about fashion > Creating Figures
Creating Figures
In fashion illustration your figure should be drawn long and slim with squared off shoulders and very unrealistically elongated legs. It will look extremely out of proportion, as the legs tend to be exaggeratedly long. The waist must be drawn very slender.
In drawing your figure, remember that the waist is one third down from the top of the figure. It is most important to show this important aspect of the figure, which will add to the elegance of your croquis. The waist falls in between the pelvic box and the upper torso shape, and should have a nice curve inward over these two structures of the body. The figures are measured in head widths, in order to ensure you’re getting the proportions right.
-Image- Arturo Elena
The true female figure measures seven to eight head lengths in height, the fashion figure measures nine to ten head lengths. In fashion drawing you must retain the basic proportions of the human form from head to crotch, only add extra length to the legs to give dramatic stylised effect and give your designs more dynamic appeal. Why do some people prefer to use templates to trace instead? Your proportions are guaranteed and the hard work of redrawing faces and hands is greatly diminished when just using a set of templates and tracing the clothing directly onto it!
Try to keep as many different pose templates as you can, it becomes boring if you keep using a figure that has the same animated pose over and over. Keep demure ones for eveningwear, strident ones for fashion wear, animated ones for sportswear etc. If you are using four figures on one board, use at least two different poses.
-Christian Lacroix Croquisnbsp; -Image- online-academy
FREE NINE HEADS DIAGRAM!!
In the diagram below, you’ll see a typical scale for the fashion figure that generally measures 9 heads tall. Male and female fashion figures are the same in proportion of height, but have some obvious differences. Keep this diagram handy when practicing your figure illustration.
The following points of reference are noted below:
-Nine Heads Diagram
Top of the head
Chin
Shoulder
Armholes
Bust apex
Waistline
End of torso or crotch
Knees
When illustrating the fashion template, you need to ensure the figure doesn’t look skew and seem like it is falling over, you need to understand the balance line. If you always keep in mind where your balance line is supposed to be, then your figure pose will always look correct, even when exaggerating and stylising everything else.
The line is dependant on the position of the feet, and is determined by the centre of gravity of your chosen pose, it must be a vertical line from floor to neck, this is a good rule to draw by.
The balance line will move if the weight is placed from one foot to the other. Always bear in mind that the balance shifts between the feet as the figure moves. Find the correct placement of the figure’s head in relation to the legs and feet.
-Image: Sarah Louise Petty
Click Here to view a great introduction to drawing
There are pictures available on this site that I have posted, which are freely available on the internet, yet I have pasted them here for you to browse through for inspiration. Please don’t merely copy them. You must find your own style and perfect it; you should work towards only using my fashion templates as a guideline for the pose and form, but not specifically for the detail. Use them for helping you perfect the pose and outline, but then try to draw your own faces and hairstyle or use your own technique where possible to create your own set of fashion templates. You can go wild and be very creative, this is fine as long as you represent the clothing properly to an audience. Also, just examine more closely how people look, and when drawing clothing, be observant of how clothing drapes, especially how collars and cuffs sit and where pleats, wrinkles, creases, gathers and folds occur in garments and fabric.
This is a great Figure Drawing Exercise: If you’d like to attempt to draw a fashion template from scratch, this is a great warm-up exercise, untangling your drawing hands and freeing your mind. Figure sketching requires accurate scrutiny and can easily become stiff and awkward, but you can instil energy into the illustrations by transforming your contrived linework in these exercises into longer, more feathered strokes.
How to do it: Try to draw a quick sketch in 30 seconds, the time constraint allows for the sketchy unfinished look. You haven’t got time to think about insignificant details.
First look at the main axis of the body. From the top of the head to the tailbone, try to indicate with a single stroke the flow of the spine. Note with quick strokes the plane of the shoulders, hips; you might place an imaginary line through the knees and feet.
Experiment with using charcoal or pencil in different ways - a broad sweep using the side of the stick, or in a linear fashion. Draw using your entire arm, standing comfortably back from the easel. If working small, use as much arm and hand movement as possible.
There are two main approaches to abbreviated form - internal and external. Start internally by ’seeing’ the skeleton first - just directional lines showing the direction of the spine and limbs, and indicating the tilt of ribs and pelvis, will be sufficient to capture the pose. Depict external forms by using minimal lines to indicate the main contours - keep them loose and flowing.
Find pictures in magazines of dynamic poses, or use a model - and convey that energy in the sketch. Remember, this isn’t a finished piece, but expresses the basics of the pose. When you return to longer poses, remember the feeling of energy as you sketched these short poses, and see if you can re-create some of that feeling in a more deliberately observed drawing. Once you’ve perfected a figure, you can start stylising it into a less detailed form. This is how you perfect the fashion figure.
It’s best to measure and check your proportions! Always remember the nine heads measuring technique. Do it before you put any dark lines down on the drawing, so that any mistakes will be easier to erase. You may find that you’ve made your model dumpy and short-limbed. You’ll soon get out of the habit of making the figure too short, or the head too big.
Also, if you can’t remember the proper arm lengths, just check your own body! For instance, if you ever forget the position of the elbows, you only have to stand with your arms to your sides to find out!
