these are the first inital ideas that i drew down onto paper. as the first task introduced us to the idea of simplification i wanted to try and practice this a lot in my sketchbook. this also makes it easier for myself down the line as putting my drawings onto illustrator - it will be easier to do if my drawings are simple to begin with.
i also looked into other items to go with traditional wear such as the japanese umbrellas, but i decided not to go with this as i wanted to focus more on the outfits and hairstyles.
showing more process of simplification. i am doing that in these two pages. i find it really interesting to draw how i would draw normally and then try and break it down from there, this really helps me to see what details are needed and what details i can cut down on and simplify. it is a really interesting process for me, as someone who is a lover of intricacy, however i am finding this really fun.
i did this page centering around japan culture, even adding in some pokemon references (the pikachu bean) because i wanted to see how i would simplify these items too. however, i really want to just stick with traditional wear. i am really interested in the national flowers though and have found drawing cherry blossoms really fun. i'm trying to find ways to simplify them but still make them recognisable.
here are some sketches using the dimensions we are being given. i think it really helps me to draw things within dimensions as i get a real feel for how the piece will turn out in the end.
on this page i was kind of playing around with different ways to draw the little characters and kimono and found that i really liked the little character that i drew. i want to see what she would look like as a final piece but i'm not sure if this will be too character based and not enough focus on the garment itself.
i was also trying to discover other ways in which i can represent cherry blossoms. here i am using ink and pencil crayon. i have found that the ink introduces a nice flowing shape to the branches which i think fit it really well. however, remembering that this is a brief to be done on illustrator i have decided to not carry on with these ideas.