warrior

Pearl in Pulpy Fantasy Armor

Today's printable paper doll celebrates pulpy fantasy armor. She's got long blond hair with redbraids and leather armor, boots and sandals. Free to print in color or black and white.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
One of the quirky thing about creating a long term project like Paper Thin Personas is that I tend to think “Oh, everyone reads every post” and then reality is that most people don’t read every post. I probably shouldn’t worry so much about repeating myself when I write these posts.

So, at the danger of repeating myself, I should say that today’s paper doll is a theme I have done many times before. I do love pulpy improbable fantasy armor.

I get that this armor caters to the “male gaze.” I understand it wouldn’t work to possibly defend yourself. And I know it’s completely illogical, sexualized, and ridiculous.

And I really don’t care- I still like it.

I believe that the best thing you can do when you like something is to draw it, because you like it. No one else has to be pleased or satisfied with my paper dolls, but me.

Well, me and my Patrons, but they’re a pretty supportive lot.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
I watched a lot of Xena: Warrior Princess and I love the old pulp comics like Flash Gordon.

Specific Source Images:Callisto’s Armor from Xena: Warrior Princess

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Paper Doll Armor & More Jewels & Gemstones Paper Dolls
Around the Internet: Women Fighters In Reasonable Armor (aka: Not What This Paper Doll Wears) & My Fantasy Armor Pinterest Board

Last Thoughts
Tomorrow will be the first Archives post featuring fairy paper dolls. It should be super fun. I didn’t realize how many fairies I had drawn over the years.

Over on Patreon there will be an exclusive snow princess paper doll for my Patrons. Join and you can see her, too.

Dabbling in the World of Ninja For the A Pose Ladies

A set of ninja inspired paper doll clothing for the A Pose paper dolls with swords and accessories.

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So, a few weeks ago I made a list of themes I hadn’t drawn for the Dames and Dandies yet and I have been gradually inching my way through the list. Today’s paper doll is one of those themes- the ninja.

I have to admit I do basically no research for this ninja paper doll outfit. Everything I know about ninja I learned watching martial-arts films in college. Most of which were subtitled from Hong Kong and only half of which I actually completely could follow the plot.

I wasn’t as much of a fan of the genre was some dear friends were.

Anyway, the films heavily influenced my ideas of what ninja might wear, though (as mentioned) there’s no historical basis of this interpretation. I also watched a lot of Teenage Mutant  Ninja Turtles as  a child and this probably impacted me in strange ways. 

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Fantasy Warrior’s Pulpy Armor for The A Pose Paper Dolls

A set of fantasy armor of the paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com, because sometimes paper dolls want to be fantasy warrior princesses.

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So, I grew up watching Xena: Warrior Princess. I blame my love this old TV show for my love of totally improbable fantasy and pulpy warrior armor. I do realize that this armor would be completely useless in a fight, but that didn’t mean it doesn’t look cool and wasn’t fun to draw. This is my second set of pulpy armor and I think I should really draw some real plate armor one of these days.

For this armor, I wanted a thematic shape that could hold the whole design together and I chose this very simplified paisley/leaf motif that you’ll see on the belts on her trousers and in the pummels of the weapons. Once I had that shape, I tried to add color and create something that felt like it could be from one of the old Prince Valiant comics. I confess that I ended up thinking there was something a little East Asian in the whole design, but I can’t really explain why it feels that way to me. It certainly wasn’t my intention when I started.

Few things I should mention, I am traveling over the weekend and my life is about a crazy as it can be right now. I am really trying to avoid putting the blog on haitus as I work through the end of the semester and some major work things. So, wish me luck as I juggle flaming swords and/or herd my ducks into a corral. (My ducks are never in rows, but on good days I get them corralled.)

Meanwhile, support the blog through Patreon if you enjoy it.

And I am curious, should I draw some full plate armor for my lady and gent paper dolls? Let me know what you think in a comment.

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

C Pose Gents and Their Fantasy Warrior Attire

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When I first started the Dames and Dandies series, I made a list of some of the things I knew I needed to draw for them. A sort of wish list of sets that I knew I would want, because I try to draw a diverse variety of styles and sets.

One of the things towards the top of the list was to create what I think of as “classic fantasy” attire for all of the poses. To me, classic fantasy is sort of quasi-medieval looks with tunics for men and long gowns for women. Lots of solid colors and boots, maybe a sword or two.

In short, the think of Tolkien inspired stuff that tends to be classic when you imagine fantasy clothing.

There’s an additional color scheme for today’s paper doll on my Patreon page.

Need a a Doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

The Warrior Woman’s Impractical Armor

Pulpy ladies fantasy armor designed for the free printable paper dolls- Dames and Dandies from paperthinpersonas.com.

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All right, so I grew up watching Xena: Warrior Princess and I refuse to apologize for my love of completely pulpy, totally improbable fantasy warrior outfits. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t realize that this armor would be about as useful in a fight as an actual cocktail dress, but it’s never stopped me before.

One of the great joys of paper dolls, if I may get philosophical for a moment, is that they can be anything or anyone. Any character you can imagine, can be created with just a change of clothing. Starting a new series a little daunting after having created works like Marisole Monday & Friends where there are, literally, hundreds of paper dolls. 

Now, I both get the excitement of revisiting themes I always have enjoyed (like my pulpy armor today), but also the overwhelming realization that there’s hundreds of themes I haven’t explored yet- astronaut, circus, pirate, Lolita, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, all of fashion history and, of course, mermaids.

But those will be explored in due course, I suspect. This isn’t going to be the last set of fantasy armor for the Dames and Dandies, though it is the first. 

Meanwhile, is there a theme you’re dying to see? Let me know in a comment. And enjoy today’s pulpy armor.  

Need a Doll to wear today’s outfit? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Bodacious & Buxom Adventuring Outfit

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Pathfinder and Adventuring

A paper doll adventuring outfit with a belted tunic over a shirt, leggings and boots. She also has a sword.

A paper doll adventuring outfit with a belted tunic over a shirt, leggings and boots. She also has a sword.

I play a fair bit of Pathfinder. It’s a d20 based RPG which has so much in common with Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 that people joking refer to it as Dungeons and Dragons 3.75. I started playing when I moved to Alabama, because it was a way to meet new people.

Plus I like spending my evenings killing imaginary monsters (and also sometimes, there’s pie.)

When you start out as a first level character, you get an outfit of clothing. The book is pretty vague on what this clothing actually consists of, but I was thinking about it recently. I always try to decide how my characters dress, because clothing is a physical manifestation of their social and cultural values.

(If you want to see an amazing version of this on screen, watch Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. The costuming is fabulous. The show is super weird and wonderful.)

Today’s paper doll is my version of what a beginning adventurer might wear. This isn’t someone who can really afford a super nice set of armor yet and they’re still kinda just figuring things out. So, we’ve got a tunic with a vest over it, a bit of armor, leggings and boots. There’s no lavish decorations.

There’s also a sword.

I figure any good adventurer probably has some famous sword to carry around, so she’s got one too. Maybe it’s magical?

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday. Next week, there will be a whole week of Mini-Maiden paper dolls.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.

Marisole Monday In Some Leather Armor and an Announcement

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Armor and Things

A printable paper doll with brown hair is a braided style. Her armor is chainmail with leather armor over it. She also has leggings and brown leather boots. Her accessories are an axe, a sword and a knife.

Paper doll Dress. Printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s paper doll is Marisole in some leather armor over some chainmail. I wanted her hair to both be lady-like, but also practical. Every paper doll needs some weapons as well.

But there’s bigger news today than this paper doll, I gotta say.

When I set a goal, I tend to reach it. I don’t stop until I meet my deadlines. When I say there will be five posts a week, than by gosh there are going to be five posts a week. This can be a great trait, but it also means sometimes I need a swift kick in the rear to realize that I have to set realistic goals.

As some of you know, I am starting a graduate program in the fall while also working full time. Originally, I planned to create 60 paper doll posts for August, September and October.

Except I couldn’t do it. Every time I picked up my pencil, I felt intense stress. What if I didn’t make enough paper dolls? What if I failed? What if I let people down somehow?

I want to enjoy my hobby and be realistic about what I can or can not get promise my readers. I can’t keep up the current pace of production, work full time, be in grad school, and have any time for anything else.

The big news is this: The blog will be switching to a three day a week schedule- Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

There maybe an extra post here and there when I feel like it, but no promises. I am contemplating different changes as well, such as doing a Marisole Monday post every Monday, again, but truthfullly I haven’t decided quite yet what exactly the future will look like.

For now, I hope you enjoy today’s paper doll warrior. There will be a new addition to the 1920s Poppet series on Wednesday.

As always, I love to hear from you all in the comments.

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

Mini-Maidens as a Paper Doll Warrior Woman

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Xena: Warrior Princess

A paper doll fantasy armor coloring page with wrist guards and a sword, boots and a knife. The outfit is designed to fit the Mini-Maiden's printable paper doll series.

As you know if you read this blog, I love Xena: Warrior Princess and I am not about to stop loving Xena: Warrior Princess anytime soon.

So, here’s yet another Xena inspired warrior outfit with more exposed skin than common sense dictates.

I realize that there are some Xena-esque outfits in the new Wonder Woman movie (which is a super fun film), but I drew this long before  saw it. I can’t claim any relation between this and that, but I am glad to see a return to absurd armor as a concept.

It’s really very pulpy. I suspect if you really wanted, you could trace a lot of this back to the pulps of the 1930s and 1940s. I am reminded of the Flash Gordon paper dolls I have seen.

And obviously, everyone should want Flash Gordon paper dolls.

I suppose my point is that there is nothing new under the sun and everything is constantly being revamped and recycled.

This recycling is part of why I love collecting reference images on Pinterest as much as I do and why I added the “Inspired By” to the tops of every post. I want people to know that rarely do these thing just “happen”.

I took a poetry class in college. The professor remarked that if you wait around for inspiration to strike, you’ll spend a lot of time waiting and you won’t really spend much of it creating.

In fact, I find I am at my most creative when I already am creating. Sure, everyone needs breaks, but often I find that once I start drawing for one series, other ideas flow much better for me.

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

Bodacious & Buxom Paper Dolls Get to be a Northern Warrior Maiden

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Vikings… Kinda, But Not Really That Much
Wildly impractical Viking inspired armor with an axe and boots for a printable paper doll.

Wildly impractical Viking inspired armor with an axe and boots for a printable paper doll coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com

I am not a big Viking fan-girl. There are people out there who are just obsessed with Vikings and, mostly, I respect that. I’ve done my fair share of Viking research and drawn Viking women’s garments based on that research (read that here). You can check out those historical Viking paper doll outfits over here.

And I am here to say that this paper doll ain’t that. Vikings inspired today’s warrior paper doll outfit to have the same accuracy as a Wagner opera about vikings. In other words, not a whole lot of that.

Rather than accuracy, I wanted to draw fur and fantasy armor. Not practical fantasy armor, but absurd fantasy armor. Made more absurd, because this armor wouldn’t keep you warm in the cold northern climate anyway.

There is fur there, but it is pretty decorative rather than actually practical. Still, I had a bunch of fun drawing it. It was a hoot to create.

I am happy to create things that are just fun and not really realistic or practical.

Want to see more Viking paper doll stuff? There’s a whole category called, “Viking inspired.”

Want to donate and support the blog? Join Patreon! It’s a fun place and the support really helps keep things running around here.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.

A Nurse or Doctor Paper Doll Outfit for the B&B Series

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:A Request from The Steger Family for Community Helper

A nurse or doctor paper doll outfit with teal scrubs and a white lab coat. A free printable paper doll from paperthinpersonas.com in color or black and white.

A nurse or doctor paper doll outfit with scrubs and a lab coat. A free printable paper doll coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com

So, I was asked by one of my Patrons, The Steger Family to create some paper dolls of community helpers like policemen, librarians, firefighters, that sort of thing, I struggled.

Let’s just say my attempt at a police women ended up looking like a stripper, rather than an actual member of the police force.

So, I tabled it for a while.

When I came back, I thought I would try something like scrubs to create a nurse or doctor paper doll. One of my friends here in Birmingham is a nurse and I’ve always really respected women in the medical field. I don’t know if this is really a doctor paper doll outfit or a nurse paper doll outfit, but I tend to think it could go either way.

The hardest part was drawing the stethoscope. Not a tool I draw that often, I must say.

I made the scrubs the same color as one’s I’ve seen the local hospital, but I have no idea how scrubs work. Are they like a uniform? Do people have to wear certain colors? Do certain colors mean different things?

Someone in the medical field should let me know in a comment. I have no clue.

Either way, here’s either a Doctor or a Nurse paper doll outfit for the B&B series to help out their community.

While it might be a while before I tackle a police woman printable paper doll outfit again, I might try a firefighter. I have no idea what firefighters wear, but that’ll be some research.

And I know some of my readers have been wanting a librarian paper doll for a while.

Want to support the blog? Join Patreon! It’s a fun place and I really do listen to my Patrons requests.

Alternatively, follow the blog through Facebook and/or spread the word on social media.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.