Wednesday 26 May 2010

Design Boards



I have been working on my design boards for my final major project. I have decided to have a double spread on my line up and then the rest to be of my print designs. I am little worried that my portfolio may be a little repetitive so will need to ensure I alternate the page layouts.

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Tuesday 25 May 2010

Photo shoot for look book


Today I had my photo shoot for my final collection. It would have been impossible to recreate the David Lam shoot, so I decided to have a plain white back drop with minimal poses. Sophia (the model) did a great job and worked the camera in order to get the perfect shots. I decided to get close up shots of the prints also to show the detail within the print. I now need to experiment with them on photo shoot in order to make a great look book.

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Drawing Boards for Portfolio


I have been completing some drawing boards for my portfolio. The aim of this is to show off my drawing skills and show how I develop them into successful beautiful prints. For me the most important part of the project is the drawings which are carried out at the beginning of the project as they form the foundation of my print designs. I think I have presented them in an interesting format here.

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Monday 24 May 2010

Additional Mood board for Final Major Project


New Additional Mood Board

I have completed an additional mood board for my final major project. This will make my mood a double spread page in my portfolio. I extended my colour story onto both pages and added more inspiration and drawings to reflect the mood on the previous board. I need to ensure that my portfolio strongly reflects the work I produce. I tweaked the initial mod board page also in order for to fit with the new board.

New Edited Mood Board

Finished outfit's 5 and 6

Outfit 5



I have now finished my final collection...I am extremely pleased with the outcome of my designs. The last two outfit shapes have added variety to the collection and are just as beautiful as the all over print designs. I feel a great sence of achievement that the whole collection is entirely hand finished by me from start to finish...I have mixed the colours and hand dyed the fabric, mixed the screen print inks and screen printed, steamed and hand washed the fabric and finally constructed the entire collection. I have decided as I still have time before the end of the project I will complete matching bags to accompany the designs on the end of year catwalk show. Everything is getting very exciting now!

Outfit 6
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Friday 14 May 2010

Printing outfit 6


After printing outfit 5 I found it easier to decide on the placement of the print. I kept the single placement on the front two panels and then scattered the prints on the sleeve and back panel. This will add variety to the collection. I am a little concerned that the colour of the print changed colour once dry however am hoping that the true colour will be visible once steamed. I am pleased that I have finally printed my last outfit and feel I have worked incredibly hard to get to the stage I am at now. Below are photos of various stages of printing outfit 6.





Thursday 13 May 2010

Printing outfit 5


Today I printed outfit 5. Initially as it was a placement print design I thought it would be the easiest of all the outfits to print. I couldn't have been more wrong. I hadn't really designed these last two garments well...leaving it till the day of printing to decide on where the placement of the print would be. Originally I was going to have a large placement print on the front of the garment leaving the rest of the pattern pieces plain. However when comparing them to the other designs within the collection I felt they may look a little odd. So I went a little free style, for the front panels I kept my original idea just printing the one placement. For the sleeves I alternated the size of the placements and created a design which will grow up the sleeve of the garment. When it came to printing the back panels I was a little unsure of where to print...I decided on placing the screen in random places and printing scattered prints. They look fairly good flat, however I will not be able to see how successful they are until constructed. Time will tell how successful this outfit will be. Below are photo's of the printing stages.


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Wednesday 12 May 2010

Selecting colour ways for outfits 5 and 6


I have approached selecting colour ways for my final two prints different than previously. Before I was pinning a variety of samples to the manequin, photographing them then selecting from contact sheets the suitable colour choice. However as these last two prints are going to be just placement prints, most of the fabric on show will be plain. There fore it is essential I select a colour way which fits with the rest of the collection. Also as the print on these outfits is to a minimum I am going to have a fairly busy waistband print which will hopefully enhance the detail within the placement print and highlight the dyed fabric. I am beginning to get anxious about getting this collection finished so that I can get on with portfolio work, but am enjoying the processes so much that I do not want to rush this stage. I am going to be so lost when this course finises so it is essential I begin setting up work placements. Everything is starting to get a little scary now as reality sinks in...I have 2 weeks left of being a student!!!! aaaah!!!


Copyright Selecting print for outfit 5


Copyright Selecting print colour way for outfit 6

Monday 10 May 2010

Outfit 4 finished

I have finally finished outfit 4, I printed and completed most of the construction work last week, leaving the hemming to do today. I am pleased with the outcome of this design. it sits nicely with the rest of the collection and the vibrancy of the colour is very bright. I am particularly pleased that I decided to keep the waistband and cuffs plain as in effect it has enhanced the overall print design. The next to prints are going to be less busy and just consist of large scaled placement print.

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Thursday 6 May 2010

Texprint 2010


I have been selected by my tutors to be entered into the Texprint 2010 competition!!
Texprint is a recognised organisation which aims to link the best newly graduated textile designers with industry. Only about 200 people get through to the interview stage each year, so even if I just get interviewed it will be a valuable experience. Applicants are judged on the standard of their work. If successful the chosen candidates get to produce a collection to take to indigo, p.v in Paris in September 2010 and the final 6 travel to Hong Kong to exhibit. This sounds like an exciting opportunity to get my work out there and meet fabulous designers.

I feel I am a strong candidate from our university as I have a good body of work and am extremely passionate about print, which I feel is reflected in my work.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Inspiration when Printing


After removing outfit 4 from the print table I noticed the prints I am creating on the print table each time I print. As my fabric is light weight, when printing it soaks through fabric and onto the table cover, leaving a combination of all prints printed so far. I am fairly inspired by the abstractness of them and am wondering whether I could some how incorporate them into my work, either by playing around with them on photoshop or simply once I've finished printing, removing the cover from the table and making something with the cloth, such as bags to accompany my collection.

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Tuesday 4 May 2010

Printing outfit 4


These images show various stages of printing outfit four. I am pleased with how vibrant the colour is complimenting the overall print design. I am beginning to use my time more efficiently when printing and now have two screens the size of my pattern pieces with the same print design exposed on both. This enables me to continue printing while the other one is drying. Overall another successful day in the print studio.

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Selecting Prints for outfit 4


Although I completed quite a few samples for outfit number 4, these two colour ways were the only two I considered to be successful. I am instantly drawn to the first colour way, I think it is feminine and the colour pink is very vibrant. I was considering choosing the second option as so far I have only printed onto light coloured backgrounds so it would be nice to have a light print printed onto a dark background to show variety. However when viewing them all together here I feel the second option would be too much and would loose it's beauty.



To make certain I was choosing the correct colour way I lined up my samples with the three I have already made and feel it fits in really well. For this design I have decided to keep the waistband and cuffs print free as the main print is fairly "busy" and I feel the colour compliments the print. Time to get printing!

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