This was my first quick sketch when trying to come up with an illustration 'style'. I knew that my design aesthetic can be gothic, spiritual and whimsical most of all, so I wanted a beautiful, spirit-like figure to represent that. I remember seeing a black and white photo of Ann Demeulemeester that had such a dark and sensuous power to it, I tried to capture that.
Sailor Moon influenced me more than any other TV show growing up, and to this day, it is my favorite cartoon/anime. I was enamored with the character's super long hair that seemed to always be moving, along with the fascinating styles and colors. I had to include a little Sailor Moon somewhere.
Then there were miles of pinterest photos I had collected to build an ideal mood.
I decided not to add a skin color completely by accident, back in school when I didn't have the time to finish a project. I noticed the detail in the clothing really came to life with a less distracting canvas. Color also frustrates me immensely, in design and illustration. I feel like it slows me down, when what I really want to do is focus on the garment itself, it's movement, it's rendering, it's silhouette, and it's construction.
Currently, I am challenging myself to infuse more of the detailed rendering I learned in school and fine art lessons into each drawing. I want to rely more on hand rendering in order to build upon this style, which I feel still needs a lot of work.
