Fashion Illustration

A great design begins with a sketch. To come up with a final design, a fashion designer will make hundreds of sketches or quick croquis (that’s the French term for sketch.) With every sketch an idea is born, so the more you sketch, the better your designs get!

Supplies you’ll need:

1. Sketchbook

2. Black sharpie

3. Color pencils or markers

4. Fashion template

5. An idea!

   Proportion

   Did you know a fashion illustration has the proportion of nine heads? Fashion has always favored the elongated silhouette of a fashion model to illustrate a design so the body does not distract from the clothing. Some designers prefer to sketch on a model-like form and others, like myself, prefer to sketch my garment flat. Explore our Flat Sketching page and then practice with our Dress Mabel activity.

Trace Your Design

Now download these model figures and practice drawing your designs! Simply lay your template under a sheet of paper and draw your designs over the figure & trace your model. Use a black sharpie pen to outline so when you add color, your colors don’t bleed. Refer to our Silhouette Library for ideas on different styles of dresses, tops, and bottoms.

Need inspiration? Create a collage mood board first to inspire your designs. Check out our Moodboarding page to get started!

Tip: When drawing your clothing, remember to only draw the arms, legs, and other body parts that would appear outside of the garment. For example, don’t draw the narrow part of the arm if you have a full long sleeve, just draw the sleeve and only show the wrist and hand below it.

Color

Next add color! Create your own color story using our Color Library page. What kind of fabric do you envision your dress or top to be in? Think about a fabric you’ve seen before (go look in Mom’s closet!) and what you’d want your design to be made out of. Try to replicate the look of that fabric. Is it shiny, does it have a fuzzy texture, or is there a prominent pattern you see? Check out our Textile Library to help you choose your fabrics!