Hudson Weekend

Upstate again without my Wacom or even pen and paper so using this Procreate app again which is VERY awkward!

Wishy Washy

Playing with brushes (which I've labeled in the piece) to refer to later. I do like the "Nice Edge" brush and can't to use it more... But kinda doing illos with more wash-y brushes, although 'm still treating them like pencils. Want to loosen up more.

Vince's Bride 2

Experimenting with made up faces, trying to get a face that looks sweetly bridal and not necessarily white nor Asian.

Vince's Bride

My friend Vince designed and created a bridal gown for a client, and he wanted me to do a fashion illustration of it for him. This is the diptych layout I have planned. I was thinking it would be more rendered but I might even leave it this rough. Well, the full body shot at least.

Blobs and Blurs

More experiments with new brushes...

Pinked

I didn't want to post yet another progress sketch so I decided to do a throwaway sketch testing out the Natural Edge Brushes (1 and 2 in this case, mostly 1) from Kyle Webster. I think they're my current favorite brushes right now - they have a natural fade that matches my own, real watercolor applications. And as much as I wanted to do a throwaway, this face turned out somewhat pretty, even if the way I resolved her eye and chin were haphazard and arbitrary... at least until I colored it. hen it kinda worked. I'm still learning how to draw faces every day...

Slouchy Cap 3

Testing techniques on the third and probably final sketch from this series for this designer.

Fishing For Fashion 19

The reason it's titled Fishing For Fashion is the styling, which includes these fishing hats as well as clogs. And when I tried to combine the two sketches, I realized the hat I painted didn't match the yellow leather jacket I drew for the other sketch. So I retooled the painting as well as a few other details, but featuring the hat here.

Fishing For Fashion 18

Once I finished up yesterday's drawing (those pants did me in!) I was able to retool the original one to match, since I hope to compose them together in a drawing. Not sure if this is the final render for this, but it's pretty close.

Fishing For Fashion 17

OMG this piece is DONE! I finally got a balance of done with undone, detail with perceived roughness. UGGHH, this took too long, haha! But at least I'm finally done with it.

Bunnies

WHile at the checkout line at Trader Joe's, I had a vision of a very stylized, Mark Ryden style of drawing of a cutesy toon girl in a bunny outfit. But it turned out to be MUCH harder to draw than I though - it's just not how I draw!  So stylized, and the proportions got in my way. I'd need to practice much more if I want to get the image in my head anywhere near actually drawn!

Fishing For Fashion 16

Aaaand this again!I tried something that Kyle Webster suggested, which is to work on a file 2500 px wide and scale that up after I've applied my watercolors, since that would yield a better paint render. It seems to have worked, as I have finally come up with a wash treatment that I feel looks like I want it to. Question now is, what to do about those clogs?

Skater

I looked out the window this morning and saw a slew of skaters [pass by on their boards, and I noted how their poses allowed them to balance. This pose stuck in my head, although I don't hink I quite got the gesture right.

Forties Fatale

I had a glass of wine with dinner and wine always hits me harder than hard liquor. Don't know why that is but it left me uninspired to sketch. So this was a quickie.

Thin Lips

Once upon a time, big poufy lips were a hot thing to have, but fashion swings like a pendulum, and skinny lips -  very 70s - is also a very valid, desirable look.

Sketchbook Trial 2015

I wasn't sure if I'd actually used it before but it runs out I had done a trial with this app previously. Well, I have to say it handles pencil sketches like a dream. I'm not sure I'm entranced by the interface, but it's new tome so I'll let it slide. I did, however, do the colors in Photoshop.

This gal has Lynda Carter lips.

Brush Test 2

I'm almost dreading trying to finish those fashion illos I have on my plate. But I'm enjoying playing with brushes, in a legitimate effort to learn how to use them.I like his sad eyes. I like men with eyes like this.

And I kept at him until this is how he turned out:

Brush Test

I found myself trying so many of Kyle Webster's MANY watercolor brushes, trying to find the one that approximated the effect that I wanted for the pants I was trying to render. So tonight I thought I;d just play with a couple to get familiar with more of them. Don't think this will work for my clothing rendering, but it may come in handy, who knows...

Overhang

The more I draw different models, the more different kinds of facial features I discover. I suppose I really wasn't paying attention to actual faces for most of my life, and that's a shame, as I enjoy drawing faces more than anything else. Anyhow, I was trying to do a profile where the upper mouth hangs over the lower, more recessed bottom half...

Blue In The Face

I'm stumped, having redone these pants I'm working on more times over than I'd care to think. So I needed a breather, i.e. this somewhat surly looking blue bloy.

Fishing For Fashion 15

I keep bouncing back and forth between these two drawings, and this one is causing me concern about how to render the pants. I feel like the pants are a focal point, yet the drawing itself has too much rendering... so trying to find a balance.

Fishing For Fashion 14

I keep redoing the rendering on this figures body, and that's the joy of digital - you can keep the parts you like and redo the ones that you feel need work. So I finally got a rendering that I feel looks both natural and precise - just the right mix of control and random in watercolor.

Fishing For Fashion 13

This is like my 4th rendering of this leather jacket. I wanted to get the saturation but I also wanted to capture the subtle sheen of the leather, while not making the technique look too studied. I think this level of rendering looks more natural.

Ah, the reality of digital watercolors: finding the best result that looks like a real watercolo, not necessarily painting the best way. It's all smoke and mirrors!

Fishing For Fashion 12

I'm undecided how to render teh pants. I realize I'm still finding the ideal way to render digital watercolors, and having too many brush possibilities makes me overthink it.

Slouchy Cap 2

I can't seem to decide what technique I'm using on this watercolor. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm not feeling inspired for some reason.

Super Cooper

Good lord does this man have a great frame. Actor Dominick Cooper's body is just a joy to behold (and I'd like to be holding it, thankyouverymuch). So I thought I'd do a pseudo Mats drawing of his silo. Based on a screen grab from one of his movies, seen here.

Swooping

I had an idea for a drawing and it started with a hair and this pose. The hair I'm not done with yet but the pose was something clear. Just need to get the flow of the structure right. And the shadows are courtesy of Kyle Webster's brush "Bristle Bonus" which blobs nicely like pools of pigment collecting.

Brushface 2

I gave her a better do and she looks all the better for it.

Brushface

 I was just playing with some Webster brushes I don't recall using before. it's funny how a new tool will inspire you to draw a different way, in this case looser and more fluid without caring much for precision.

Navy On My Mind

I've been obsessed with the design work of Christophe Lemaire since 2009, although I've bought and worn his pieces since 1999, I think. Well, his collaboration with Uniqlo is out tomorrow and I'm working out how much I can and can not (or should not) buy. And if I should buy navy instead of black? So I did a quick sketch of a similar look (although that jacket is all wonky).