An Artistic Approach...

I find illustrations to be a good way to express how garments could be worn, how the fabric lays on or drapes from the body and to present an idea of the fabric textures in a design. In these three of my illustrations, two show a representation of fur. I particularly like watercolour paints to show fur because they represent texture as soft, smooth and ‘fluffy’ in a flat and subtle way. I feel the tearing paper method has its advantages to in that it is obvious that it is representing the appearance of fur in a larger scale, but the texture appears to be rough and stiff. I like the use of an animal’s head or simply parts of an animal’s face upon a human head, such as the eyes, because they add surrealism to the illustration and make it appear more interesting to look at because it is different. This technique would also be effective in illustrations of garments that are made from faux animal skins, hides and furs, such as leathers (bulls or buffalos head), or adorned with feathers, such as peacock feathers (peacock head).

Representation of fur in layerd torn paper (Made by me (Parcel Paper), November 2010)

Laura Laine-style Illustration (Drawn by me (2B Pencil), November 2010)

Illustration of a Fur Jacket using layering, collage and continuous line techniques (Drawn by me, (Black Fineliner, Watercolor Paint), November 2010)

Illustration of a Satin Skirt and Knitted Wool Cardigan using mixed medias, including collage (Drawn by me (Parcel Paper, Masking Tape, Watercolour Paint and Oil Pastel), Novemeber 2010)

Two of my favourite fashion illustrators are Laura Laine and Jasper Goodall. I like Laine’s use of tone on long-legged, skinny stylized figures and how there is clearly a lot of time spent on the detail of the hair and pattern and drape of the fabrics. 

Laura Laine Illustration (Source: http://littlewillow.com/200802)

'Artemis', Laura Laine Illustration (Source: http://www.phantasmaphile.com/200803/laura-laine.html)

I like how Goodall uses abstract figures (some with animal heads) to create odd silhouettes whilst at the same time allowing the figures to have a slight 3D effect through either shines of light to show fluid surfaces, or through photographic elements. Another interesting aspect of his illustrations is that each is life size, with only the top of the body down to about halfway down the thighs drawn. He does this so that the images can be then photographed being held by a model wearing leg-wear and shoes that make it appear as though the image is coming to life.

Jasper Goodall Illustraion (Source: http://trendland.net/20081105/jasper-goodall-illustrations)

Jasper Goodall Illustration (Source: http://www.anewspace.infopage4.htm)