10/ 100 DAYS AFTER A MOTI-VACATION

I admit it - I've neglected this blog. It seems that my motivation was on a moti-vacation.

Between work, living and pondering life... it's seems my blogging took a back seat, which means my attempts at documenting my creativity did too, because well... my creativity was on a low.

It's always tough getting back on that horse after you've been thrown off for any period of time. But as I watched the Coachella live stream this weekend as I have been doing for years now... I thought back to my school days where I toiled for the entire weekend to get projects and portfolios done, where often the background music of Coachella performances was my only company. Which made me realise that I miss the regimented routine of school life and the panic stricken periods of working to meet a deadline. Why? Why would I miss school... mostly because it was an environment that forced me to be creative and innovative.

So it's funny that The 100 Day Project, something that seems to do the same thing, begins right after Coachella weekend.

#The100DayProject by Elle Luna asks "What could you do with 100 days of making?" 

The concept is so simple. It's all about the process and of course committing to the routine of creating for 100 days.

I love that it's not about a finished project or a final deadline... it's simply about showing what you're doing every day for 100 days - making progress through a process. All while sharing the journey and your progress on Instagram with other people all over the world.

The 100 day project seems like just the kinda thing to get me back onto that creative horse. So, I've taken three steps in order to join in with my own project for 2016. 

1. I'll finally put that Instagram I created to use - @polycottonblnd
2. I've decided that my project will be 100 Days of Illustrated Interests. my goal is simply to illustrate more - to expand my way of visually communicating. As I couldn't choose one subject my interests are what I'll illustrate.
3. So, I've created the hashtag #100daysofillustratinginterests that I'll be tagging all my #the100dayproject posts with.

The 100 Day Project starts today, so follow me on Instagram to see what I'm illustrating daily, to see if I complete my challenge and let me know if you're joining so I can follow your project!

DRAWING INSPIRATION / 03

I've been trying to make better use of my drawing tablet lately, so this is the result of a little bit of doodling and experimenting with different brushes in Illustrator.

Photo via Harper's Bazaar

DOODLE / 06

Here's another quick sketch done in ink. I love the way the faint pencil lines peak through to add a bit of depth beneath the black lines. I experimented with bigger, exaggerated eyes - and I feel like it creates a very kind of sad, 1920s-esque expression.

Also, I should mention that the fact that I started playing around with ink as a medium in late October, is actually a pretty funny coincidence.. considering that #inktober is actually a month long thing people do to improve their inking skills. I realised this a little too late in the month, but that's definitely something to look forward to next year. 

09/ INKLING FOR COATS

When I start reading about snow, I suppose it's officially winter. While I'm definitely not jealous of that winter weather,  the lack of cold weather where I live doesn't mean I'm not drooling over the amazing coats available right now - especially when they're simplistic, long and camel coloured!

I decided to experiment a bit with this drawing after watching a few youtube videos about ink and how it's used in more traditional illustration.

I had never used ink and gouache together in a fashion illustration before, as the ink I had was primarily used for silk screening. After looking at the videos, I was excited about the permanency of the ink - the idea of being able to ink a drawing, erase all the pencil marks and then paint over without the black lines spreading was fascinating. 

Personally, I love the results. It's going to take a while for me to adjust to and perfect outlining with a brush, versus a marker, but I'm definitely excited to experiment more with ink!

DOODLE/ 05

A super quick sketch trying to capture the exaggerated silhouette - done with pen and marker.

COLLECTION / NYFW SS 2015

New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2015 /////// Sheer Skirts, Cool Shirts, Long Coats, Wrap Skirts 

Looking through the photos for NYFW, I decided to sum up what I found interesting in a trend type post rather than a post about my favourite collections - mostly because New York isn't my favourite of all the fashion weeks, and because I spotted quite a few interesting things recurring on the runways this season.

Here's what I saw trending:

L-R: Delpozo, Hood by Air, Rosie Assoulin, The Row, (Bottom) J. Crew, 10 Crosby by Derek Lam

COOL SHIRTS /  If I had to choose one garment to wear every day for the rest of my life, it would probably be a shirt, so I was extra excited to see new and interesting takes on the shirt - mostly over sized or draped coolly - trending for 2015. Shirt dresses are already a big trend right now, so I love that the trend is continuing but evolving for the new season.

L-R: Michael Kors, Isa Arfen, Elizabeth and James, Tome, (Bottom) DKNY, Peter Som

SHEER SKIRTS /  Lace, mesh, laser cut or perforated, sheer skirts were all over the runway, or should i say under. I loved that designers played with the idea of styling sheer skirts under longer shirts or jackets, or layered over long shirt dresses. The juxtaposition of opaque and transparent is always visually appealing, but the sheer fabrics are also cool (in a  practical for the hot weather, I mean ha).

L-R: Hellessy, Rosetta Getty, Wes Gordon, Tracy Reese, (Bottom) The Row, Chadwick Bell

LONG COATS /  I find the proportions and drama a long coat creates very appealing, while it may not be appropriate for my little island's hot climate, I know I'll definitely be wishing I was somewhere where I could wear one. A long, almost floor grazing, coat is the perfect simplistic statement piece, fashion forward but functional!

 

 

L-R: Rosetta Getty, BCBG, Peter Som, Dion Lee, (Bottom) Chadwick Bell, The Row

WRAP SKIRTS /  The idea of a wrap skirt is one that could work with every body type - adjustable, layered and interesting enough to be fashionable every time. A wrap skirt is also a piece that works for any occasion from work to play, I think it's a wardrobe staple, and am glad to see it popping up in every fabric possible for 2015.

 

 Photos via style.com

DRAWING INSPIRATION/ 02

DRAWING INSPIRATION from ///////

Sass & Bide Spring/Summer 2015 

Here's a quick sketch and painting of a design from the ever captivating Sass & Bide, which caught my attention with it's clearly Japanese inspired look.

Japanese inspiration was popping up all throughout New York Fashion Week, where a lot of obi belts, structured layers and angular lines were seen - just the kinds of things I love!

More of my thoughts on NYFW coming soon.

08/ BLNDBOARD

If that last post wasn't enough inspiration for you, check out poly-cottonblnd's BLNDBOARD. 

It's a digital inspiration board / mood board / colour board all wrapped into one blog. 

The blog is a curated space where I mostly reblog / post images that I find inspiration in for garments, styling, illustration or just design in general - for my work and poly-cottonBLND. 

In university, I remember one of our assignments was to create a 'fashion bible' of images - mostly magazine clippings or print outs - for different categories which we could refer to easily when we were designing/illustrating for classes. The binders which we filled were huge and heavy to lug about. As well as, I found the assignment annoying - because when you're the type of person who has their beloved magazine organised neatly on a shelf, it's hard to tear pages out and such.

So, the BLNDBOARD blog is an easy alternative because it's digital and I can easily search by tags under which the images are organised - such as "menswear" or "pose" for example - and quickly find what I'm looking for. 

The BLNDBOARD started off more so a resource I created for my person use, especially when I converted poly-cottonBLND's tumblr into a blog for my original posts. 

Its taken a while to move all my inspiration images from polycottonBLND to the BLNDBOARD but I've finally separated the content. 

I find inspiration in the process of the selection and organisation of content for the BLNDBOARD and I hope others find inspiration in the BLNDBOARD as well. Check it out here - blndboard.tumblr.com

07/ PROCRASTINATION INSPIRATION

It's pretty funny to think that the last real post I wrote was entitled 'Back to... Life?'... because that's kind of what happened and the explanation for why there has been a lack of blog posts lately - Life happened.

I've had a busy couple of weeks which have made me see a lot in a different light. It's kind of crazy how experiencing new things, meeting and speaking to people from outside your usual circle of friends, can tell you so much about yourself and the world.

So, while I haven't been keeping up fully with my blog posts on here, I've definitely been inspired and therefore have a lot to write about. (Probably even more when I finish browsing through London, Milan and Paris fashion week photos.)

As I finish up posts, I'll be listening to this amazing mixtape that I've been binging on for a while now. The title 'Music to... Procrastinate to' is pretty ironic... because the mixtape is so inspiring, it makes me want to get things done.

Clearly, inspiration comes in so many ways, shapes and forms - often when you least expect it.

DOODLE/ 04

Throwback to throwback (on a Thursday) - sketches I did a while back when I was sorting out some of my old mood boards.