed to match the suit and trimmed in rosettes of aqua silk, feathers and brass buttons. The entire ensemble is quite smart for street or afternoon wear.

Sometimes I am conflicted as to whether I like the term Neo-Victorian or the term Steampunk better. The truth is that I think this set is more Neo-Victorian in its styling. One of the tropes of Steampunk is high technology made through steam-power and there’s none of those aesthetics in this paper doll. However, no matter how I feel about it, I confess that the SEO for steampunk is far better than the SEO for neo-Victorian.

Thoughts from the audience on that one?

Oh, and a few “housekeeping” things. The link to the coloring page version of today’s paper doll is at the top with the links to the PDF. As always, I strongly urge you to print from the PDF copy and to print it however you have been printing them from the beginning. That will assure that the new stuff and the old stuff still fits.

Last but not least, please consider taking a second to support the blog by becoming a patron.

Suits for the Paper Doll Guys in Color

May 28, 2020February 22, 2016

It’s Monday! (I don’t feel nearly as excited about this as an exclamation point would suggest.)

Today, last week’s set of suits for my man paper dolls (specifically Marcus 2.0) get to rock some fun colors, okay, maybe not fun, exactly.

When it comes to color, modern men really don’t get a lot of options. Beyond a short stint in the 1960s and 1970s when a guy could show up in a red or purple suit, in the 20th century, men’s clothing is pretty much neutrals all around. So, today’s man paper doll got some rather simple navy and grey men’s suits.

It might not be the most “exciting” color choices, but they are wonderfully versatile if you find yourself unsure about what sort of suiting would be best.

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There’s something very dashing to me about a man in a well cut suit. I don’t know what it is, but I love suits on men. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong era for men’s clothing. Hoodies and jeans are just so boring.

If you missed these paper doll suits in black and white for coloring, they’re over here. Also, if you’re unsure who Marcus 2.0 is, I’ve got a lovely guide to all that which I wrote last week after a reader request, proving that I do read comments and, sometimes, actually do what people ask.

I do sorta wish I drew some other hair for Marcus 2.0 here, but I just feel like men’s hair isn’t that exciting. It’s not unlike a lot of men’s clothing. How many ways can you style three inch hair? I mean, really. I’m sure there are nuances I don’t get. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Thoughts? Comments? Other men’s clothing you’d like to see? Drop me a note in the comments.

Summer Garden: A Paper Doll and Her Clothing

May 28, 2020February 8, 2016

I love color. I have teal dining room chairs, after all and a red cabinet in my dining room that holds my larger serving dishes. My favorite sweater is lime green and very fuzzy. I call it the Mountain Dew sweater. The point I am trying to make is that if I have the choice between neutrals and a color- you can pretty much count on me picking out a color. And this helps explain why I decided to go so bright and rich with Marisole’s paper doll clothing.

Someone, I think it was Boots, remarked that she was picturing a lot of yellow and green. Well, she wasn’t wrong… Yellow and Green are definitely here. I wanted color in this paper doll set- the sort of vibrant colors I love in flowers when they are in full bloom. Of course, right now it’s cold and damp here in Alabama, but eventually it won’t be and then the bright colors of spring and summer with come.

And I can complain about the heat on this blog, thereby continuing my theme of never being happy about the weather. (Though I suppose this isn’t true, I do enjoy Spring in Alabama.)

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One of my grand frustrations with Marisole’s pose is that you can’t actually layer a long sleeved top under a skirt and expect the skirt to stay on the doll, because of her right arm which is against her stomach. This is one of the annoyances that occurs to me when I am designing mix and match paper doll clothing for her and I want to do things that just won’t work.

I’d scrap the series and redraw, but it is uber hard to give up something that I’ve been doing for six years. There are about 240 Marisole Monday & Friend’s posts on the blog. It is my most popular series and so I feel a little bound to it. It’s also a tiny bit weird to be working on something I drew over six years ago. I remember drawing the first Marisole doll. I was in grad school sitting in the library killing time between class and when I had to go to work.

And now I live in a totally different state and she’s still around. Kinda crazy, honestly.

(Don’t fear, I don’t plan on getting rid of Marisole Monday & Friend‘s anytime soon. Just thoughts about the paper doll series.)

As always, I love hearing comments from readers and, if you want to support the blog, here’s the Patreon page for it.

And Happy New Year to those celebrating the Year of the Monkey!

Tea & Ruching: A Fantasy Princess Paper Doll

January 31, 2016January 11, 2016

As I mentioned when I posted the black and white version of this princess paper doll last week, rarely can I look back and share several stages of paper doll creation. From the sketchbook stage to the coloring stage. There’s a sort of allusion that I think is common in blogging. It’s always presented as current, as immediate.

Sort of the “I just threw together this perfect brunch for my family on Tuesday and I wanted to share it with you all” idea. The truth is that while sometimes I work against the wire- barely have the paper doll done before I post it- I think most people understand that generally there’s a long wait between idea, rough sketches, final sketches and posted paper doll.

So, as you all probably know, I love drawing princess paper dolls. It’s an excuse to let out my girly side and create fluffy over the top dresses around whatever themes strike my fancy. For this princess set, I wanted to use some of the motifs and styles of African wax print fabrics.

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Originally, I have conceived of a pink, green and purple color scheme, but it really didn’t work in practice. So, back on Pinterest, I selected this wax print fabric to be my basis for my colors. The orange, red, blues and yellow color scheme seemed like a lovely change of pace from the pinks and purples that are generally associated with princess paper dolls. Plus the white really lightened up the outfit.

I’ve decided her white shoes are a sign of wealth, because can you imagine trying to keep white shoes white? I mean, I don’t own any for that exact reason.

Now, if you’re thinking, but she needs more clothes… Than I recommend considering borrowing gowns from the Yellow Princess, Rose Ballgowns or Garden Ballgowns. All those sets share the big-skirted look of today’s princess paper doll.

Thoughts on today’s princess paper doll? Feel free to leave a comment. Also, on Friday, there will be Elves!

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.

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