Laura Pensar
Creative and organized artist / graphic designer specializing in surface design, textile patterns, and paper goods.
Adobe Creative Suite - ProCreate - Pattern Design - Printmaking - Free-hand Drawing & Painting - Digital Imagery
Eucalyptopia
Client: Jeanne Nuage Dancewear
Brief: Custom textile print collection to be used in a line of dance wear by Jeanne Nuage. Themed around Eucalyptus and soothing botanicals.
Technique: Each design began with hand-drawn ink on paper and watercolor on velum. The original art was scanned and finished in PhotoShop.
Challenge: The Rainbow Bark print (based on the vibrant multi-colored bark of the Eucalyptus deglupta tree) posed a challenge in creating a seamless all-over repeat which maintained both a hand-painted feel while staying true to the real botanical specimen. Creating a large repeat and extensive blending in Photoshop made this pattern the star of the collection which was featured in the standout velvet dress while also serving as the unifying print for the collection’s color story.
Custom prints used in the Jeanne Nuage ‘23 / ‘24 dancewear collection premiered at KC Fashion Week.
iMortality
Client: Jennifer Tierney, Costume Designer
Brief: Custom textile print collection to be used in series of ballet costumes. Geometric patterns that appear hand-painted while highlighting the themes of technology and the afterlife. Creams, silvers and accents of pomegranate.
Technique: Each design was drawn in ProCreate before being cleaned and finished in PhotoShop with options for multiple color ways and repeat sizes. The tutu and bodice of the final costume was painted by hand directly onto the finished garment.
Challenge: Conveying “electric” imagery with low-contrast designs in creams and silvers while simultaneously giving a hand-painted but technological and geometric style was challenging. I relied on subtle contrasts of rough “painted” lines with sleek “wires” and “flares.” The “Smoke Screen” pattern inspired Tierney to create an entirely new design featuring both large and small versions of this print. Tierney also asked me to hand-paint the final look to mimic tree bark while hinting at arching electrical currents. This look became the collection’s stand-out piece.
Custom prints used in series of 5 ballet costumes premiered at the West 18th Street Fashion Show.
Client: Moth & Candle LLC
Brief: Series of nature-themed greeting cards featuring uplifting and inspiring messages as fortune scratch-off cards.
Technique: Each design was drawn in ProCreate with final layouts in Illustrator. Printed on thick luxe-matte finish stock.
Fortune Cards
Challenge: Creating a series of nature-themed prints to mirror changing seasons throughout the year. Each card has a main animal as its theme; the fortunes and text on the reverse relate to the card’s animal. The combination of “painterly” illustrations, uplifting messages, humorous “for entertainment only” text, and fortune scratch-off element create notecards that are both entertaining and instant keepsakes.
Series includes: Cicadas, Wild Hares, Deep Sea Octopus, Winter Owl.
Magic of Bats
Client: Oracle Natural Science
Brief: Write and illustrate an informational zine promoting bat conservation which will appeal to collectors of oddities and curiosities within the Oracle Natural Science brand voice and style.
Technique: Original illustrations created with watercolor on velum, scanned and finished in Photoshop. Zine layout in InDesign.
Challenge: Creating an informational zine encouraging engagement with bat conservation efforts while explaining the ecological problems with bat taxidermy for an audience of oddities and curiosities collectors without disenfranchising the reader. By combining fun bat trivia with practical conservation information, bat lore and mythology, and hand-drawn delicate illustrations the Magic of Bats zine became one of Oracle Natural Science’s most popular zines and serves as a fundraiser for bat conservation efforts.
