Sunday 20 April 2014

Working it Out with Pippa McManus

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Perth Fashion Illustrator Pippa McManus at The Hive as part the KickStart Festival.  For those who might not know Pippa McManus, she is an extremely talented artist who adds her flare and style to fashion by turning models into works of art.


My Mega Style features Kickstart Festival | Pippa McManus Workshop | illustrations by Pippa McManus
Images by Pippa McManus


The afternoon at The Hive included a workshop where Pippa shared her experience as an illustrator and we created our own paper dolls using the 9 head fashion figure as a base with a lot of instruction and help from Pippa.


Kickstart Festival | Pippa McManus Workshop | My Mega Style | Perth blogger | Worth Casing



It was a lot harder than it looked and my first take was on the small side (more like 5 heads) and as much as Pippa thought 'she' was too cute to throw out, I basically needed to push my first take to the side and start again. I'm so glad I did.



Kickstart Festival | Pippa McManus Workshop




My mother (Ms Mystery Case) struggled throughout the workshop, her first attempt definitely looked like more of an alien with crab claws for hands and Pippa's rule of no erasing was hard to keep for most people in the room, especially my mum.


I was really pleased with my final paper doll......


Kickstart Festival | Pippa McManus Workshop | My Mega Style Paper Doll



My Top Four Tips from the workshop:


  • Liquid Paper (White Out) is toxic and not a great paint to work with
  • To save money buy discontinued paints
  • Use a lot of water and change it often when using water colours
  • Practice, practice, practice.


Kickstart Festival | Pippa McManus Workshop | My Mega Style | Paper Doll




I came away from the workshop inspired and bursting with ideas. I'm super keen to learn more about 50's style after creating a 50's Qantas airline uniform for my paper doll. 


My Mega Style | Pippa McManus Workshop | Qantas Uniform | Paper doll outfit




- Meg 


Have you ever made a paper doll before?  What do you think of mine?

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for dragging me along to this. I'm not sure I have what it takes to be an illustrator but it was certainly fun stepping out of my comfort zone. You did an amazing job and I can't wait to see what you do next!

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  2. I used to love paper dolls when I was a young girl- every holiday we would go to the local bookstore and buy a book of them. You are very talented, there is no way I could paint that well!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, I really enjoy drawing and painting but I still have a lot left to learn.

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