PAPERFASHION

i was blown away when i saw this photo earlier today. everything about it is perfect… florals, polka dots, and some signature bri emery color combos. this is the type of thing i kill to illustrate.

and congrats to rue for partnering with gap to create this colorful gem of a photoshoot!

and now… i’m off to NYC!

lindsey wixson has such a doll-like and iconic face. such a beauty to illustrate! and aren’t you loving the jason wu look she’s wearing?

illustration of a gorgeous photo by jamie beck.

you know those people that just have magic written all over their work? tim walker is one of them, which is why i had to illustrate his fairy girl. and my favorite part about this girl… how her feet and hands are positioned so elegantly and perfectly.

p.s. so so happy you guys enjoyed the watercolor tutorial below. definitely going to make it a regular post!

a lot of you have been asking for tips + tricks to watercoloring, so i’ve decided to share some color knowledge with you!

color mixing has always been my favorite part of art. it’s so amazing how many colors you can make… with so few colors. i personally like to stick with mostly primary colors to create my palette. i think using too many ‘straight from the tube’ colors gives your work a flat look. plus, you can save lots of money by mixing your own colors from the basics.

p.s.let me know what you think of my tutorial… maybe this will become a regular post!

SECRET TO MIXING BLACK.  ULTRAMARINE BLUE + BURNT AMBER = BLACK

this is my number one trick. most people just buy a black tube, and yes that can create a deep true black, but I prefer to mix. you can create blacks with a hint of any color, which adds more depth. Just use the mix above and add a tiny amount of a color of your choice.

MIXING GRAY. CADMIUM RED + CERULEAN BLUE = GRAY

gray is another color i see people confused on how to create… and it’s one of the easiest. just mix a little orangey red and light blue, and there you have it! it takes some experimenting to figure out how much to use of each color, but do a few tests and you’ll get it in no time.

MIXING DARKER SHADES. RED + GREEN = DARK GREEN

this is more of an overall rule to creating deeper shades of a color. once you have a color you want to use, but you need it in a darker shade, just add its contrast color. i used a simple example above to demonstrate. red is the opposite of green, so in order to create a deeper shade of that green, just add a tiny bit of red. if you want a deeper red, use more red and a tiny bit of green.

MIXING PEACHY SKIN TONES. CADMIUM RED + CADMIUM YELLOW + CERULEAN BLUE= PEACHY SKIN TONE

  mixing skin tones can be tricky with watercolor. i like to use these colors as a base to create a peachy tone, and then adjust it accordingly. you can experiment with using more of less of each color to create different shades. add more blue to get a deeper shade. i’ll do a later post focusing on skin tones alone- so you can see how i mix lots of different ones.

and my number one tip for watercolor… NEVER USE WHITE! there really isn’t a need for using white watercolor. to make colors lighter, just add water. the white should always be the paper shade, and you layer colors on top of the white. this can be tricky, because you have to think about what’s white before you start. but you’ll get the hang of it.

want to know what paint i use? look here.

wow. illustrating full time has proven to be 1. the best decision i ever made. 2. a little overwhelming.

i’ve been thinking a lot about how to transform this blog into something more regular… and a little less spastic. right now it’s a pretty all over the place. but not sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing…?

if you haven’t noticed, i’m obsessed with fashion illustration, but i’m also obsessed with a billion other things (like magnifying glasses!!!). i like to mix things up a bit, and touch on subjects like food, interior design, product design, patterns, etc. keepin things fresh, ya know!

so as all over the place as my blog can be sometimes, i’m going to work hard the next few weeks to flush things out and add some regular posts in each of these subjects! i’d also love to hear more of your ideas, and what you’d like to see illustrated. i’ve gotten quite a few requests to see more illustrations straight from my imagination… and i can assure you i’ll be doing much more of these.

happy weekend!