Illustrations...

I've done a few more illustrations at home. These are the best two so far i think. i love the one i made with a stencil and spray paint o much! and i really like how the ink works, i find this style the easiest to work in i think.

Up to reading week

We have broken up for reading week today and I've had a really good week, the last week. On the Wednesday i had my drawing session which i found really useful, i made so many drawings with many different media and i think i progressed so much just in the one session.

The Friday session of that week i had more of a go on the industrial sewing machines, doing fabric samples and even two zip samples which came out pretty good, i also mounted them into my technical file. I did quite a few seams samples, and some that i had never seen or tried out before, so it will be good to look back in the folder and refer to them if i ever think i need a different seam for a garment. 

This Monday i got quite a lot out of the critical studies lesson, more so than any other weeks, Marcel explained what we had to do in our presentations a bit more and is even giving us a tutorial session the week before the deadline, i do have a lot to work on though in this area which will take up a fair amount of private study time.

The Tuesday session went well too, we had the whole day to just carry on with our sketch book and sample work, we also got a twenty minute tutorial to help and guide us with what we were doing, i got some advice from Ian, he said i should look at the word 'layers' more literally, like layers on an onion or ozone layers which i think is some good advice as i did seem to be in a bit of a rut concentrating on fabric and garment layers too much. 

On Wednesday we continued with our drawing session in the morning, i got a few more good drawings done which will all go to my final collection, in the afternoon session we had a three hour photoshop lesson, i learnt so much from this one session i feel a lot more confident when using photoshop now and feel i might be able to create a few good prints now which will also go in my final collection, another thing that i need to work on in my private study time.

Today's session i think i got the most work done than any other session this week, i was working with Hugo on a garment from a magazine cutting, i designed the pattern using the bodice blocks we made the previous Friday, i used the cutting and slashing technique a lot and i think it will turn out a lot like the garment photo i am working from, i think i am most excited about this project so far as the results are fast and the stages are easy to follow.

blocks, crit studies, and creative approach to fashion

I had a really fun day on Friday, we made a full size bodice block from scratch in a size 12. It was really good to get back into the mathematical side of fashion! its not been done for a while! I'm looking forward experimenting with the shape of it and working in fabric at a later date.

On Monday i had a really difficult critical studies lesson, i found it hard to get my head round a few things and I'm struggling on what to do for my final power point presentation, i think i will get my head round it after a few more reads through the texts.

In my private study time i have been working on some illustration techniques and trying to get better at drawing by just practicing and practicing. i have found i really like working with water colours charcoal and chalk, i think i can get quite a variety of marks with these, my favourite medium has always been fine liner and water, you can get a lovely grayish purple colour with it.

In the Tuesdays session we did a lot of work on a barbie doll, experimenting with different designs with fabrics and taking drawings and photographs from these. In the afternoon session we worked on full size mannequins using really big pieces of paper instead of fabric to create different shapes and to just get a feel of working full size. I think i got some really good results from it too so i will have a lot to work from in my private studies to fill up my sketch book.

 

a few more pics from my sketch book.

Just thought i'd add a few more pics from my sketch book too, i have a new found love for brown paper! i am really enjoying the research stages of this project.

creative approaches to fashion

I had a full day of Creative Approaches to Fashion today, and i had a lot of fun! There was a lot of cutting and sticking involved which was really good, although i must say i think i misinterpreted what we were meant to do to begin with. We were asked to bring in an image that was photocopied ten times and make images on top of models that represented clothes. My image was more pattern based than i think it was meant to be, so halfway through the day i had to find a few more images to photocopy and make a few more illustrations than actual shapes from the images Incorporated into them, they turned out really good actually i think!

When i got home i added Indian ink to some of the images and sewed into most of them to make them a bit more interesting to look at. I also started the first page of my sketch book with research of Caroline Broadhead, this and the words 'Layers and Tears' is where i am getting most of my inspiration from for this project, she has made many different images made up of mirrors cut into swirly patterns that remind me a lot of lace, so i might so quite a few samples using lace, she also uses transparent fabrics in garments and hangs them to create soft shadows, which she then draws from. I like the idea of the transparent fabric as it could be layered up and you would be able to see what is underneath, what it is layered over the top of, like lace with its holes and 'cut out' parts. 

first full week, starting the real stuff.

It has gotten to the end on the first full week now that's not full of inductions, and its down to the real work. i must say I've been enjoying it thoroughly. We started our critical studies lessons on the Monday, it looks like its going to be lots of hard work (as does all of the course), but i think i will find this lesson the hardest to grasp personally, purely due to the intensiveness and the writing skills needed. I think i will get my head round it though, with practicing reading and writing, even though i think i will find it hard i don't think i will find it any less enjoyable than any other part of the course as i enjoy a challenge and something to think about analytically. 

On Tuesday i got an insight into one of the projects we were going to do, based mostly on research skills which i must say i really enjoy doing, so i cant wait to see what comes of it. On the last day of the week; Friday i had loads of fun messing around with manipulating darts on paper block patterns, i think i learnt a lot just in this one session and i had a lot to show for it too. I cant wait until the nest Friday session, it seems a lot more hands on which i really like the idea of.