FASHION ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: LADY IN A LILAC DRESS (WATERCOLOUR PENCILS)

February 28, 2020

It's time for another Fashion Illustration Friday! I've arrived home late this evening but somehow I've still managed to create a new fashion illustration. I didn't wanted to miss another Fashion Illustration Friday, so I've sat down and illustrated a brunette wearing a lilac dress topped with red accessories. I've browsed runaway shots but haven't managed to find a runaway look I really wanted to illustrate in detail so I improvised and came up with my own design. I've felt drawn to different shades of purple recently and I always like to see red paired with purple. The medium for this fashion illustration is coloured pencils on paper. I'm quite happy with the result. It's been a while since I created a new fashion painting. I created quite a lot of collage art in the last two months, but I found it challenging to set aside for regular art since I moved. Scroll down to see more.

THE FIRST STEP: SKETCHING WITH WATERCOLOUR PENCILS

I haven't even taken my painting gear with me when I moved to Croatia. I did remember to bring these watercolour pencils when I was home last but that is all. I've painted this on low quality supermarket store bought paper (there aren't any art shops in the vicinity) but it all worked out as you can see. You don't always need fancy stuff to paint. Sometimes you can improvise a bit. I'm not sure will I bring my painting equipment with me. I don't have that much space in the apartment and I'm renting and I'm not sure I'll have the time. This illustration was made in a rush as well. First I sketched it and then I started to fill it in. There are many ways to work with watercolour pencils. This time I opted to make my drawing look finished and only then did I move in with the brush and water.

THE SECOND STEP: APPLYING WATER WITH A BRUSH

I wanted this fashion illustration to look like a regular watercolour painting so I made sure I use plenty of water. I have left some drawing lines visible but I softened most of them with water, going to that typical aquarelle look. This was the most fun part of the process with me. I missed working with a brush I have to say and I really enjoyed 'painting' this one. I accidentally used a regular red pencil (not a watercolour one) and only noticed it when I started to use water on it, but I then applied some watercolour red pencil on top of it and soften it with water. It turned out alright.

All in all, I'm happy with how this fashion illustration of a brunette in a lilac dress turned out. As I said, it is not really an illustration of a particular runaway look. I will probably get back to illustrating runaway creations soon. Not that I mind drawing my own creations. Let's say I find both illustrating with and without a reference equally interesting. I did use a photograph of a model walking down the runaway as a reference for the body position but I changed it up a bit and I didn't try to make my illustration similar to the model. The face expressions is all my imagination and I like how enigmatic it looks. She is a pretty lady, isn't she? Well dressed too, if I may say so. I have already uploaded this illustration in my Redbubble shop, so if you like it you can purchase it a form of a poster, a photographic print, framed print, a sticker and in many other shapes and forms.