Monday Sketches - Plus Size Mock Advertisements

Been pretty busy lately, and since school ended for the summer, I've been a bit burnt out from sketching and drawing on a regular basis.  Things have been challenging as of late, especially since I've been working on trying to figure out my upcoming Graduate Midpoint Review and my Thesis. 

My Thesis is probably one of the most daunting projects I will face in the next two years before I graduate, and even working on a simple proposal has proven to be a daunting task. However, I know what the guidelines are and what I'm supposed to do, so that makes it somewhat easier. 

My MFA is in Advertising Illustration specifically, and my thesis in the end will consist of 15 advertisement illustrations of various brands of my choosing. It sounds easy enough to write a proposal for, but I want to make sure that my voice is clear and concise in the subject that I want to focus on. 

And that would be Plus Size women in every day advertisements. 

Bringing a concept into words has always been difficult for me, but I think I might be getting closer. Drawing out a few examples of what I want to do also has helped. I only have two for now, and they're quick digital paintings, really, but I hope you enjoy them!

The first illustration, seen above, is a more direct approach in the plus size figure, featuring a bikini-clad woman showcasing a brightly colored clutch, the subject of the advertisement. 

The second illustration is for a pair of heels, the mock brand specifically called "Holiday Heels". This advertisement is more subtle - the plus size woman isn't fully displayed, but it's clear that the woman isn't stick-thin. 

I still have a long ways to go before this thesis is fully fleshed out, but I'm inching my way closer and closer!

Until next time!

Monday Sketches

I've decided to start a segment every Monday and bring back the "Illustration" portion of my blog more into light. I don't always go out and paint or draw, and sometimes the only work I might do all week would be content related to my Graduate Studies. Whatever may be the case, the artwork from the week will (hopefully) be shared every Monday starting today. 

The first image you see here is from my current Graduate class, Digital Painting. Our projects explore developing technique and understanding how to utilize programs like Photoshop and Corel Painter. This picture was done in Photoshop, using many layers and lots of time spent on smoothing, painting, and developing the shadows, light, and other aspects of the image. 

The second image is also for Digital Painting class, and has been worked on in Corel Painter. It's a different program, one I had never used before. It takes a lot of getting used to the different brushes and figuring out how to build up the colors to get a good blending and painterly feel. This one is still a work in progress. 

The next two are sketches from early last week. School's been rough, and working on something looser, freer, and more fun helps to get over those tough humps. It started out with the first sketch, a made-up design on a tall sinuous woman. Then I decided to draw the same design on a plus-sized woman (the stuff I live for!) and found the result to be just as elegant. 

So for those who think a design won't work on a larger person, think a little harder! Plus sized women love good fitting clothing and stylish options too.

Later in the week I got a chance to go out and actually sit in a Starbucks and paint (hadn't been able to do that in what feels like months!) and it felt so good! I painted a slightly larger but not quite plus-sized girl in a pin-up styled pose wearing a jumpsuit. In my Graduate Studies I'm taking a Fashion History class and had just learned about the importance of Loungewear in the 1930s. This image almost directly stems from that inspiration. 

Here's a better look at the completed image. 

The final image of this post features an Outfit of the Day I wore to an event last Thursday! I didn't get a chance to get a snapshot of the outfit, so I decided to paint it instead. It features a vintage skirt I bought from the Lone Star Vintage trunk show (you can read all about that here). 

All in all, I hope to make Monday Sketches a habit to keep me blogging and to keep me drawing outside of just school!

Until next time!

Body Positivity and Plus-Sized Art

This month I've decided to reflect on a movement that's slowly gaining ground. It's all about body positivity, and showing society that the beauty standards of today don't really mean anything anymore. I've talked a bit about body positivity before on the blog, but I wanted time to really focus on it. It's important to me and needs to be discussed.

More and more plus sized ladies are coming out and declaring their confidence in their size. More and more ladies are taking back their happiness by accepting who they are. One lady who's been helping spur this on is named Tess Munster. She's a beautiful lady who's only 5'5" and is a size 22. And yet, she's gone and done something thought impossible:

She was contracted to a Model Agency: Milk Management in London. You can check out an article about it here. 

It's got me thinking about how I view myself. There are certainly days where I feel confident about myself. Having figure flattering clothes can help with that for pretty much anyone of any size. Knowing that a woman who's well beyond my size 16 is a professional model now makes me feel a little better. It tells me that this movement of confidence in the plus size world is becoming validated. It's a great feeling!

Confidence takes time to build up, and there are plenty of days where I feel like a cow! But that doesn't mean I'm any less of a woman for having a down day. I take up space, I have fat, I'm a bit overweight. But I know I'm healthy, at least. I try to keep myself relatively active. And that's really all the matters. 

The magazines that declare: "Lose Weight Fast!" don't matter anymore, not really. It's all a scheme to keep our self-esteem in the pits. It's up to us to look at ourselves and evaluate what we want to see. To see worth in ourselves and be positive about our bodies, no matter the size.

To extend this rant further, I'm going to work harder than ever to keep my paintings plus-sized centric. Yes, I still will paint 'straight' sized women every now and again, but I really see now that I need to hone in on the plus size industry. It's my dream to come out as a fashion illustrator specifically for this industry, and the more I paint and draw and work - the closer I'll get to that goal. 

Today I did a plus sized painting inspired by my favorite artist, Alphonse Mucha. If you don't know who he is, I suggest looking him up! He's amazing, and was one of the first artists to inspire me along this path of fashion illustration.

Birthday Shopping! Celebrating 25 years!

Today was my 25th Birthday! It's hard to believe that I'm a quarter of a century now... but time does fly, after all. My husband gifted me with some money to go shopping - my favorite gift of all! I went with my best friend, Meg, out to the Katy Mills Mall. It's always been a favorite hangout of mine here in Houston when I was a teenager, so it's nice to have a day out there again. 

I wore some of my favorite items to celebrate: my trusty eShakti skirt with a newer belt, my favorite Modcloth flats (which are starting to wear out, oh no!), and a cute metallic print tank top I got from Dilliard's! 

It was a wonderfully relaxing day, a day I really needed after dealing with putting the house in Richardson on the market, the move to Houston, and trying to find a job. 

Good news, though! The house already has an offer that we accepted! So if all goes well, then the house will be in the hands of new owners by the end of February!

The first store Meg and I went to was an H&M, but unfortunately aside from a few cute shoes and some jewelry, there wasn't a plus size section to peruse. Boo.

However, the second store was an Old Navy! I sifted through some things that I've never tried before, like the new Joggers trend I've been seeing pop up a lot lately. They're cute, but not for me. I DID get a cute button up top, though! In the Pantone color of the year, no less - Marsala. Or close enough. Along with it, I got a cute red and silver bracelet that was on sale. 

The next store is among my favorites! Forever XXI is an excellent place for plus size clothing (when they have the section included in the store, anyways). It does take time to dig through the racks, and there is a lot of black and more out-there trends. Personally, crop tops and jumpsuits just don't seem to agree with me. 

However, there are plenty of diamonds in the rough when you know what you're looking for! I was specifically looking for unique colors, patterns, and textures. And what I found was amazing!

First off is this gorgeous magenta tank dress. The material is a nice thickness, and the shape and cut works for both professional settings as well as going out. It's also really comfortable! Purple is one of those colors I can't get enough of, and need more of it in my closet!

The second dress was a black and gold lace tank dress. Similar in shape to the purple dress, but with lace sleeves. I love a-line looks, I think they're really flattering on me, and they're great for dressing up or down. 

This gold and black dress is especially fun - the lace texture is really interesting, and takes a new spin on an otherwise basic dress. 

After a meal in the food court, Meg and I wandered around some more. I purchase a couple other items, and then it was time to head on home! Meg took the pictures you see here! She did a great job, and I feel that everything I got is flattering and looks great on me! Plus Size never looked so good, eh?

After a long day of shopping, I came home to a husband already returned from work. We went out to a quick dinner and went to a fencing practice for our SCA group! Had a wonderful time hanging out with friends! 

I had a wonderful birthday - and I look forward to what lies ahead for me in the years to come!

The Painting Process - A look at Eva's creative style

Today it was wet, cold, and gloomy. It was a day I was hoping to do some laundry, when the washing machine decided it had other ideas. So instead of letting the "blah" get to me, I decided to do some painting. When I started the sketching and inking, I figured that I wanted to do a process post dedicated to my art style. 

This painting was inspired by the beautiful Sarah at Curvilyfashion.com! If you're into fabulous plus-size fashion, I suggest checking her out. She's fabulous and fun, and her blog is amazing! 

Now let's get to it! 

My first step is always a foundational sketch. Simple shapes like circles and ovals help to flesh out and set a pose. My lines are really loose and light, building up the figure over time. Next, I use a variety of ink pens to get the linework in. I vary the line weight up to make the image more interesting. 

The next step is to erase all of those pencil sketches! While they make an image feel looser and spontaneous, I like the clean look of smooth lines. Once that's done, it's on to painting!

Step three is getting the flat colors in and start building up your layers for shading. My go-to paints are a set of portable Prang watercolors. They are the high-end brand of watercolors, but they're easy to use and have a good saturation to them. They've served me well, and I can take them anywhere!

The final step is using the metallic gouache paints! I've been playing around with the Winsor & Newton brand of gouaches for a while now, and they make my paintings feel really glamourous! They add a certain bling to them, and I can have fun and be loose with the medium for the final touches.

And Voila!! The painting is done! A gorgeous plus sized lady turned into a lovely piece of art! 

If you're interested in a commission or an art collaboration, just email me at evaduplanart@yahoo.com!

Painting and Job Hunting

Today I went out and began the journey for a job. Now that we're pretty much settled in Houston, I really DO need to find something. It might not be fashion illustration related but at this point, anything is better than nothing. School Loans won't pay for themselves, after all!

I applied for several places in Sugar Land Town Center, a wonderful little shopping area in our beloved Suburb. If you're ever in Sugar Land, I suggest you check it out! City Hall is there, and a number of yummy restaurants and quirky boutiques. It's one of my favorite places to hang out whenever I would come home to visit my parents (they live here too, and I grew up here as well!).

Sugar Land Town Center has this gorgeous fountain in front of City Hall!

While I was out, I also got to slip into the Starbucks and do some painting. It had been a while, so it felt really good to get out the paints again! 

I've included a bit of a step-by-step photo process of the drawing below: 

I always start off with a pencil, then ink and line it. Erasing all of the sketch marks is essential in how I do things.

Then I add paint, then bling it up with gold gouache. It's one of my favorite painting styles right now!

To finish things off, I included a little outfit blurb as well. I got an adorable cream colored blazer from Cato Fashions the other day, and a metallic gold screen-printed top as well. I was rather proud of this work outfit, definitely will have to find other ways to wear this top!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

A few days late, I know, but things have been quite busy as of late!

Eva Duplan Illustrations is now in Houston! Our move went smoothly, and we're in the process of putting our Dallas home up for sale. My husband is now working - and I'm taking a semester off from graduate school to work on networking and making connections in my new home. Possibly even finding a part-time job! If you know someone in Houston who's looking for an Illustrator, let me know!

Houston is home to a lot of family - I'm five minutes from my parents and ten minutes from my sister-in-law and her family! It's been nice, returning home, and it's different to be living here under a different roof than my parents'. 

I'm hopeful that I will find new opportunities for my art here. Houston isn't quite so fashion-affluent like Dallas is, or that's what it seems. I'm hoping that will be proven wrong! I've never explored Houston before, even when I was growing up here. It will be a grand adventure, I'm sure! There is sure to be new artwork to be added to the blog soon, and new artwork to be added to my store as well.

Here's to a new year, a new life, new home, and a new adventure! 

Merry Christmas!

This year has been full of so many ups and downs and exciting twists and turns!

Christmas definitely was an up - I spent it with my in-laws! We went to Mass on Christmas Eve (Don's family is Catholic) and then enjoyed watching Christmas movies before going to bed. We woke up nice and early today - and there were so many presents to be had!

Our stockings were full of chocolate coins, and I had a cute keychain flash drive, an umbrella, gloves, and even a slinky in mine! I felt like a kid again looking through all of the goodies that waited for us. 

When my sister-in-law and her husband arrived with their kids, we went right into the present-opening. 

My husband got some work clothes, a few games, and Thor: The Dark World. I ended up getting a few books, a serger sewing machine, the Sims 4 and the best present of all - Corel Painter 2015!! 

Corel Painter is a program I needed for school, but after playing around with it, I see that it probably has MORE potential than Photoshop! It has so many brushes and paint options - it's going to be a joy to play with! I'm taking the Spring Semester off, so it will give me lots of time to practice. 

Here are a couple examples from today - doodling around!

I can't wait to use my new sewing machine for SCA garb, and the Sims 4 is going to be a blast! 

After presents, food was prepared and other family arrived for a late Christmas lunch. There was lots of laughter and fun, and plenty of quality time with my new extended family. 

I'm so blessed and lucky to have married into such a generous and caring family, they are always so much fun to be with! It has truly been a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to the New Year in my new home with my husband. 

Big News!

Hello again, readers!

Big change is heading our way, as my husband is starting a new job in downtown Houston on January 5th! 

Unfortunately, this means moving away from what has been considered my home for the past 9 months. We are sad to leave! I have made some wonderful friends who inspired me to start blogging, who encouraged me, and were there for some fun happy hours! You will all be missed! 

A new chapter will be beginning come the New Year - I'm taking a semester off from Grad School to look for a job and to build upon my freelancing and networking in Houston. I'm hoping my sketching will take off at events in Houston like they were starting to in Dallas! Lots of change is coming, and I'm hopeful for the future.

Moving to Houston will also be wonderful because both of our families will be close by! Don's parents are only an hour and a half away in Beaumont, while mine are in the suburb of Sugar Land! It's exciting to be closer to home.

Dallas will be missed, but I hope to visit it often to see friends and to partake in events! 

Here's to a Happy Holidays and a bright New Year's!!

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.