Meet Grace, the second in my new paper doll series!

Click for larger version with gown (PNG); click for PDF version with gown. Click for larger version without gown (PNG); click for PDF version without gown.

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get another doll up. I’ve had this dress drawn for months, waiting for a doll to go with it — it’s that making a doll part that’s the problem! Grace here was actually made from my upcoming system that will eventually allow people to create their own dolls, but that’s not ready yet, so one doll will have to suffice for now. I think she turned out pretty well, so consider her a test of the system and let me know what you think! I named her Grace because it’s a name I’ve always thought was pretty, but it’s not one I can saddle any of my hypothetical daughters with, because any child born to me and my husband is bound to be woefully clumsy.

I’m wondering what you all think of putting the thumbnail clothes on the doll, now you’ve seen it a couple of times? Should I keep doing it? Take the poll, please!


1885 Black and White Ballgown for Coloring, plus Purple and Green Princess Gown

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

I know, I know, AWOL again. I do really well when I get on a roll, and then I get off that roll and start rolling on something else. Yeah, I know… sad, huh.

Well, anyways! This gown is vaguely based on a couple of images of 1885 evening gowns that I have. I really like late 1800s evening gowns, although I’m really a big fan of the gowns of the 1800s in general… Although I don’t think the skirt is draped quite right I do think it turned out cute, and it sure is fussy, so here I put it up for hours of coloring fun, possibly even days if you really bother with every little rose and bit of lace. I really like coloring, and I will admit it is easier sometimes if I already have the outline done like with these – I don’t know how some of my kindred paperdoll blogging spirits can always work in black and white. I just sit here and pile up whatever Prismacolors I’m using, and I always sing to myself if I’m home alone, too.

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

As for this gown, Melanie Ann who won my guess-the-number-of-colored-pencils contest wanted me to color it in purple and green, so here we have, well, lots of purple and green! (With a little gold, because I just had to have a highlight color…) I hope you like it, Melanie Ann. However, I will say, I don’t think one piece of fabric can actually drape like that skirt does, so please overlook all paperdoll-related warping of reality.

I had fun coloring to someone’s specifications, so I wanted to do another contest. Here it is: Out of all my Prismacolors, which one is my favorite color?

As I have more than 100 different colors, this one might take a while… Here is a list of available colors.. Post your answer in the comments – guessing will be closed at 7:30 AM EST on Monday the 28th, unless no one guesses. Winner gets to tell me how to color that 1885 gown up there :)


Meet Ivy, the first in my new paper doll series!

Click for larger version with gown (PNG); click for PDF version with gown. Click for larger version without gown (PNG); click for PDF version without gown.

Welcome Ivy to the paperdoll blog family! I’ll miss working with Sylvia and Iris, but they aren’t going anywhere, so you can always go back and look at them and their clothes. With the new scanner, I really needed a change, and I was getting enough requests for new dolls that I wanted to do something about it…

I have big plans for this model of paper doll. The base doll is actually bald and faceless – that means I can draw hair and faces separately and add them on with Photoshop, making it easier to have different options. I’m also drawing the doll itself differently this time. If you look at Iris, she was traced off of Sylvia, and that meant that it was easier to introduce mistakes – the paper shifted, it was difficult to see, and I drew some lines differently – so parts like the arms and legs are different. If I did a third doll from the same shape, she would be different from both Iris and Sylvia in some annoying way and it would be harder to fit even more dresses. This time, I have a very faint outline of the body, and the doll is colored right on top of that, meaning that there should be less variation between dolls. So the upshot: it should be easier to make different skin tones, hairstyles / colors and faces. I wonder if you can see where I hope to go with this someday? Well, there’s a lot of work to go between here and there…

The other big change is that I’m going to start offering PDF files of each drawing. For those of you who just like to look at the pretty pictures online, it won’t make much of a difference, but for those of you who actually print things out, using the PDF file instead of the PNG will guarantee that you’ll always have the right size, and the quality should be better as well. (It also means you can zoom in really close and look at all the flaws, but trust me: print it out and it’ll look smashing.)

I like her a lot, and I hope you all do too. I look forwards to making her many lovely outfits!


Wiki Dress #2: Gold Harvest Gown with Green Peplum and Celtic Patterns

Click for larger version; click for the list of dolls.

Now, I happen to know my mom edited this revision of this dress, and therefore it had to be drawn, because my mom’s awesome. I think I ought to ask her to design me dresses more often when I’m feeling unimaginative! She’s also more dangerous with the Prismacolors than I am – she does absolutely gorgeous drawings of flowers and plants on cards, then sends them to people. She jokes that you only get to come to her funeral if you got a drawing from her. Here was her description of the dress:

A sunflower yellow bodice,green peplum with a beyond floor-length skirt done in blended colors of harvest. The hem is heavily decorated with a matching line of Celtic designs in dark blue, with golden accents.

The neckline is decorated with very small dark gold and blue accents, with tiny sparkling swarovski crystals and blue pearls in the center. The waist is decorated with a slim swirly golden pattern and small crystal beads, and the skirt is draped, cascading down to the floor.

She also has a pair of long dark green gloves that reach halfway up. The back of each hand is embroidered with harvest and Celtic designs. On her feet are soft blue satin slippers.She also has a subtle webbed crystal frill tiara (worn front-to-back)with dripping tiny blue seed pearls. Around her neck is a matching crystal and single pearl necklace.

I guess you have to imagine the satin slippers, and there wasn’t enough space on the glove for a harvest design, but I think this came out really nicely and hopefully close to what Mom was imagining. This is one where I wish I could show you all the original — the harvest colors on the skirt are a lot prettier on the real thing. It made me decidedly twitchy to finish coloring the skirt, then draw patterns all over the hem, but it worked, I think!