How to Design Paper Dolls

Though you don't see as many paper dolls around these days, Dover Publications' lines are a notable exception; you might be surprised that this is one of those things that falls into the "everything old is new again" category. For any project that has an iconic character at the helm, a paper doll is a great promotional item and is less expensive to produce than 3-dimensional figures. It's also just plain fun and great to experiment with. Here are ways to work with paper dolls.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock
• Drafting pencil
• Protractor
• Ruler
• Pens or colored pencils
• Scanner
• Printer

Instructions

How to Design the Doll

1. Decide on the pose your doll will hold by choosing one facing forward with legs slightly apart and something dynamic going on with at least one of the arms. It's not necessary to have the doll standing with arms out at shoulder level--that's a bit extreme--but having a hand in a position that could be holding something gives you more freedom later on when designing clothing and accessories.

2. 

   Draw the basic doll shape lightly in pencil in the center of a sheet of paper. Dress the doll in some sort of foundational clothing such as underwear or a bathing suit, something close to the skin that will not interfere with the clothing you'll design later. Make sure to leave flat space at the shoulders and an indentation at waist level for the clothing tabs. Go over these lines in ink and then color them in with markers or colored pencils.

3. 

   Create the base by tracing the curved edge of a protractor just above ankle-level on your doll. The base should be approximately half the height of your doll for stability. Measure 1 inch in from each end of the base and draw a cut-line 3/4 of an inch tall to slip the stand into.

4. 

   Measure out a rectangle 1 inch wide and twice as long as your base for the stand. Draw a cut line 3/4 of an inch in from each end and 3/8 of an inch deep.

5. Scan the doll at a high resolution, 300 dpi or higher, and do any editing required. Resize the sheet as a whole to keep the stand in proportion (if you feel the need to resize it at all).

How to Design the Wardrobe

1. 

   Print out three copies of your doll onto heavy paper. Cut them out in different configurations: one entire figure including cutting the feet out of the base, one of the torso alone without the arms or any overlapping bits and a spare for any traceable elements you need later.

2. 

   Lightly trace the doll cut-out onto a fresh sheet of card stock and sketch out the garments you want. Use the other cut-outs to allow for interference from overlapping elements, adjusting your design to either include the redrawing of that element or plan to cut away to expose it.

3. Add tabs at the shoulders and/or the waist to anchor the outfit in place. Mark any accessories such as hats or carried items with dashes to indicate where slits need to be cut.

4. 

   Ink over your sketched lines and add your color. Include directions, especially if any items require special handling.

5. Scan your garment pages and do any cleanup you want. You can rearrange the pieces for maximum paper usage, but resist the urge to resize them or you risk them not fitting your doll.

6. Print out test copies of your garments, cut them out and try them on your doll before releasing the designs to the public.

Tips & Warnings

• It's best to scan both your black-and-white and color versions in case you change your mind or make a mistake.

• Write instructions in the open spaces for those not used to paper dolls.

• Do not resize your doll image after you start designing the clothes; keeping everything in proportion will be next to impossible.

Resources

• Dover Paper Dolls