Red, Black & Heritage: The Oriental Jacket Illustration

I've been carrying this illustration in my mind for a long time—I think since the No Doubt music video, where she wore a jacket with some oriental detailing. Instead of creating the typical oriental flowers (too feminine for my aesthetic), I'm adding the eagle from my Kurt Camer storytelling collection to give it an edge.

I'll be using red in these coming illustrations. Red for fashion is bold—it says "look at me, I'm confident and sexy." But as someone with a graphic design background, I've always preferred all black and white. Red is danger, be alert, stop.

It's okay we go black and red, though. Chinese New Year is around the corner, and this connects to Princess Xin Li heritage, the Hakka Chinese clan. This piece is about honoring that lineage while staying true to my bold, edgy design language.