Since my previous post was about sketching and drawing for fashion I figured as a logical follow up this post will focus on fashion figure in a little more detail. First of all, I hope it will be a little educative to those of you who are wondering how to be able to lay out your fashion inspiration on paper. Secondly, as there is a public holiday today in Belgium and I am not working in the studio, I thought I would dedicate this day to mastering my drawing skills.
As I am only a newbie to the whole fashion world, and I still have a lot to learn, I can only share as much. But here is what I know. Do not worry at all and do not think you will never be a successful fashion designer if you don't know how to draw. Drawing is not the most important criterion. As long as you know how to present your ideas to others by other means such as photography or working directly with fabric, you will do just fine.
Of course, alternatively, you can always use fashion croquis, which are known to be a good tool for a lot of designers. These are a set of ready female body shapes, which you can deploy for your designs. In other words, you do not have to spend hours trying to draw a perfect body shape every time you have an idea for a dress or a skirt, but instead you just use a croquis and put that dress on it (figuratively speaking).
And a few more tips. Don't forget that when you are sketching, there are no generally accepted parameters of a fashion drawing. You have to develop your own unique style. However, it may still be important to remember that the model's body is generally taller than an average female. So bare in mind that your fashion sketch may include at least nine heads or sometimes even more, while the height of an average woman will only fir 7,5 or maybe 8.
Well, if the above was not completely clear to you, here are some illustrations:
This is quite an abstract illustration with not too much detail. I do generally feel that making fast sketches that convey the main idea of the design is more convenient. I am able to capture the moment and to represent my inspiration. More accurate details such as beading, or trimming are for the later process of production and patter making.
Sketch of some of the ideas for the winter coats. I do prefer to put in only the main details as these are the primary illustrations, and normally after having made about 60 to 100 drawings I would choose only a few of the most suitable ones for a collection and will make more detailed and accurate sketches.♥♡
