Zaji Freelance Project

I'm wrapping up 4 drawings fora new client, Zaji Magazine. This is an different type of project because besides drawing 3 fashionable girls, it also involves background drawings of cities (the images above are the girls going in the cities.) It's a challenge for me to make the backgrounds match the girls. I've been drawing fashion figures (or croquis; a word that comes from the French and means sketch) since high school. I was also a Fashion Design Women's Wear major in college, where I spent years practicing and perfecting drawing women. Therefore I'm simply much better at them, then I am at drawing other things. That's not to say I can't do it, it just doesn't come as easily. 

One trick I learned from past mistakes is to draw the background and the girl separately then photoshop them together. That way if the girl turns out great and then I have a mishap with the background, or visa versa, it doesn't matter. The whole illustration will not be ruined. This doesn't always work, sometimes its too complicated a pose or layout, but in the case of the Zaji drawings I can do it. All the girls are simple standing or walking figures, not overly intertwined with a prop or background element, like my previous illustration for Material Girls shown below. 

The girl and the drape of her dress were so effected by the chair that they had to be drawn together. However it was a background I was very comfortable doing, as I have done a few similar drawings with similar subject matter for them before.