I did my first version of Batari back in August, so I am happy to get to post a second version. This version of Batari has lots of shoes (a super important paper doll garment, because they are the least versatile) and a short hair style. Both of the first two Bartari versions had longer hair, so I wanted to do one with short hair.
As I mentioned before, Batari is an Indonesian name that means Goddess. It was voted on by my Patrons. I like to give them the opportunity to choose paper doll names whenever I can.
(Sometimes, I have a name in mind.)
So, some may remember that I was drawing a paper doll for Inktober. My goal was to draw ten paper doll outfits over the course of the month and post them on Instagram. It was a rough month, but I managed to get all ten done. You can see them over at the #ptpinktober2018
If you want to help keep the blog up on the internet and see more behind the scenes stuff, think of becoming a Patron. Also, you get to vote on things there.
Doing Friday’s round up made me feel a little guilty. The poor C Pose guys just haven’t gotten as much love as the others. A big thank you to Nicole who kindly gave me a suggestion for some ancient Greek inspired attire for them. This is clearly not that, but I do like the idea and I think I will begin exploring it.
This is, instead, Carlos getting some generic medieval fantasy attire that fits right in with this outfit and this outfit.
I was never 100% keen on my first version of Carlos. Something about his chin kinda bothered me… so for my second version, I solved the problem by giving him a beard. Confession- I love beards. (Within reason, there’s a critical line between a well groomed beard and a mess that is gross.)
Color scheme wise, I really wanted to avoid colors I’ve used before, so I went with this sort of sharp olive green and dusty blue thing. I actually really like these colors in general and I think they look especially nice with Carlos’ skin tone.
Of course, there’s always the black and white version you can color anyway you like.
Meanwhile, if you love the blog and want to support PTP, I do have a Patreon page for donations.
Today’s paper dolls are a double set of Benedita paper dolls, part of the series of sets I created with two dolls each.
I struggle with setting limits. I am the kind of person who doesn’t bake one cookie recipe when I feel like baking cookies. I make two or three. And while my coworkers appreciate my baking spasms, it occasionally creates problems in my creative life.
So, when I started the Dames and Dandies I knew from the start that I needed to set a few limits or would I end up completely overwhelmed. One of those limits was to start with four dolls of four different skin-tones in each pose. Another limit was to start with just three poses.
I regret the second one occasionally, because I think- what if I had a curvy set of poses or a taller or shorter set of poses or a pose in a wheel chair or…
You see how these things spiral for me very quickly. Paper doll diversity is super important to me in both theme, skin-tone and body shape, but I am a one woman show.
Anyway, the Double-Sets like today’s two Benedita paper dolls were a way of tackling a problem I knew existed. I wanted there to be more versions of each paper doll and I wanted them quickly. So, by fitting two dolls onto each page I could get to a more robust collection of options a bit quicker than if I did one doll per page. Plus, I didn’t have to come up with themes beyond different hair styles.
With Benedita, I wanted to do hair styles and colors I hadn’t used for her before. So, I did a lighter brown bob and blond waves. She also has two different eye colors, but it’s so subtle that I don’t think anyone can tell.
I have more double set to share, so fear not the rest of the dames will get their versions.
I’ve always preferred clothing to dolls. So, I would rather have a smaller number of dolls and lots of clothing options. It occurs to me that you all might not feel the same, so let me know in a comment. Do you prefer lots of dolls or lots of clothing?
And, of course, if you like the blog than follow it on Instagram or Facebook and consider becoming a Patron.
Today’s version of Benedita, my Latina paper doll, has a formal hair style and an evening gown inspired by a design from Marchesa. Marchesa’s designs are usually elaborate and romantic. I simplified the gown a bit, bit kept the intense lime green color. Some of Marchesa’s stuff is a little too embellished for my taste, but I loved the drape of this gown.
I went back and forth on the shoes, but ended up deciding that one pair of black shoes and one pair of white shoes would be the most versatile for future designs. I try to think about what increases the play-ability of a set. Plus all of the Benedita dolls will have the same skintone, so Benedita 2 here can share shoes with Benedita 1.
Eventually, there will be a Benedita 3 (she’s already in progress and going to be a 1930s historical version).
Really what I wanted with version 2 of Benedita was to have a dramatically different doll than I created in version 1 of Benedita.
I have no idea how convoluted this will get when I’m at like Benedita 12 or something, but I’m up for it.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a super great weekend. This has been a crazy busy week, but I am hoping for a quiet weekend of drawing paper dolls. Frankly, I’m kinda out of content, so I really do need to get some things done. However, the things in progress are pretty cool (I think) and feature a lot of historical content.
When I first started this whole new Dames and Dandies series, I knew I wanted to create at least two paper dolls for each of the poses. The C Pose gents were the hardest to work with, because I struggle with drawing men. Men and I… well, I’m getting better, but they remain not my strong suit.
Today’s guy paper doll is Carlos. Like all the “dandies” Carlos is in the C Pose and can wear any of the clothing drawn for that pose.
The name Carlos is, of course, the Spanish version of the name Charles. It’s pretty common, just as the name Charles is pretty common in English. I’ve known several different people named Carlos over the years and I’ve always liked the name.
Did I mention that I have more C Pose content than any of the other poses at the moment? I think having more guy stuff done than girl stuff might be a first for me. I literally can’t ever remember it happening except now. It’s a very strange feeling.
So, as a result there will be another C Pose post this Friday. It’s a super cool Regency/Steampunk suit that I am totally in love with and if it was real, I would wear it.
Meet Benedita! The second of the B Pose paper dolls.
I knew from the start that Beatrix was going to be named Beatrix. She just looked like a Beatrix to me. And then I had to decide what to name the second B Pose paper doll which wasn’t easy. I knew I was going to give her another B name, but I had trouble picking one.
Finally I settled Benedita, because I’d already decided that she was a Latina paper doll. Why had I decided this? Because I thought it was important to start the new series with a variety of different skin-tones and ethnicities. Plus it allowed me to name her Benedita and make a Much Ado About Nothing connection.
Benedita is a Portuguese feminine form of Benedict, meaning blessed. It’s also, apparently, a popular name in Brazil.
Benedict (or Benedick) is also the name of the male lead in Much Ado About Nothing. My first B pose paper doll was named Beatrix (as you may recall) and that is the name of the female lead in Much Ado About Nothing. So, clearly, I had to name the second paper doll after the male lead in the play.
Slightly convoluted, yes, but my mind words in strange ways sometimes.
I was super sick last week with… well, the Doctor wasn’t sure. The flu test was negative, but whatever it was knocked me flat on my back for the whole week. I’m slowly recovering. I hate being sick.
Assuming I get everything done, there will be a new A pose doll named Akiko on Wednesday and then on Friday, the 2018 Paper Doll Collaboration gets to debut. Let me know what you think of Benedita in a comment or anything else you’d like to share.
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â Um… India, I guess?
Happy Day before Thanksgiving everyone! I think I warned people on Facebook that I wasn’t going to have anything holiday related this year. I always swear I am going to get something done for all the holidays and then, inevitably, I forget until the last minute.
Good intentions and all that.
Anyway, instead of something holiday related, I have Kamala, a new Ms. Mannequin paper doll. Kamala is East Indian, I think, and her name means “lotus” or “pale red” in Sanskrit. It can both be a feminne or a masculine name. It’s also one of the names of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Lakshimi is the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.
I confess that I don’t know much about the Hindu religion, but it is my understanding that Lakshimi is one of the major gods.
Kamala shares a skintone with Sunitha and Aishwarya which gives her four other shoe options. And who doesn’t want more shoe options?
Personally, I really like Kamala’s up do and it makes me think of some of the evening gowns I have drawn of these paper dolls. I’d put her in this dress, this dress and this dress. Probably also this dress, though it is more fantasy than the others.
Tomorrow there will be the November installment of the 2017 paper doll collab. We had to create a paper doll based on a personal hero. My choice will probably surprise some people, though not those who know me well.
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â Skinny Jeans for Boys
So, you might be thinking, “Hey… Wait a second, this is Tuesday? What is going on?”
And you are right! It is Tuesday and I don’t usually publish a post on Tuesday, but I didn’t want to make people wait an extra day for VÃctor here. He’s the companion to Yumiko’s sundress on Monday.
VÃctor’s not gotten much paper doll love this year. He’s not had a new paper doll set since 2016 and that was when he was busy being the Mad Hatter. I tend to pick Sprites based on “which one haven’t I done in a while?” which isn’t the most scientific method, but there you go.
Designing contemporary men’s clothing can be very challenging for me. Since I work on a college campus, I try to notice what the students are wearing. Despite subscribing to several fashion magazines, nothing beats seeing fashion in the wild. One thing I have noticed lately is the skinny jeans are being worn by the guys as well as the ladies.
So, when I was deciding what I wanted to create modern paper doll fashions for VÃctor, my Latino Sprite gent, I knew I wanted to include skinny jeans. I’ve also noticed that colored jeans are being worn by guys, though mostly just greys and browns.
I did see purple ones for sale, but I suspect purple jeans for college boys are an outlier.
I chose the grey and yellow color scheme as a companion for Yumiko’s purple and yellow dress. I wanted it to coordinate, but not really match.
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â The Challenge of Olive SkintoneÂ
I’ve written before about some of the challenges of paper doll skin-tones. It’s important to me that their be a variety of paper doll skin-tones. I also think it’s important that there not be too much variety, because if there is than it’s hard to share shoes among the dolls.
So, I wanted to do an olive skin-tone and that was how this paper doll’s skin-tone began. Once I had it created, I realized that it was really only one hex off from the skin-tone I created for Stella and Chloe.
At that point, I was like- Why not just use their skin-tone? There’s no difference once this prints, because printers just aren’t that precise. And I couldn’t even see a difference.
And so, Nikola can share her shoes with both Stella and Chloe and they can share shoes with her.
Nikola is a feminine form of Nicholas from countries including the Czech republic, Poland and Germany. I’m half Czech, so I thought it would be fun to give her a Czech name.
I gave Nikola blue eyes, because my sister has olive skin and blue eyes. It’s not a very common combination, but I’ve been told it’s more common in Eastern Europe than you see it in the US. I’ve never been (but I so badly want to go to Prague), but someday I will.
Tomorrow, there’s a curvy fantasy gown and then on Monday… I actually have no idea. I should sort that out. 🙂
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â Rapunzel
The Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme series continues today with a Rapunzel paper doll. Certain fairy tales need a doll to really share them. After all, Rapunzel is only Rapunzel if she has super long hair.
After some technical debate about how to mange the super long hair, I decided to make the braid a separate piece, so that it could be pasted to the back of the head. That way you an easily slip the tabs around the paper doll’s body.
One of the challenges of depicting fairy tales is the overwhelming presence of Disney. If you search for images of Rapunzel, the images from the Disney film Tangled overwhelm all other depictions.
The last thing I wanted to do was copy Disney and I don’t really like their version of Rapunzel, so I decided there was going to be no pink in my version.
My Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes board on Pinterest to see the non-Disney related images I used to inspire my version of Rapunzel.
The Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme series contains a lot more storybook characters. There’s currently six paper dolls and outfits in the series, but I have a few more waiting in the wings.
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â Â GoateesÂ
As anyone whose been following this blog for a while knows, I have mixed feelings about men’s clothing and male paper dolls in general. I am trying to learn to embrace the things that male paper dolls have that lady paper dolls don’t have.
One of those things is facial hair. So, today I am experimenting with facial hair by giving Xavier this dashing goatee.
Beyond that I feel like this is a kinda uninspired set of men’s fantasy clothing. There’s nothing wrong with any of it. Each piece is fine, but I don’t see it and think, “Wow, that was creative.”
Of course, I have to remind myself that not every paper doll has to be perfect. Perfect, I often say, is the enemy of Good.
Frankly, my favorite part of today’s paper doll is the sword. I think that came out pretty well.
If you want to give Xavier some other fantasy clothing I think this set or this set would look pretty cool.
Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Â Â 12 Century Clothing Like BliautsÂ
I had originally intended for this to be the first Teresa doll, but I decided I’d done a lot of fantasy stuff so I wanted to change of pace.
As some of you know, the Sprites are a later adaption of a series of paper dolls called the Pixie & Puck. I created a Pixie in 2013 named Phillipa with a similar hairstyle to this one. Pixie dolls and Sprites can’t share clothing, just FYI.
Today’s Teresa paper doll owes something to the 12th century. Her dress is a fantasy version of a bliaut. What, you might ask, is a bliaut?
Well, when you picture medieval dresses with those crazy long bell-sleeves that drape to the floor? That’s a bliaut. It’s a style the seems to have been born in France and spread to England after the Norman invasion in 1066.
Of course, today’s dress isn’t a historically accurate bliaut. I won’t call anything historical unless I can point you all to my detailed sources, but it is a bliaut inspired look. Her hair is also a nod to the 12th century when super long braids were very much in vogue.
The two pairs of shoes were my attempt at fairly flexible fantasy shoes, so she could wear them with a variety of the fantasy outfits I’ve created for the Sprites thus far, personally I think she’d look nice in this one or this one.
Tomorrow, there will be a Xavier paper doll with some medieval fantasy inspired clothing as well.
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