Sorry for the temporary lapse in posts

I have had to take about a week long hiatus.  This just so happens to be my finals week, which means I am hunched over a sewing machine 24/7.

I will have a new post sometime on Saturday though!

Photoshop & Fashion Illustration: rendering velvet

This is illustration number 2!  So far I have four completed, and six more to go by next week.  Plus a fair bit of sewing, but working on the computer is about ten times more entertaining than sitting at a sewing machine or pressing seams.

The illustration below marks my first attempt to render velvet, which actually took a lot less time than the silk top.  I found a random flourish graphic on a brilliant Google image search and applied it to the hip as a semi-print.  It adds a fun touch to the entire illustration.

 

Here is a closeup of the waist with the print:

Celtic Symbolism: a second ethnic textile inspiration

The triskele, or tri-spiral, is probably one of the oldest celtic symbols known and is believed by some to symbolize the cycles of life in the three spheres of influence: land, sea, and sky.  Often called the “Spiral of Life,” some scholars have considered it to suggest life, death, and rebirth; it is drawn in one continuous line which implies the movement of time, with each element flowing endlessly on yet constantly coming back to where it started.

Though I do not believe in the ancient beliefs that glorified this symbol, I do find it fascinating their emphasis on the number 3… a number also vitally important to Christianity as it signifies the Trinity.  

The triskele is a beautiful symbol, which is why I chose to create a textile design using it, though I came into a bit of a problem when I put it into colorways.  I only want one, but I can’t decide between the four I created.  Which one should I use?

 

Paul & Joe: whimsical clothing equals wishful thinking

Paul & Joe fashions are relatively high on my wish list right now, though they happen to be on the wish list that will probably remain “wishful thinking” rather than possibly becoming a reality.  I’m only a college student after all, and our economy isn’t what it should be.  However, if you like fun and quirky designs you must check them out http://www.paulandjoe.com.  The fashions are light, bubbly, fun, quirky, and relatively impossible to find in the US.  Thank goodness for the internet:

Paul & Joe Fall 2008 collection

How do you say no to those? Slightly less expensive is their sister line, Paul & Joe sister, which has some adorable designs as well. 

Paul & Joe beaute boasts gorgeous cosmetic and face care products which is much more accessible than the fashion line.  Many of the cosmetics are sold in Anthropologie stores across the US.  If you visit the sight, http://www.paul-joe-beaute.com you can download beautiful computer wallpapers and a screen saver for FREE!  I currently have them all, and I can never decide which one to keep long term for my background.  Here are small pics just to give you a preview:

Hope you enjoy them!

 

Photoshop and Fashion Illustration: my first foray into true blending

This is perhaps my favorite photoshop creation so far, probably because I finally understand the concept of blending using paint brushes at varying opacities and fills.  Up until this point I had been relying on the unsightly smudge and blend tools, more for time constraints than anything else.  As with all my photoshop creations, this one started as a basic sketch on paper:

The sketch was imported into Adobe Illustrator, turned into a line drawing (the old fashioned way: using the pen tool not live trace which tends to look more like a cartoon).  Once my lineart was created I moved it into Photoshop, separated the lineart and began painting.  The almost final result is here:

I know, the boots are not done yet.  It was just so exciting to see it near completion I had to post it.  And here is a closeup of her face:

Recently I have been focusing on creating realistic textures on fabrics and skin, rather than shading and proportion.  However, I am doing my best to make sure I do not lose the basic elements of a fashion figure.  After all, the whole point is to show off the clothing, and drawing in a slightly non-realistic way is often the best method for that.

A few of the pieces I am working on right now have fun prints applied to the textile surfaces, which means I get to play around with the warp and distort tool quite a bit.  I have to have 10-12 illustrations completed by the end of next week, and as of right now I only have 4 done.  *Sigh* this is going to be an interesting weekend.

Incroyables by Melissa May: Punk rock girly-girl fashions

This week I am promoting designs by the extremely talented Melissa May.  Her line, Incroyables, is an amazing synthesis of girly ruffles and flounces with edgy punk vibes.  I know Melissa personally, and the amount of talent in this woman is phenomenal!  How she comes up with her ideas I haven’t a clue… I doubt anyone could understand what goes on in her brilliant mind. 

My current obsession:

From her site:

“The Incroyables were a subculture of men and women that developed after The French Revolution. They dressed in wildly eccentric clothing as a way to celebrate the return of individual freedom. They mocked popular culture with clothing, which is what Incroyables by Melissa May is all about!

Incroyables by Melissa May is a girly rock ‘n’ roll company that draws its inspiration anywhere from punk culture to girly girls to 60s mod. Specializing in day and party dresses, Incroyables by Melissa May is a limited-run company- meaning you will never have to worry about wearing the same thing as the girl down the hall because only a handful of each item is created. All pieces are handmade right here in the U.S. and priced to be affordable for all ages. Wear it to a concert or to school- just wear it with attitude! And remember- it is not just a phase!”

 

 Check out her website http://www.myspace.com/incroyablesbymelissamay to view other one of a kind pieces, pictures from fashion shows, and her wonderful runway collection for Frock Out: Independent Designers Challenge, Denver, Colorado

Her designs are sold at She She, The Fabric Lab, Fancy Tiger, and Buffalo Exchange in Denver.

Kandinsky: “Musical” Abstract Art as Textile Inspiration

For those of you who don’t know, Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian artist credited with creating the first modern abstract art.  Most well known are his pieces created while teaching at Bauhaus, an artistic school in Germany, where he focused on the importance of circles, half circles, angles, curves, and lines.  His abstract art is immediately recognizable, not only in it’s complex use of simplicity, but also in the vibrant colors he chose to incorporate. 

“Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposefully, to cause vibrations in the soul.” -Wassily Kandinsky

                           (top) Blue and Violet, Kandinsky                           

                          (bottom) Transverse Line, Kandinsky

The above two pieces provided inspiration for the following textile design set that I think I am going to turn into gift wrap. 

Adobe Photoshop: the ultimate tool for life, success, and fashion illustrations

Part of the design curriculum at CSU requires students to take several Fashion Illustration courses, one using hand drawing techniques, the other using an obnoxious program by Lectra Systems called Kaledo Style.  If Lectra had not completely overhauled their software, I probably would not dislike it so much.  Sadly, they did and that’s that.  I won’t be mentioning it again.  But Photoshop?  Nope, it’s not taught by our program, so I had to teach myself.  And I love it!  I could spend hours just tinkering away using the paint tools, and one day soon I hope to buy a Wacom tablet since the computer mouse can only go so far (about 4-5 inches actually, not very convenient when you are trying to illustrate hair).

My Capstone project marked my first venture into the “real” digital art world.  How did it turn out?  Well, I’m in love:

If you click on the images you get a larger view.  The sizing of this column squishes things slightly.

These are fashion illustrations, they are not meant to look like real people (in fact, the average human body can be divided into about 8 head lengths high, whereas a fashion figure, the croquis, can be well over 10 heads high). Illustrations are supposed to give a visually stimulating depiction of a garment’s details, drape, fit, and texture in relationship to a body.

Textile designs can have the weirdest inspiration

Ah, the Aztecs… an unbelievably brilliant group of ancient Mesoamerican people with a curious yet decidedly macabre penchant for sacrificing human hearts to their gods.  What better source of inspiration for textile designs!  I used Aztec stamp designs, sculptures and mosaics to create a design set of textiles/gift wrap (unfortunately I do not own a fabric printer, so I have to resort to printing them on a large scale to use for wrapping paper and stationary). 

Fun, yes?  The last one reminds me of a bunch of monkeys.  In the future I will be uploading more surface design projects I have done.  I absolutely love this stuff!

 

Avant Garden Spring ‘08 fashion show

Several weeks ago Colorado State University hosted their annual spring fashion show, showcasing Senior design students’ Capstone lines (mine included).  The design lines took an entire semester to create, and included target market research, costing/sourcing worksheets, spec sheets and production guides, first samples, final samples, sale presentations, pattern creation, portfolios, and website design. 

It was a massive project that seemed to suck all forms of social life away from me, but I did have the opportunity to watch every single Disney movie in my home collection while I was sewing!  And I can not tell you how many times I watched the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones movies.  Those sets are great for passing time.

Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures at the show, but hopefully I can find some taken by other designers/photographers and post them later on.  However, I do have the studio shots taken by Joe Mendoza from CSU’s photography and video department.  They are not exotic, but they provide excellent detail shots of the garments.

That’s it!  Those five ensembles took many a sleepless night, but I did take home an award for them at the Fashion Show:  Best Eco Fashion Line (all the gowns were made of 40% Hemp/60% Silk Charmeuse, the two tops of the 2nd and 3rd garments were made with 100% Ahimsa Peace Silk).

A video clip of my line will be posted soon.