Fashion Sketching with My Body Model

 I was lucky enough to win a premium package from My Body Model in my recent #BHMPatternDesigners Challenge win. I've been intrigued by My Body Model for a while now, and this finally gave me the impetus to measure myself and get my personalized croquis downloaded and printed. It was so easy, and promises to be addictive. 

I watched the three videos that Erica has posted about the basics of garment sketching for total beginners (that's me) and tried out some of her tips and tricks. It's easier than I thought it would be. The croquis with the right proportions makes a big difference in getting the feel of a garment right for me. Some of the tips included using the line drawings and model images from your chosen pattern to note the shapes, starting with dots to mark the edges and shapes of things, then drawing in the curved lines to connect it all. That made it work so well!

I started by sketching out some of the items on my 2021 #MakeNine list, starting with the ones I'm planning on making next. I started just with pencil sketches to get the feel of how this works. It's really neat -- so fun that I can see doing this a lot! I'm not a plan oriented sewist in general; I tend to have a mental overview of the patterns I'm interested in and then make things according to mood and whatever fabric is currently speaking to me. So this should be an interesting addition to my sewing process, maybe I'll get my sewing queue a little more organized this way. 

I found that using the tiny adjustments to the way lines curved that Erica talked about in her videos made the sketches immediately more realistic. I haven't really tried using colour or representing fabrics more realistically yet, but I'm already hooked. Have I mentioned how fun it is? It feels like the grownup version of FashionPlates ;) 

I'll have to practice more to really get the hang of it, as I've seen so many people sharing their garment plans using this technique on Instagram which have inspired me. I really love Nateida's paper doll process that she shared at the beginning of the challenge, and want to give that a go once I get the garment drawing bit down. So much potential! The next time Erica offers her drawing class, I'm in 😍

Weekend Review: New Encyclopedia of Fashion Details

New Encyclopedia of Fashion Details / Patrick John Ireland

London: Batsford, c2008.

304 p.

Another book I really enjoying skimming through, this one is from my local library, and I've checked it out a couple of times over the last year or two. It is full of sketches of -- no surprise -- fashion details from across the 20th Century. 

It really is about 95% sketches, along with some introductory and explanatory notes scattered among the drawings. It's divided into sections like collars, waistlines, hems, sleeves, pockets, gathers, insets, draping and more. There are sketches of closeup details alongside full body outfits with colour added. It's really aimed at designers who need to sketch their ideas for presentations and so on, but I find it's very interesting for home designers as well. 

Looking at the details in each section, there is sometimes a representation of how the idea was used in the past, for example, draping in the 20s or 50s. But they are not period drawings, just sketches showing how that detail might have appeared in say, a flapper dress or a 50s bodice. The overall feeling of the book is late 80s/90s to me, despite the publication date. I quite like that, though. 

Even if the particular full outfits wouldn't appeal, just the number of design ideas shared here makes this book fascinating to look through. I can imagine using one detail to change up a pattern and add something a bit extra -- extending your own pattern collection or self drafting with neat little extras like piping, tucks, insertions, yokes, gathers or pleats, and so forth.

There is also some basic reference to the actual drawing itself - fashion figures in the beginning pages, some suggestions for guidelines and techniques to draw an even flounce or collar line, things like that. And sometimes for the full colour images, the type of paper and pens/pencils used is noted. 

Overall, I find this a fun book to flip through -- mostly for ideas to add to patterns in the past, and now also for some tips on drawing. I find the line drawings appealing and helpful to imagine new details in my sewing. Great book for when you just want to relax with some clothing ideas.

Weekend Review: The Secrets of Fashion Drawing

The Secrets of Fashion Drawing / Noel Chapman & Judith Cheek
London: Arcturus, c2014
160 p.

One of my delightful Christmas gifts this year was a set of EXTCCT fashion rulers, seen first on @Julie_Eilber's instagram account and then put onto my list. A nice little gift came from my Mom -- these rulers and a tube turner set. Love the enabling! :) I've already tried out the rulers -- there's a torso, legs, and three complete body shapes; one with arms, one without and one with no head on it. You can basically make any outline you want. I did a few quick pencil sketches over one of the body outlines to get a feel for them, and had quite a bit of fun. It's like playing paper dolls again! 

Anyhow, playing around with these made me think about fashion drawing, which then reminded me that I had The Secrets of Fashion Drawing on my shelves, but had never really looked into it much. And I'm so glad I pulled it out, because it's really interesting! 

It's written by two fashion industry types from England - one an illustrator and one a lecturer. The book is aimed at fashion students or beginners who want to break into the fashion illustration world. Well, that is definitely not me, but this book has a lot more to offer the casual reader too. 

After a clear intro, the book moves on to essential equipment for an illustrator -- papers, pens, brushes etc. As a stationery freak, I really enjoyed this even though it's not my aim to become an illustrator. But then there is a 17 page chapter on fashion terminology, ranging from types of fabrics and notions to fashion terms relevant to professionals. This glossary is useful for sewists as well, and suitably, the pages are sprinkled with lovely little illustrations of things being described -- and throughout the book there are many, many examples of fashion drawings in all sorts of styles by different illustrators, which is charming and visually so satisfying. 

After that comes a 30 page chapter on colour. I loved this. First there are pages with a breakdown of colour meaning across from a full page spread of that colour in a mood board style image. Then a few pages on colour palettes, choosing a colour to work with for a collection, and the like. This was such fun to read. 

And then begins the drawing instruction itself. They give tips on life drawing, drawing directly from a garment, creating flats and floats, and then doing more of a finished fashion illustration. It really covers it all for anyone in the field. It does assume a fair bit of art knowledge but that's kind of their market. 

The rest of the book is examples of successful fashion drawings and illustrators as well as a fair bit of business advice for the fledgling fashion artist. I skipped over some of this, just reading bios and looking at work samples that are surprisingly different from one another and enjoyable to skim through. 

My interest in fashion drawing is piqued by this, and I think some of the suggestions might come in handy when I'm using my new rulers and trying out project ideas on the page prior to sewing anything up. Even if I don't use them for practical purposes, I find that drawing outfits is relaxing and fun, and I think I'll keep on doing it this year. This book gives me some inspiration both in the drawing area and in more general sewing plans - the discussion of colour and collections and fashion planning may just be helpful when building the sewing queue!