PinkyShears

What is fashion licensing?

Here’s an excerpt of an interview I did for  Fashionarium’s ‘Secret Weapons’ Series. Check it out.

Brandon Graham – Menswear Designer & Illustrator

Talk a little about yourself

I’m a menswear designer and illustrator from Brooklyn, New York and I’ve had the pleasure of designing for Levi’s, John Varvatos, Nike, and Fila.

Back in high school, I was originally interested in comic book illustration. Then I found myself paying attention to how I was drawing the clothes and that’s what began my fascination with the business and honing my skill as a fashion illustrator.

What tools do you use and why?

I always use a mechanical pencil to get a thin line. I like Zebra M-301 mechanical pencil (with 5 Hi-Polymer Super HB lead) and Business Copy and Print Paper (20 lb, 92 Bright by Xerox) to do my figure drawings. Nothing fancy.

A secret that people new to fashion illustration might not know, I learned from a guy who was freelancing as a shoe designer at John Varvatos.

He used Tracing paper (25lb/40gsm by Utrecht) to achieve a clean and confident line. This made him a much more efficient designer, too. It took a lot of frustration out of illustration when I began doing the same. When I was starting out, I used to painstakingly plan every line in my illustration because I hated sketchy lines, but as I got older and started working for other companies, I realized I had to get faster.

Click Here To Read More >>>

Working with family today : )

Today my cousin Erin helped me with a video for WouldYouRockThis.com

Here’s a link to a funny outtake.  Click Here.

-Brandon

PinkyShears at Frostburg State University

Last summer Kandace Davis and I spoke to students in the Upward Bound Program at Frostburg State University.  Kandace is a good friend I grew up with in Western Maryland who works as a Personnel Security Specialist with the FBI.

Here’s the writeup.  I’ve been meaning to post this since last year, but just now getting around to it.  LOL.

It mentions:

• The purpose of PinkyShears.
• My history.
• What I felt was helpful about Upward Bound; as I was a student in the program.
• My advice for Upward Bound students.

Enjoy,

Brandon

Brandon’s Book Review.

Fashion Illustration Exposed. Edited by Julia Stanescu.

It’s great to have a book tailored to the subject of fashion illustration.  Hats off to Julia for bringing together a collection of artists who take the time out to do what they do best and are willing to share their knowledge with others. Reading this inspired me to try new techniques and keep pushing my art. Honestly, I’ve never liked painting my fashion illustrations because there’s no Edit > Undo button.  Sometimes I say to myself, “It’s so hard to correct mistakes when you paint so why bother.”  I know it’s not true, but it gives me an excuse to keep doing what I’ve been doing and not take the chance of ruining a good line illustration.

I was encouraged by the opening tutorial by Maryanne Oliver. She explained how to build your painting in layers so you get the look you want, and easy ways to make adjustments if you don’t get the desired effect. Not only did she break down the type of pens and brushes she uses, she also gave inspirational creative advice like, “Remember, don’t be afraid of making mistakes!  There are no mistakes in art!”

See more preview shots here at http://issuu.com/fashionarium/docs/fashion-illustration-exposed

The book ends appropriately enough by providing examples of the new styles and media used in fashion illustration with profiles of David Delin and Phoks, two designers who mix photography, illustration, and graphic design to create their pieces.  Phoks, for example, finds a bunch of magazine pictures, pulls certain objects and details from them, then reconstructs his own design using Photoshop.  He uses Photoshop filters to give the pieces an illustration-like look.  Really cool!

This book is a must have if you are a fashion illustrator or designer.  Julia has created a quality and insightful reference book for the the fashion illustration community.

Her passion, curiosity, and desire to learn from others definitely comes through in this book. I would love to see more from her, maybe an updated edition with even more interviews and profiles!

Want to buy this book?  Go to http://www.fashionarium.com/

Be sure to enter in the discount code wouldyourockthis to get 20% off the retail price.

Received my sketchbook today!!!

Just received my copy of FASHIONARY (Fashion Sketchbook) in the mail today with a personal note from the founder himself, Penter Yip.  Look out for the review on WouldYouRockThis.com If you already bought this, what did you think? -Brandon

FASHIONARY

Personal note from the founder himself, Penter Yip.

Tech Packs for Gina Geans Denim Company

See more from Gina Geans on Facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gina-Geans/275071744966

PinkyShears’ sister site, WouldYouRockThis.com, is about to get their own business card.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!

Fashion Illustration VS Fashion Sketch

My friend Julia, creator of DesignYourFashion.tumblr.com, asked me to give my opinion on the difference between a fashion illustration and a fashion sketch.

Here’s an excerpt from  my response.

Design sketches are worked and reworked therefore one sketch maybe slightly different from the next. So you tend to see the sketches on croquis to speed up the process. You also tend to see “blow ups” of details that are too small to see. These are placed around the sketch or off to the side with written notes to further explain details that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Read more of my response at DesignYourFashion.tumblr.com

Enjoy,

-Brandon

Here is the ad banner Kirsten (graphic designer for WYRT) designed for WouldYouRockThis.com

This is an ad example she created for other fashion illustrators who want to post to the site.  We decided to do this…

The first 5 people to request an ad for their fashion illustration or design site, their ad post will be FREE!

So if you are interested in posting your own ad, drop WYRT a line here at http://wouldyourockthis.com/contact-us/

-Brandon

Interview with Fashion Illustrator Jennifer Lilya

jenniferlilya.com

PinkyShears’ publisher, Brandon Graham, interviews fashion illustrator, Jennifer Lilya at her studio in Brooklyn, New York.

Have a look and give some feedback on Jennifer’s illustrations here on http://wouldyourockthis.com/vote/current

This is our talk at 11p m after wrapping a video interview for FothMedia.com
Brandon talks about what was left out of the official interview and makes Dorelle promise to upload her fashion sketches to WouldYouRockThis.com

Want to protect your designs?  See what Johanna has to say first.

QUICK UPDATE for WouldYouRockThis.com

I know, I know.  LOL.   Would You Rock This needs it’s own blog.  I’m working on it.  : )

-Brandon

Interview for WouldYouRockThis.com by Fashion HardDrive

Want some honest feedback about how talented you are as an illustrator? Would You Rock This (WYRT) has answered your prayers! It’s a great way to evaluate at what level you are at when it comes to fashion illustrations or if your fashion designs are even worth pursuing. WYRT was recently founded by Brandon Graham, Elizabeth Willse, and Kristen Reilly in the hopes that it will be an avenue for fashion students to get real feedback about the popularity of their designs. I had the opportunity to interview these young entrepreneurs about what lead them to WYRT.

1. Who came up with Would You Rock This and what sparked the idea?

Brandon: I came up with WYRT.  What sparked the idea?  Would you believe, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I remember as a kid drawing endless pictures of the cartoon characters in my notebook. Donatello was my favorite. When I showed my drawings to my mom and grade school teacher, they showered me with compliments.

“Would it still be good if I were 21?” I asked.

“Well, no,” said my mom. “but you still have a lot to learn, so that’s okay.”

Then, as I began my fashion studies, I showed my designs to friends and family. They loved my designs because they loved me. When you’re starting out I realized it’s hard to get the kind of honest feedback that would tell you how you’re doing in the industry.  Solving that problem led me to creating WYRT.

Read more at…

http://fashionharddrive.tumblr.com/post/635125553/want-some-honest-feedback-about-how-talented-you