By constance, on December 1st, 2011
I’ve been sketching almost all of my life, but in recent years I’ve gotten a bit rusty. My work revolves around my mouse; I spend most of my days in Adobe Illustrator working to perfect each line that I plot. I live and breathe layouts and typography.
But I am always striving to become better, learn more, and expand my talents. So with that in mind, I signed up for a class. It’s been 5 years since I graduated college, and although I do tutorials frequently, and really push myself to do better, nothing compares to getting feedback from a teacher. I enrolled at Parsons for a fashion sketching class; I love the concept of not only learning to draw people, but learning how to appropriately add clothes to them! And as a perk, it’s also done with charcoal… a medium I’ve never explored.
With all of the pages that I’m filling up with drawings, I’ve decided that I really should share some with you! Classes are weekly through the end of the semester… and I’m bound to only get better! So I think that I’ll start at the beginning and show you more along as I go.
(Just a note: I just barely discovered how fabulous instagram is – I know, I know, I’m completely behind the curve! – so I went a little crazy… The next posts won’t be quite so instagram heavy.)
The first few weeks were focused on gesture drawings: getting a rough skeleton of the figure onto paper. We talked about 8-head tall figures, and poses. We did drawings based off of live models, and I filled up countless pages in my 18″x23″ sketchbook. But despite all of the work and learning, it didn’t really leave me with any fantastic images to show.
So, onto the next step… After the gesture drawings, I learned to really get the figure of the ribcage and hips down. Both of these can be thought of as boxes, and I love how this show where the drawing is going.
Stay tuned… my sketch pad is filling up quickly! I have so much more to share!
By constance, on November 28th, 2011
I absolutely love this time of year! Winter is in the air, but not quite here yet… holiday decorations are going up, but it’s an unusual 70 degrees. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Jared and I stayed in the city for the holiday weekend, so after all of the post-Thanksgiving relaxing we decided to head out and look at the holiday preparations going on. Wreaths, snowflakes, and twinkle lights are going up all around the city, and Rockefeller Center is looking like a dream!
(I was wearing: skirt, express… ages ago; leg warmers, strawberry; almost everything else is forever 21… hmm… it was a very forever 21 day!)
By constance, on November 6th, 2011
About a year ago I found this amazing purple leather skirt at a second-hand store, and immediately snatched it up. And then promptly forgot that I had it.
I ran across it a bit ago, as I was unpacking clothes from the great cross-country move, but just couldn’t seem to style it with anything. So it sat in the closet. So sad!
Then one day, a couple weeks ago, I blindly grabbed it from the closet as I was desperately trying to hustle out the door: the look ended up absolutely perfect!
And since then, it’s become a staple of my wardrobe. Funny how things evolve.
(outfit details: yellow sweater, h&m; pink button-up, express; thrifted purple leather banana republic skirt; jessica simpson gray thigh-high socks, strawberry)
By constance, on October 25th, 2011
A week or so ago, Jared and I realized that we were on the brink of one of the last warm days that New York was likely to see this year, so we headed to the park. It was absolutely gorgeous! I’m amazed that no matter how many times I wander through Central Park I always find something new. Among the new things that I found this time was this gothic bridge.
I wasn’t exactly prepared to do outfit photos, but with the light coming through the leaves in just the right way, how could I say no?!
Now, looking at these photos has me dreaming of warmer days.
By constance, on October 13th, 2011
Oh, my lovelies! It’s been too long. I have started on a fabulous adventure this year, and although I’ve been too engrossed in evolving to share details as they happen, I haven’t forgotten about you. Remember this post from oh, so long ago? Well, I knew what I was talking about… I definitely knew that I was pushing change. And just like the whirlwind that I was preparing for, my future grabbed me, twirled me about, and left me on a fresh, exciting path.
More details about all of my adventures are to come, but for now, I’ll just say: I’m absolutely happy!!
With all of this change in my life comes change in what I’d like to share with you. Don’t worry… I won’t change too much! I’ll keep some of your favorites like Random Little Tidbits, Things I Heart, and 5 favorites, but my new and exciting routine is definitely going to lead to new and exciting content! Just you wait!!
By constance, on April 25th, 2011
I recently realized that I have been doing a bunch of photo editing, and haven’t thought to show you any before and after pictures. (How thoughtless of me!!) But it’s an oversight that can easily be fixed. Below are three of my favorites. In the future, I’ll remember to share more!
This one was fixed for the front of the new business cards for The Big Purple Tree. For it I slightly intensified the black, and increased the lens coloring, as well as cleaned up the background. Sometimes simple things can make all the difference.
This has to be one of my absolute favorite pictures! (Done for a header for The Big Purple Tree’s website) The retouching was minimal (I only altered the color of the leaf), but the reaction that it gets makes me smile every time!!
Out of the three photos, this is definitely the most drastic. First off I flipped the image (left to right) and smoothed out skin imperfections, including the dark circles under my eyes. Next, I altered the hair color and intensified the color of the eyes. Finally I erased the background, matching the new color to a shade that peeked through strands of hair in order to maintain consistency.
I absolutely love seeing where it started, and how I could alter it while maintaining believability. Photo editing and retouching gives a whole new life to each photo!
By constance, on March 23rd, 2011
Last week was definitely a week of business cards – with 3 finished products coming together within just a couple days!
I’ve been working with the Saucy Ladies for a while now. Last summer – as they made the transition from hand-made, organic sauces to catering – the owner approached me to develop an identity and marketing materials specific to her catering. I started with a few mock-ups, then dove into photo shoots of her fantastic food. With the product of 4 full days of pictures to work with, we’re nearing the end. The business cards were finally printed last week, and the turned out perfectly! They’re a 3″x5″ size with a recipe on back, setting them apart from the rest while reflecting the nature of her business.
While I do update my portfolio as new projects come to fruition, it seems like good practice to give it a grand overhaul every year: more than that is extremely time consuming, and less would just be neglectful. With a new look to house my designs, comes a new feel for my design identity for the year. And new business cards! I absolutely LOVE this year’s rendition!
During the process of updating my cards, I talked to Jared (of The Big Purple Tree) and we decided to update his as well. Last year’s cards for The Big Purple Tree were very graphic heavy, this year we decided to put more emphasis on the film/video work that he does. I used an image that we had already photographed as a website banner in order to maintain consistency throughout the mediums, and simplified everything with a white background.
I absolutely love seeing the end results of my work!!
By constance, on March 21st, 2011
I came across this dress in late December (after all of the holiday parties were over), and was extremely excited to wear it, but all suitable occasions had past. I held onto it through January and February, admiring it as it hung in my closet, but never putting it on. Then one rainy March morning, I decided that enough was enough! A dress this fantastic doesn’t need an occasion!! So I pulled out my camera.
There’s always a very sweet feminine, girly aspect…a touch of nostalgia. There’s also the aspect of trendiness; the hipness I try to create by always adding a rock-and-roll coolness. There’s always that ambiguity…the Good Girl/Bad Girl thing. All these facets have to go into my designs, or it doesn’t look like “Anna Sui”.
- Anna Sui
This (slightly incomplete) outfit definitely leans more towards the “good girl” aspect of the dress. Every inch of lace is completely on display. But I have plans to see if I can’t bring out the rock-and-roll. Maybe leather leggings and 5″ heels?! More pictures are definitely to come.
In the mean time, check out Anna Sui’s shop. So many gorgeous things!
♥
♥
♥
Thought that I might as well slide one more picture in! This was the last shot that I took… I was poised and ready… then I slipped. The camera caught me just as I fell out of the window sill.
By constance, on March 14th, 2011
♥ Rumi of Fashion Toast was in Tokyo when the earthquake hit. My heart goes out to those who are there!
♥ Give until it hurts from White Hot Truth.
♥ Great Gatsby: The Video Game! Really, need I say more?! (Thanks, Jared!)
♥ Recently the Museum of Modern Art added 23 digital fonts into its collection. I love, LOVE it!
♥ On that note, 5 Principles for Choosing a Typeface from Smashing Magazine.
♥ And for some daily typographic inspiration, check out Friends of Type.
♥ One more design related thing before I move on: A form letter to help you politely decline spec work. Along with some solid reasoning as to why spec work can be a bad idea for everyone involved.
♥ Let’s wrap it up with 50 Reasons to be Pretty Damn Euphoric You Live in New York City.
By constance, on March 8th, 2011
I came across this and absolutely had to share it with you! It is a beautiful tribute to four classic typefaces, done by a Spanish design studio, Atipo.
And if the images alone aren’t enough, the video below is sure to get your creative juices flowing:
|
|
Comments are closed 
