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Big Book of Fashion Illustration - A Sourcebook of Contemporary Illustration
by Martin Dawber
Batsford/Sterling
ISBN 9780713490459
Published February 2008 - Softcover - 384 pages - $29.95

For just about ever I've wished I could draw, and oddly enough, I used to try my hand at "fashion" drawing.  Just expressing myself I guess is all I was doing, because nothing came of these "drawings."  Of fashion illustrations, I'm used to catching glimpses on television documentaries, so I was particularly interested to see what this book had to offer.  Of course nowadays coming up with an illustration is so much easier because of the digital age.  However, there are still those artists who use pen, pencil, crayon, and paper.  Now though, there are many who use computers to come up with really fun and beautiful illustrations.  The book covers these categories: Womenswear; Menswear; Youth Culture; Children; Sport; Accessories, and Beauty, and there is so much to see in these 384 pages.  Art is so subjective that it's most difficult telling someone else what is great and what's not.  For me, I enjoyed paging through this book and was amazed at what I came across.  Some of my favorite illustrations include page 29; page 60 (right); page 90 (left); page 154 (right), and page 287.  There are over 250 artists' work featured and they hail from all over the globe.  Other mediums employed here include: collage/cut paper; stitched cotton thread on calico; Adobe Photoshop; gouache; oils; watercolors; pencil; Corel Draw and/or Paint; digital camera; pastels; felt tip pen; fabric, and more.
Conclusion - Extremely fun and would make the most gorgeous coffee table book.  Very artsy.