Sunday 30 January 2011

Anna Calvi

Tomorrow I will post a super long post on the Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration's book launch! But today I am finishing up my illustrations from the afternoon party and drawing some extra pieces from the evening! 

Last week I produced two illustrations for an album review of Anna Calvi on Amelia's Magazine. The article, written by Hels Martin (who I had the pleasure of meeting on Friday - very lovely lady!) can be seen here. I loved drawing her eyes, lips and flowing hair! I am very pleased with these pieces. I worked a little differently then usual and really loved the results. I hope you do too!



I hope your weekend has been wonderful! I can't wait to show my party stories and pictures!

Abby x

Tuesday 25 January 2011

London Fashion Week Emerging Talent A/W 2011: A Preview

Well, I'm a very excited and happy illustrator tonight! Firstly, yesterday I had a meeting with my tutors to discuss my work and marks for the year so far. Last Tuesday I gave a 20 minute presentation, talking about my illustration, my influences, networking and my achievements so far (of course, the main part being Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration). I was so happy with how it went. Being so naturally shy, I was so impressed with how confident I felt. I think this must show how happy I am with my illustration career so far! Anyway.. I was completely blown away when they told me I got 78% for this module. I never thought I could achieve such marks and was so overwhelmed! I have worked my socks off this year and know what I want from my future, so I'm glad this showed! :)

Well, anyway, after the lovely Christmas and New Year break, I've got back into the swing of doing illustrations for Amelia's Magazine. This week I have illustrated Ongwat jewellery, which is really bold and architectural. You can read the whole article by Matt Bramford here! :)


I'm not sure how I feel about it now, but I made sure the jewellery really stood out in this image, I hope this shows! I'm so excited for London Fashion Week and can't wait to produce lots of illustrations!

Last, but certainly not least, is the wonderful Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration's book launch on Friday! I couldn't be more excited (but of course very nervous!) I'm attending the afternoon tea party and doing some live illustrations of the many journalists and fashion bloggers who will be attending It sounds like such a great opportunity and I can't wait! I hear there are some very exciting people attending! Then on the the after party, it's going to be a long and exciting day. A big blog post will follow I'm sure!

Friday 21 January 2011

Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration - Inspiration Illustrators

So, after my super long inspirational illustrators lists the other day, I decided to write one dedicated to Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration. The book is simply bursting with wonderful illustrators who will surely inspire you, and if not for a love of ethical fashion or design, then this alone is a great reason to purchase the book!

The book is bright, bold and exciting. I, personally, cannot stop looking through it! It's wonderful learning about the designers and their processes and the illustrators and the way they work. Everyone has a different way of working and it's great to see. Not only this, but the feel, smell, size and quality of the book make it so beautiful.



Natsuki Otani has such a bold and colourful style that I truly admire. Her illustrations jump from the page and grab the viewers attention instantly. You cannot miss her work when flicking through the book!



I love Erica Sharp's illustrations. I find her combination of Japanese paper cutting with subtle and beautiful drawings. She has a wonderful eye for colour as well.



I love Jennifer Costello's use of subtle colours and delicate drawings. Her work is so rich and beautiful. I also love her ability to include exciting and full backgrounds.



Naomi Law has such a unique and beautiful style. I love the combination of different styles she carefully puts together and the quality of the background work. I particularly love these images, highlighting only the eyes in the model's faces.



Krister Selin has a very exquisite illustrative style. The colours are rich, the details are intricate and he manages to incorporate the foreground and background together brilliantly.



 I love Zarina Liew's individual and beautiful style. She uses colour and movement to really bring her illustrations alive. She uses added elements in her illustrations that I think makes her work really exciting!



My next illustrator, Gemma Milly, wonderfully combines a delicate drawing style with beautiful colour and carefully added details and texture. The movement of her models definitely stands out in her work.



I love Abigail Daker's illustrations and the use of shapes and structure in her work makes her pages really stand out in the book. I like how the model is always very central and important in her illustrations.



I adore Jo Cheung's work. I love how she includes shapes, pattern and flowers in the backgrounds of her illustrations, they really finish off her drawings beautifully. She also combines a great use of colour and details.


 I find Lisa Stannard's illustrations so unique and wonderful. Her lively use of lines really makes her work stand out and brings the illustrations to life. She isn't afraid to be experimental which I really admire.



Rachel de Ste. Croix has an illustrations style that is fun and lively. I love her beautiful and experimental backgrounds set against her detailed line work.

I hope you enjoyed my round up of some of the wonderful illustrators seen in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration. There are so many more though, so you really should go and buy it and see for yourself!

Finally, these are two of my favourite illustrations from the book. The first of Goodone by Natasha Thompson and the second of Gossypium by Faye West.



Abby x

Thursday 20 January 2011

Pretty Rubbish and Fifi Bijoux

Last week I produced an illustration to accompany an Amelia's Magazine article on wonderful recycling fashion duo, Pretty Rubbish. I really enjoyed this illustration and the clothes were just stunning, so it was a joy to do. You can read Hel Martin's fantastic write up here. The love Tea & Crayons member Fritha Strickland also has illustrations in this article. Read about both our pieces here!


I am really proud of this piece, I used some of the printing work I produced last week in my piece. I also loved working with an unusual perspective and bringing in text. I recently received a present with a wonderful label written on a typewriter, I loved it and thought this type of writing would compliment my work. The traditional and almost vintage feel of it works well I feel. Obviously until I can afford a typewriter, a font will have to do for now!

Secondly, the illustration I produced to be featured in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration has been used on Amelia's Magazine to accompany a preview of the interview with ethical jewellery designer Fifi Bijoux which is also in the book. You can take a look at the sneak preview here.This is one of my personal favourites of the illustrations I have produced, I am very proud of it (not in a showing off way though!)

 
I hope you enjoy both illustrations and both articles! I'm going to be writing a Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration inspired inspiration post soon! :)

Tuesday 18 January 2011

A Post Filled with inspiration.

In this post, I want to show you those illustrators who inspire me. They happen to be very lovely too!
 There are many though, so I will do another post with more next week! (Or this week if I get bored having finished all my work for assessment!) I hope you enjoy and don't find it too long! :) I think other illustrator's are so important, i do love twitter!


Fritha Strickland's work always makes me smile. It is heart-warming, cute, bright and playful. I find the freshness and use of text so exciting! It makes me happy whatever my mood previously!


Both illustrations feature in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration. This one shows clothing designs by Izzy Lane.

Yelena Bryksenkova's illustrations are truly stunning. If the texture of her materials weren't great enough, she has a beautiful painting technique and the way she brings through pattern is incredible. The sweetness of her models is also a great feature of her work.





Ismay Ozga-Lawn has such a delicate and beautiful style of drawing that really draws me in. I love her use of soft colour and the subtle backgrounds. Beautiful!




Natasha Thompson's work is intricate, sweet and delicate. It makes me feel happy, calm and warm. I love the touches of her personality she adds to every illustration. Her drawing style is perfect.





My next illustrator is Hazel Castle. I love her soft drawing, intricate print work and the detail that goes into her illustrations. Her use of colour is so delicate and beautiful.





The detail in Rachel Lewis' illustrations is impeccable. She combines beautiful colour, drawing, collage and text into her images and it works wonderfully!



Illustration of Oria jewellery, featured in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration.


Emma Block has a very sweet illustration style. Her work is so tenderly constructed from drawing and collage to create really beautiful images. She uses such complimentary colours and her work has a lovely vintage quality.




I love Sandra Dieckmann's unusual illustration style. She combines textures and colour as well as intricate drawing to make her images come alive. She has a great eye for detail and colour which makes her illustrations stand out so beautifully.



Niki Pilkington's use of traditional drawing methods and contrast between soft and dark lines makes her illustrations so striking. The use of interesting perspectives are what I really love about her drawings, this along with how intricate they are.





Kayleigh Bluck uses colour beautifully in her illustrations which is something I really love about her work. She isn't afraid to experiment either, which is something I really admire about her. Her work is always fresh and exciting.





I love Dee Andrew's contrast of delicate and quick line work. Her watercolour illustrations are always beautifully painted and shows her talent. She has a fabulous leg drawing ability and i always love the movement in her illustrations. I also love her use of colour.




Jenny Lloyd uses colour so strikingly in her illustrations and it is something I really admire. It really makes her images stand out. Her work is so intricate and she has an eye for detail. Her passion certainly comes across in her illustrations.




I love how Avril Kelly is not afraid to use colour! Much like her personality, her illustrations are bright, exciting and intriguing. She's very experimental in her work which I find wonderful. She combines texture, colour and drawing so well. I particularly love the man with the birds, it's so full and eye catching!






I love the beautiful details that go into Rachel Price's work. She always makes her images aesthetically interesting too, be it through composition, backgrounds or negative space. I love her delicate inclusion of colour.



Both illustrations show Christopher Raeburn collections, as seen in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion illustration.


Lesley Barnes' use of colour never fails to impress me. She combines these bright, exciting colours with sharp blacks to make images that really stand out. I love the use of movement in her work too, her illustrations always stand out.



Illustration showing Oria jewellery. Both illustrations feature in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration.


Last but certainly not least is Faye West. Her work is soft and delicate yet full of detail. She has a wonderful use of colour in her work. Her use of details and shading is fantastic. She often produces patterns form her illustrations which are so striking and fabulous!


Wow, that took a while! I hope you enjoyed looking through these lovely illustrator's work. Please do visit their blogs and website to see more! I'm always so inspired by those working around me and I love the range in types of illustration in those I have met through twitter. I will be doing another post like this soon, so stay tuned! I want to look a little away from illustration (but also more illustration) too, into designers, and those working in textiles next time!