Connie Lim is a London-based fashion illustrator and observational drawer, originally from Los Angeles, California. Life drawing is integral to her practice, and her disciplined approach to exploring materials is truly unique. Here she shows us through the pages of her sketchbooks, from illustrations drawn backstage at fashion shows, to observational landscape drawings.
Connie Lim Takes Us Through Her Sketchbook Practice
As a fashion illustrator and dedicated life drawer, I see these two aspects as very much intertwined. Drawing from life is essential in capturing the moment, the energy, the details of clothing, and the personalities of the models who become characters in the sketches.
Part of what I do as a fashion illustrator, is draw backstage at London Fashion Week, or draw from still images and film from the catwalks. Fashion illustration serves as a visual interpretation of the artistic creations made by different fashion designers. In this role, illustrators often find themselves situated outside the design process of the clothing, concentrating instead on capturing the essence, and final form of the fashion pieces.
With a decade of experience in the fashion illustration industry, I consider the sketchbook a vital component of my creative process. To me, the sketchbook is like my creative playground. I use it to try out new techniques, and explore different styles without stressing about how it turns out.
When I first started on my creative journey, I was on a quest to uncover my unique style, to define what resonated with my taste and truly reflected me. This, I found early on, was an important aspect of being an illustrator in general, to distinguish yourself from others.
Therefore, in hopes to find myself and what I was drawn to, each year I dedicated myself to master a specific medium. I honestly believe it takes time to truly understand and personalise a medium, to use it in your own way. And so I dedicated individual years to the pencil, pen, coloured pencil, watercolour, gouache, and so forth. With each, I cultivated a repertoire of techniques that felt uniquely mine. I think it’s very similar to cooking – experimenting which ingredients/materials to combine to create interesting outcomes and tastes. This is still a constant exploration and this year I have added oil pastels to the mix!
I typically use one or two sketchbooks simultaneously. One serves as a dedicated space for observations, allowing me to capture scenes, details, or anything that catches my eye. The other functions as a place for my personal inspirations, tailored to the specific project I’m currently working on.
The observation sketches come in handy when doing quick sketches backstage at London Fashion Week. Sometimes I’ve got just ten seconds to capture a runway look so it’s ideal to have a sketchbook that needs to be portable and not have loose pages flying around. I also draw backstage as well, and I stick to dry mediums because it isn’t ideal to have a pot of water and wet media, as it will get in the way or be at risk of spillages! I found it interesting that the limited options give my sketches a style that was born out of necessity.
Moleskine Sketchbooks are my usual go-to items. The quality of the paper and its resilience makes it a perfect canvas for pencils, markers, watercolour, ink, or acrylic studies. I quite like how the papers have a yellow-ish tone to them so it’s not stark white. Somehow, the whiteness of the paper stunts a bit of my creativity. Perhaps, I have this feeling that I will make a mess on anything sparkly white? It just makes me a bit nervous!
When I’m travelling, I like the A5 size because it’s convenient to sketch wherever I go. Also, if I am drawing people, I can be more discreet! However, if I am in the studio, I like to work on the A4 size or even A3. My sketchbook becomes a playground where I can work with a mix of materials, letting loose and experimenting without any boundaries. It’s my free space.
In terms of favourite materials, the Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils are my go-to base tool. As a draftsperson who leans towards seeing in lines, I like using vibrant colours to my drawings instead of a normal pencil. I feel that it brings a bit of life into my sketches with a diverse colour palette.
I also use both gouache and watercolour for my wet media. I tend to use the Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache and Professional Watercolour. However, I’ve recently experimented with Himi Jelly Gouache, and found myself drawn to the saturation of colours such as the pink, purples, and blues.
Last year, I decided to add acrylics to the mix. After some play, my go-to is Golden Acrylics mainly because I appreciate the density and vibrancy of their colours. Additionally, I incorporate Winsor & Newton Inks in various shades, including the metallic gold and silver, which happen to be personal favourites.
In my toolkit, you’ll also find Caran D’ache Neopastel and Sennelier Oil Pastels. The Sennelier Oil Pastels have an incredibly creamy and soft texture that provide a counterpoint to the more robust and harder option like Daler Rowney. On the flip side, the Neopastel by Caran D’ache is an ideal middle ground between firm and soft, making it a great set that I frequently reach for my daily drawings.
I gravitate towards these materials primarily for the richness of their colours and the vibrancy of their pigments, coupled with the diverse textures they offer. Currently, in my process, I feel colour and texture holds the most importance for me.
The sketchbook is like my bible and I have it on hand at most times. It’s like a diary and a journal where I have my ideas and exploration of whatever I am into at the moment and what medium or combinations of mediums I am using at the moment. And sometimes, the sketchbook in itself becomes a work of art in its own right. Many pages have been showcased and sold. I find that trying to make the second version of a draft feel as emotional and lively as the first one is tricky, since the first attempt has its own spontaneity.
I also went through a phase where I was revisiting old sketches. Sketches that I thought were horrendous! Facing them again helped me accept that that was me at that time and that drawing was what I needed to go through to get better, to where I am now. I started painting over them and thus created a new version of the old and new. You can see a bit of the previous sketch behind the new one. It was an interesting process and created a new aesthetic in my work. Also, a very eco-friendly way of reusing paper!
If I was to offer any advice, I think having a bit of detachment from the need for your sketchbook to be perfect is something to always have in mind. Understanding that some pages may not be showcasing amazing work, and that’s perfectly fine. This is all part of the process of letting go. And it’s all about harnessing a sense of ease, and allowing for a more unrestricted creative expression. So, without hesitation let’s keep drawing!
Materials Used
Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils
Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours
About Connie Lim
Connie Lim is an illustrator from Los Angeles, California now living in London. She is an avid observational drawer, and is interested in capturing the moment through her constant life drawing practice. Through mixed media, she plays with various combinations and techniques to create playful but striking images. You can find her sketching almost everywhere, from backstage at fashion shows to in store live drawing portraits and products.
Her clients include Guerlain, Bulgari, Louboutin, and Chanel. She has shown in galleries such as Oxo in London, Acid Gallery in France, Fashion Illustration Gallery AF, and ShowStudio. Her work has been featured in publications including Martin Dawber’s Great Big Book of Fashion Illustration, and Beautiful by Gestalten, as well as the latest by Taschen, The Illustrator – 100 Best From Around the World, and most recently New Fashion Illustration by Hoaki Publishers.
Further Reading
A Guide to Drawing in Galleries and Museums
Inside the Sketchbook of Lisa Takahashi
How to Prepare for Your First Life Drawing Class
Inside the Sketchbook of Gemma Thompson
Shop Sketchbooks on jacksonsart.com
