Monday Sketches - Catching Up

Things have been so hectic lately, I haven't had a chance to do Monday Sketches all month! Depending on how my schedule goes in the near future, this segment might become a Monthly thing rather than Weekly.

So without further ado, here is an image post of all the stuff I've done in the past month or so, so enjoy!

Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel is my current all-time favorite super-heroine right now! She's awesome, so I had to draw her, naturally. Ms. Marvel was specifically commissioned by a friend of mine. You can buy products with these illustrations on them at my Society6 store here.

Working on expanding the subjects of my personal advertisement projects. My Thesis Review is coming up soon, so I needed something to add to my portfolio! Took some references from the internet and sketched and rendered everything in Corel Painter 2015.

School's been keeping me busy, so here's a look at my latest project - an advertisement for Whitman's Chocolates! The first image is a couple of color studies, the first one being what I went with. The completed image was done in watercolor, pencil, and pen, then digitally enhanced. I added the slogan and the Whitman's logo to complete the Ad. 

NFYW had lots of fun and amazing things to offer! I wish I could have done some more sketches, but these definitely made me very very happy. <3 I was so happy to see plus size models walking down that catwalk for Project Runway!

In addition to fashion sketches and advertising illustrations, I also dabble with Medieval illuminations from time to time. Here's an example I did a few weeks back, based on a manuscript featuring St. Michael and the Dragon.

Being a Body Positive advocate, I felt that this older illustration of mine needed a bit of a pick-me-up! Loving the #AllSizesMatter campaign idea. I might do more of these! You can buy prints of these gals at my Society6 store here.

One of my other graduate classes is an Interactive Illustration course, where I'm developing a Dress-up Doll Game. My character is a Steampunk Fortune Teller, and boy I tell you vector illustrations are a challenge! I've been learning a lot, however, and I look forward to seeing how this project turns out. I've included the sketches, the flat colors, and the finished rendered character. 

Finally, a quick look at a sketch from a previous event I attended at LaCenterra of Cinco Ranch. Had a lot of fun!

Hope you enjoyed the return of Monday Sketches! I definitely will try to update more often with more art and illustrations! 

Until next time!

Art Update - Fashion, Fantasy, Grad School, and More!

 Things have been pretty quiet around here as far as art updates go, so I figured I'll put in a bulk of things I've worked on and painted in the last few weeks or so. It's a combination of the fashion illustrations I've been making for my personal portfolio, graduate school assignments, and other fun things.

I've been doing a bunch of these paintings, keeping the focus simple. In the Abi Ferrin illustration, I imaged her work on a plus-sized woman. The other is more abstract. So far I've been trying to keep my illustrations diverse as far as the kinds of women I draw. Being plus-sized, it's important to me to draw plus-sized ladies! 

Here, I've taken my love of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and made a few manuscript/illumination pieces. 

Both are for possible letters in the future.

Here is just something fun and fantastical, possibly an elf cleric of some kind. 

My inner geek was having a blast with this one!

The sketch I did at the Culturemap Dallas Stylemaker Awards got a facelift! 

Painted with some watercolors and metallic gouache! 

It's still one of my favorite illustrations to date now.

A prototype illustration, possibly for a logo. 

Haven't heard back from the client about it, though.

The movie "Mean Girls" was on the brain when I did this one, and the quote seemed fitting!

More fun stuff, not really paying any mind to specific things. 

One is another fun plus-sized model sporting fall trends, the other based on the story Romeo and Juliet.

I was recently commissioned by a friend of mine, and I've been working on a banner-esque illustration for her and her cousin. 

Here's a sneak-peek at the sketch! 

A closer look - giving them more features to resemble the two ladies.

My perspective class at AAU has been a definite challenge for me! 

However, we're going into more human/organic things, so despite the challenge I'm in a more comfortable element. 

That's all for now! 

Hopefully I'll be able to update with more artwork more regularly - it's been a bit of a grind as of late! 

If you're interested in commissioning me, just email me at evaduplanart@yahoo.com! 

100 Strong - a look at sample cards made for Culturemap Dallas and francisco+co

I was excited to have been commissioned by a lady at francisco+co to create something fun for an upcoming event here in Dallas called the Stylemaker Awards. It's a set of sample cards to be added to 100 gift bags for guests! 

It took me a while to do them - I would sketch, ink, and paint 10 cards at a time over a period of 10 days. I stretched it out over some weeks. 

Brands that were included were Dior, Kate Spade, Lela Rose, and so many others! I had to do a lot of research for some, and others I drew after seeing them at the mall or walking around a shopping center. 

I drew shoes, dresses, casual wear... I had ladies that had blonde hair, brown hair, black hair. I even included plus sizes! Men are scarce, but I did them too. I tried to incorporate all kinds of different aspects to fashion.

I've added various pictures of all the cards, so enjoy! And if you're in Dallas on October 15, make sure to RSVP for the Stylemaker Awards! There are only 100 and they're going to go quick!

Sunday Musings

The past month or so have been really interesting. And pretty stressful, too! School's started up and I've been in contact with several people who are interested in what I've been doing. It's pretty much what I've always wanted- doing what I love for a living. Almost. 

Painting at events has been a great way to get some exposure, and slowly but surely my brand and my artwork have been gaining grounds. I'm so appreciative to those who support me and encourage me. It's because of them that I still manage to keep going -despite the risk of burning out.

Even so, Life takes it's toll when you're juggling multiple things at once. I want to make commissions so that I can make money so I can get supplies to make artwork to add to my portfolio, and then get more clients who want commissions. But then I have schoolwork to do to further my technique and talents so that I preform better with my illustrations. 

It seems to be a never ending cycle of learning, outputting, and maybe sometimes I'll get paid for the work I do. And a lot of worry if what you're doing is really making people happy. A lot of worrying. 

So far it's hardly a full-time paying career, but it's still sustaining somewhat of the lifestyle I want to maintain. And eventually it might be enough to start paying off my student debt. Being an artist isn't easy, especially when you're constantly trying to keep yourself up to date, fresh with ideas, and maintaining a level of quality. 

It's easy to procrastinate, easy to forget to be social, easy to lay off on housework when things get difficult. And I'll admit to all of those when I'm under a lot of pressure. But we're only human, right? 

There are so many standards to uphold in doing a creative career. Constantly having to prove yourself, constantly havin to prove that your work is worth peoples time and money. We push on and hope for the next client, the next job, and hope that they like what they recieve. 

But these are just my musings. Worries can be a cancer, so I have to let them go for fear they would overtake me. I have to keep looking forward. 

Busy Times for Busy Artists

Boy have things been busy...  Between dealing with clients for commissions (or having clients fall out after working several hours...), school, and working on a set of 100 sample cards for Francisco+co I am definitely tired. 

Here's a set of pictures of what I've been up to lately: 

Simply Be UK is working on an illustration campaign titled #SimplyBeReal. Here is my contribution.

I've been working hard on building my personal portfolio as well, going out almost every day to paint. I've been concerned with keeping my illustrations more realistic as far as women's sizes go, ranging from smaller to larger and everything in between.

A sample of sketches from my Editorial Illustration class. Working with articles about various subject is a challenge, but it's opening me up to ideas beyond just the Fashion stuff I typically enjoy drawing.

An assignment from my Perspective class. It's been a challenging class so far, but I feel that I will learn a lot from it. 

CultureMap Dallas is hosting the Stylemaker Awards at Tootsie's in October. I've been requested to create sample cards for gift bags at the event. It's an honor to have been contacted by Francisco+co for this project!

A look at 50 cards that I've made so far. I'm halfway done - I need 100 total for the gift bags for Francisco+co!

 And that's what I've been doing as of late. Not all of the commissions I've done went through well, some have decided they aren't ready for purchase, others have pretty much fired me. But I continue on working, because with hard work comes rewards, right? 

If you're interested in a commission, feel free to email me at evaduplanart@yahoo.com! All I need is a brief of what you like and a budget, and I will let you know what my rates are in a quote.

I don't do illustrations for free as this is my personal art business. 

(Unless it's a gift for someone - and that's on my terms, not a client's)

Busy week! A glimpse into what's ahead.

Oh goodness things have been interesting as of late! 

Yesterday I got a commission request, and today I got a commission request. A few days ago I got an email asking about doing some live painting for an event on September, and today I got an email about an event in October! 

Monday I'm calling a lady about a commission and I'm meeting with a friend of mine to discuss a modeling opportunity as well as an illustration for her upcoming Fashion Presentation. 

Here's a few examples of a couple of the commissions:

A lady named Adriana contacted me on Facebook asking for a drawing of her!

This is for a denim collection that is being worked on, specifically for Plus Sized ladies.

Things are really starting to pick up, and I'm excited!

Being a Fashion Illustrator

It's been forever since I've actually kept up with a blog. I mostly update on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the like. But never a down-to-earth blog specifically for my own stuff. Anyways, here's take 2!

As you saw previously, and for those who have come from my other social sites know, I am a fashion illustrator. What does that mean? Well, to be very plain, I like drawing clothes. It's akin to a fashion designer, but without having to make the concepts. I make-up concepts, I draw already made fashions, I draw fashions that other ladies wear. Sometimes it's done on Photoshop, sometimes it's done with a pencil, some ink, and watercolors. The possibilities for the art really are endless!

I've been doing a lot of digital work lately, as seen here:

As you can see, my style greatly varies depending on the look I want to achieve. I can be simplistic, I can be detailed, cartoony, abstract... The term fashion illustration is, in a way, as limitless as any other art in my opinion! 

I think one thing that makes what I do a little more unique is that I have been trying to keep as much diversity as I can in my drawings. It's still in its baby stages, but I want to strive to do more. Be more inclusive. Bodies of all shapes and sizes should get represented, right? There has been an outcry for more representation in the media, and this artform is a form of media, right? 

I'm hoping as I get more comfortable with blogging, it'll be easier to expand my artform, to get it out there, and to really start gaining a following beyond just facebook or tumblr. And I have my new Dallas Blogger friends to thank for it!

If you want to see more of my work, check out my website at www.evaduplanart.com.