Xx Lauren Woods xX: FASHION ILLUSTRATOR

Image available at: http://www.theloka.blogspot.com
[Accessed: 29 November 2011]

Arturo Elena is my second fashion illustrator as I find his extreme technical style rather captivating. Unlike my first fashion illustrator Hanna Müller who is relatively unknown, Arturo is an internationally renowned illustrator and I find his work extremely inspiring. Below you can find a personal profile of Elena which provides information regarding his achievements throughout his career along with the methods he uses to create his illustrations. I have also attached some examples of Arturo’s illustrations to demonstrate his famous style.

Background

He was born in 1958 in Teruel, Spain and he moved to Barcelona in the 1980’s after studying in Valencia and Toledo. He was always fascinated by the work of both René Gruau and Stefano Canulli and their techniques inspire all of his drawings. In Barcelona, he worked with the design team in charge of women’s collections for the brands Bambú and Daniel G. After this, he further developed his career in other cities teaching trends at the Fashion Design and Techniques School in Seville and Malaga. While in Seville, he met José Victor Rodríguez and José Luis Medina (Vitorio & Lucchino), who he worked with for six years on visual identity projects. One of these projects gave him the opportunity to contribute to publications such as “Cosmopolitan” and later “Telva”, “Elle” and other international magazines. From there, his prestige grew and he continued to contribute monthly illustrations to Cosmopolitan Spain from 1992-2009.

Currently, he is continuing to teach drawing techniques at the “Instituto Europeo di Design”, as well as contributing designs for several firms such as “Vitorio and Lucchino”, “Roberto Verino”, and others.

(Arturo Elena, 2011)

Style & Technique

Arturo uses professional techniques which is why his illustrations are favoured by many designers. His style is easily recognised as he believes in lengthening the human form in an exaggerated manner, whilst maintaining relatively realistic proportions. He uses synthetic inks along with markers to achieve remarkable effects and he always pays particular attention to precise details such as the texture and colour of the fabrics. He ensures that the facial expressions along with the body positions in his illustrations always convey a multitude of diverse emotions. Arturo is an undoubtedly skilful artist with an ability to draw striking illustrations, incorporating realism and exaggeration. Both his technique and style are beautifully creative and they demonstrate his outstanding drawing capabilities. His extraordinary talent allows him to create intriguing illustrations which has gained him an extremely impressive reputation within the world of fashion illustration.

Arturo Elena. (2011) Arturo Elena. [Online]. Available at: http://www.arturoelena.com/ [Accessed: 29 November 2011].