Table Of Contentd e s i g n r r s e
Principles, practice, and techniques: the In artist
lulian Seaman
Fashion
I d e s i g n d r a w i n g c o u r s e
ash'on
I
e l dra wing G o ~ r s ~
"--+=
.
Principles, practice, and techniques:
the ultimate guide for the aspiring fashion artist
Caroline Tatham Julian Seaman
Introduction
How to use this book
Assessing your work
FINDING INSPIRATION ILLUSTRATING FASHION
lnspiration file: Where to start
Unit 1: Visiting a museum The human body in proportion 50
Unit 2: Investigating architecture
Inspiration file: Inspiration file: Experiments with med~a5 6
A fresh look at the fam~liar
Unit 3: Mood boards
Unit 4: The traditions of India
Unit 5: Fine art and graphics
lnspiration file: Small details, big ideas 38 j lnspiration file: Laying out your page 74
Unit 6: Designing fabric ideas 40 Unit 13: Illustrating bold print 76
Unit 7: Starting with embroidery 44
I
All inquiries should be addressed to:
Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppauge, New York 11 788
http:l/www. barronseduc.com
Copyright 0 2003 Quarto Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may
reproduced in any form, by photostat, microf
xerography, or any other means, or incorpora
into any information retrieval system, electronic
or mechanical, without the written permiss~ono f
the copyright owner.
I
I
DLANNING COMMUNICATING
AND DESIGNING YOUR VISION
lnspiration file: lnspiration file:
Creating a cohesrve collectron Clarity and communication
Unit 14: Learn to love your roughs Unit 20: Working drawings
I
Unit 15: Planning a range Unit 21: Real garments for your portfolic I
E Indexer: Pamela Ell.is
lnspiration file: Designing to a brief lnspiration file: .
' Unit 16: Customer focus Presenting your work Art Director: Moira Clinch
Publisher: P,iers Spence
Unit 17: Occasions, seasons, budgets Unit 22: Practicalities of presentation
lnspiration file: Color and fabric Unit 23: Choosing a presentation style Manufactured by Pica Digital
PIE Ltd., Singapore
Unit 18: Color palettes Unit 24: Presenting with flair
Unit 19: Structuring fabric Printed in China by
a Midas Printing International Ltd.
9876
Fashion resources
Glossary
Index
Credits
- ~ - -- - -- . _ --
Fa shion is. by its very nature. an ever-changini.& b No experience
dscar ~ildreem arked that "Fashion is a form of required
ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six You don't need to be a
months," but it is this continual evolutioni,$e constant sewing expert to create great
---.-
fashion designs. You can
reinvention of old trends and the creak~-nofjew
all explore the behavior of a made-up
ones, \cat lends the fashionindustry its excitement
garment simply by draping fabric
an g amor. around a dressmaker's stand, and
Fashion Design Drawing Course is aimed3 then incorporate ideas about
aspiring fashion-%Signers an-elllru~~t=and pleating and gathering into
your illustrations.
anyone w~tha n interest In the fascinating world of style.
The book is modeled around the fashion courses
offered by colleges and universities, with twenty-four
units each containing a project to lead you step by
step through the process of illustrating terrific designs.
You don't need to know all about the big fashion
names to take this course, nor do you need-to be a
genius with a paintbrush or sewing machine. The aim
of this book is to unravel the mystique surrounding
fashion, and to show how designs can be created
1
through a systematic process of research and I In the first chapter, "Finding inspiration," you will V A stream of ideas
development, and the use of a range of illustration learn that creating a design is not a mystical affair but Use your sketchbook to
techniques. All you need to begin is enthusiasm and simply about researching, developing, and reinventing explore your first ideas about
a willingness to an inspiring theme. If you look at your surroundings a design. Don't be too critical
of your roughs-just let the
through the eyes of a designer, you will see that
ideas flow and you will be
inspiration is everywhere-museums, art galleries, the
surprised at the vitalitoyf the
i seashore, the city streets, even your familiar home and work you produce.
garden can provide you with raw material. This chapter
will show you how to identify and research a source of
inspiration, and how to use this
<
inspiration to guide your
=I-3I
designs, through the use
of mood boards for
I
example. It will also give
4 Borrowing inspiration
You can borrow motifs from
paintings to create print
patterns-these prints are
inspired by the work of Dufy.
I some suggestions about how to put your own special design is to produce a real garment that
spin on an idea. perhaps by enlarging scale to explore can be worn on a real human body. A-n
he unseen details of an ordinary object, or by bringing article of clothing drawn on a figure
the patterns and shapes of a painting or a building that is wildly out of proportion will
into a new context, or by using your source to inspire lack authority because no one '
a fabric design that will be the focus of the garment. will be able to imagine actually
Once you have developed some great design ideas wearing it. The second chapter
you need to be able to represent them on the page. therefore explains an easy
The second chapter, "Illustrating fashion," will give you paper-folding method that an
the confidence to expand your drawing technique to inexperienced designer can use
include methods such as collage and mixed media. as a guide for creating fashion
V Having confidence
A mistake students often make is to believe they must figures. During this part of the
Learning how to fill the page
jevelop a personal drawing style early on, and then course you will learn to observe
boldly is an important aspect
of becoming a fashion stick to it. This book encourages plenty of carefully and to hone your
designer. When you show experimentation-if you keep pushing the boundaries, representational skills, as you
confidence in your designs your ideas will always be fresh. Experiments don't practice drawing people and
you will be well on the way to
always work, of course, but you must have the courage
convincing tutors, clients,
to fail-this is part of the learning process.
and employers to have faith
in them too. One important point to keep in mind while working Capturing the mood b
through this course is that the final aim of any fashion A free representation of a figure can 1
capture a pose just as well as a vety
detailed one. You don't need
I
of garment designs
1 reflect their Arctic
source in aspects such
as the Inuit-stylef igures
and the snowflake knit
pattern. Developing
I
designs from one source
produces distinctive work.
-1
I
garments from life. You will also learn how to be bold will teach you how to work to a brief, to take into
in your designs, filling each page with drawings that account considerations such as budget and seasonal
show conviction. requirements, and to build a collection aimed at V Going wild
The third chapter, "Planning and designing," takes a target customer whose tastes you might well not Designers need to be
vour desi-a n work into the wider context of the fashion share yourself. practical in focusing their
I
industry. Being a successful designer is not about The final chapter, "Communicating your vision," work on a target customer,
but sometimes it's good to
producing flamboyant one-off pieces but about looks at how all these wonderful ideas can be best
let yourself go wild-this
developing your inspiration into a cohesive range of shown off to colleagues, tutors, employers, and clients.
Hussein Chala,,an skirt
designs that share a strong look while offering as When it comes to presenting your concepts, was designed around a
much choice to the customer as possible. This chapter remember that clarity is key-there is no point in coffee table.
V b Communicating
your ideas
Present your designs in an
appropriate style: these
jewel-like illustrations
capture perfectly the
sophistication of the
garments. If you are studying
at college, you could even
take your presentation a step
further by photographing
your designs at the end-of-
b Maximum impact
You should try to present
your designs with maximum
creative impact. This dress
was inspired by film and
theater posters from the
1940s, and the concept is
reflected not only in the
dress itself but also in
aspects such as the
dancing pose of the figure
and the spotlight effect
created by spray paint used
in the background.
V Competitive
business
Recently graduated fashion
students have to vigorously
promote their designs at shows I
in the hope that one of these
events will catapult them to
catwalk stardom.
creating superb designs if no one can understand the
illustrations.T his chapter explains how to support your
creative illustrations with flat working drawings and
how to build a professional-looking presentation
board, It also shows how every aspect of the
presentation-from the style of drawing to the poses
of the figures-can work together to communicate
your vision with maximum impact.
Working through Fashion Design Drawing Course
will give you the tools you need to create and illustrate
designs, as well as the confidence to set off on your
career as a fashion designer, Your most important
assets are an open mrnd and a pair of fresh eyes; and
i
remember, as you venture into this highly competitive
yet rewarding business, that fashion design should
above all be fun.
