Rough Sketches

The last few days have been filled with doing last minute things before my trip to Hong Kong and Japan. But I managed to grab a couple hours where I could sit and roughly sketch out some of the ideas I've had for shoes the last few days. Often when I get the urge to sketch, though it can be very rough I tend to go to my screenshots in my phone of shoes I've loved while scrolling through my social media. In some cases sketching can be for me a way of refining my drawing style (which I have been working on a little more everyday) or about conveying an idea that I don't want to forget. So here is what I was able to quickly sketch out while I had a couple hours spare! 

Merry Christmas!

...happy zone out time

At this time of year I love to just do nothing. Christmas and New Year is all about spending quality time with family and friends and for this reason, this year I have decided to totally switch off from any form of social media, meaning not looking at my two phones and laptop too, for 5 whole days (25th - 29th). So, no blogging, no Instagram, no Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, basically anything that means having my head in a phone or a laptop. It sounds super easy but the other day my mum and boyfriend pointed out just how much I'm on my social media accounts (mostly just for work purposes) and it dawned on me I can't imagine a life without it now, it connects me to people I would never have met other wise, BUT I had also been thinking about zoning out from social media more regularly (not looking at it before bed and instead reading) , wondering what a life would be like without it and figured there would be no better time than over the christmas period.

So I guess by this point the palpitations are rising at the thought of having 'nothing' to do, but this got me thinking; what things do I want to do with this time and decided that drawing and colouring would be the best form of relaxation. Of late I have been practicing my drawing skills, sketching and using all different types of inspiration, from Sex and The City books, magazines,  look books and the Fashionary hand guide to start churning out my own illustration style. Heres how I've done so far..(they still need improving - LOTS and thats what I intend on doing while I'm Zoning out.

I have also grown an unhealthy obsession with these new colouring books for adults. I have happened to come across a couple that include colouring shoes (Score!) and others that have beautiful illustrations of exotic rainforests. So apart from eating and drinking this is exactly what i'll be doing, along with a healthy sharing of movie time! (I won't even be sale shopping as I prefer doing this online which means a laptop - argh!). If you do decide to zone out for Christmas be sure to have a list of things to get you through to avoid the trap of looking through social media, maybe it could be something that needs to be done around the house, some personal development - Whats your next goal? and can you do something to work towards it? Could it be reading that book you just never seem to get around to reading? Refrain from anything that means having to get a laptop out or a phone. It could simply be spending some quality time talking and getting to know your family a bit better. Which ever way you decide to spend your time make sure its doing something you love!

Annnnnnd I guess all that's left to say is - MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas filled with love and joy (food and wine of course) and lots of 'you' time whatever it is you decide to do!

Lots of love, hugs and Kisses

Kiren

xx

P.S - 'I'll be back' Arnold Schwarzenegger style on Wednesday 30th of December with a guide on how to prepare yourself for the New Year, so have a look out for that! 

#PimpMyChiara

Only Sophia Webster would think of something as creative as this to celebrate their 500,000 instagram followers. Since colouring books for adults is the new style of meditation and zen, I can totally see the 'Pimp my Chiara' competition taking off - and what better incentive than the possibility of your design being custom made? The instructions are simple - print off the Chiara template from the Sophia Webster website and let your colouring pencils flow.The closing date for the competition is the 20.11.2015 - head to the website for more information on what to do to enter.

www.sophiawebster.com

Fashionary

Shoe Design - A Handbook for Footwear Designers

So a couple weeks ago, Fashionary the go to for fashion designer sketch books released a Shoe Design handbook which goes in depth about the anatomy of a shoe including design details, footwear styles and pattern making - basically everything under the sun about footwear. It takes 3 days to get to you (all the way from Hong kong) and its a hardback book, A4 in size so its fully packed with information and help on designing. Definitely a must for budding footwear designers!

£26 - not including delivery charges

W - www.fashionary.org

F - Fashionary

T - @fashionarybook

I - @fashionary

NEWS

Designer - Josh Olan 

I came across Josh Olan on Instagram, and you can see why his illustrations caught my eye. The Londoner has gained a great following from his fashion illustrations, not limiting himself to drawings of clothes and fashion.  His instagram alone screams character, clean lines and a contrasting mix of white and black imagery and inspiration, much like his illustrations. I was particularly interested in the footwear concepts Olan has designed that are all drawn from the most basic of designing tools - the pencil. Now you’re probably thinking how limiting? but Olan's drawings are so intricately illustrated that the use of any other medium is just not needed; you can instantly gain a sense of materiality just from the shading and pencil strokes. I personally find drawing with a pencil daunting (unless I'm using a ruler which is probably out of habit from studying architecture) and I’m sure thats the same for many of us to, but Olan seems to show great control and talent. I look forward to seeing lots more from him, so for now I'm going to leave you with a few a of my favourite illustrations which you can also see on his his Instagram.

Instagram

Josh Olan