Let’s Start Drawing!

In this second part of Becoming a Fashion Illustrator, I will be giving you instruction on how to draw the human figure, what is draping, choosing a figure to draw, finding your reference points to make art, pose and form and your very own brand color palette!

In case you missed it, here is lesson one and my link to my YouTube where you can find tutorials on how to draw fashion illustration both on paper and digitally.

Lesson 2: Becoming a fashion illustrator Overview

In this part of Becoming a Fashion Illustrator mini course we will be discussing the human figure. Understanding the human figure is essential for fashion illustration. Focus on the following areas:

• Pose and Form: Explaining pose, form and draping to capture movement and elegance.
• Proportions: Learn the standard proportions of fashion figures (typically 9 heads tall).
• Finding What to Draw: Use resources like magazines, old fashion books, and online libraries for inspiration.
• Practice on Pencil for Now: Start sketching with pencil to develop your skills before moving to ink or color.
• Choosing Your Designer Color Palette: Start with a basic palette and gradually expand it with custom colors that resonate with your style preferences.

Pose and Form

Pose refers to the way a person is posed in order to maximize the look and features of the piece and create visual interest. There are more nuances to this quality such as, stance, line of action, fashion-specific poses , gesture and purpose. I love of all of these qualities! Line of action, stance and gesture are my favorite aspects. I encourage you to explore the aspects below!

Key expanded aspects of pose in fashion illustration:

1. Stance

• Weight distribution
• Balance point
• Contrapposto (natural standing position)
• Direction facing

2. Line of Action

• Main directional flow of figure
• Movement suggestion
• Dynamic vs static positioning

3. Fashion-specific poses

• Runway walk
• Editorial poses
• Three-quarter view
• Front, back, and profile views

4. Gesture

• Hand and arm positions
• Head tilt/turn
• Leg placement
• Hip positioning

5. Purpose

• Shows how garments move/drape
• Highlights design features
• Conveys mood/attitude
• Demonstrates fit

Form in fashion illustration refers to the three-dimensional quality and shape of a garment or figure.There are more nuances to this quality such as, volume, structure, dimensionality and shape. Shape and volume are my favorite aspects. I highly suggest enriching your learning experience by reading about form and its other characteristics.

Form is specifically related to draping. Draping is the way fabric forms and falls around the figure, depicting volume and fullness of garments. It will reference three-dimensional qualities of the fabric, weight and movement of textiles Folds, pleats, and gathering of material, as well as space between fabric and body. it also helps understand structure and construction of garments.

Example of volume and shape.

Key expanded aspects of form in fashion illustration:

1. Volume

• How fabric drapes and falls
• The fullness or slimness of garments
• Space between body and clothing

2. Structure

• The silhouette created by the garment
• Construction lines and seams
• Support elements like darts and pleats

3. Dimensionality

• Light and shadow to show depth
• Perspective and foreshortening
• Contours and curves

4. Shape

• The overall outline of the design
• How garments interact with the body
• Proportions and balance

Proportions

There are so many books that help get your proportions right. I did a video where, at the time, I would draw my figures using a ten head ratio. This was a personal choice as fashion figures are drawn with a nine heads proportion. Personally, only care about these rules if something looks wacky in my drawings. However, there are a few I follow closely;

The Face

The eyes are at the same level as the ears

The neck is always narrower that the head. The thicker the neck, the more masculine the figure will be.

The space between the eyes should theoretically be enough to add a third eye in the middle.

If the chin has a square shape, it will make your subject masculine. Also if the lines are dark, thick and heavy around the chin, the subject will look male.

The Body Proportions

The body should be about 9 heads long.

Head 1 (Top):
Top of head to chin
Defines facial features

Head 2:
Chin to chest
Shoulder line
Base of neck

Head 3:
Chest to bust
Armpit level
Upper bust

Head 4:
Waist level
Natural waistline
Bottom of rib cage

Head 5:
Hip level
High hip to low hip
Upper thigh begins

Head 6:
Mid-thigh
Upper leg area
Below crotch point

Head 7:
Lower thigh
Above knee to below knee

Head 8:
Mid-calf
Lower leg area
Below knee to ankle

Head 9 (Bottom):
Ankle to floor
Feet placement

Note: This is an elongated proportion system (standard human proportions are 7.5-8 heads) used specifically for fashion illustration to create a more elegant, stylized figure.

Becoming a fashion illustrator-Finding What to Draw

Searching what to draw is one of my favorite things, We have many online resources like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and many other traditional magazine sources that are now online. Though you don’t have to do this, I do recommend getting old fashion magazines, fashion books and other media. The purpose is so you have your own collection for easy point of reference. This collection is called morgue files. Morgue files are a collection of materials to reference when creating your illustrative works.

Some of the files you should have in your collection are:

• Visual References– photographs, magazine clippings, and fashion sketches that are examples of garments, styles, fabrics, poses and designs.
• Color References– Collect color swatches and samples to help you make better color choices when making your artwork.
• Textural Samples– Samples of different fabric textures and materials to help you accurately depict them in your renderings. They also will help you better draw detail and draping on your figures.
• Historical References– Helpful when creating time period pieces or when wanting to evoke a particular mood. Great for adding historical context, noting past fashion trends.
• Design Elements– Cutout or snippets that define specific garment design details such as stitching, patterns, or embellishments. These are specifically helpful when making renderings of a garment that will be shown to a pattern maker or seamstress. This will aid in making the garment.

Color Theory for Becoming a fashion illustrator

Color theory is a very rewarding part of fashion illustration. It can break or make your work and set you apart from others. Giving thought to your unique color palette can help create uniqueness in your work and further brand your pieces.

Illustrators often rely on this quality to set themselves apart from other artists. This is an extensive subject and I feel it is better learned by exploring it on your own. Here are the basics!

Did you know? The term ‘shades’ doesn`t exist in color theory? The correct term is ‘tints’.

The Basics of Color Theory

The color wheel arranges colors in a logical sequence, showing the relationships between the primary colors. Did you know first color wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666? There are many variations of the color wheel but the basics remains the same: to organize colors in a meaningful way.

• The color wheel is divided into three main categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
• Primary Colors: Red, yellow, and blue. These are the foundation of the color wheel and cannot be created by mixing other colors.
• Secondary Colors: Green, orange, and purple. These are created by mixing two primary colors.
• Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green. These are created by mixing a primary and a secondary color.
• Complementary colors are pairs of colors located directly opposite to each other on the color wheel. Some examples of complementary color pairs include: Red and green, Red-purple and yellow-green and Blue and orange.

Complementary Color Chemistry

When placed next to each other, complementary colors create maximum contrast and stability, making each color appear more vibrant. This effect is due to the way our eyes perceive color. When we look at one color for an extended period, our eyes create an afterimage of its complementary color. This afterimage makes the original color appear even more intense.

Using complementary colors in design can be a powerful way to create a visually striking and balanced composition.

How to I find my palette?

Selecting your fashion palette or branding palette is an exercise in self reflection and understanding the message you desire the world to know, Looking at your own wardrobe, a color you maybe into at the moment and the colors you usually gravitate to when painting/decorating/purchasing are great starting points when selecting your colors. Color also can offer meaning and strengthen your message. This website will elucidate you on the subject of branding and color meaning.

Need inspiration? Try Coolors to spark your creativity.

My Color Palette

These very close to my favorite colors and you can see them here in my site’s branding.

Below is an example of Christian Dior`s standard color design palette. They keep their color consistent within their branding and expand it to change with the trends of the season.

Here is Elsa Schiaparelli’s color palette. I can’t say that this are her branding colors, however, she has used these colors consistently. Throughout the design seasons, while adding colors the design house has added other colors to embrace trends or set their own.

Becoming a fashion illustrator-Expand Your Knowledge

Helping you on your quest to becoming a fashion illustrator is so important to me! Explore color theory with this link. The site is not available on mobile. Here is a more in depth archived Color Theory site and the newest version of it here , with lots of information. Explore hex codes colors here. In case you did not know, rgb is the color structure for the web, cmyk for print, Pantone color sets is the standard when printing (fabrics, paper and everything else) and manufacturing and hex value is the code used in html for colors to display on a browser.

To Do– Find morgue files that speak to you, either digital or in tangible media. There are image refence books in Amazon (affiliate link) that are reference resources under the categories advised above. Also find online archives that will have image banks that will help you in your journey on becoming a fashion illustrator.

Lastly, try drawing a figure. Don’t worry about it being perfect. Fashion figures are not perfect, at all. They do not follow human proportions. Many of us choose to elongate certain aspects of the figure! I make really long legs and exaggerated eye lashes. Have fun and purposely make it different!