...more Fashion Illustration

Men's Coat;


As summer is fast approaching, so is the end to my Fashion Illustration course sadly.What I have below are images so far contributing to my final piece.

Such cold winter has got me searching for a decent coat, and with it came the fascination into the engineering details & materials of some coats available. With this in mind, I was very much inspired by the thinking behind labels such as C.P. Company, D&G, & Vexed Generation among the few.

What I wanted to create was something that crosses over traditional gentleman utility coats (Hunter's, Aeronautical Pilot coats {& the cool leather helmet + goggles} and the classic Pea Coat) with something that has a lot more technological echo in the designs & details. Think of;

• Tron but directed & produced by Tim Burton or
• 19th Century Expedition climbers meets Darth Vader













What I chose to work on is the above idea of an extra layer which can be worn underneath the coat, in short, a body warmer inspired by Life-Vest.

Final idea to be finished & soon.

Appreciation for traditional methods

Whilst recognising benefits of Digital Media, I have also been fortunate enough to have Art A level as a compulsory class through my Graphic Design education, as such my love for traditional drawing and painting was exercised.

Realising which tools apply for which job is a big part of Design and Illustration. These are just some of my hand finished work, I just cannot put my sketchbook down longer than a week.






Fashion

I love airside!! campaign

...following an anonymous postcard I sent to Airside, I went to the the studio armed with a digital in which I have prepared a slide show story of my illustrations (carefully selected from my sketches), 3 cups of coffee (for the 3 directors Fred Deakin, Nat Hunter and Alex Maclean) and a bag of yummy flapjack cookies.

It took me 40mins to find the location in Islington from Angel station, only to find out from a dry cleaners that the studio is 'just next door'. Upon realising the correct purple-coloured door along the bustling high street...it all seemed very humble. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, somehow large glass walls and contemporary furnitures was what I had in my head being such an agency of high and respected calibre.

By this time the coffees had gone cold, and I didn't want to disappoint, with it being 2nd impression. Torn between Starbucks and a local Italian looking cafe, I went for the less corporate and I must say I was tempted to drink the coffee myself.

On the buzzer, I then announced 'special delivery' where I was adviced by a friendly voice to come up to the 2nd floor. It was like a humble house, inside with a cool 'Airside' in neon shining above the door towards the studio/reception.

I had no idea how or what to say...only that I had a special presentation for the directors (sadly they were not in), but I offered the coffee to the unsuspecting designers surrounded in light, ambient and relaxed studio. I left only in hope that they will get a cance to see this, I know emails has somewhat proved useless in being 'personal' on approaching groups who have not had contact before...and I cannot afford to see them give talks just yet, being unemployed and all.

Creativity, I guess just doesn't stop in the comfort of my so called studio.

ps thank you Lilly for puting these together for me :) xxx

looking for a job

Having been recently made redundant at my Design job, I took this as a 'kick up' the backside to get on with ideas that has been playing in my mind for a very long time...such as sending a random postcard to one agency I would love to work for.

Now I find that by claiming to be creative, I would have to prove it when wanting to stand out from all other applicants. The challenge is on.

Magazine Illustration

Set of Illustrations commissioned for a London student magazine

a new avenue??

In my time in the industry...I have always felt as though I am preparing for something else.

Coming home late and reading up on Quark Xpress, the bible, just to know the ins and outs of 'trapping' for print techniques...learning Adobe Illustrator to translate my sketches to vector images.

Throughout all these all I ever wanted to do is contribute my skills to Designs relating to music and fashion...I have recently had the privilege of meeting with Mani, a good friend and Design Manager at Evisu - he showed interest in working with some of my illustrations and designs as possible candidates. Much too early to confirm anything just yet, but I am already excited at the thought of my work being so close to the heart of an existing company.

Illustration

Constantly, I find myself surrounded by images all of which gives such a different type of 'feeling'.
I wont go in to the science of how and why, I shall leave this to the professionals, but from time to time, such images inspires me to create a 'new' kind of illustration.

This is when the entire universe can become a sweet shop - my eyes don't quite know where to focus, and sadly sometimes, neither do my mind.

I am born illustrator, there was never a question, but I cannot tell you that I have one style in particular, although can tell you what makes me excited, what inspires me. From here some have made comments, thus assuring me these are pictures/illustrations worth pursuing.

Recently for example, I have noticed how much I liked it when simple cut-out shapes made me feel like a child staring at my 'older' work. That craftiness and simplicity and almost organic feel what makes me think of 'warmth'.

This is why I came up with the image below.



These images would normally start from my sketch books and some will find they're way to actually being interpreted either digitally (thanks to Adobe & my loyal Apple Mac) or through traditional methods (really liking a lot of inks right now).