Custom Bridal Illustration: Emily

Another summer weekend has come and gone and with it another custom bridal illustration is mailed out to a bride. This one is Emily who happens to be a previous client actually. (No, its not her second wedding!) I previously worked with Emily years ago on seven custom Marie Antoinette inspired illustrations for her website, Material Girls.

Emily sent over a entire online album (from her photographer Taylor Lord Photography) of her bridal session photo shoot. It was the ideal way for me to work on a custom bridal illustration. It also didn't hurt that Emily is gorgeous and her stunning Lazaro dress wasn't too shabby either. Its often a bit of challenge to illustrate from the photos clients send over. They can be too small, poorly lit, and rarely have close up shots of the bride and the dress details. This was not the case here though as you can see from these lovely photos.

It was a joy to work with Emily again and I hope she likes her bridal illustration as much as I do! For your own custom bridal illustration or to give one as a gift, you can check out the custom listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride.

The image above is from Wisteria, I simply photoshopped my illustration of Emily on in there. Emily does plan on custom framing the artwork though and I can't wait to see a photo of it and add it to my client photo album.

Hair Illustrations; Blo Me Dry

My second big surprise of the week came via my FedEx man, who delivered this fabulous fuchsia book to me. A little while back I was commissioned by Blo Me Dry to illustrate their new hair menu. It was a fun project to work on since I was working from descriptions such as "Monroe at her heartbreaking best. A must-do for cocktails or an expresso-induced shopping spree."

The project was rushed, I only had one day before they went to print, but they were really happy with how the sketches came out. I asked for a copy of the final menu and was expecting a pamphlet or two so when this hard covered book arrived I was a little shocked! You can see all seven of the illustrations on the hair menu page of the Blo Me Dry site.

The salons looks uber-chic, you know I already love the hair menu and they offer services like "blo on the go" where a stylish blow-out comes to your doorstep. At the moment the chain of blow dry bars are only located in Canada and Cali but I'm assured that once Blo Me Dry hits NYC I'll get the hair hook-up!

Brooklit Bride Grand Opening!

Today I'm excited to announce the launch of my new Etsy shop, Brooklit Bride! Almost three years ago I launched Brooklit, an Etsy shop of my fashion illustration prints and products. The most popular listing and custom request has been bridal illustrations, where I create custom fashion illustrations inspired by brides actual photos (as shown below.)

So I've decided to expand on this idea, and open a "spin-off" shop that offers my custom designs as well as new original bride fashion illustration prints.

Brooklit Bride currently includes prints, cards, bookmarks, gift tags, and custom bridal sketches. I hope you like the new shop and make sure to check out the custom listings. (They all have different photo-to-sketch examples!)

I have more products I'm excited about in the works, so check back with Brooklit Bride soon. And after you take a peek at the new shop, I'd love to hear your feedback, so comments are welcome!

Custom Bridal Illustrations: Ball Gowns

The ball gown silhouette has always been a favorite of mine, and its certainly a favorite of my bridal clients. The past few months I've been steadily busy sketching custom bridal illustrations. Its been a while since I shared any brides here so I figured I'd start sharing again with some of my recent "ball gown brides."

The beautiful ruffle gown (shown above) is by Oscar de la Renta. Its such a extraordinary and fun gown, truly like nothing I've had to illustrate before. I'm really happy with how the illustration turned out. (Hopefully the bride likes it too!?! The illustration is a surprise gift from her friend, so I didn't actually work with the bride on this one.)

This next gown had a lovely lace pattern throughout the bodice and skirt, but its the intricately detailed scalloped hem that really makes the illustration unique to me.

Last but certainly not least is this opulent and full ball gown. There were a lot of intricate details I had to pay attention to here: a beaded underskirt, lace applique and embroidery with crystal beading, diamond jewelry and orchids not only in the bouquet, but in her hair as well!

Holiday Commission

Tonight on my way home from Chinese and a movie with grandma I passed by a Barney's Co-op store. I noticed their holiday windows resembled the current E-Drop Off windows (shown here) which are entirely comprised of my illustrations! I have yet to share them, so I figured better late than never, right?

The first time I was commissioned to illustrate for them (here) the designs were completely item focused to coincide with the different tabs of their site. For this round of illustrations I was asked to draw two "winter chic" girls, one "holiday party girl" with a banner, a plush holiday garland with designer logo ornaments and a truly unique snowflake comprised of the E-Drop Off logo (or seven of them actually!)

It's so cool to see my illustrations blown up so large, I wish I could see them in person. Unfortunately I don't have plans to hit Chicago anytime soon, so these photo's from the E-Drop crew are going to have to suffice. I hope everyone has a happy and fabulously chic holiday season! To see more of my work for E-Drop Off you can check out their website.

Childrenswear: Carmen

Last week I was asked by a client to work on something a little different, a fashion illustration of a chic 8 year old girl. To design her outfit I was given all the inspiration images below, along with a few directions for tweaks, such as add a third buckle to the coat, change the dress to a light floral print, and so on. I think Carmen here came out adorable, and is kind of making me want to draw more kids. (Although to be honest in the past they haven't really sold well in my etsy shop.)

(Clockwise: Coat e.BoutiqueMaje, Dress Zara, Bag Proenza Schouler at Barneys, Boots Jcrew Girls.)

Bride Paper Dolls

At the risk of sounding full of myself, how adorable are these bridal paper dolls I illustrated?!?! As a child I absolutely loved playing with paper dolls and their different outfits, accessories, and hairstyles.

I was hired to sketch these two brides, as well as two wedding dress options, for Studio Wed's Atlanta Bridal Expo invitation. Not only was it my first time sketching paper dolls, but it was also my first time seeing my work printed by a letterpress printer.

I really love how it turned out, I just wish I had two copies so one could go in my flat portfolio and I could "play" with the other; pop all the pieces out, stand them up, and maybe even walk them down an imaginary isle. . .ahh to be a kid again.

eDrop-Off Illustrations

The past few weeks I have been busy working on illustrations for a website relaunch called eDrop-Off. Now that the site is up and running I can share the illustrations with you! eDrop-Off is based out of Chicago and they are the leading designer consignment shop specializing in selling designer and luxury items on eBay. They offer the chicest designer labels, so my illustrations had to be on par with Chanel, Gucci, and Oscar.

They were such great clients to work with, very trusting and easy going. They loosely provided me with descriptions of what they were looking for (like "classic Chanel suit") and sometimes a pose (like "knees together,") and let me render how I saw fit, choosing colors, fabrics, hair, and accessories.

Every time we were about to be done a few more illustration requests were added, so it ended up being a pretty big job consisting of 8 girls, an authenticity seal, a stack of magazines with a designer shoe on top, a customized Tiffany bracelet and a bulletin board with "designer" push pins! I also did a few fun things for their launch party, but I'll share those another time.

The team at eDrop Off was an absolute delight to work with (thank you Nicole!) and I wish them continued success with the new website and in their new location.

Visit eDrop-Off to check out my illustrations in action, see all the fabulous designer items for sale, and maybe even send them some of your own. It's free pick nationwide, although I can't promise your UPS person will look like this one! (below)

My Carrie Sketch Hits Sydney

Occasionally I license out my fashion illustrations for usage by other companies. Recently Sydney's Observatory Hotel contacted me to buy the usage rights for a few invitations they were designing for upcoming events. One event is a private screening of Sex and The City 2. (I'm ridiculously excited for this movie!)

Unfortunately I won't be heading down under anytime soon so I'm just going to have to see it in a regular theater sans champagne, but I do love the final invitation and how my Carrie illustration looks against the black background.

You can check out this post (here) from when I first sketched this look and if you'd like to frame a Carrie print for yourself you can order her from my shop.

Prom Princess

This sketch of Rebecca was commissioned by her mom Catherine, as a birthday surprise. You probably know by now, that I am frequently commissioned for custom wedding gown illustrations. Well I also draw beauty pageant queens, sweet sixteens, bat-mitzvah and prom girls like Rebecca here.

Rebecca loves the illustration so much that there's been talk of doing some more; one of her senior prom dress and one of her graduation dress to make a fun triptych.

Since prom and graduation are just around the corner I thought it was a good time to share this illustration with you. Maybe you know a girl who would like a custom illustration from prom as a special graduation gift?

Brunette Brides

I haven't shared any of my bridal commissions with you since Sarah, so I've pulled a few to feature today. In order to give the post a bit of theme I chose some beautiful brunette brides. This first up is a childhood friend of mine, Lee (above). Her gorgeous dress was a full length white lace gown with a slight champagne underlay and satin cocoa colored sash, designed by none other than Monique Ihuillier. I remember watching Lee walk down the isle looking so happy and beautiful that I decided to illustrate her in walking pose, which also compliments the dress silhouette.

The next beautiful bride is Jenn (above). She was given a gift certificate for a custom illustration from one of her bridesmaids (ironically also named Jen!) as a wedding gift. After the wedding Jenn sent me her online album and told me that one of her favorite details of her wedding dress was the laced corseted back. So I came up with this fun flirty pose to feature her favorite feature.

Last but not least is Jade, another bridal illustration wedding gift. This one was purchased by her sister and maid of honor, Yana. She preferred to work with me and give the final illustration to her sister as a surprise! Yana said it was important to have the dramatic long bouquet and hip embellishments featured in the illustration, so I accomplished that with a profile pose.

Cherry Picked

A new website and daily newsletter has just launched called Cherry Picked. A few months ago Felicity, the sites creator, contacted me about her concept and a possible collaboration. Felicity was moving from San Francisco back home to Australia. She felt there was a void in the online arena for daily fabulousness in and about her hometown Sydney, Australia and thought my illustrations fit in perfectly with her vision.

She was planning a trip to New York and asked me if I'd like to get together. It was a thrill, as I rarely ever get to meet my clients. We met on the upper west side, at Magnolia, dined on tea and cupcakes, and hit it off right from the start. (I'm thinking if all meetings took place in cupcake shops the world would be a better place!)

After meeting in person we had many late night emails and g-chats resulting in me illustrating the logo, website and newsletter headers, and a bunch of icons and "head shots" of the team.

If you are a native Aussie or simply planning to vacation there soon, you have to check out Cherry Picked. (And all of my illustrations!)

Book Time {Part 3}

A few weeks ago while in my local bookshop I decided to stop by the crafting aisle and this book caught my eye; Blogging for Bliss. Being a fairly new Blogger I picked it up and started thumbing through it. I realized I was standing there reading entire chapters and I should just buy it and head home. While waiting in line I flipped the book over to discover a familiar face smiling back at me! The author of the book, Tara Frey, was one of my very first freelance illustration clients! Small world right!Besides the excitement of knowing the author, and reconnecting with her, Blogging for Bliss has been a fantastic resource. It's packed with great tips and how-to's, informational tools, and behind the scenes stories and inspiration from successful design bloggers, including my current teacher Ms. Holly Becker of Decor8!
It's a great book and since many of you, my readers, are bloggers yourselves, I thought I should share this fabulous find. I've added it to my Amazon Book Shop, which you can purchase by clicking here. (By the way I learned how to set up a Amazon "astore" from reading this book!)

Face it

Last week someone posted a question to me on my Facebook fan page asking advice on drawing faces. I've since emailed her a few tips and a book suggestion but I thought I'd share one of my tips to here with you. It's something that helped me, so I thought it was worth it to share and maybe you'd want to try it as well. What is it I'm talking about? Copying.

Let me elaborate. It started when was hired by Timex to do a bunch of illustrations. (Previous post here) They emailed me their previous style guide and I was extremely intimidated by the illustrations of the previous illustrator. I wasn't sure I was right for the job and if I could give them what they needed. Like a lot of artists and women I guess, I tend to be my biggest critique and often have a lot of self doubt. So I decided to copy, or as we used to do back in high school, do "a study" of his work to see if I could pull it off. (shown above)

It really helped me and gave me the encouragement I needed and changed the way I illustrated. I really liked how the lips came out and have since changed my technique with them. It also inspired the necklace and turtleneck I chose for this Marie Antoinette sketch for Material Girls blog.

I'm not saying to flat out copy, publish, sell, or even fully take credit for someone else's idea and creativity. It's just an exercise that I've found to be helpful, especially when it comes to things that can be difficult to figure out such as faces, hands and profiles. You just may teach yourself something new in the process!

Bride for "A Good Affair"

A Good Affair has launched their website this week and it features one of my custom bridal illustrations. I sketched this bride after collaborating with the site's founder and web designer, Natalie and Chris. They wanted a bride who was fashionable, chic, and on trend while still being timeless. She also had to coordinate with the colors of the site and be a blue eyed blond with lots of sparkle.

It was a fun project to work on and I'm really happy with the outcome. They've ordered a poster size print of the bride along with 100 custom gift tags, so I still have some work to finish up on this one. Tags are cut, now I just need to string them. All one hundred of them!

Project We Do IIl

With all the craziness of holiday parties, and the new year I forgot to post pictures from Project We Do, the wedding I worked on! (Previous posts here and here) Everything went smoothly and I actually had a blast dancing the night away with friends.

My little wedding illustrations ended up being used not only on the wedding website and invitations, but on the programs, table numbers and take away post cards too. I think they were a hit!

Balloons by Balloon NYC, Flowers by Poppies and Posies, Cake toppers by GooseGrease, Cake by Chantily, and illustrations, straws and table numbers by yours truly.

Showerific

As if getting packages in the mail wasn't exciting enough, its ten times more so when it's a surprise package you weren't expecting! I came home to find a box at my door from River Cottage Farm. At first glance I thought maybe I had ordered something from etsy late night and forgotten about it (which does happen on occasion), but when I picked up the box I instantly knew some sweet handmade body products were awaiting me because the return label had my fancy farmgirl sketch on it! As do all the yummy shower scrubs, sugar cubes and lip balms that were inside. It's such a thrill to see my illustrations on actual products, and amazingly smelling ones are even better. Here's an old post about working on this project.

Fancy Farmgirl

About two months ago I was contacted by the lovely Charity from the River Cottage Farm out in Ohio to create a "farmgirl" illustration for her new line of bath and body products. Charity asked that the illustration be a very girly and fancy farmgirl, who brings style to her homestead. Charity's vision included a country floral print, pearls, flat shoes (because farming in heels just doesn't work) and a chicken!

The River Cottage Farm online etsy shop is now open, complete with my farmgirl on all the labels and packaging. Not only do the products look cute, but they're made by scratch on the farm and packed with natural and organic ingredients. I love a good body scrub and can't wait to try the lip balms. Now for the big decision of which flavor to chose.

All photos by River Cottage Farm