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B
Blank page
Attack art block
with a timer
with a timer
L
A
Lack of
inspiration
inspiration
O
R
Overthinking
Routine
T
K
C
Tips from pro's
Keep it simple
Can’t think
of something
of something
ART BLOCK
ART BLOCK community
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Attack art block with a timer
ART BLOCK
ART BLOCK community
About
Contact
The Perfect Shape
(an interview with Piet Paris)
(an interview with Piet Paris)
10 Instagrams every fashion illustrator
Should know about
Should know about
ART BLOCK
ART BLOCK community
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Attack art block with a timer
The struggles of being an artist…
You wake up;
First: coffee!
You wake up;
First: coffee!
Okay, the battery is charged. Let’s create a ton of art work today! Let’s go!!
The sun is shining, you feel good and motivated. Today is going to be a good and productive day.
You’re ready to get started.
The sun is shining, you feel good and motivated. Today is going to be a good and productive day.
You’re ready to get started.
You grab a piece of paper, get your art supplies and…
Stare at the blank sheet of paper.
Where to start?!
Stare at the blank sheet of paper.
Where to start?!
Often the hardest thing is to start. I experimented with using a timer while drawing. Setting an alarm clock on my phone of ten minutes for each drawing pushed me to set the idea aside to make every sketch perfect.
Sketch first. Think later.
It also helped me not to overthink every decision like what materials to use and what colours. I just grabbed art supplies that I felt like using at that moment and started creating.
Sketch first. Think later.
It also helped me not to overthink every decision like what materials to use and what colours. I just grabbed art supplies that I felt like using at that moment and started creating.
The first time I used this method
I drew from reference images that I collected
from Instagram.
A tip though, that an art school teacher
I drew from reference images that I collected
from Instagram.
A tip though, that an art school teacher
once gave me, is that drawing from life is far more educational than drawing from a 2D image.
The perspective, lighting and composition have already been chosen for you and the reference is flat. An object, person or interior is set in a 3D space. If you draw something from life you can move your subject around, move around the subject or the subject itself even moves.
It makes it more interesting to draw.
Draw something
from your environment:
draw an object,
the interior,
or maybe even
a person
or animal
from your environment:
draw an object,
the interior,
or maybe even
a person
or animal
ART BLOCK
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The perfect shape (an interview with Piet Paris)
For this article I have contacted Piet Paris, who is a fashion illustrator based in the Netherlands. He is a bespoke and really inspiring artist, who works together with multiple brands within the fashion industry, for example with Viktor&Rolf. His work is inspired by the act of creating the perfect shapes, which he combines together in his artworks. You can read more about his work in some of my other articles, which I will link at the bottom. In this article you will find an interview with Piet Paris, where he tells us about multiple aspects of his illustration style.
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How would you describe your illustration style?
"My illustration style consists of leaving things out and simplifying. I combine this with a grand desire to the creation of a composition where all aspects are of equal importance. The drawing itself as well as the spaces left around it."
The input of a language of shapes, which is mainly based on the most elementary principles of shapes, is always the base. Working from the Bauhaus concept fits me well. A distortion of the frog perspective or flat frontal mostly leads to good results. Color is mostly in second place, while black and white are a dominant factor within my work."
Where do you find inspiration for the shapes in your illustration work?
"I get most inspiration from the subject itself: the fashion subject.
Mostly I choose one aspect from the topic. The choice is based on courage and experience and falls in line with your last question: First try to see and do as much as possible….."
Mostly I choose one aspect from the topic. The choice is based on courage and experience and falls in line with your last question: First try to see and do as much as possible….."
Do you have any advice for starting fashion illustrators about developing their own illustration style?
"Firstly, try to see and do as much as possible. First go to a foreign country for your studies or work, create lots of work, and after that enter the market with your own work.
Being your own manager and/or teacher is the hardest thing there is. Finding your own style has everything to do with self criticism, self analyzation, and perseverance.
Illustration is connected to an audience or market (if not you are an artist), so look for connection to a group, or someone or something where you feel that you belong. The most important thing is of course that you have to be completely passionated for the topic: fashion design."
Illustration is connected to an audience or market (if not you are an artist), so look for connection to a group, or someone or something where you feel that you belong. The most important thing is of course that you have to be completely passionated for the topic: fashion design."
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10 Instagram profiles every fashion illustrator
should know about
should know about
There are so many great artists out there on social media. Here are some amazing Instagram profiles you definitely don’t want to miss out on!
1. Draw a dot
For Marcus Kan, the founder of Draw a dot, it all started with a blog he created in late 2009 ‘Fusion of effects’. In 2011 he became a contributor to an online magazine and curated illustration projects. When he created Draw a dot in 2013 he had already met a lot of fashion illustrators, photographers and designers.
Draw a dot is an online platform that showcases fashion illustrations from all around the world. Iconic for the platform are the open calls. Draw a dot collaborates with amazing fashion designers and brands like Burberry, Coach, Mary Katrantzou, Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Viktor & Rolf and Versace. Any illustrator can participate and send in a fashion illustration for the open call. Six illustrations will be showcased on the @drawadot Instagram and one lucky winner will be chosen by the designer or brand.
Participating in the open calls can create great exposure for your work.
2. Influencer Noonoouri
Meet Noonoouri : a virtual influencer, created by Joerg Züber. Noonoouri is a curious and cute influencer who exudes couture, fashion and beauty. As a virtual character Noonoouri is fascinated by real people. She is a global citizen. Which means she can come from any background. She lives in Paris, is 20 years old and 1.50 meters tall. As digital influencer she reports about news and events that happen in fashion and pop culture. Noonoouri also tries to make the world a better place by raising awareness about global problems. She occupies herself with topics such as nature and human rights.
3. Piet Paris
Piet Paris is a dutch fashion illustrator, who has a graphical illustration style. He is fascinated by different shapes, which leads to his work being quite abstract. He creates his work using techniques like collages and stencils, trying to find the perfect shapes. He works with a large variety of brands within the fashion industry like Viktor&Rolf, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
4. Astrid Vos
Another Dutch artist that lives and works in Amsterdam is Astrid Vos. Her work is inspired by fashion and beauty. A fascinating aspect of her work, is her specialization in live drawing. This is the act of creating illustrations in the moment itself. She does this at events like fashion shows and events of fashion brands. She also makes a broad quantity of work, because of her fluent and spontaneous illustration style. This way of operating as an illustrator leads to vibrant and lively artworks.
5. Megan Hess
If you are always drawn to fancy images and chique fashion brands, you will adore this artist. These elegant, glamorous figures are created by Megan Hess, who creates her own fantasy world of fashion. Her style can be described as elegant, and aesthetic. She works and lives in Australia, where she collaborates with different fashion and luxury brands. Megan Hess mainly makes prints, but she has a significant variety of projects.
6. Donald Robertson
Donald Robertson is the creative director of Estee Louder Companies, that owns multiple brands like Estee Louder makeup/skincare, and Clinique. His work is very experimental and playful. He creates everything that comes to his mind. He doesn’t only work on paper or canvas, but sees everything as an opportunity to make an artwork out of it. For instance walls, cereal and Lucifer boxes, wallpapers, food packaging, etc. Donald is very well known in the Unites States, where he also lives.
7. Hayden Williams
Hayden Williams is a British illustrator who has found his fame mainly through social media. He works with many fashion brands and celebrities. His work is inspired by the fashion scene and pop culture. For example, he has made amazing illustrations of people like Ariana Grande, Nicky Minaj, Kim Kardashion, and many more. One of his projects was illustrating the packaging of a Kylie Cosmetics makeup line. He also designed a clothing line for the brand MissGuided. He mainly draws people, and he has a very typical style. He makes the people look like elegant fashion dolls, with extremely long legs and faces with accentuated cheekbones, jawlines, big eyes, and plump lips. In line with the classical beauty ideal in the global fashion industry.
8. Crystal artist Sara Shakeel
Crystal artist Sara Shakeel tells a story in her art works by accentuating elements in photographs with glittering and shiny crystals.
I chose this image from her Instagram because I think the idea behind it is really interesting. She highlights the things with glitter, that we usually want to cover up, to show that flaws are what make you interesting and beautiful.
This reminds me of Japanese ceramic that they repair with cold or silver. The philosophy behind it is that the bursts add to the beauty of the object because it’s part of its history. I looked it up and found out it’s called Kintsugi. The same philosophy can be applied to this artwork.
Rijksstudio,
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl
9. Julie Houts
Julie Houts, called “Instagram’s favorite illustrator” by Vogue, lives and works in Brooklyn. She is known as @joleeloren. The illustration below belongs to a series of illustrations that Julie Houts created where she visualized people during fashion week. While quotes are spread on social media platforms about being yourself, fashion is a lot about being seen and recognized. In her illustrations Jullie Houts comments in a humoristic way on the conflicting messages that are being spread every day.
10. Wendy Buiter
Wendy Buiter, a dutch artist based in Rotterdam, creates beautiful portraits with confident women that are inspired by fashion and beauty. She has a background in makeup artistry and was the owner of her own company. She sold her company to become a fulltime artist. A right path to take because her work is very well-known in the Netherlands and through social media in the rest of the world.