Elizabeth Rachael is an artist who specializes in textile print and graphic design with an impressive portfolio of work that has been featured in WGSN, Zara, F&F, and more. She first discovered textile design through fashion. “Growing up, I had always wanted to design womenswear so when I turned 17, I decided to drop out of my school, and enroll in a local college that taught fashion and textiles,” Elizabeth says. “I soon learnt that I didn’t actually have the patience to design clothes, and I became completely hooked on textile design.”
Although she studied textile design for fashion for five years, first at college and then at The Manchester School of Art, Elizabeth says the majority of how she designs now is completely self-taught. “Studying taught me the values of design, and how to be experimental with my work, but it was through years of online tutorials that I learnt most of my technical skills,” she recalls. “My university lecturer once told me that it’s impossible to know every function of photoshop, so I set myself a task to prove him wrong. I’d enroll in free courses that had nothing to do with textiles from photography to graphic design.
I learnt so much, but I think he was right. It’s impossible to know it all.”
Elizabeth says she is mainly inspired by nature, and she is known mostly for her florals. But this past year she says something inside her switched. “I found myself doodling and sketching whatever ideas came into my head from bananas to tigers. I think I’m drawn to nature because there’s so much room for experimentation and interpretation, which suits my loose drawing style.”
Elizabeth explained that her creative process has changed massively throughout the years. “I used to spend about a week researching into my own briefs. Going to museums and art galleries, taking photos of different textures and shapes I would see on walks. Then I’d create a huge mood board and hang it on my wall to design from,” she recalls. “But now after working in the industry for so long, where time is money and deadlines are tight, I don’t have the luxury of week-long research. It’s more important for me to feel comfortable and in a relaxed environment. That way I can just put pen to paper and let my designs flow.”
Elizabeth’s design work also includes prints for decoration and wall hanging. Her bestsellers tend to feature patterns. “When I design prints for the home, I tend to design them for myself. They reflect my mood and personality a lot. When I design for fashion, I know that I’m designing for a client with different values than me,” she says. I don’t wear a lot of print or even colour (which I know is really odd for a print designer haha). I’ve learnt to detach my personal preferences from a brief, and design purely from a professional point of view.”
An avid Procreate user, Elizabeth says she designs about 99.9% of her work using the digital illustration app. “Although sometimes it’s good to bring it back to the old school and use watercolours. They’re definitely my favourite medium because they’re so unpredictable.”
Elizabeth works with other art mediums, which has helped shaped her unique style. “Even though I now design digitally for the majority of my work, I’m always trying to mimic the energy and the way paint flows on paper,” she says. “In fact, it’s one of the things I enjoy most about working digitally, pushing the boundaries to see if I can create something that looks as though it been painted in ‘real life.’”
Elizabeth has some creative projects she’s working on for the future. “I have a few exciting collaborations lined up, but I can’t share too much about them just yet. You’ll have to keep your eyes peeled!” Stay up-to-date with Elizabeth’s work at www.elizabethrachael.com/.
