INSPIRED BY VIX, LOVELY AND AKIKO (WATERCOLOUR PENCILS, AQUARELLE VERSION)

 

I'm back with yet another Inspired by post. This time I illustrated the same bloggers as yesterday but this time I used watercolour pencils to do it (as opposed to coloured pencils I used yesterday). So, the fashion illustrations I'll share with you today are actually more aquarelle illustrations (or even mini paintings if you will) than drawings. Once again I illustrated Akiko from blog Kimono Snack, Lovely from blog My Name is Lovely and Vix from blog Vintage Vixen. When it comes to outfits Vix and  Lovely, I illustrated the same outfits as yesterday. So, it's the same outfits and even poses just I'm using different media. When it comes to Akiko, I didn't illustrate the same outfit but a very similar one, so it's almost the same (see it HERE).  I'll also repeat the links  I shared yesterday- you can see the photo  the reference for Lovely's outfit here and Vix's outfit here.  This time I devoted even more time and effort into making these illustrations. I hope I'll inspire some of you to try art or encourage you to develop some other skills. I want to show you that we get better at something by doing it, not by thinking about doing it. Art is like anything really- what counts is the time and effort you put into it. Whatever you want to do in the creative field, be it work or just a hobby- don't overthink it. Picasso said it best- Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. If you want me to share with you how I keep up with by creative hobbies, write so in the comments and then I can plan posts around it. Now, scroll down and let's get this party started. 

INSPIRED BY VIX- REDOING MY FASHION ILLUSTRATION OF THE MAXI DRESS OUTFIT

This time we'll start with Vix's outfit because I feel like I haven't done it justice with my last fashion illustration. Yesterday when I drew it, I was too tired to shadow it correctly and I didn't feel like I did a good job. Therefore, the first thing I did in the morning was go back to Vix's post, download the photograph on my laptop, enlarge it and study it carefully. Only then did I get to the business of illustrating it- and I took a lot of photographs of the process (sorry about the quality of some of these photographs, I edited the photos lighter but it was a cloudy day and I don't have professional equipment so there isn't more that I can do). So, I decided to include many of these WIP (work in progress) photographs because I know you my readers always say you enjoy that. In addition, this way you can not only see my art process but also see how I use watercolour pencils.  I didn't go about this illustration in any ordered way, I didn't sketch it with ordinary pencils or measured proportions, because I'm at a point when I don't have to, at least not always. If you want to see how to do a fashion figure before drawing clothes on it, there are many resources online made by people who actually teach fashion illustration so I'm sure you can  find something great for yourself. Anyhow, at this point I just grabbed my watercolour pencils and started drawing but I also had to keep in mind that I will apply water later, hence I wasn't drawing it like a drawing but like a preparation for a painting, if you get what I mean. Still, as I was drawing it, I ended up liking how it looked like a drawing. I was even a bit tempted not to apply water. This is not a large format drawing, approximately A4 ( I cut a paper from a larger block in half) but it took me good two hours to finish it. Some of that time was spent studying the photograph, some drawing and some painting. I took my time with this one and I enjoyed the process more. Sometimes it is good to try to do something in less time as a way of practicing your technique, but sometimes it is good to take your time, especially if you are drawing or painting something you want to be happy with. Long story short, if you want to  control the end process better, take more time. If you want to just practice or get your creative juices going, then working quickly is the way to go. 

INSIRED BY LOVELY'S STATEMENT SLEEVE OUTFIT (WATERCOLOUR VERSION)

I actually liked the fashion drawing of Lovely I did yesterday, but I illustrated this outfit again because practice makes perfect. But here is the thing- I don't think I did a good job today, which doesn't make sense because I invested more time and effort this time around. However, that's the way art works. It is not predictable. I think the problems was that I was happy with the illustration I did yesterday with coloured pencils so I just went for without thinking enough about the media I was using. I sketches the drawing well enough but the end result looked more like a drawing then like a watercolour fashion illustration. I'm still happy I did this one. It is always good to make more version of the motive because that's just a great learning tool. Every mistake is a learning opportunity. Besides, what's the worse thing that can happen? In the worst case I'll end up having a fashion illustration of a blogger I follow and like. Who cares if it is not perfect? I might do it again- and I have yesterday reference to consult. Do you see what I'm trying to say and what I'm actually trying to write about? I want to inspire you to just go for it when it comes to art and don't be hard on yourself. 

INSPIRED BY AKIKO- ILLUSTRATING THE BLUE SWEATER AGAIN BUT THIS TIME WITH ANOTHER OUTFIT AND WITH WATERCOLOUR PENCILS 

I'm really happy with how this watercolour pencil illustration turned out. With this one I also illustrated background because: a) it was beautiful b) it was relevant for the movement I was trying to capture on the illustration, i.e, walking down the stairs kind of movement. This is such a cute pose, btw, very relaxed and gorgeous, I might copy it some day. Back to the subject. The reason why I choose this photograph to illustrate is because I like to capture movement in my illustrations and because I can. I don't have to stick to same fashion template poses (not that there is anything wrong with that, bullet proof poses are great when you want to concentrate on just clothes). It's just that, well I'm more skilled than that, I took art courses and I actually know how to sketch body in movement, so why not do it? Sometimes I rely on well known poses to illustrate but sometimes I like to challenge myself a little. So, how do you feel about this one? I think it took about one hour to finish. In total, I would say that these three illustrations took me about four hours to finish and about an hour to edit and then it took me probably an hour to write this post. Lots of hours of work in this one. 

If you are one of the bloggers I illustrated, feel free to share these illustration if you want (or not, it's totally up to you, don't feel obliged to, just saying that don't have to ask for permission if you want to). That would be all for today. Thank you for reading and visiting. Take care & stay safe. God bless!