DRYLQD (DRY LIQUID) is a clothing brand that combines illustrative artwork and typographical quotes that promotes positive upliftment, social empowerment and artistic individualism. Many of us grow up in environments that subjected us to witness negative encounters, I was one of many of those misfortunate youth. Many of my friends and individuals in my surrounding followed negative influences leading them into a destructive path, this motivated me to find an alternative means to manifest a better environment for myself. Not having any positive role models propelled me to seek motivation from outside sources. I found answers to the struggles that I faced from musicians, philosophers and revolutionary figures. DRYLQD is my way of reaching out to the mislead individuals in our society. Incorporating the knowledge that I have gathered within my apparel allows me to spread messages of positive upliftment to individuals who feel trapped. The purpose of my brand is to create a domino effect that will one day change the world by inspiring people to change their circumstances for the better. Thus the slogan of DRYLQD “Be the change” derived from the motto “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
My process consists of jotting down thumbnails to extract the ideas out of my mind. Many of my ideas begin as a loose sketch which later develop into a more detailed rough rendition. The final sketching stage is rendering the sketch on a large formatted paper to develop the illustration in further detail. I then scan the final illustration to begin the vectorizing process. My technique consists of utilizing a pressurized stylist to implement my unique style of illustration. I focus on clean line work and giving the artwork a sense of 3 dimensionality through the line weights. I finalize the artwork by incorporating limited colors to commence the production process.
The production process begins by mocking up the illustrations on garments to assure proper sizing and placement. Production continues as I burn the graphics on to screens and properly alining the screens to the proper placement of the garments. I then select the proper pantone colors that will correlate with the colors of the original illustration in order to begin the printing process. The final printing process consists of the transferring of the illustration onto the garments to which I attach my DRYLQD tags to further create a unique branding experience.
The documentation process assures that every unit is archived for the DRYLQD design history. It is also a crucial element for promotion on social media platforms and showcasing on the company website.
