Sketch that, proportionally!- Fashion Illustration #1

Hello everybody!

So now that I am blogging for two classes, I'll get to talk to you guys about not only the fashion world from a clothing/ fit standpoint, but from a drawing/ 2D standpoint as well. Maybe you guys will get as interested in this as I am! As you probably guessed, I'm totally excited to be in a class in which we get to talk about fashion AND draw it too. My head is kind of exploding with happiness lol. But enough about me, I'm going to give you the quick nitty gritty for all you up-and-coming-fashion-sketchers, or maybe those who want to draw the human figure a little more realistically.

So the biggest thing in art and fashion both is proportion. You know the key to buying real estate is location, location, location? Well the key to fashion sketching is proportion, proportion, proportion. Lol. If your croquis, or flat fashion sketch, is way bigger on one side than the other, it will definitely confuse the viewer, and your idea- no matter how cool it might look, if the girl isn't proportionate, it won't be conveyed. Notice the picture on the left- imagine if your croquis was drawn like this! Ahh! You can't tell where her waist is, because it looks like her entire torso is her waist; and that's just not how women are built lol. Her neck is... creepily elongated, nobody's thighs and arms are that small, and her head looks huge. It's super creepy, because it is so disproportionate!

Now looking at the good example on the right, see how their waists are defined at one point only, and their hips are in line with their bust and the shoulders look the correct size in relation to everything else. And the neck is a normal length lol.

So the way we talked about keeping everything looking proportionally correct in class is by using a standard measure in which we can relate to every part of the body. Similar to inches, we use "heads". I'll explain that in a second. And so how we start, is we draw a line vertically down our paper, and then draw a normal oval for the head. It should be around an inch tall. And then draw 9 horizontal lines every inch down from the top of that vertical line and number them from 0 to 8. These lines will keep your sketch in proportion. Just remember what every line stands for: 

Good

Bad

0- top of head

1- bottom of head (the space between these two measurements is how the industry came up with "heads" as a measurement)

2- middle of bust

3- waist

4- where the thigh and pelvis connect

5- middle of thigh

6- knees

7- middle of shins

8- ankles

8.5- where your feet should end generally

I hope y'all see what I mean by "heads" now. They literally took the size of a head and measured it against every part of the body. And they did the numbering a little differently than I did, but I figured just a general representation would help those visual learners out there :) This is actually kind of an awesome picture.

If you stay in the ballpark of these numbers, your body should come out looking pretty proportionate. And just as a general rule of thumb, whatever you do to the left side, you do to the right side. That pretty much ensures a good sketch. Granted you probably want to use a ruler first to make sure everything is symmetrical, but once you get going you can do without it.

So I hope these general guidelines help y'all just starting out! For any who enjoy drawing but are a little wary of the human figure, these tips will help you too hopefully! 

As always, vivre la mode tout le monde!

New classes, new blog posts! -Tailoring #1

Bonjour!

Can y'all believe it is 2013 already? Gosh I can't. So here's the deal, I am in two fashion classes that allow us to have blogs now! Woo! So you'll be reading my stuff twice as much :) But don't worry, it's beneficial I promise!

So this class that I am in, Tailoring, is all about the fit of garments. Which is SUCH an important factor when buying or even making something. Because if it doesn't look good on the body, then why buy it? You want to look good, right? Then find clothes that fit. Pants specifically are something that a lot of people find difficult to fit. Hopefully this blog will point you in the right direction next time you are pants shopping!

This picture came out of our textbook Easy Guide To Sewing Pants by Lynn MacIntyre. This is such a great picture! Because I bet you, most Americans don't know that all pants aren't supposed to be as tight as skinny jeans. All pants aren't created equal, y'all! So first rule when pants shopping: Know the occasion. Let's say I'm looking for a new pair of work pants. I like a little more fit to my pants personally, so I would probably go with slacks. As you can see, they fit a little more under the bottom and in through the legs compared to trousers.

Now it's time for fitting. The part that you want to fit first is the waist. When you put on those pants, can you grab a whole bunch of fabric at the waistband? If so, those are too big. Get a smaller size! When you sit, does it gap in the back? If so, you probably should take it to a tailor and get the excess removed in the waistband only, if they fit in the hips.

The second part you look at is the hips. Make sure there are no wrinkles- those indicate a fit problem. In slacks, they are going to rest on your hips, but they aren't going to be snug like jeans, and they aren't going to be loose like trousers.

Now look at the booty. If it looks like you have a wedgie, those pants are too tight in the seat! We call that part the "shelf" in class. You need some more "seat" room. Easily fixable at a tailor or perhaps just see what the next size up looks like. And if you have a saggy grandpa hiney, then those are too big in the back and also the shelf.

I think it is time for some pictures of what I am talking about :)

Saggy under the booty? Bad fit

... He obviously didn't fit the waistband before purchasing

Well that's all for me, hopefully this will help you on your quest on finding the perfect pair of pants! Vivre la mode, tout le monde!

Oh, and let me instill one final piece of advice... plaids must match! At the crotch and at the sides. These pants here clearly don't match at the front crotch. Any print really should match, stripes or dots or flowers- depends on the size for the last two however. It really cheapens a garment if your prints don't match. I know that doesn't have anything to do with fit, but I saw this picture and I knew I just had to tell you anyway :)