Make Your Own Paper Dolls :)

How-Tuesday: Paper Dolls

Story by carlasonheim, julieincharge

Published on Feb 22, 2011 in How-To

Photo by Carla Sonheim

"Drawing is fun... drawing is scary!" So opens Carla Sondheim's Drawing Lab, a book brimming with assignments, projects, ideas and techniques to spark your imagination and playfully coach you to a new level of confidence with drawing and mark-making. Carla Sonheim is a Seattle-based illustrator and has been an Etsy seller since way back when. For this week's How-Tuesday, she'll show you how to make your own paper dolls. Feel free to customize them to suit your fancy. If you can't get enough, check out her shop and blog!

I'm happy to announce that Carla will also be bringing her show on the road and joining us at Craft Night on Monday, February 28, 2011 for a drawing workshop at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, NY. It's free and you're invited to come bolster your drawing skills. Please RSVP here.

    

Find your own copy of Drawing Lab on Amazon or an independent bookseller near you.

"What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here is the key to your earthly pursuits.” — Carl Jung

It's fun to play with paper dolls! (It’s even more fun to see grown men play with paper dolls, which happened in our household recently.) Indulge your inner child by creating a personalized set of paper dolls, complete with pets.

Supplies you’ll need:
• Recycled cereal box
• Red water-soluble marker
• Flat brush
• Gesso
• Water-soluble crayon (in an appropriate skin color)
• Water-soluble crayon (in brown, black, gray, orange, or yellow for hair)
• Damp rag or paper towel
• Pencil
• Fixative
• Scissors
Let's get started!
Directions:
1. Cut down your cereal boxes so that you are working with only flat pieces. (You can throw away the folded portions.) With your water-soluble marker, block in your figures. Since these lines will be mostly obscured, there is no need to be fussy with detailing at this step.
2. With your flat brush, paint a layer of gesso over the drawings. Try to get it as smooth as possible. Notice that the marker will show up through the gesso so you can still see your drawings. Let dry.
3. Color the face, arms and legs with your choice of skin-colored, water-soluble crayon.

4. Rub smooth with a slightly wet paper towel or rag.
5. Draw the hair with your crayons, using a paintbrush if you want to soften the look. Outline the entire figure in pencil.
6. If desired, add pastel to the cheeks with the end of your pinkie finger. Spray with fixative. Cut out your figures, and create stands for them by cutting a circle shape in half and cutting 1⁄2" (1.3 cm) slits in the stand and the figure.
7. Play!

Thank you to Carla Sonheim and the good folks at Quarry Books for sharing this project with us. For more creative exercises to make drawing fun, check out Drawing Lab.