Hair

Drawing Hair

There are a few guides to consider when drawing the hair. First off, know the direction of the hair. It naturally falls downwards, however, it's possible to create artistic hairstyles which a lot of fashion designers definitely incorporate to their runway collections. Always take note of gravity and other forces that act on the hair. For example, it might be pinned to one side, or you might choose a simple ponytail hairstyle.

The three main guides are:

Point, which is also called the growth point. It makes it easier to draw strands of hair that start from that point. This is useful for drawing the fringe or when hair is secured by a hair tie.

Parting is self explanatory. Different from what I said before, hair doesn't actually grow on one area or point on the head.

Hairline, which is the transition of the hair to the skin. This area of the head should not be a harsh line but a smooth blend, so it's best to use flicking motions.

Facial Proportions

Facial Proportions for Fashion Illustration

Fashion illustration captures the ideal facial proportions of women as well as men. Some may argue that there's absolutely no need for the face because the main focus is the garment design. To an extent I agree that you want the focus to be on the clothing itself, however if I was to emphasise the face, I would've drawn a portrait instead of a full body. Fashion illustration, in my opinion, depicts the entire body: the movement, expression, attitude and clothing. 

So if you want, take the time to know the ideal facial structure. The eyes are located halfway from the top of the head to the chin. A quarter down from the eyeline is where the nose is usually placed. An eighth down from the noseline is where the mouth is. Note that the distance between each eye is the length of an eye.

Ideal beauty is all about the right facial proportions.

Creases and Folds on Clothing

Creases and Folds on Clothing

Creating a representation of garments can be quite difficult as it is easily overdone and sometimes underdone. To get you started with drawing creases on clothes, the basic lines are:

Curves, which are used almost everywhere. A simple flick of the pen provides a natural look to the illustration.

Straight, which represents the effect of gravity and other forces (extension) on the garment.

V or Hooks, which are commonly used for the joint areas in the body, such as the elbows, knees, under the arms, waist and even under the bust area.

TIP: Observational drawing is always a great learning tool. Practice drawing from real life. And don't be scared to combine these basic lines together. Experiment a little or maybe a lot. This allows 

Fashion Template

Fashion Template

I have to be honest: I use a fashion template for my fashion illustrations. It's been a recent thing for me since for the longest time, I've been using my old illustrations as a guide for the height of my new illustrations. I don't know about you, but having to rule 10 lines down a page gets a little bit too tedious. So I drew myself a template which I put under the paper that I make my sketches on. From this, I can create different standing poses while maintaining the proportions of the body. 

I am currently teaching myself how to sew my own designs, and the torso has a few lines that help me add details to my design that will also help me when I construct garments.

In case some of you guys might need a little help, feel free to print this out and use it as a guide for some of your fashion illustrations. Please don't claim this as your own. And please respect my rights to this template. I'd appreciate that. Thanks.

Dressing the Fashion Figure

Drawing Clothes for Fashion Illustration

To learn how to draw clothes on the model is a major part of fashion illustration. I've tried my best to create a method that will explain how I go about dressing the fashion figure.

Both drawings are of the same pose to make it easier to understand. 

The pink lines are called action lines which I use to help me determine the hem of the skirt. Since it is a figure in motion, the garments will move with the body. So when drawing the top, the hem line should follow the shoulder or apex action line. When drawing the skirt, the hem line should follow the waist or hip action line. 

The pink broken line is called the centre front which helps me when drawing the details of the dress. This shifts when the torso moves to an angle which helps with how I apply perspective to my drawing.

The blue diagonal line which I've turned into triangles are what I've create to explain how I apply the effect of gravity to the clothing. When the line is leaning to the left, this means that the left part of the garment (for example the sleeve) will be further from the body. This is shown in the second figure, where the body has been coloured in flesh and you can see how the fabric hangs on the body due to the white gaps between the line of the clothing and the edge of the body. To make it easier how to determine which is the left or right part of the fabric, since in some cases it can be difficult, I make the diagonal line a triangle, but always going down from the highest point. Gravity pulls down. 

Fashion Illustration: Inspiration and Technique by Anna Kiper gives tips on how to dress the fashion figure.

Figure in Motion

Drawing Figure Poses

Drawing the fashion figure is one thing; making different poses is another.

When it comes to drawing the figure in motion, there are a few guidelines that are very helpful to create a balanced and realistic pose.

These lines are called action lines (red) which I have divided into two groups. (1) The broken lines are the shoulder action line and the apex action line. (2) The solid lines are the waist action line and the hip action line. When the figure moves, the very common S-curve is formed. If you study photos of models, a normal pose is a contrapposto which is another name for the S-curve. This represents the relaxed positing of a figure.

To achieve an S-curve (orange in the second photo) , the two sets of action lines must intersect at one point, thus creating a curve in the torso where one side is stretched while the other is compressed. This is shown in the second photo with the action lines in blue.

Another guideline is the balance line (blue) which divides the body in half - when in front view - always starting in between the collar bones.

Another guide is the shaded leg which is shown in the second photo. This leg is where most of the body weight is on which means this must always be closer to the balance line. The bottom curve of the letter S should also fall on the shaded leg which is also on the same side as the intersection point of the action lines. While this is called the support leg, the non-shaded leg is called the play leg. There is much more freedom in drawing the play leg since it has not particular use when drawing a balanced figure.

I tend to draw my figures as a representation of the human body, only elongated, therefore I learned how to properly draw the body that looks realistic, balanced and possible.