There will be a lot of blogging this week... So, I got this really cool challenge. For the next 7 days I am to blog out all my confessions as a young technology addict and talk about how it has changed or affected my daily life. But, since I am also addicted to costumes, you will read about how I combine both addictions in order to create something.
This is actually really cool, since iTruly use a lot of technology all the time. iAm one of those iAddicts (you know, iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTrip, iConfess!!!) and iHonestly don't know what my life was before Siri LOL!!! Specially living in NYC with no sense of orientation... Thanks to Siri iAlways know where to go!
But technology goes beyond entertainment for me as well. It has become a necessary tool for almost everybody in the world. I, for example, use my computer all the time and spend the whole time online surfing for inspiration, searching useful information and exchanging it thru the social networks, which have become a very important part of my daily life.
Since I do a lot of costume sketching, scanning saves me a lot of time and trouble when it comes to try several color options for my designs. I am not a huge fan of digital coloring, I still use watercolors on paper to do my sketches cause I hate the fact that printers sometimes change the color palette when printing an image. There's nothing like true paint. However, sometimes I need to try different color combinations on the same design, in order to choose the one I like best. Drawing the same figurine with the exact same dress over and over can be boring, overwhelming and time consuming. So, what I normally do is, first I draw the sketch on paper with pencil and then I add marker to make the lines bolder. Once I have the final version of the design (with no color on yet) I scan it. This allows me to have an uncolored version of the dress, meaning I can print many copies of the same design and have them ready for coloring. Next I apply watercolor on the printed copies (which are printed, logically on computer paper.) These are NOT final versions yet, just color options. Once I get the colors I think might work for what I'm trying to get, I usually "splotch" the upper corner of the paper with the chosen palette, all colors together, just to see if the combination works. If I like it, I start applying the colors on the sketch.
After several tries, I choose the combination I love the most and then I have to TRANSFER it to watercolor paper in order to get the texture I really want. Before technology, I would use carbon paper to transfer the uncolored printed copy to the watercolor sheet. Nowadays I own a beautiful Light Table.
WHAT THE HECK IS A LIGHT TABLE? Lol! A very cool tool, indeed. 'Tis a box with a translucent surface that lights up thus allowing you to trace from one opaque paper to other! This is incredibly useful, since watercolor paper is not transparent by itself at all. So, once I can trace the uncolored sketch on my watercolor paper, the final version takes place. Pretty cool, huh?
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| This is my smart and forever loved Light Table :) |
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| Here's an example of my process. The first one on your left is the printed copy. As you can see, on the top corner I put the colors together. I actually loved the palette so this sketch became the final version, which can be seen next to it. The watercolor paper makes my green paint get the velvety texture I needed and the illustration looks richer. |
Inspiration comes from a lot of sources, but technology has made inspiration more accessible for us. Man, I don't know what were we without internet. It's fabulous for inspiration. Need Medieval? Type it on Google! Need Victorian? Search for images and information. Blink of an eye, there you have it! Sandy Powell's Oscar winning costume designs for "The Young Victoria" right there, in front of you. I couldn't get better inspiration than that!!!
Blogs, websites and more provide images, tips, techniques, videos, etc. to enrich my research, my creativity and my spirit. Once I have my design, I can actually go to moodfabrics.com and order my fabrics online!!!
And what about TV?
I honestly do not consider myself an avid TV watcher. However, I am a huge fan of many series, specially those that feature lots of costume designing. Yeah, I am a huge fan of "Game of Thrones", "Downton Abbey", "Mad Men", "The Borgias" and "Once Upon A Time" and I follow BBC and PBS Period Dramas everywhere. God bless APPS!!! I have to mention them! I've always been a gamer. Yeap, a videogames freak. So of course I own an Xbox 360 with its Xbox LIVE Gold Membership that allows me to get apps like Netflix, Hulu, Zune and HBO Go. This apps are actually my approach to TV. I don't have the discipline of tuning a TV show weekly, so it's nice having the option on Xbox that allows me to buy a "Season Pass" for all the series I love... So, it doesn't matter if I can't catch my weekly episode. It will be waiting for me right there, in my Xbox, to watch it over and over and over again!!!
I am an avid reader. I eat books. I am books LOL!!! I get a new book every 2 weeks usually. So, GOD BLESS E-READERS!!! I mean, living in NYC, space is ALWAYS an issue!!! I had only a year here and books were everywhere at home. There was no more space for them anymore. The solution??? GETTING A NOOK by Barnes&Noble. I must confess I became an addict to Nook. Got the original. Less than a year later I switched to NookColor and I ended up switching to NookTablet. Oh, well... it is what it is. But it saves me a lot of space, I swear, LOL!!!
So, yeah. I couldn't live without technology. It saves me time, inspires me and entertains me. And I BET it does the same to all of you out there.
Peace!
--- Georgie.
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