Lately

You may or may not have noticed how spread out my blog posts have been lately. However, this does not mean I haven't been up to something. Actually, you can see the mess that has been building up on my desk throughout the week. 

As you can see on the first image, I recently drafted the first bra pattern I've ever worked on and I sewed up a muslin yesterday. I'm really excited about finally diving into lingerie sewing. Now all I need to do to start practicing is buy some fabric, lace, elastics and all other notions. 

I have also been drawing a bit. Some portraits and fashion illustrations here and there. I think it's pretty apparent that I have been swimming in a sea of unfinished work for weeks now. 

Take a break every now and then

Between sketching, designing a collection, drafting patterns and sewing, things can get pretty overwhelming. Not to mention the pressure I put on myself with all the projects I have in mind but haven't had the time to tackle yet. Sometimes it even gets to the point that I have so many ideas running around my head at 100 miles per hour that trying to catch them all and put them down on paper makes me feel dizzy and overwhelmed. I am definitely an overachiever and I tend to take on many projects at once, which has always made me wonder if the same reactions are experienced by other creatives.

With time I have come to learn, slowly but surely, that you need some space in between work to do something completely different from what has you so caught up so that you can unwind and get a fresh perspective. This also really helps when you get stuck creatively; when you get that pesky block. 

So that said, whenever you are feeling too overwhelmed with something you are working on remember to step back for a while and give yourself the time and space to be inspired again, to let your creativity bloom and go back into it with a renewed attitude.

{ Photo: Elle China August 2012 }

Illustration: cycling

If it were up to me I would ride my bike everywhere. During the summer, there is nothing that sound more appealing to me than going on bike rides with the refreshing summer breeze coming towards you. It's a great time to relax, think, enjoy nature and get inspired.

For this illustration I worked with color pencils and a touch of watercolor. Those are my two mediums of choice lately and I love using them for different illustrations. I hope you guys like this one. Do you guys enjoy cycling as much as I do?

{ Prints available here }

Inspiration: Metin Fejzula Photography

Today I want to show you guys Metin Fejzula's photography. I had a really hard time choosing just four photos since they are all so beautiful. His style exudes beauty and melancholy. You can check out his blog here.

Illustration: Mint Pants

Illustration: Breakfast at Tiffany's

It's funny how inspiration always comes either right when I have to go to sleep or when my work has piled up and I'm looking to procrastinate. 

I saw this cute picture from atutudes and I just had to draw it. Unfortunately, I did something I regretted as soon as I laid my first brush stroke. I Compromised on the quality of the paper. I had a headache whe I drew this so I though it would be just practice and I would probably mess it up so why waste good paper? Someone should have kicked me then. That will teach me to never compromise on paper again. 

Happy Monday. 

Illustration: Accessories

If you are interested, you can find prints of this illustration here.

open sketch book

For the second post of my Open Sketch Book series we have this page. I drew these sketches in preparation  for an assignment a while ago. You can have a look at more pages from my sketchbook here.

Illustration: Blue Set

How are you guys doing? I hope the fact that it's Friday has you as excited as I am. Today I'm showing you these three illustrations with designs made by yours truly. The scanner washed them out quite a bit but it's not too noticeable. I have two more sets like this one coming up on the blog next week. 

Collection: Serendipity

You guys got to see a small preview of a couple of these designs here. Under the cut you'll find the five designs that make up Serendipity.

Illustration: Swimsuits

All of the summer-y photos and blog posts online had me inspired about swimsuits so, naturally, I painted some.  
How was your weekend?

Illustration: Ajak Deng

Illustration of model, Ajak Deng. Happy Saturday.

Illustrations: Preview

I am currently working on a few illustrations. I have a lot of ideas and sketches planned for the near future that I hope I can begin this weekend. Those up there are some of my designs from a couple of previous projects. 

I love it when I get organized and I'm inspired, all at the same time. Hopefully, it will result in a productive weekend. 

Illustration: Amp Up The Color

I don't know about you guys, but I sometimes fall into the pattern of opting for neutral clothes over colorful ones when shopping, with the excuse that I'll get more wear out of it and it will "go with everything". The cure that I've found for an all-neutral wardrobe is colorful accessories. The brighter the better, especially for summer. So, here you have illustrations of some of the accessories I wish I had in my closet right now.

{ Aldo clutch | Kate spade watch | Leif stripe scarf | Nike sneakers  }

Illustration: Pen doodles

I had a watercolor illustration lined up for today's post but I found these old pen doodles this morning and I changed my mind. 

Happy Monday.

Illustration: modern shield

This illustration almost slipped by me. I did it a while a go. I have a few more that I painted along with this one, so those might be popping up here soon.

I am done with exams so I will be enjoying my weekend and drawing as much as possible. What are you guys up to this weekend?

Basic Brown

There has been a lack of updates this week due to finals but I'm back now. I've been working on a new illustration set with some items I love, with a few beautiful hues. There are some orange, reds, yellow and some pretty pink hues. I'm loving those lately. 

Prints are available here