L'Dezen x Kitty N. Wong | Diamonds are an Illustrated Girl's Best Friend

Hi guys! My illustration collaboration with L'Dezen Jewellery is finally done! You've probably seen snippets of these beauties on my Instagram and maybe you wondered what they were for. Well I finally get to share them with you now in all their bejeweled glory along with the process of how I created the illustrations.

Read on for more.

Ring stacking is so hot right now; this isn't too much I hope.

I met Payal Shah at the #HKFashionBloggers Style Summit, she is the 23 year old founder and CEO of L'Dezen Jewellery. She had seen some of my work online and I'd seen hers and we were both hoping to find a project to work together on. Fast forward a month or two and I get a email from her inviting me to come visit her studio.

While the studio was busy getting ready for a jewelry show, Payal was kind enough to show me all their pieces, boxes upon boxes of statement rings, chandelier earrings, necklaces and filigree bracelets which are each one of a kind and so incredibly stunning in person. L'Dezen are known for their sliced diamond designs which are both glamorous but also the lightest in the business. Light earrings are comfortable earrings!

Payal commissioned me to do a few illustrations for L'Dezen, she was looking for something elegant -she a big fan of David Downton. Don't be afraid of adding fashionable touches, cat-liner or a bright lip she told me and I knew then that these girls were going to be lots of fun to draw. Because studio photos are so much better at showcasing jewellery, the illustrations would be an unique way of incorporating those perfectly lit studio photos onto a "model".

First thing I do when I get home is take a bunch of pictures of myself on Photobooth posing with my hand on my face with about the same amount of eloquence as Catherine Breillat's Fat Girl. I do this a lot to help me figure out how to draw things, I also have a folder on Pinterest of reference poses I like, other times I just draw off the top of my head but that's only if I'm feeling lazy and naughty.

A shot of the sketches before I add colour, at this stage it's just india ink on paper. It's a bit like Stars Without Makeup.

Speaking of india ink, I used to think it was derived from squid ink and in college I remember talking to my roommate about it and we both agreed that this was true. We were silly and that isn't true, india ink is made out of soot.

And here they are! Four glamorous girls illustrated and ready to be scanned and fixed up on Photoshop. You can see on the top right girl's shoulder has two lines, I erase those on Photoshop, add some more in other places and generally fidget around until I'm happy.

After I sent the sketches over to L'Dezen, The designers there did a beautiful job creating these collages, accessorizing and surrounding each girl with their own set of beautiful jewels. To see more photos have a look at the L'Dezen company portfolio. 

Last photo courtesy of L'Dezen Jewellery.

If you enjoyed this post please subscribe or tell your friends about it using the Twitter, Facebook & Google+ buttons below. And why not check out my other illustration process post for when I did a portrait business card for Blogger Jin Wong.