Are you thinking of a career change?
In this week's Student Stories, we dip into Crystal McGregor's experience taking the Footwear: Fashion Drawing and Illustration course taught by tutor Ana Stankovic-Fitzgerald. Like many others, lockdown has given her the chance to explore a career change.
Here's what she told us:
Footwear has always been a great passion of mine, and in recent times I have embarked on the journey of changing careers from the construction industry into fashion. Whilst my current path is having a bit of a detour due to COVID-19, I have been opting to stay creative whilst I have the extra time.
I really enjoy having the time to draw and work on my footwear illustration through the LCF Short Course online and have been dabbling in creating my own shoes & bags – ever hopeful that there might be visits to the beach in the summer.
Crystal's work
How have you become interested in Footwear Illustration?
I realised early on in my development into the fashion industry that I needed to improve my drawing skills, I had undertaken some footwear drawing projects and was slowly progressing but realised that I needed some professional pointers. When researching potential courses and finding the Footwear Illustration one at LCF it ticked all the boxes for me.
What did you enjoy the most about the course?
I really enjoyed our lecturer Ana Stankovic Fitzgerald's style of teaching, from the very beginning she put the whole class at ease and I felt like I was able to express myself in my drawing and she would guide my work to be a better version of myself rather than creating a hard and fast set of rules that created cookie cutter drawings from everyone.
Each week we were set homework and it was really enjoyable to undertake and the resources provided on the online platform (in addition to the weekly lecture) were very helpful. Each week we could see ourselves progressing and I was really surprised at what I was able to achieve in the four week period. I would definitely recommend the course for anyone looking to improve their illustration skills.
Tutor Ana Stankovic Fitzgerald shows us how to make fashion drawing and illustration templates.
What's next for you?
Short term I am actually going to be starting another LCF online course (Adobe Illustrator for Fashion) in the near future so that I can try and improve my computer-aided drawing skills.
I really enjoyed my first course and am looking forward to the next one. Long term I have aspirations to start my own women's footwear brand, and potentially have a children's line also. I am particularly keen to merge comfort with aesthetics and produce a range of footwear that empowers women, looks good and isn't painful (I know the Holy Grail!) and I hope that my previous life as a project manager might help me keep on track!
We’re still here to help you. Did you know we have a wide range of online short courses available, including many Interior Design courses? Check out how online short courses can help develop your practice here.
