We had to create an illustration based on the chosen product we had sketched ideas in the previous class. We have to ensure that our final idea matches our customer profile segment.

I started by sketching my product on a large A3 paper, then working with very different mediums for the colors. I feel like this is what differentiates it from my peer’s work. I used chalk pastels, oil pastels, acrylic paints, watercolor pencils and paints. It is very clearly visible that all of them have different textures and styles and I think it is very interesting. The shades of green used are also quite different from each other, making it stand out. There was a lot of medium used here. At first, I wasn’t sure about using a lot of mediums but after some exploration, turns out I’m really enjoying it. The outcome and color weren’t like how I had imagined. I was going for muted colors but wasn’t able to find any so I decided to go with the colors available.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident with my results at first. I was quite confused about which design to use because I had 8 design sketches in total so I decided to ask some of my classmates, and they told me that I should go with the one I like the most. I took their advice and decided on my final design. I feel like all this time, it is very helpful to get some advice from them. I can understand other people’s points of view about my work clearly and possibly make some changes based on their critique. I believe this is very important as it can help us develop our work as long as it is constructive. After asking for some advice and feedback both from the teacher and my classmates, I was relieved as they told me that they liked it and that it was actually good. Giles said that my illustration reminds him of Van Gogh’s style. I was very delighted to hear it. I wasn’t going to use a lot of mediums for the colors in the beginning but decided to just try it out. It turned out great, and even create new ideas. I was only going to choose one coloring style from three of them but Giles said that it was a good idea to leave them be. Creating something like a patchwork bag, and I can clearly see the relation of it to Shoreditch. What’s cool is that I was going to add some patchwork to the middle ripped part of the bag, but didn’t like the position so I decided not to add them. It surprises me that Giles’ advice accidentally matched my patchwork idea. My final illustration wasn’t 100% the same as the ones I had sketched, I had altered them because I felt like some details weren’t that great of a match. During the illustration, I wasn’t able to draw the textures exactly the way I thought about it but I am content with what I ended up with. Furthermore, it was very fun linking the ideas from Shoreditch to my work. I feel like it trains my analytical, creative, and experimentation skills.

It is actually very great to work by hand, I feel like you get to explore more and feel the materials in the real world. Although working digitally is interesting too. Specifically for fashion illustration, I feel like it is always to produce the work by hand at first. I actually enjoy both working by hand and digitally, both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes I find myself struggling to use digital platforms like Photoshop because I’m not familiar with them yet, and I feel like it is kind of hard to really figure out and understand everything, it takes some time. I always feel like working by hand is interesting, it feels more real to me. Handmade work can be messier than digital ones, and I believe this is what makes it unique. Our hands create something different every time, so the work we produced will only be unique to us. It always surprises me how much work we can do with our own hands. Moving forward, I will focus more on learning ways to illustrate my work properly, the ways I had envisioned them to be. This time, I didn’t have any problems with my time management although I was kind of slow at the start because I was thinking a bit too long about which design to go with. I will make sure to plan beforehand so I won’t need to spend valuable time in class to just thinking. One of the lessons I got from this class was how exploration can really create new exciting ideas. I’d like to explore more in the future, so I can have more options to choose from and create something fresh from them.