Audreys Long Lost Twin

While wandering through Etsy I stumbled upon this dress that reminded me of my Audrey II print. They're not identical but definitely related, wouldn't you say. ;) Although I wasn't inspired by this dress, I'm only now seeing it, I often look through the vintage clothing shops on Etsy to bookmark fun finds that could inspire an illustration. I've not only spotted great outfits this way, but poses, hair and styling too.

To check out the dress click here. And if you'd like to know more about my Audrey II illustration click here for an older post or here to purchase her from my shop.

Blog it Forward: Inspired by...

Today's post is all about what inspires me. This post is part of Blog it Forward. I'd first like to send a big thank you to Victoria of SFgirlbybay for arranging this, it's been so fantastic to read through what inspires people and discover new blogs in the process. Yesterday was Every Little Wonder's turn and tomorrow will be Fashion Foir Gras, so be sure to check them out as well. Now without further ado, here is what inspires me and many of my fashion illustrations:

First up, New York. I love my city, there's simply no other place like it. In the city that never sleeps there is inspiration around every corner. From the people walking the streets to the museums and exhibits that you stumble upon, to the city itself, New York is one of a kind. New Yorkers too for that matter! (Every trip I've taken abroad people have called me and/or my friends out as being New Yorkers!)

My Fabulous Friends. I have an amazing group of friends that are my little secret tribe of muses. I'm constantly inspired by them, from outfits they show up to dinner in to photo's they post on facebook to their latest hair styles! Elements of my friends show up in almost every illustration I create.

Traveling. I absolutely love to travel and explore new places. The two activities that I think are vital when traveling are people watching and shopping. One of the biggest perks of traveling is the being exposed to new things and new people. It's so interesting to observe women of other cultures and see how they style themselves. (Dylan is an illustration I made after visiting Iceland. With the exception of the brown hair, because almost every woman there was platinum blond, her entire look was inspired by the Reykjavik locals.) It's also essential to shop while traveling. Local markets are great, but a little secret of mine when shopping abroad is to head to the dollar store! I've gotten the most interesting little housewares, art supplies, and fun finds in foreign dollar stores.

Shopping. It shouldn't only be done while traveling! I love to see what's out there, I don't even have to buy. (Although I do have to say, there's nothing like the high of a fabulous new purchase.) Shops are such a great resource for inspiration. From the products, to the merchandising, to the store decor, windows and sales people. Shown above are two of my favorite purchases I've photographed and written about here before (the glass dish and studded flats) and some fabulous lanterns I spotted, but passed up, in a market in Egypt.

Hope you enjoyed reading about and seeing my photo's of what inspires me. :) Definitely try to check out some of the other ladies participating in Blog it Forward.

Tuesday Tip: Illustration Poses

The first step in tackling any fashion illustration is to choose a pose. Looking at a picture is the best way to do this. It takes some time to find good poses, so you should hold onto them and start a "pose" folder for future reference. I've found that be best resources for tears are high fashion magazine editorials and catalogues. Bathing suit layouts are great because the figure is not hidden under clothing.
The most important element to look for when choosing a picture is that the top of the head to the tip of the toes be visible. It must be a full body shot otherwise your just guessing what the legs or feet look like and your drawing can come out distorted if your guess is not accurate. In the beginning its also best to choose poses that are straight forward, with the head and body facing front. Three quarter poses and profiles can get tricky.

When starting your drawing keep in mind the shoulder line and the bust line are parallel to one another, as are the waist line and hip line. The high hip is also the leg that the body weight rests on and cannot be changed. Yet the other leg, the "free leg", can be positioned many ways as I've illustrated above. The arms can also be arranged in any way but a bent arm with hands on the hips always give a nice effect and adds some nice negative space to your illustration.
To begin drawing a pose from a photo it's helpful to make a copy of it (or place tracing paper over it) and draw the shoulder, bust, waist and hip lines as well as the center line and panty line, as I have done with all these images. (This helps to know where seams and other clothing details should be placed.) Then draw a loose gesture drawing to get the main muscle masses down. You can create the final sketch outline from the gesture drawing and erase the unnecessary inner lines or just layer on another piece of tracing paper or thin marker paper and outline the body. Then start designing!

If you have any "pose" questions ask away in the comments section. This way everyone can see your question and my answer. I hope this was helpful!

(Photos from Saks Fifth Avenue and illustrations by Brooke Hagel)

A few other related posts you may like:

• Tuesday Tip: Illustrating Leopard 
• Tuesday Tip: Faces
• Secret Weapons Part 3

Portfolio Mood Board

Since I've been on a little mood board/inspiration kick this week I thought I'd share a mood board from my product design portfolio with you. For nearly four years I was the Designer of a Brand Development Department. One of my job responsibilities was to create seasonal trend boards for brand managers, editors, retailers, and licensees.

Ballet Dreams is a board I made to inspire a teen bedding collection. In person the board measured about 2' x 3' and was three dimensional, but it's hard to tell in the photo. Maybe this board will motivate you to pull some looks together and find fabrics, colors, and images that inspire you.

All the fabrics used on the boards were purchased at Mood Fabrics. Unfortunately I made this a while ago and do not have much credit information for the images, I am sorry. Top left: Michael Kors bathing suit, Top right: Balenciaga, Bottom right: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker ad.

Courthouse Catherine

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of serving jury duty. I had to wake up super early, head down to Centre Street in lower Manhattan, then spend a day being questioned by lawyers and a second day sitting around waiting to be released. (<-Yay, no more jury duty for 6 years!) Although serving jury duty is not thrilling, it was exciting to walk into this Supreme Court landmark and feel like I was walking into a movie or the set of Law and Order.

Every time I pasted through these giant pillars I thought about the shading on my Catherine illustration. Is that strange? Probably, but then again, the classic columns of the courthouse and design of her gown do have the same Grecian inspiration source.

Lovely List: Design Ideas

Design inspiration can come from anywhere and anything. A blank piece of white paper and a pencil can be very daunting, sometimes it really helps to have a specific theme or inspiration source. I've assembled a list for you of possible design ideas to work from. (I actually LOVE making lists. There's so much satisfaction in checking something off a list!) Some of these were assignments of mine from college (FIT) and others I just came up and think could be fun.

• A collection inspired by costume history. Dig deep, how about a contemporary Egyptian inspired collection?
• Design a wardrobe for your favorite character from a book, film, television show, etc.
• Design a concert wardrobe for your favorite singer.
• Pick 2 opposing looks or ideas and meld them together, for example: Urban Quaker, Athletic Granny, Socialite Nun, or Biker Ballerina.
• Your favorite childhood outfit. I know you know the one! Why not use it as inspiration?
• Pick a country or a favorite vacation spot and google image your way to an inspired collection. Why not research Bali, Morocco, Israel or Switzerland and see what inspiration you may find.
• Chose a designer and a theme and design a collection as though you've just been hired as their head designer. One of my favorite projects from college is a collection I designed for "Bob Mackie inspired by Kabuki Couture".
• Create a mood board. Either base it around a theme, with one of the ideas listed above, or create a collection of images or swatches with a similar color scheme, or of papers and textures, like the one I have photographed here or in my previous post.

Design away, and see where the inspiration takes you!

Summer Suits

Summer has officially arrived, although here in NY it's been raining just about everyday for what seems like forever. I've been getting ready for a big trip abroad and with that comes the dreaded bathing suit shopping. It started off rough, but thanks to Gap, JCrew, and Target, I have 3 cute new tankini's making the idea of laying on a beach with five of my friends (male and female) not so daunting.

Here is a page from my college portfolio. The theme of my collection was "The Concrete Jungle; the jungle invades the upper east side." (shhh, don't tell but I'm really a upper west girl!) Although it's not recent work I thought the bathing suit page would be a nice image to kick off my summer posts. Enjoy!