A blog by London Fashion Illustrator Elyse Blackshaw
Welcome to my first blog post!
I am often contacted by many aspiring fashion illustrators with questions about my role as a fashion illustrator. So here is a space to answer many of these questions and to share with you a little bit more about my work and process.
So, first things first - What are the top 5 things I do as a fashion illustrator?
1. Fashion Illustrations for London Fashion Week coverage
The main focus as a Fashion Illustrator is drawing and sketching at fashion week. As a UK based illustrator and someone with an affinity to the iconic London fashion scene, I primarily focus on London Fashion Week (LFW). Around the same time, Milan, Paris and New York host their designer shows too. You can view my fashion illustrations here.
2. Live Event Illustration
The second role as a fashion illustrator is specialising in live event illustration. As a live event illustrator, I apply my fashion illustration style to portraits and create bespoke artwork for guests. The event attendees become my artistic muse for around 10 minutes whilst I create stylised interpretations of them. Whilst drawing the client, I always try to connect with them on a deeper level, asking them questions about their life to ensure they feel valued and to give them a unique personal experience. Take a look at my other portraits here.
3. Brand Collaborations
A really fun aspect of fashion illustration is applying my style to a range of products from branded bags and product packaging to bespoke prints for fashion. It's really fun bringing illustrations to life through a 3D form. See the different decorative illustrations I have created here.
4. Installations on location
The next step up from a 3D form is an installation! Through graphic hoarding and window vitrines, a whole world can be created from illustrations that really immerse the customer in a location. You can view my other mural that is up to 60 meters wide here.
5. Hosting talks & workshops
Being in person and in a physical space also transcends into being invited to host talks and workshops. Here I discuss and share my expertise in contemporary fashion illustration to a live audience or to online participants. You can see some behind the scenes of my workshops here.