Ultimate Designer, a retrospective.

WE DID IT !

So yesterday the results for the graphics project were announced, and yours truly was crowned ultimate designer, I already thanked everyone who supported me and believed in me, but in this post I'd like to share my thoughts on what got me this win, maybe this way I can encourage some people who are considering on joining to actually do it! 

I think the main thing that got me a lot of places in this competition was uniqueness, I feel like I was able to look beyond "Fashion Approved" concepts, say for example the Betsey Johnson challenge, all of the fashion connoisseurs  would have been outraged by such a "Tacky" editorial, but I started thinking of something that I could relate Betsey Johnson to, I feel this makes for a very special entry, making it personal,  you have to find a way to fall in love with the reference you're working on (or concept) something has to speak to you about that reference.

You could also say it was my unapologetic behavior about my work, I was gonna present whatever I wanted and the way I wanted to, many would worry about being too much or overdoing it, but you gotta stay true to YOU, every entry has to tell something about your personality,your style and what you stand for, and you should always stick by your decision. 

For any competition you need to be able to take criticism and apply it, don't just go around saying that judges hate you or have favorites, stand on your own, work and prove them that you are everything and more than what they ask for, take this comments and apply them, don't just nod and smile.

Be you, but a little bit more like Beyonce 

No but seriously, give the best of you, don't go for the easy, tackle 3 models in one week (See task 2), push yourself to do the best of the best and never stop until you reach that perfect result (Which means you'll never stop we all make little mistakes here and there) 

And most importantly, know where you stand, if you've been practicing hair for a month and you still can't perfect it, don't go for an editorial that is all about hair, you're going to stress yourself and loose motivation, for this competition you need to play to your advantage, until you're not confident in your technique for all of the parts that make a graphic choose one or two features that stand out, say skin and hair or clothing and skin, and make those your focal points, this way you will always have a result that mesmerizes everybody and is appealing to the eye

Before finishing up this post I'll share a little video I put together of my progress since Dec. 2012 when I started 

and before I leave heres a BIG and heartfelt 

Thank you!

See ya tomorrow on day two of W.W.W ! xo. Pablo. 

Selfish

A couple days ago the results for task 7 @ TGP were announced, having filip as a drop out for this cycle Rozalia and myself are the final two.

When Jack revealed that Task 7 was to do a fun kitshy editorial with Betsey Jhonsons fashions I decided I wanted something extra-fun, Betsey is known for having really themed runways and ad campaigns, so my first thought was to make something that I could see in a Betsey Jhonson store, and with the massive popularity of selfies in Pop-Culture something themed around it was the perfect idea for me.

Another thing I took into consideration is how popular Betsey Jhonson is for prom! So i decided that Jack and I were going to Stardoll Academy Senior Prom, mixing this different aspects I think I created a really fun editorial and the "Instaglam" inspiration fit perfectly with the prom-ish look I went for

I do realize I may have over-flitered (oops) but I'm really happy with the outcome, it youthful and fun which to me embodies all that Betsey is, now I've never worked with such a small reference, really it was super hard and I basically swinged everything in this photoshoot, I didnt have much reference as to were shadows and light went because of the size 

This was the original reference I used, normally I dont share but I feel like its appropiate this time around I had a crazy hard time making the phone and the bracelet but I think they came out good

So tell me what you think, did you like this photo? Do you think I'd have won top photo if this was for a previous task? Also don't forget to tick a box!!

Btw who else is SUPER excited to have Keshan posting here!

See ya ! Stay Beautiful. 

What would have been

So this was meant to be my task 6 this week, Geisha Inspired, Now I decided to scrap that idea because I researched so much about the Geishas I felt bad portraying them wrongly

Geisha's beauty style was rather simplistic and so were the accessories, this piece you see above would be a hooker, loud make up and head pieces, also you'd never see a geisha flashing this much skin, showing the back of the neck was enough, i was gonna erase the paint on the ears as well cause they don't paint their ears.

Another part I felt was challenging was that geishas would paint to mimic a porcelain doll, which had no unique features, such as cheekbones, lips or eyebrows so it was hards to choose if I wanted to define these factors or not. 

I do like to mention that the eyes have a lot of editing going one, making them different colors, one blue and one lavender

So that's basically it, this got scrapped because for the task I felt I needed something I could freely work without having the responsibility to showcase such a strong tradition in a way that it shouldn't be looked at. 

Tell me what do you think! Leave a comment, thick a box and as usual be ready for a special project coming soon! 

PS: I didn't even make the hair 

Hairxcellence

Hey Guys! Wow today I'm so excited because I've won top photo @ The Graphics Project 3 times ! 

Congrats to Rozalia and Filip I'm happy to have such great competitors, beth would have been as well and I'm so sad to see her go! 

So for this task I was gonna go for a different theme ( Post coming soon) And two days before the deadline I decided to switch it, as a blessing an University messaged me about having an interview so I was able to get myself some more time! (It was still two days tho Yay go me!) 

Jack told us to play to our strengths and I started thinking, What is it that I do best?

HAIR! At the very last minute I chose to go for designer Charlie Le Mindu for inspiration! I love his work and the social messages he likes to add to his work! 

 I absolutely fell in love with these editorials and felt that (by switching them up a little) they really fit in with each other! Also I started thinking of a space/ time traveler and I thought what would this fictional character wear and do, so that was my background while creating these 

Take a look and see for yourself with this new perspective

Normally I don't like using my own doll for this competition because I think it's greedy to showcase your work as a graphic designer and also showcase your wish to model, but for this one I felt it was completely appropriate. 

I'd also like to know If it'd be interesting for you if I posted the complete story I make for my graphics! I'm not a writer at all but if you like I can share with you my efforts to use the written word for these!

As usual I'd love it if you'd thick a box, leave me a comment whatever you want! xx