Help with fashion design drawings!

I wanna study fashion design, but I have one problem.. I can't draw my ideas on paper, I make them out of my head. Does anyone have tips for how to draw the people wearing the clothes? I can't draw to save my life but I will need to learn how to draw my ideas for my portfolio.. Website links or book suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks!

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13 replies since 16th May 2011 • Last reply 16th May 2011

Reply #1:

What you should do is develop a series of croquis (small "models" on paper) so you have the shape of a person's body to draw on.

I'm sure there are plenty of free croquis available on Google images... some are probably free and don't have a copyright on them.

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Reply #2:

this site has an easy template to start adding your clothes to a human figure...
http://fashionary.org/

I want to study fashion design too... so I'm doing an online course to learn to draw and make my portfolio... the only thing is it's in spanish hahahaha

it's not that hard to make the figures.... you should always remember that you should have your unique style for drawing... so don't worry if you can't draw as realistic as other fashion designers... just take a look to the sketches in the Project Runway webpage and you will find maaaaaany different styles... Happy

sorry I can't give you more sites or books... I have seen some in Amazon... but I have not bought any of those.... I just own one I bought here in Chile... >.<

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Reply #3:

Thanks =]

I'm gonna start trying to draw basic figures, because for my portfolio I need to show my planning for the things I've made, but I never put anything on paper, I just thought of an idea and made it, but I'll have to draw a rough sketch of the items to accompany them xD

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Reply #4:

practice the basic figures... after a couple you will draw them really fast! Happy
and then you just add your design... but first practice making the body...

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Reply #5:

another thing you can do for you portfolio without much drawing is making illustrations with collage technique. means cut out scraps of paper/packaging/leafs/fabrics/everything and put it together to a croquis-like figure. when i applicated to fashion design school they wanted me to do a illustration out of fabric scraps. it´s so much more creative than just drawing, you can add 3d structures the jury can touch and support the silhouttes of your designs.
i think it´s more important to show creativity and diversity than a perfect drawing skill!
however, a cool book for learning how to draw croquis with and without clothes is "9 heads"!

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Reply #6:

I'm studying fashion at the moment and some of the people in my class really can't draw. They either use a template off google (so handy, and much faster than doing it from scratch even if you can draw) or use other media like collage or smears of paints or pastels to show shape and colour. Those ones usually look much better than something precisely drawn and leave much more room for the slight alterations that might have to happen when pattern-cutting.

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Reply #7:

a mood board with magazine clippings and pictures. It gives you a theme.

There is a project on here for drawing a model:
http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/draw_a_basic_standing_lady

A good book on fashion designing:
The Fashiion Designers Guide to Shape and Style
it has a model already premade and traceable designs you can edit.

Happy Hope I helped

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Reply #8:

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm gonna try all these ideas and see if I can find the books somewhere too =]

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Reply #9:

I studied Fashion design a few years ago and I was really worried about the drawing stuff too,so I looked for books. and there were heaps out there! from the really basic to the super fancy! here are two of my favorites: The big book of Fashion Illustration by Martin Dawber,published by Batsford. and also
"200 projects to get you into Fashion Design" by Tracy Fitzgerald & Adrian Grandon, published by Quarto Publishing. the second one has some great ideas and stuff to get you on the right track.They often have a drawing component within the course structure too, and you could look for short courses in fashion drawing at community colleges and online, good luck!

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Reply #10:

Haha Gushi Soda, it's funny that you mentioned the "200 projects to get you into fashion design", my mother bought it for me yesterday! xD I've paged through it a bit, it looks awesome. I'm only gonna start working through it when I get back from holiday in July.

I also found a book that explains how to draw the many different styles of figures, what not to do, etc. So I'm gonna be very busy after my holiday!

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Reply #11:

thanks for a great thread , i'll be passing this info on to my daughter

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Reply #12:

Rawr.Rawr.x....I'm so happy to hear you're going in for fashion design! I wish you every success in your application and portfolio Happy

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Reply #13:

A whilst back I stumbled upon this site:
Fashion Design Drawing
A Complete FREE Online Drawing Course for Beginners
http://fashion-design-drawing.com/Fabrics-Part-1.html

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