Deanna's Favorite @TombowUSA Sketch Products

I was thrilled with testing out a few of my favorite #gifted TombowUSA #TombowPro products for my most recent fashion illustrations! Today I’m going to walk you through a few of my most used materials that help make my visions come to life.

I love their Dual Brush Pens in in grayscale and their Mono Drawing Pens! The Dual Brush pens have a watery base which make the pens glide smoothly and fast, which are perfect for my live-sketch events. I use the shade N25 for my thick black outline on edges of my sketch after I get the outline drawn. The drawing pens come in a pack of six and all have various line qualities that are perfect for every part of creating a fashion sketch. I use size 01 and 02 for fine details like the lips, eyes and hair. The bolder outlines around body and clothing I like to use a mix of 05 and 08. They are:

• Smooth, skip-free writing and drawing

• Excellent nib strength

• Water-based pigment ink doesn't bleed through most papers

I also am obsessed with their Dual Brush Pen Portrait Set! I use them for skin tone on all my portraits. Since I do all my sketches so quickly at events I just do an accent line on the edges. This

And here is the final piece! Would love to see what you create if you end up using the #TombowUSA sets! Tag me @deanna_first + @tombowusa

Alice + Olivia Coterie 2020 sketching using Roses!

I always light up when I find out that I’ll be working with Alice + Olivia again at their NYC showroom! I worked at their 2019 Coterie event last year and met so many amazing buyers from all across the United States. It was nice to see a few familiar faces for the second year in a row while creating custom fashion illustrations for all.

Live Sketching Inspiration + Process

This time we drew inspiration from pink and red roses. The event took place right around Valentine’s Day so it was only fitting to incorporate some sort of romantic and playful element into the sketches! What better way than roses!

1. I found the petals worked best as skirt silhouettes over tops but honestly might have made a really fun faux fur looking jacket depending on placement.

2. I live sketch each guest first as I normally would in about 5-7 minutes each.

3. I added placement of petals one by one over top of sketch. It tore me a little bit inside pulling a perfectly in tact rose apart but justified it since was going to be used towards creating a unique piece of art.

4. You probably are thinking - but wait this will not last since the petals will surely wilt. True, but if you press them in a frame it will create a long lasting FRAMABLE memory for years to come. :)

Special Project for DVF inspired by Diane

I’m SO thrilled to be sharing a little more about my process with you and what inspires me along the way!

This will be #1 of several sketches I will unveiling for an exploration project that Diane von Fürstenberg herself asked me to create! Yes - I still can’t believe I just typed that. I think back when I first decided to go freelance and compare it to the life I’m living now and it is just insane. I never really think about it until I catch myself reflecting back on the past.

Inspiration came easy when looking into #WomanInCharge movement as a theme and Diane’s strength and iconic style. I gravitated towards powerful poses and movement in my sketches to capture that on the go lifestyle and hard work ethic that the modern day woman embodies.

The Winona Stretch Crepe Peplum Jacket by #DVF below was paired with a matching spice and black printed pant. The pant is not part of their collection but I am a sucker for a matching suit so tweaked the sketch a bit.

MY PROCESS

Step 1. I started by sketching in pencil. Honestly, I love a good mechanical pencil. I own all of the fancy professional kind but gravitate towards the ones I used in college.

Step 2. I scan in my artwork multiple times. This allows me to PLAY! If I mess up the entire sketch isn’t ruined when I go to ink it and can try out different techniques and shading on each scan.

Step 3. The fun part is always adding color for me. I use a mix of micron pens, colored pencils and copic markers. For hair and eye color I usually do a blend of colored pencils.

Step 4. Shading. I always go over my artwork by adding shading with a very light shade grey marker. I usually do under the feet, neck and anywhere I see fit that could use a little contrast.

Step 5. I actually didn’t do step 5 for this one since they were just samples - but I usually scan inked version into photoshop and play with colors and add different layers of colors. I use dodge and burn tool to further shade.

As you can see don’t be fooled by my 5-7 minutes sketches during my live events. To create a beautiful piece of artwork takes steps and patience to get it right.