Book Giveaway! Style Guide Signed by Author Lawrence Zarian and Illustrator Brooke Hagel

I'm happy to announce another book I've illustrated has been released; Lawrence Zarian's 10 Commandments for a Perfect Wardrobe, a step-by-step guide to looking and feeling your best. Lawrence is a renowned fashion/lifestyle expert, TV personality and regular contributor to "Live with Kelly and Michael," "Rachel Ray," and "Entertainment Tonight." I was first introduced to LZ about a year ago at a Vogue and NFL party and we immediately hit it off and started following each other on social media.

LZ reached out to me while working on his book, looking to incorporate fashion illustration visuals into it. In no time I was talking with his publisher and soon after sketching away. Originally I was set to draw the illustrated fashion glossary only but once I started sending in sketches the scope of project quickly grew as everyone really liked the sketches and were eager to add more. First we expanded the illustrated glossary, adding new items then a eyewear chart and eventually chapter header illustrations throughout the book including: "Thou Shall Create Your Own Star Style," and "Thou Shall Dress For Style, Not Size," both shown below.

This book was a nice change from my typical commissions, as all the sketches within it are monotone black and white, with white highlights and gray shadows for depth and dimension. I used only 3 or 4 Copic Sketch markers in shades of cool grays and black for all the shading and a Prismacolor cool gray 90% pencil and Micron pen for outlining and intricate details.

10 Commandments for a Perfect Wardrobe came out great and its something I'm proud to add to my fashion illustration portfolio and studio book shelves. Thank you to Lawrence Zarian and the amazing team at Bird Street Books. It was wonderful collaborating with you.

Giveaway! Enter now for a chance to win Lawrence Zarian's 10 Commandments for a Perfect Wardrobe signed by both the author, Lawrence Zarian and myself. You can enter multiple times over the next five days by following along on social media, liking and even tweeting. Simply follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter. Giveaway ends at midnight Monday, March 31st.  The winner will be chosen and contacted on Wednesday, April 2nd. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Good luck to all entrants and remember to enter multiple times for more chances to win!  You can also check out some of the other books I've contributed to and/or illustrated here in my Amazon shop. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***The giveaway has ended and a winner has been chosen through random.org. Congratulations to Lara Bell!!! I'll be emailing you today and sending the book out soon.***

Inspired Weekend

Spring is officially here although you wouldn't know it from the frigid temps outside. But that hasn't stopped me from shopping, spring cleaning and continuing to spruce up my Brooklit Etsy shop.

1. New to the shop this weekend; witty gold embossed fashion illustration pencils. They're a chic little reminder to "stay sharp," be inspired by "sketch worthy" outfits, and create "fabulous doodles" of course. Great when you're "feeling sketchy" or to give as a little gift to the artist in your life.

2. Finally brought home this paint stroke print skirt from H&M. I've been on the hunt for this adorable Tibi knockoff skirt for weeks! #score (The coat rack I made years ago with a wood scrap from my dad and striped bone and brass Anthropologie hooks.)

3. Spring cleaning in my small studio apartment is well underway. I've donated cloths, changed up my curtains and even bought a new wooden Pottery Barn dresser partially inspired by this photo from my "home" Pinterest board.  I might even post a little studio tour here on Fabulous Doodles when its ready.

Sketching the Old Navy Spring/Summer Preview

Today is officially the first day of spring so what better day to share sketches and photos from the Old Navy Spring/Summer 2014 Press Preview. I am a huge fan and major customer of Old Navy so I was thrilled to be asked to collaborate with them sketching one of their favorite spring looks for their exclusive press preview party invitation (shown above.)

In addition to sketching a girl for the invitation I also attended the event, live-sketching custom fashion illustrations of party guests alongside Katie Rodgers of Paper Fashion. Being a fellow fashion illustrator, I've been familiar with Katie and her work for years, but it was actually the first time we met! (You can see us below, striking a pose with her pretty paint palette. She's inspired me to whip out the gouache and brushes.)

Party guests including editors, fashion bloggers, and even a Bravolebrity were able to take their "selfie fashion illustrations," as the Old Navy team called them, home with them as custom party gifts along with a bag of new pieces from the collection. I hope today being the first day of spring brings with it some springtime weather because I've had enough of this dreary frigid winter and can't wait to start sporting my bright new Old Navy summer pieces! 

For information and rates or to have me live-sketch at your next corporate event or party email FabulousDoodles@gmail.com. 

Book Trailer {Chloe by Design}

Yesterday I received such a fun surprise, the next book I illustrated has a video book trailer anticipating its release by Capstone Publishers!

It's actually a series of four books titled Chloe by Design, and this is the trailer is for the first book of the series Making the Cut. Being such a visual person, I absolutely love this! Of all the books I've illustrated or contributed to this is the first to have a trailer and I have to say, it's so much more exciting than a standard press release! 

Making the Cut by Margaret Gurevich and Illustrated by Brooke Hagel will be available in spring 2015 by Capstone Publishers. 

Inspired Weekend

A peek into my inspired weekend of adding new fashion illustration prints to my Etsy shop, sketching dessert tables, and marathon watching a new show. 

1. I've been giving my Etsy shop a little revamp with an infusion of new sketches and "Poodle Proud" here is a favorite just added. (I actually drew these two a few months ago and am happy to finally be sharing them.)

2. Silver sparkle pencils from the Michael's dollar bin. I ran in for a picture frame but came out with these and love them!

3. Sketched dessert table illustrations again this weekend for one of my favorite repeat clients, sweets stylist Amy Atlas. Since I can't share the new sketches just yet here is an older one I never posted. This wintry dessert table was  designed for Anthropologie's holiday catalogue preview party.

4. This weekend, while sketching I dove into a new show (new to me that is) marathoning Scandal. I'm now officially obsessed with Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope. Her wardrobe is a stunning array of monochromatic looks of whites, grays and pale blush. From her jackets, coats, sweaters to her silk pajamas and even workout wear, its one beautiful look after the next. Ahh what I'd do for this fictitious closet.

I actually illustrated Kerry Washington on Miu Miu at last years Golden Globes but I just may have to do more now inspired by her Scandal character.

Live-Sketching at NYFW with Samsung Galaxy

This past New York Fashion Week I had the opportunity to try something new, sketching on a tablet. A Samsung Galaxy Note Pro tablet to be exact. As a sponsor of NYFW, Samsung had a space in the main lobby and I was hired to live-sketch fashion illustrations of fashion week attendees who passed through the Samsung lounge.

Live-sketching NYFW attendees is great, since even with this crazy winter "polar-vortex" people still tend to dress to impress for shows and aren't donning the typical head-to-toe black typically found at most New York events. I was able to really experiment with tablet fashion illustration, rendering a variety of furs, leathers, knits, prints and even sheers all in an array of colors and styles.

To be honest I was really nervous to try sketching on a tablet. I'd never done it before and wasn't sure if I'd be able to figure it out and achieve the look I wanted with only a stylist pen, tablet screen and no actual art tools. To my surprise though it was very user friendly and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. (I also had Samsung experts there to answer any questions, which was helpful.) The "S pen" has such a fine point and the screen is so touch-sensitive that the level of detail and precision you can achieve is pretty incredible, much like an actual pen or pencil. The Note Pro is very lightweight and has a large paper-sized 12.2-inch screen. Lastly, it was especially great for live-sketching since I could email jpegs of the illustrations directly to the people I was sketching, like Bella shown here (above) from Elle Magazine. I enjoyed drawing on the Galaxy Note Pro so much that I'm now considering purchasing one for more digital drawing.

(Top photo by Gloria Chik and fashion illustrations by Brooke Hagel.)

Red Carpet Fashion Illustrations

The Academy Awards were this past sunday and of course I was inspired to illustrate some of the most sketch-worthy looks from the red carpet. I want to share them here along with a few from other red carpet looks I've yet to share aside from instagram sneak peeks.

First up is a Monique Lhuillier gown worn by Chissy Teigen in a organic pattern of petal/brush strokes over black (shown above.) For this illustration I started as usual with pencil and marker but for the pink I broke out the brushes and gauche. I've added her to the shop, so if you'd like to purchase a print of this illustration you can by clicking here.

My two favorite looks of the night were Charlize Theron in a dramatic black Dior gown and Cate Blacnchett in Armani Prive. Cate's dress of sheer nude fabric embellished with tiny flowers and various sequins and palettes was absolutely stunning, however a challenge to capture in a fashion illustration. Cate took home an Oscar and also earns my best dressed of the night.

Next up are fashion illustrations I worked on a few weeks ago inspired by the Golden Globe red carpet. Naomi Watts looked flawless in her slinky beaded Tom Ford gown and the gorgeous Olivia Wilde rocked her baby bump and was one of the best dressed of the night in a beautiful emerald green sequined Gucci Premiere gown (print of Olivia available.) Margot Robbie who has also been a long time favorite and I've actually illustrated before, looked regal and gorgeous in a white Gucci gown with green crystal banding.

The Met Ball always turns out the most show-stopping red carpet looks and this past years was no exception. For these sketches I used tan craft paper so that the fashion designs would really pop off the page. Model Chanel Iman wore a black and white striped J. Mendel gown and its probably one of my favorite looks of the year. The bias bold stripes, draping and overall silhouette is simply beautiful. (Mini print of Chanel available in the shop) Last but not least is Kate Mara looking beautiful in another strong color of the year, oxblood red. Her dress was by Delpozo and had a beautiful jewel encrusted bodice with an avant-garde peplum and sheer layered skirt. I love how the deep red and black contrast with the tan craft paper. This illustration of Kate is also available in the shop.

February Favorites via Brooklit Instagram

Time for another monthly review of my favorite mini moments captured on Instagram:

1. "Walking in winter wonderland" and actually enjoying the crazy polar vortex for a sec.
2. Hanging out in the chic E! lounge on day one of New York Fashion Week.
3. My "I Love Pencils" pencil, posted on Valentines Day. (Coming soon to the shop!)
4. Photographing new notecards for Brooklit Bride.
5. Hometown love, the icy Long Island Sound looking incredibly picturesque.
6. Its a wrap on the 4 book series I've been illustrating! Final sketch is colored, finished, and off to the publisher.
7. This week another book I illustrated came out: Lawrence Zarian's Ten Commandments for a Perfect Wardrobe.
8. Art supply shopping, stocking up on white charcoal pencils prepping for live-sketching at the Old Navy Summer Press Preview.
9. Another fashion illustration in the works for one of the books of the four book series I'm illustrating.

10. Its that time of year, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center.
11. After years of going to and working at shows, I sat front row for the first time and what a view! This was the final walk for Academy of Art College, the only school that shows at NYFW.
12. So fun, got to step into the E! Glam Cam! You can check out the full 360 degree shot here.

For a closer look at these photos and more sketches, inspiration and pretty pix follow me @Brooklit on Instagram.