Fashion photography may have trumped illustration a while back, but hand sketching is anything but dead. The stylish sketches of many a renowned fashion illustrator adorns fashion magazines, newspapers, designers, and apparel companies revealing that in a non-stop digital world, there exists countless ways to experience the fashion industry firsthand.
Known for live drawing at renowned fashion shows and campaigns Sri Lankan born Nadeesha Godamunne can be found sitting overlooking the ramp with her custom palette and colour pen. The drawings are finished by the model’s final exit off the runway. The 29-year-old is living her dream in the Big Apple, sketching eccentric and bold characters under the name Mokshini.
Her direct and spontaneous approach to drawing has gained her recognition in the live drawing arena, making her one of the most sought after fashion illustrators of our time. She has clients like Prabal Gurung, Alice and Olivia, Erin Fetherston, Neiman Marcus and Unilever in her kitty. Brands like J- Crew, White House Black Market, and Oxosi have also profiled Mokshini. She had also collaborated with publications such as V Magazine, The New Zealand Herald, The Huffington Post, and Afropunk. Working in the textile design arena Nadeesha has sketched for brands such as Siladora, Abby Lichtman and Calvin Klein. She started off her career working as an in-house illustrator and colourist at Ralph Lauren. On the cusp of the HSBC Colombo Fashion Week the young fashion illustrator was in town where she conducted a workshop for upcoming fashion designers and illustrators.
“Ever since I could remember, I was surrounded by art supplies. My mother was a preschool teacher and knew I had a natural talent for drawing. I drew before I could write. I loved communicating through art and it was a fun process too. I continued to excel in the arts during high school, and took as many art related subjects as I could: graphic design, painting and art design. Though drawing was a natural part of my being, I never considered it a viable career path,” Nadeesha recalled the roots of how it had all begun.
She notes that though she knew that she wanted to work in the creative field, taking up drawing as a profession made her nervous. This is because photography dominates the field over illustrations. Nadeesha studied fashion design at the Auckland University of Technology.
“Though I enjoyed the design process of draping, patternmaking and sewing, I kept returning to drawing, and concluded my final year with a collection that featured hand drawn garments digitally printed on shift dresses, giving the illusion of many layers of clothes. The collection, titled Trompe L’oeil, won multiple prizes, including the Mittelmoda award, which allowed me to showcase in Gorizia, Italy,” Nadeesha said adding that she scooped the prize for ‘Best Three Piece Collection’ and the Grand Supreme Award for ‘Best Collection’ at the Style Pasifika Fashion Awards which is known to be New Zealand’s most prominent fashion competition.
Nadeesha’s mentor, Linda Jones, encouraged her to pursue her Masters in illustration. She also taught fashion illustration to freshman at the Auckland University of Technology and later at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Her work soon opened her eyes to the fact that drawing was her life.
Today she has her own brand, Mokshini, which originates from her first name.
“Though I’ve always been called Nadeesha, I felt it was time to nurture more of my ‘true’ identity. The name change has also allowed me to shift gears and think of myself as a brand, not just a freelance illustrator,” says the gifted fashion.
“Illustrations leave something to the imagination. Today people are so reliant on an exact image via photography. Many have asked me if I think that fashion illustrations is a dying art form. However I believe that if there is technology, then fashion illustrations will always be alive because people are always craving for hand drawn sensibility,” Nadeesha opined.
Her need to push beyond the boundaries of traditional fashion illustrations made her experiment with chop sticks for her early work. With the goal of being a part of the Ralph Lauren team, Nadeesha practiced drawing with markers till she finally got it right and was roped in.
“We worked with the designers closely and sketch up ideas. Though they told us what to do they left a lot of room for designing and illustration. All of the work is done in markers. The designers go to the Ralph Lauren warehouse and select a cloth and bring it to the illustrators. Every illustration that we do is preserved by them,” Nadeesha expressed.
She says that her work is very much about character. She loves observing one’s body language and mannerisms, and then capturing their energy in a few lines. “What I record in my daily drawing journal influences my work tremendously,” she said.
If she is given time to do a drawing she says that she spends a lot of time drafting her work but does her sketches really fast. Live drawing is her thing and she has worked with the designers at the New York Fashion Week. She generally takes around two minutes to complete a drawing.
“A lot of us hone on too much details. We use social media as a means of connecting with the audience. Unlike photos which are photoshopped and air brushed, drawing is down live and that mesmerizes the audience,” she explained adding that one cannot capture something on the spur of the moment.
“You need to be good at memorizing and drawing from your head. A cool way I discovered in doing it is practicing on the subway. Street style illustrations is an entirely different dimension of the subject,” she said adding that she would draw her friends in cool outfits and put the drawing on her blog along with a photo. Soon she moved out into the streets and started drawing real people on the streets and communicating with them. This opened doors to more opportunities including her entrance ticket to featuring her work in the V Magazine.
“One of the people I sketched was the editor of V Magazine. I totally freaked out when I found out but then I realized that this is the perfect opportunity for me to tap into something. When you meet people like that don’t let those opportunities slip you by. Don’t let feel like it is desperate to reach out to people and ask for something. Approach them and you will be surprised to find that they are willing to help you,” Nadeesha advised.
Tapping into other areas of illustrations Nadeesha ventured into illustrating for magazines. She pitched her ideas and the magazines swallowed them up. Once she illustrated a whole shoot for a magazine instead of them just carrying pictures of them models donning outfits.
“Pitch ideas to people because half the time people are not bothered to think up of ideas. It is so much easier to hand them an idea on a platter,” Nadeesha noted adding that she would go through her favourite magazines, note down the editor’s e mail addresses and e mail some of her work to them.
Nadeesha advices up and coming artists to have a support system of people to help leverage them, market them, and pitch the correct rate they deserve. She had struggled with pricing during her early days and having an agency has helped alleviate this problem.
“The good thing about Sri Lanka and New Zealand is that there are many gaps in the field for entrants to make a name for themselves. If you are out there looking for a certain type of work and cannot find it, then that is a good sign. That means that you can be the first person to do that. If you cannot find an agency to represent you, then become that agency. Many more people will seek you then,” she said.
According to Nadeesha it takes a lot of confidence to make it as a successful fashion illustrator. Though you develop nerves at the beginning when people are constantly grading your work over your shoulder she says that you would gradually get use to it.
“My work keeps me happy and sane! I love the fact that my projects are always different. Drawing keeps me stimulated, creative, and teaches me to see the world a different way. It’s like visual therapy,” she concluded with a smile.
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