No More Animal Skins!!!

Some of you may know that I have been designing animal prints for a London based textile company called Bay and Brown for some time now. I should mention that I don't design animal prints exclusively (they are occasionally punctuated with geos and textures) but it does feel like that sometimes!!
Lucky for me it looks like the animal skins are finally on their way out (some may argue they were never really in) which means that i can finally get what i feel is a well deserved break from them!
I was sent an image today of a dress and jacket combo by felder felder which is completely stunning! here it is......

So basically my job now is to interpret that design for the highstreet.
To me it looks pretty architectural so i figured i'd peruse the net for images of buildings. My idea was to find a fairly modern building and crop it down so that it could be mirrored and repeated. I found the Lloyd's building and figured it would be perfect since it has some pretty unusual shapes on it that would make the design interesting.
If you're wondering what the Lloyd's building looks like, check it out below.

So, what i've done here is pretty simple, i just changed the colour mode of the image above left to grayscale and simplified it using the levels with Photoshop.





After cropping and mirroring the image i re-coloured it to create the final design. This was a pretty quick one, it took all of about 10 mins but it served as a good visual for me to work from when i came to transfer the design to silk with dye and discharge.

If you're new to my blog and are wondering what the hell discharging could possibly be aside from a description of poor health please click here to find out more!

Slowly getting there

I managed to get a little more of it done last night before i fell asleep. It's getting there slowly. I have some other work to get done today so i might not have a chance to get back to it for a while but i will defo post when i do!

Heliconia

I started drawing a heliconia this afternoon. It appears to be coming along quite nicely but sadly i don't have the concentration required to finish it tonight.
I'll probably pick it back up again tomorrow and post my progress. ta ta for now!

Project Update #2

Here is another drawing done for Rostrevor Hotel. I may post the other colourways another time....we'll see. I'll update again as soon as I get the go ahead to print. Fingers crossed in the meantime!!    

Project Update

I've just remembered that I was supposed to post an update for a project I've been working on for a while. I was asked to produce some artwork for a hotel here in Barbados. We're still in negotiations for printing costs & framing etc so, not sure how long the whole process is gonna take before completion. My part is essentially done tho. I posted a few examples a while back and since then have been working on some alternative colourways. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure........
 

With any luck everything will be printed and hung soon! If and when it all comes together I'll be straight on here with an update! ;)

Sneak Peak

I'm just starting to compile my imagery for the new scarf designs. I thought i'd post a little preview of my progress so far. Sorry I couldn't give u a bigger image, this is as big as blogger would let me go before things got a bit blurry! i'll play around with the resolution next time and see if i can get a clearer image. Until then, try and enjoy this one!

I'm on Twitter!

I finally got around to creating an account! i'm still pretty unsure of myself and am yet to work out how to customise my page but i'll do my best to tweet regularly :)

Click here to follow me on Twitter!

Tessellation

I've been trying to figure out how to tessellate irregular shapes for the longest time now. I managed to get it done with a parrot a while ago (apologies for the quality, blogger is being difficult). I'm thinking of doing some more......if i can figure out how.......so keep a look out for them. I'll post my progress so u can see how it's done :)

Doodlings of the day!

For those who don't know, I'm something of a 'maximalist' when it comes to design! After deciding last week that i'd endeavour to create some new scarves i went in search of inspiration and found it! today it came in the form of Japanese school girls! Click here to see more 'maximalist' designs by me :)

AVAF & Takashi Murakami

I'm still working on a new set of scarves, which i'm calling 'Weird & Wonderful' :)

Just playing with some ideas at the moment. I had a burst of inspiration last night after turning to some old favourites. AVAF (below left) and Takashi Murakami (below right)!

Keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of weeks for sketches and design ideas for my new scarves!

Leopard Print

Click here to see more of my digital artwork.

Frustration

Website update - Digital Artwork

Yo peeps! I've just added a new section to my website. Click here to take a look!

Bequia

I returned from Bequia on monday feeling quite inspired! :) i took a whole heap of photos which i hope will make useful reference material some day soon. I haven't had a chance to get a lot of sketching done what with work deadlines and other commitments but fingers crossed i'll have some time over the weekend to doodle.
in the meantime, take a gander at these!

Typography

I've been thinking of designing some more scarves recently so i've started doing some sketching and looking around for inspiration. I found a book lying around the house yesterday called 'knots and how to tie them' and figured it'd be a good chance to try something new with typography.

Click here to see some of my scarves!

Versace

I've been a bit slow with the post this week. I've got a good excuse tho! i spent the weekend in Bequia and have returned super inspired so hopefully i'll have something to jazz up my posts over the next few weeks! For those who don't know Bequia is an island off St Vincent in the Caribbean :) and if you're not jealous yet check out where i stayed!! http://www.villasofbequia.com/turtle.html

anyway, enough about that later! I came to post my designs from last week which are based on this seasons Versace!

I'm in M&S

One of my designs is in M&S :)

'Part of Limited Collection's 70s-inspired Prairie trend. Add a hint of Western chic with laid-back denim, crochet detailing and simple cottons.'
Product Code: T691981

Check in store or go online at http://www.marksandspencer.com/Limited-Collection-Swirl-Knitted-Tunic/dp/B004HB7FRE?extid=af_a_Communities_71228 

AnimeKon 2011!!!

Yesterday i went to AmineKon Expo for the first time!!
I'd like to be able to say that i went because i thought i might be able to soak up some digital art culture here in Barbados. I'd like to be able to blame my boyfriend and declare i only went in support of his performance. i'd like to be able to tell you that but i can't. in all honesty i'm just a massive nerd!! In case u were wondering i was in full costume. I went dressed as Roberta (AKA The Bloodhound of Florencia) from Black Lagoon and if you know who that is, guess what? ur a massive nerd too!!
anyway........nerdiness aside, some of the artwork at the expo was very nice! 2 artists stood out to me on the day. They were Joshua Clarke (whose work you can check out on the Animekon website: ttp://animekonexpo.com/gallery/category/68/16/  ) and Simone Padmore, whose work i was unable to locate online. Good thing i took a picture!!

(Above left: Simone Padmore, illustrator/ artist. Above right: Joshua Clarke, illustrator and digital artist).

I also came across a new movie series which will be (assuming i've got my facts straight) releasing a new online episode every week. BTW Honey Bird Productions are always looking for actors with/without experience so hit them up if you're in the area and looking for a new project!! 

You can check out the trailer on the website and in case you're thinking 'damn i was hoping for some relief from the chore of typing' here's the direct link http://www.honeybirdproductions.com/index.php/page,Home

While you're clicking around, why not also check out the AnimeKon website http://animekonexpo.com/ 
Keep a special eye out over the next few days for photos (and quite possibly some cringe worthy footage) of me in costume! AAAAAND make sure to look out for dates for next year if ur an anime freak and happen to be in the Barbados area!! :)

New Designers 2011

Firstly i'd like to wish all UEL students good luck at New Designers 2011! I've been a bit slow on the uptake with this one but i hope everyone exhibiting in the first week had a successful show! I would encourage anyone with an interest in design to get down to the Business Design Centre some time in the next week and check it out! It's a great show and a fantastic opportunity for young designers so please go and show your support!!! :)


In other news i'm still working on the winter leaves this week and i'm pretty happy with the results! Take a look!

For more information about New Designers please see http://www.newdesigners.com/
You can also find work by UEL textile students if you've missed it at New Designers by visiting  http://www.ueltextiles.com/ (you can also find my contact info in the archive section if u want it ) ;)

HG Fields

Since i missed out on the show at Saint Martins last month i requested a sneak peak at some of the work and lucky for me my request was granted by Kazaron Fields (or HG Fields as he would prefer to be known by the creative community)! I've just been given the go ahead to post some imagery of his work so here it is!!!

If you're interested in seeing more work (and for more information) by HG Fields you can follow him at http://hgfields.wordpress.com/ :)