Fashion Illustration/Sketching/Drawing : Tools, Croquis, Templates & Books

[Fashiongirl1]

i've never heard of a fashion art class...
what's in it?

Wow, you haven't?
I have they have fashion art and design classes in F.I.T.

They also have

I said fashion art and design in my first posting asking the question. It did not seem like the responder understood so I just went to fashion art to see if anyone would understand me better.

Okay what about just replacing that with fashion drawing class? I do not see the difference but....

 

[gius]

Thanks --I checked the FIT website for the course desc.
Did you take it? I'm curious about the intro to 'design journals' and 'presentation formats' Sounds interesting

Anyway it sounds like it is pretty in depth
You cover a lot of things: design theory, colour, rendering fabrics, etc so I would rather take that class too

The figure drawing class is just suggested here because it really helps when drawing the body. There is no teaching of design, etc. in figure drawing class. I think really any practice, drawing from real life, from observation will improve your skills...

 

[gius]

Samaki thanks for telling us about your book
I noticed in the video you draw next to the figure templates. Maybe some people would like to trace over bodies? Or draw their clothing designs over unclothed figure templates

 

[voguelover94]

I took a 4 week fashion illustration class I don't think it helped a lot.... ahha maybe it as just me

 

[mksjuliana]

I think the book is a fabulous idea! Very in depth, in tune....great idea.

 

[Samaki]

Samaki thanks for telling us about your book
I noticed in the video you draw next to the figure templates. Maybe some people would like to trace over bodies? Or draw their clothing designs over unclothed figure templates

Thanks for your comment gius, no, I am not drawing next to the figures templates, I am drawing on the template, but the template is not very visible, because I don't want to limit the designers by the template, so with the template barely visible, the designers can write anything freely on it.

Maybe you can download the templates and give me some feedback, which is all appreciated welcome.

 

[Romantic Rebel]

For learning to draw figure I highly suggest you guys to read Loomis' Figure Drawing for all it's Worth. I think this website has an e-book for it: http://fineart.sk
Also check out his other books. I really learned how to draw the figure through his book.
For fashion illustration, I don't think you need to go into the detailed anatomy of the human figure. Just the basics will do. But further knowledge won't hurt either.

Samaki, your sketchbook looks promising. It will really help a lot of designers out there.

 

[RCBella]

Sketching Accesories Help!!

Hello ,

I was wondering if any of you know of any websites or books that help with sketching accesories .My main focuss is really hand bags I currently need alot of work with drawing in this area any help would be appreciated . Thank you so much !


RC

 

[SunflowerBee]

Fashion illustration books

I need to buy a (how to draw) fashion illustration book so I'm just looking for ideas and what the best one is to get in your opinion?

 

[jellslove]

I have a few fashion illustration books and quite the enthusiast myself. I'm not sure where you stand in illustrations-- are you just getting started? honing your skills?

I really like Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling. It's actually a textbook for school, but it's really great. It has a wealth of knowledge hitting different areas such as drawing the croquis, menswear, childrenswear, specifics of accessories, rendering fabrics etc. Some things are step by step, other sections give you visuals as examples (which I think is great, it gives you more freedom). I think this book adheres more to industry standards of how to draw clothes and models.
Fashion Illustration by Bethan Morris is great for really the illustration aspect. It's more artsy, so to speak. It shows you how to keep a useful sketchbook, artistic techniques using different mediums, etc. Kinda hits different sections briefly. For a taste of inspiration, there's a section on different illustrators with some of their pieces and an interview portion.
I'm hoping to buy Contemporary Fashion Illustration Technique by Naoki Watanabe. I was reading some of it at the book store the other day, and I think it's also great. If you have a good grasp of croquis (or if you don't, has a section on it too) this book really goes into detail about how to render fabrics using different mediums, and other specifics. I like how thorough it is.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I'll do my best to help

 

[SunflowerBee]

I have a few fashion illustration books and quite the enthusiast myself. I'm not sure where you stand in illustrations-- are you just getting started? honing your skills?

I really like Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling. It's actually a textbook for school, but it's really great. It has a wealth of knowledge hitting different areas such as drawing the croquis, menswear, childrenswear, specifics of accessories, rendering fabrics etc. Some things are step by step, other sections give you visuals as examples (which I think is great, it gives you more freedom). I think this book adheres more to industry standards of how to draw clothes and models.
Fashion Illustration by Bethan Morris is great for really the illustration aspect. It's more artsy, so to speak. It shows you how to keep a useful sketchbook, artistic techniques using different mediums, etc. Kinda hits different sections briefly. For a taste of inspiration, there's a section on different illustrators with some of their pieces and an interview portion.
I'm hoping to buy Contemporary Fashion Illustration Technique by Naoki Watanabe. I was reading some of it at the book store the other day, and I think it's also great. If you have a good grasp of croquis (or if you don't, has a section on it too) this book really goes into detail about how to render fabrics using different mediums, and other specifics. I like how thorough it is.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I'll do my best to help

Cool thanks I'll check those books out, well I've been drawing and playing around for quite a few years so I'm looking to brush up on my illustration skills and find my own style really. I'm doing a textiles degree so I'm doing illustrations for my designs, also I guess i need to learn how to draw the simpler technical drawings aswell if that makes sense?

My friend recommended Fashion Artist: Drawing Techniques to Portfolio Presentation by Sandra Burke, have you looked at this one yet?

 

[CrisGalaxy]

do you guys prefer coloring the sketch with markers/color pencils or coloring it with photoshop?

 

[~LovelyDay~]

^
Watercolor/pencil crayons

Reason being is that it can create almost any color and it's fast. Markers are good too, but it lacks in color diversity. So i tend to not use markers a lot.

I don't like using computers to do my fashion illustrations. Only flat sketches.
I'm open to the idea of translating my original illustration on photoshop, but I would not do the original on the computer.

But the thing with computer is mere preference. It too have its advantages.

 

[BornToBe]

I agree about the water colors lovely day. I rarely every colored my drawing until I discovered water colors. I love how you can make just about any color and how delicate and pretty a pic looks when you're done.

 

[heybrownie]

i am about to send in my portfolio... i have a quick question!

did you guys add your signatures on your sketches? i'm a bit hesitant to sign my sketches as it may ruin the mood/vibe. what do you guys think? should i sign my sketches or not?

 

[neonsprinkles]

Markers (such as Prisma and Copic) are ideal for fashion drawing, though it's hard to use at first. If you have a space piece of marker or tracing paper, you can table in a marker in it (so that it's just the ink) and use a colorless blender marker to absorb it. That way, when you apply it on your drawing, it won't be as highly saturated and you can control the amount of color intensity. Think of it as watercolors, but for markers.

Gauche and markers became an industry standard for fashion drawing back in the 70s I believe.

Using Photoshop (or any digital painting medium) is slowly starting to become more popular with contemporary fashion drawing, though it can be difficult to use if the person does not have a drawing tablet and experience digital painting. But the benefits to digital painting is that you can easily overlay textures/details, erase mistakes and apply lighting. It can almost rival fashion photography (I feel), if it's done properly...

 

[romeoelliott]

are there books that are helpful for aspiring fashion illustrators? any good resources, sites, blogs? what type of paper is the best?

 

[neonsprinkles]

romeoelliot - I highly recommend Nancy Reigelman's 9 Heads book, I studied under her last spring. It's kind of pricey but covers traditional fashion illustration from start to finish (from croquis to menswear to how to create ethnicities, garment detailing, etc).

As far as good illustrators, I highly recommend...

Old school fashion illustration
- Rene Grau
- Antonio Lopez
- Alphonse Mucha
Modern fashion illustration
- Marguerite Sauvage
- David Downton
- Autumn Whithurst

Books
- 100 Years of Fashion Illustration (Cally Blackman) - great index that features fashion illustration from the early 1900's to today. BEST compilation of fashion illustration, most other fashion illustration books don't cover as much as this book. About $40, but you can get them used for about $20.


For starting out, simple computer paper and pencils are a good start. As you advance, a higher quality of paper (white bristol paper, great for color pencils/ink pens/pencil/etc). There's also marker paper (thin/barely transparent paper) + copic or prisma color markers are the best, though it can be difficult to handle at first (the markers bleed very EASILY)...

Hope this helps!

 

[romeoelliott]

thank you so much, neonsprinkles.

really great info. time for me to shop. can I get all the supplies that you mentioned in barnes & nobles/amazon? should i go to an art store?

 

[neonsprinkles]

romeroelliott - don't worry about it, glad to help You can most likely find the books (at a cheaper price) online at Barnes & Nobles/Amazon.com

As far as the art supplies, it'd be best if you went to an arts and crafts store for that (for the basics, such as paper/pencils/etc). For Marker Paper + Copic or Prisma Color Markers, you may need to go to a specialized arts store if they're not available - note: marker supplies are pretty pricey.

Hope this helps!