My fashion drawing instructor at the AAU always emphasized that spontaneity was the key to fashion illustration. At least, that’s what I think he said. With that in mind, I mindlessly slapped on all kinds of materials for my mixed-media final project. Fortunately, it seemed like my mindful spontaneity, or rather, mindlessness resulted in a decent fashion illustration.
The process of creating any fashion illustration is what I consider to be the best part. Sensing the flow of every intentionally random step and grasping the feel of every mark I create is intensely satisfying. It guides me into a state devoid of stray thoughts and gives me a heightened sense of self-consciousness. I follow where the muscle memories of my hand guide me while tracing that very movement of randomness. Placed simply, I know exactly what I’m doing, but at the same time, I don’t at all.
However, there is a fine line between random scribbles of junk and controlled creativity, a fine line that I consciously struggle to tread as I balance between my instincts and artistic control. Of course, random scribbles are sometimes the prettiest. But in this case, it’s a combination of both.
That’s it for my final illustration, and my final post….for now, at least. But then, it’s not like I’m going to stop drawing, so nothing’s really final.
Illustration and text by Stephan Xie
