Tuesday Tip: Denim

Back by popular demand, here is a new Tuesday Tip! A few people have asked me about how I render denim and jeans, so I've put together this little tutorial. To start you need to choose your denim color. The two colors that I use most frequently for denim are the Pantone 652-T (which I used in these examples) for lighter denim and the Copic marker in Agate B99 for dark denim.

1. Take your chosen color and fill in the garment with a solid wash.
2. With the same color, draw thin diagonal stripes. This can be with the fine tip end of the marker (this Pantone marker has 3 tips) or with a colored pencil in the same color.
3. Draw diagonal lines with a white pencil. *This is the key step to rendering denim effectively!
4. Using Cool Gray 90% pencil draw the seam lines. Then you have the option of taking a yellow/orange pencil to draw stitch lines parallel to each seam line. (This is not a must)

Something to keep in mind is that you can also add shadows and highlights within that first step. If you leave some white streaks, they will act as your highlights. And by applying a second layer of the marker to select edges and folds you can create shadows. This is exactly what I did to render the jeans shown in my "doodle" at the top of this post. For older posts with more of my illustrations of denim click here, here, or here.

I know everyone really enjoys the Tuesday Tip posts, therefore I've brought them back, however I can't promise to write one every tuesday. They are extremely time consuming so for now I'm going to shoot for one every 2 or 3 weeks. Enjoy!

New to my shop: Pocket Mirrors

I'm thrilled to share my new pocket mirrors. I'm always trying to think of products to adorn with "my girls" and expand my shop selections. If my customers are anything like me then you don't leave home without a handful of essentials, one being a mini mirror for lip gloss application, contact lens adjustment or the occasional teeth check. ;)

Each mirror is 2 1/4" and features a cropped "head shot" of my fashion illustrations. I've chosen ten of my favorite girls with varying hair colors, and fashion styles so hopefully there's one for everyone and you can chose the one that resembles you or friends the most. (As they'd make a great little gift!)

Click here to view and purchase all the new pocket mirrors available in my shop.

(All the beautiful papers used as a "backdrop" in these shots are wallpaper samples from Graham & Brown.)

Ugg Love {and Discount}

A great new website has launched that is all about my favorite boots, Uggs. As my friends can attest to, I love my Uggs! They are without a doubt the warmest and coziest option in a my closet. I have the "classic" in both chestnut and black so I can wear them with any outfit. They're also super light weight which makes them great to travel with. (I couldn't have lived without them during my vacation in Iceland last year.)

I not only outfit myself in Uggs, but "my girls" as well. Here you can see some of my notebook doodles sporting them. (Back in my school days every page of class notes was framed in little doodles like these girls.) I even drew Uggs in my recent holiday card designs here.

(Clockwise from top left: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, Rachel Bilson, Jennifer Aniston, Hayden Pantettier, Avril Lavigne, and Gisele Bundchen.)

Magazines keep claiming "they're out" and they may not be the sexiest shoe choice, but when a chill hits the air girls grab their Uggs. Most of my favorite Hollywood stars regularly sport Australia's best export.

For the next month my readers can receive $30 off Uggs by entering the coupon code "221FAB" on BuyItRightHere. Through the site you can also learn about everything Ugg; care and maintenance, history of the brand, styling suggestions, and buy them of corse! Have I sparked your interest in getting yourself a pair? Happy shopping!

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?

Sassy Silhouettes

While shopping with my mom yesterday I spotted these funky silhouettes and I had to snap a picture for you. I love a great silhouette. Be it fashionable, countrified or even traditional, I love them all. These silhouette collections were part of the store merchandising display within the Kensie clothing department of Macys.

I've been a fan of silhouette's since long before they were trendy. Anyone who has placed an order from my shop (here) may have noticed that their order comes with a custom stamp on the package of "my girls" in silhouette with the shop web address beneath it. They were based off project I made back in college. (My BYW mood board from a previous post, had some pretty fabulous silos you could check out here too.)

New to my shop: Marie Antoinettes

I've added new illustrations to my shop inspired by the young and fashionable French queen. Because my "Marie Loves Fashion" print has been popular (you can see her here) and customers have consistently emailed me asking for more costume and period inspired prints, I've decided to turn Marie into a little series. Here you have Marie II and Marie III.

So much of my freelance work is illustrating bridal gowns, which obviously lack pattern and color. Whenever I illustrate something like this with bold patterns in saturated colors, it reminds me of how much I enjoy fabric rendering in the illustration process. (Actually back in college I was hired to tutor other students in fabric rendering.) I hope you like these fancy new additions to my shop.