Fashion & Location Illustration of the Day ( Split, Croatia)

June 23, 2018

Why do location and fashion illustrating often go hand in hand? I found myself asking that question today. I love exploring all aspects of fashion illustration, because well it's something I'm passionate about, and I've pretty much always been into it. Seriously, my elementary schoolbooks are filled with fashion illustrations. Anyhow, as of late, I find myself wanting to make fashion illustrations that will be as much about the location as about the outfit. I know I'm not the only one. There are many fashion illustrators out there who do location illustrating as well. I'm not sure what is the secret connection, but location art sure gets along with fashion art. Inner design and architecture are often a part of fashion illustrations as well. I would also add that both urban and nature landscapes seem to be match made in heaven with outfit illustrations. Interesting, isn't it? As I always say, fashion illustrating is a fascinating field. I suppose it is the same case with fashion photography. You'd hardly ever see fashion editorials shot in front of some wall, there usually is a story and a location to match that story. Location plays an important part in fashion photography. When you think about it, clothes are never just clothes, are they? That's kind of the whole appeal of fashion. We use clothes to show emotions and to tell stories. I wonder whether it is something we all want at least sometimes, for our clothes to tell stories, to convey a meaning, to show emotion.

Fashion & Location Illustration of the Day ( Split, Croatia)

It's been a while since I posted a 'making of' post, so today I'm sharing with you 'the making' of this fashion illustration. The medium is coloured pencil on paper. I sketched the drawing using the ordinary pencil and then I filled it in with coloured pencil. I've almost run out of pencils, I need to buy some new ones. I always wonder why I run out of art material so quickly, and then I open my closet and see 1000 illustrations piled one on another and think to myself: alright, now I know why. The time it took me to finish this drawing was pretty standard. I didn't time myself while I was drawing this fashion illustration but I think it took me about an hour to draw it. There were many details and by the time I finished it, I felt pretty exhausted. Still, it felt nice to finish something in one go. Sometimes I work for days on certain illustrations, so it can be quite refreshing to finish an illustration in one sitting.

#pencildrawing #fashionillustration #wip

As you can see, I illustrated one of my old outfits, worn one summer night back in 2016. I love the combination of denim with black, there is something so classic about it. This denim skirt is one of my 'go to' items. You might have noticed this skirt, since I've been wearing it a lot last winter and spring. I plan to wear it this summer as well, because really what is there not to love? A denim skirt is such a versatile item, don't you agree. Illustrating denim can be a bit intimidating at first, but it all really comes down to taking notice of the texture and then trying to reproduce it. There are many kind of denim, so paying attention to texture of the garment you want to illustrate is important. Here is something I mentioned before, but I'll repeat it. Zoe Hong's YouTube Channel is a great place to learn more about fashion illustration. Here is a link to Hong's video about illustrating denim in 8 different ways. You're welcome.

Now, that we have discussed the outfit, let's talk about the background. The location illustrated on this fashion drawing is Split city in Croatia. You can see the post that inspired this drawing here. Split is an absolutely gorgeous town, very cultural and historic, two thousand years old actually, originally build as a summer residence of a Roman Empire. Perhaps that is why the atmosphere in this town is always so chill, ha ha? It's my hometown so it is makes sense that I'm crazy about it, but I'm hardly the only one. It is a very popular city. The second largest city in Croatia, but a sure number one when it comes to tourism. This illustration shows only a slight glimpse of it, but I might do more Split inspired drawings in the future. I did a few of them in the past, but I'm not sure have I done any in fashion illustration style. I need to make a mental note of it.

That would be all for today. I hope you liked this post. Let me know if you'd like to see more 'making of' posts. Taking photographs while drawing is probably a good idea, not only to see the progress but to rest my hands a little. Drawing is so hard on the arms, almost as hard as embroidery. Why do I always like the hard stuff, though? I have no idea. I wish you a great weekend!Thank you for reading.