It’s great to have a book tailored to the subject of fashion illustration. Hats off to Julia for bringing together a collection of artists who take the time out to do what they do best and are willing to share their knowledge with others. Reading this inspired me to try new techniques and keep pushing my art. Honestly, I’ve never liked painting my fashion illustrations because there’s no Edit > Undo button. Sometimes I say to myself, “It’s so hard to correct mistakes when you paint so why bother.” I know it’s not true, but it gives me an excuse to keep doing what I’ve been doing and not take the chance of ruining a good line illustration.
I was encouraged by the opening tutorial by Maryanne Oliver. She explained how to build your painting in layers so you get the look you want, and easy ways to make adjustments if you don’t get the desired effect. Not only did she break down the type of pens and brushes she uses, she also gave inspirational creative advice like, “Remember, don’t be afraid of making mistakes! There are no mistakes in art!”
Overall, Fashion Illustration Exposed provided plenty of great examples by each illustrator, to show their creative process, and techniques they use. I think students will really appreciate that featured illustrators such as Jennifer Lilya, who does this full time for a living, shares the fact she uses a Tom Lynch palette, for example, and considers it one her best investments. Because of the amount of choices we have when buying supplies, getting profession recommendations like that makes the process a lot easier. In addition, this book captures the feeling of being back in the studio; and walking around getting insights and picking the brain of fellow illustrators, to learn and get inspiration for you your own work.
See more preview shots here at http://issuu.com/fashionarium/docs/fashion-illustration-exposed
The book ends appropriately enough by providing examples of the new styles and media used in fashion illustration with profiles of David Delin and Phoks, two designers who mix photography, illustration, and graphic design to create their pieces. Phoks, for example, finds a bunch of magazine pictures, pulls certain objects and details from them, then reconstructs his own design using Photoshop. He uses Photoshop filters to give the pieces an illustration-like look. Really cool!
This book is a must have if you are a fashion illustrator or designer. Julia has created a quality and insightful reference book for the the fashion illustration community.
Her passion, curiosity, and desire to learn from others definitely comes through in this book. I would love to see more from her, maybe an updated edition with even more interviews and profiles!
Want to buy this book? Go to http://www.fashionarium.com/
