Once you have started finding inspiration, researching themes, using a sketchbook, and practicing figure drawing, you will be keen to experiment with different art materials. In this chapter you will find out which materials to use to achieve particular effects, how to convey fabric realistically, and how to select a color palette. Even professional artists can find these aspects of illustration challenging. To provide a useful reference source, the chapter divides into sections that you can dip in and out of easily to find the information you need.
Art materials and equipment
The range of materials and equipment available to illustrators and artists today is vast and can be a little overwhelming at times. Searching for appropriate materials in an art suppliers can feel like being surrounded by irresistible treats in a candy store. To the creative eye, everything looks tempting and the correct choice of medium is difficult to make.
Finding a medium that suits your own particular method of working and your style is the best way to proceed. You should feel comfortable enough with it to produce work confidently. Consider your personality when selecting your artistic tools. If you are a careful, meticulous perfectionist you may be most at ease with precise art materials such as a pencil or pen. If you have a more energetic, fast-and-furious approach to illustration, you may enjoy the freedom of oil pastels, charcoal, or paints. Experimenting frequently with new materials will encourage you to be more innovative in your work. Brand-new pots of ink, sharp, colorful pencils, and acrylic tubes just waiting to be squeezed may look inviting but, to a beginner, they also hold an element of anxiety. The next section covers how to use art materials and equipment in fashion illustration, so that you can make your selection with confidence.
The sewing machine is an important piece of equipment for many fashion illustrators. If possible, yours should offer a number of embroidery stitches. Many now have computer-software programs that link the sewing machine to your computer, allowing you to stitch a design created on screen.
A photocopier can save you time by enlarging and reducing images or by providing you with repeated copies for collage. Having inexpensive, throwaway copies of artwork to manipulate and experiment with can help you find new techniques and styles, without having to worry about perfection.
To cut out mount boards and papers, the steel ruler is useful as both a measuring and a cutting tool. It is preferable to a wooden or plastic ruler, as it is more difficult to slice into steel and create unwanted irregularities along the cut edge. A cutting mat provides a safe, steady surface for cutting with a sharp scalpel or knife. The most useful blades are those with an angled top over a straight cutting edge.
A light box is a handy tool for the illustrator. It is simply a screen lit from below that allows you to see through paper placed over photographs and magazine cuttings, so that you can trace figures or other elements. As light boxes are fairly expensive, you might prefer to use a window for the same purpose. However, if you can afford a light box, you will own it forever. They are also useful for looking at details in photographs or transparencies.
Spray adhesive is an essential for the illustrator. It should be applied evenly to one surface in a well-ventilated room. Be careful to protect areas you want to remain free from glue, as spray adhesive can be messy. It does, however, provide the most professional results when producing presentation boards, collages, and illustrations.
Masking tape is essential for fixing paper to a drawing board, and it peels easily off the board and your artwork when you have finished.
The aforementioned tools and equipment are essential for traditional fashion illustration. However, many illustrators work with machines rather than by hand to create contemporary effects, and working digitally is increasingly popular for fashion illustrators. For this you will need a computer (desktop or laptop) and possibly a scanner and digital camera. There are many creative software programs to help you draw, manipulate images, and alter photographs, the best known being Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You will find tutorials on how to use these programs in Chapter Four.
A selection of art materials and tools that can be used to illustrate fashion.
Paper
Paper is the first element to consider when beginning a fashion illustration. There are many types to choose from, available in various colors and thicknesses. All can be used as a surface on which to work or as a material from which to create a collage.
Cartridge paper is one of the most basic, commonly used papers, and is suitable for drawing and dry artwork. It is not generally recommended for painting or heavily rendered work, as it is made of wood pulp, so that moisture causes it to buckle.
Layout paper is a fine, semi-opaque paper that allows you to see an image faintly beneath it. Suitable for roughs, marker drawings, and color tests, it is often bleed-resistant so that colors do not run. The translucency of layout paper enables you to trace over it to produce one rough from another.
Unlike smooth cartridge paper, pastel paper has a grain running through it. Soft art materials such as pastel and charcoal pick up the grain, and the artist can exploit this effect in the illustration.
Watercolor papers are supplied in many weights and textures. With its ability to absorb liquid, watercolor paper can be used with many wet media, such as ink, paints, or watersoluble crayons.
Tissue paper, card, colored backing papers, wrapping paper, wallpaper, candy wrappers, and other packaging can all be used in fashion illustrations. Use your imagination as to how to incorporate them into your work.
While paper is the background for many fashion illustrations, it can also be used as the media to create them. Collage and paper sculpture are the chosen techniques of the illustrators shown on these pages.
“As a paper sculptor, it can take me two weeks to cut, layer, and glue my creations.” —Jeff Nishinaka
Peter Clark uses old paper because of the way that it can be manipulated and because he prefers the color and texture. “In my pieces I try to use mark-making in an innovative and humorous way to create a collection of clothing that exudes character and wit.”
Jeff Nishinaka is a paper sculptor of the highest quality. In these images he has created the background for a fashionably dressed doll and a bedroom setting for luxury accessories.
“I use a comprehensive collection of found papers as my palette in my collages. These are colored, patterned, or textured by their printed, written, or worn surfaces. With these media I ‘paint’ my collages.” —Peter Clark
Drawing
Pencils
There are many types of drawing media and mark-making materials. However, every artist—even painters, sculptors, and printmakers—benefits from being skilled at drawing with a pencil. The pencil is a convenient and expressive means of evolving a composition and of recording visual information quickly for translation into another medium later on. Most works of art begin with a pencil drawing.
Lead pencils are available either in the form of traditional wood-cased pencils or in a mechanical pop-up style. The advantage of a mechanical pencil is that it is always sharp. You can also select a variety of lead thicknesses for this type of pencil ranging from 0.3 to 0.9. Pencil leads are graphite and they are made in several grades ranging from hard (H) to soft (B—the “B” stands for black).
Soft pencils are ideal for rapid sketches and expressive line-and-tone drawings. They work especially well on textured paper, but take care when using them, because they smudge easily. Hard pencils best suit artists with a confident, clean, and accurate style of drawing. Graphite sticks are made of compressed and bonded graphite. They glide across the page to produce the boldest and most expressive drawings. You can change the marks they make by using the point, side, or the flattened edge of the stick. The water-soluble versions produce beautiful, silvery gray washes. Graphite sticks are especially popular for life drawing and clothed-figure drawing because they allow a fluid technique.
Colored pencils are made from a mixture of pigment, clay, and filler bound together and soaked in wax before being encased in wood. Use them like a graphite pencil to shade areas, only in color. You can also blend shades together carefully with a paper stump (a tightly rolled, tipped paper), eraser, or your fingers. As with all pencil drawing, tonal areas can be built up with hatching (short parallel lines drawn closely together) or crosshatching (a fine mesh of criss-crossing lines that builds depth of shade).
Water-soluble art materials
Water-soluble pencils offer the advantages of colored pencils, but they have a water-soluble ingredient in the lead. This means that you can apply the color dry, but create a subtle watercolor effect by loosening the pigment with brushstrokes of water. The advantage of both water-soluble pencils and crayons is that they are easy to carry with you, allowing you to sketch figures quickly on the street or catwalk. You can develop a picture further with paint when you return to your home or studio, if you so wish.
“I came up with this while thinking how everybody would love to ‘redesign’ some part of themselves if they could.”—Silja Goetz
“I work pretty fast, so oils are rarely employed. I use tea, pencils, wire, inks—anything cheap and within reach,” says illustrator Edwina White. When asked what illustration tool she could not live without, Edwina replied “a sharp pencil.”
Silja Goetz uses pencil and pen in this illustration where the model is redesigning herself.
Pens
There are all sorts of markers, including a variety of felt- and fiber-tip pens. High-quality markers can be costly but give good, non-blotchy results. They are usually supplied in packs of toning colors or sold singly. The best types have a variety of nibs—wide, medium, and fine. Wider nibs are useful for blocking in areas of color evenly. Skin-tone markers are invaluable for fashion illustration, giving a realistic flesh color. However, while using markers is a quick, convenient way of adding color, it takes a confident illustrator to apply them with conviction.
Ballpoints, although not always considered an art material, are worth experimenting with. Working in a single color with a line quality that does not alter can produce interesting results. A ballpoint is often easily at hand and doodling in a relaxed atmosphere provides a perfect creative environment.
Fineliner pens are wonderful for emphasizing fine details, such as intricate embroidery or knitted textures, in fashion illustrations. A non-permanent type can also be watered down to create a flowing line.
“I experiment with techniques, mix them up and see what’s happening.” —Tina Berning
Ed Carosia draws this clever, chaotic jumble with colored pencils. The colors work really well and create subtle tones on the page. Pencils are fairly easy to handle as long as you can draw as well as Carosia!
This line drawing has been completed in black and pink ballpoint pens. Although not always seen as an art material, ballpoint pens are easily available and allow you to sketch freely. Tina Berning describes her working technique as watercolour, ink, ballpoint pen, and “a proper amount of Photoshop.”
Ink and watercolor
Black waterproof Indian ink is the first choice of most illustrators as washes can be applied over a shiny line drawing. A monochrome illustration is then created using a dip pen, brush, or bamboo stick. By varying your drawing tool, you can achieve a range of wonderful effects.
Non-waterproof ink sinks into the paper and dries with a matte finish. Diluting it produces a wide range of lighter tones. You can experiment with non-waterproof inks by dropping them onto paper soaked in water. The ink disperses in the water, creating beautiful patterns and textures on the paper surface. Painted lines will be fuzzy rather than sharp as the ink spreads.
Watercolor paint is sold in tubes or pans. Tubes are available in many sizes and are recommended because you can mix stronger colors in larger quantities. Pans are small slabs of solid paint that fit into easy-to-carry boxes, the box lid usually acting as a palette for mixing colors.
“I do many drawings of the same subject until I get it right. Each drawing takes only minutes. It’s the scanning and post-production that takes time.“—Sara Singh
A watercolor illustration by Sara Singh. The jewelry has been added using Photoshop. Sara’s illustration technique combines traditional and digital techniques.
“My technique is very raw and simple, and really, my tools are just some random brushes and my fingers. Sometimes it takes weeks, a day, or even seconds to complete a fashion illustration.” —Amelie Hegardt
Watercolor is the perfect medium for adding subtle color to pencil fashion illustrations. It is also excellent for applying washes to pen-and-ink drawings and for adding colored details to sketches. You can exploit its natural properties by allowing a thin wash to run and drip over your fashion figure, adding a sense of movement to the illustration.
Cecilia Carlstedt sketches with a graphite pencil and then uses inks and watercolor to add atmosphere and style to her fashion illustrations. She is a master at mixing media, scale, and technique to create a versatile approach to her work.
Amelie Hegardt uses pastel, ink water, and graphite on paper. She says that it can take her weeks, a day, or just seconds to complete a fashion illustration.
“A painting according to the old school, done with the hasty speed of nowadays. Not because I’m in a hurry, but because that’s the way I like to work.“—Vincent Bakkum
Vincent Bakkum describes his illustration “Delphine” as “a drawing in paint.” It is created with acrylic on canvas and at 59 x 59 inches it is quite big, so that he can really brush into it. “I work like a house painter almost! Strong strokes so that I can feel myself an artist,” he says.
Paint
Many illustrators favor a particular paint, but it is sometimes difficult to decide which type will most suit the style of your work. Qualities of the different paints available are described below to help you make a selection.
Acrylics are incredibly versatile as they can be applied straight from the tube, or diluted, using a brush or knife—the latter creating a dense texture. Producing strong colors, acrylics dry with a tough, plastic waterproof skin. Try painting fashion figures onto fabric in acrylics. Once dry, use a sewing machine to add decorative stitching.
Oils are historically the professional painter’s medium. The buttery consistency of the paint arises from a high concentration of pigment mixed with the finest-quality oil. Although rarely used in fashion illustration today, oil paint is not as difficult to handle as you may think. The advantage of oil paint is that you can model it on the canvas, molding the textures you want in your fashion illustration and even creating a three-dimensional effect by applying the paint with a knife.
Gouache is a type of watercolor that has been mixed with white to make it opaque. It is excellent for laying flat, solid color as it dries without streaks, and is popular for illustration because its strong, matte colors are suited to reproduction. To use the paint creatively, apply the colors boldly in undiluted form. Imagine your illustrations as poster art, making them powerful and eye-catching.
Spray paint gives unexpected results, and is therefore the medium to have fun with. You can buy fairly cheap cans of spray paint for artistic use in a wide range of colors. It is excellent for stenciling and adding finishing touches to your fashion illustrations.
“To create a more hand-made element I added a painted structure over the whole drawing, you can see this in her skin.” —Tina Berning
“In Photoshop I added the yellow background that was created with acrylics and a spatula on cardboard as well as adding the lady’s make-up and the purple blouse under the coat.” You can see how Tina Berning works with paint in her fashion illustration tutorial in Chapter Four.
For the illustration below Tina Berning drew the woman in Adobe Photoshop with the paintbrush, her embroidered top was painted, dot by dot, using a Wacom pad. Initially the girl had dark, drawn hair, painted in Photoshop, but the artist deleted this and let the painted brushstrokes complete her hairstyle instead. The background is hand-painted purple with acrylics on paper.
“With a Bernina sewing machine, I either draw freely onto canvas or I paint with acrylic onto the stitched drawings and then embroider again, mixing intricate, colored-thread patterns into the shapes and spaces with the drawing” —Louise Gardiner.
“My greatest achievement is to translate the application of materials and techniques traditionally related with ‘women at home’ into a fashion language.”—Paula Sanz Caballero
Paula Sanz Caballero uses hand-stitching and fabric collage to create her art.
Embroidery and fabric
Hand embroidery threads offer a vast choice of color. Stranded cotton is the most popular type, and the strands can be separated to give you the thickness you want. Silk, wool, linen, synthetic, and metallic threads are also available, giving you a variety of options ranging from smooth, shiny stitches to textural, matte ones.
Machine embroidery threads are presented on reels and also vary in color, thickness, and finish. Usually made of rayon or cotton, they come in a wide range of single colors or variegated shades, matte, shiny, and metallic.
To embroider, use the needle as a drawing tool on the fabric. There is a great variety of different embroidery stitches you can use to create patterns on the fabric, demonstrating creative flair in your fashion illustration. In Chapter Four you can see how embroidery illustrator Louise Gardiner creates a fashionable shopping character using free machine embroidery techniques.
“I collect ideas in sketchbooks and do figurative drawing as often as possible.”—Louise Gardiner (opposite)
Mixed media collage
“Collage” was originally a French word, derived from the word coller, meaning “to paste.” In fashion illustration collage is primarily an illustration or design created by adhering flat elements such as paper, wallpaper, printed text, newspaper, or photographs with three-dimensional elements or “found” materials. It is a technique of mixing art with imagination. Most collage artists don’t really rule any objects out. They use thread, yarn, buttons, fabrics, wood, feathers, and wire—in truth, any bits and bobs that may inspire them.
However, it is the advances in digital technology that have enabled the new technique of mixed-media collage. This is where collage and assemblage art is scanned and manipulated digitally on the computer. Today, illustrators use various computer programs such as Adobe Photoshop to paste objects into their illustrations and flatten their artwork. This way they create a single sheet illustration that can be printed. Many students use this technique to document their research and compile their portfolio pages.
Silja Goetz’s illustration for Cosmopolitan was assembled by different elements such as colored paper and pencil drawing (for the faces). Silja then scanned it into the computer before adding background in Adobe Photoshop.
The hair in Goetz’s illustration below was drawn by hand before being scanned in. The scarf was made out of printed paper and the silhouette created with the vector tool in Adobe Photoshop before shadows and shading were added to the final illustration.
“The flat, black silhouette makes the ‘real’ fabric scarf stand out more dramatically. I like illustrations that are simple and effective in this way.” —Silja Goetz
Cecilia Carlstedt’s illustration, a collage of drawing and photos, was made for the cover of a Los Angeles Times fashion supplement about jewelry.
“The hand-drawn girl and the leaves rendered in pencil were scanned as the base of the illustration. Then I placed the jewelry from supplied photographs on top using Adobe Photoshop.”—Cecilia Carlstedt
In Vince Fraser’s front cover illustration for Trendsetter magazine the original model photographs were retouched in Adobe Photoshop while the background was created in 3D Studio Max, using abstract shapes. All the vector special effects were drawn in Adobe Illustrator and exported into Photoshop for the final post-production compostion.
Working with vector illustration is the easiest way for :puntoos to take in the client’s feedback, applying changes on composition, colors, etc. They usually scan a photograph into Adobe Illustrator, lock the layer, and start drawing with lines in other layers. For ease with vector drawing, they use a small Wacom tablet, and a 24” iMac. After completing the outlines, they put color into them, group them by elements (bikini, background, etc.) and then play around with different compositions.
“In this composition [above] we decided to play with the bikini fabric and the background, creating a communication between them.” —:puntoos
Digital illustration
Digital illustration is the use of digital tools to produce images under the direct manipulation of the artist, usually through a pointing device such as a tablet or a mouse linked to a computer. When looking to purchase a computer consider both PC and Mac, desktop and laptop. The most important elements are the quantity of RAM and a generous hard-drive space. Image files tend to take up more space than text files, so you may need to invest in an external hard drive. This gives you extra storage space, and also acts as a back-up, protecting you against computer breakdown or accidental deletion.
A scanner is also useful equipment to have in your studio. You can get high-quality scans done professionally at reputable reprographic stores.
Many illustrators use a graphics tablet for digital painting. Buy a superior, large-surface input device that will be extremely precise, making the freehand drawing experience more accurate and enjoyable.
Most people own a cell phone with an in-built camera, so there is no excuse for not capturing on-the-spot inspirational images. A good-quality digital camera is an investment for your fashion illustration work.
There are two main types of tools used for digital illustration: bitmapped and vector. With bitmapped tools, the content is stored digitally in fixed rows, columns, and layers, containing information about each pixel’s hue, luminance, and sometimes filter settings. With vector-based tools, the content is stored digitally as resolution-independent mathematical formulae describing lines, shapes, and color gradients.
There is a variety of image manipulation software available on the market. Some of the most popular are: Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Corel Painter, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and Macromedia Freehand.
Most digital fashion illustrators work with a mixture of programs, to correct, retouch, manipulate, compose, and paint. Take a look at the tutorials by Marcos Chin and Tom Bagshaw in Chapter Four to see how they create their work using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. There are also many online tutorials and journals that can help with troubleshooting. The further reading list on pp.228–30 recommends a selection of current books and websites.
Paris-based fashion magazine Jalouse provided illustrator Kate Gibb with a series of digital photographs to turn into silk-screened illustrations. After transferring the photographs onto screen she worked on them by hand using brushes and inks. She felt this allowed the image to come alive and appear less flat, which is often a problem with silkscreen technique.
“Although I had artistic license on the look of the pieces, it was important to remain truthful to the garments depicted, their color, feel, and most important the inherent printed qualities of the cloth.”— Kate Gibb
Color
In our daily lives we are surrounded by color and make choices about it regularly in the way we dress, decorate our homes, even when we buy a car. Having an eye for which colors work well together is essential for the fashion designer or illustrator, whether you are choosing a scheme for a portfolio project, planning a color-themed collection, or selecting colors for a dramatic fashion illustration.
The color wheel
Understanding the basic principles of color theory, and knowing how to apply colors, will help boost your confidence as a fashion illustrator. The simplest way to learn about the theory is to study the color wheel. When the sun shines on a rainy day, a rainbow often forms. The basic colors in a rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The color wheel is a simplified version of this spectrum (excluding indigo) and arranges six colors into a circle. The wheel is then made up of colors that fit into the following categories: primary, secondary, tertiary, warm, cool, and complementary.
Primary colors
Primary colors are ones that cannot be made by mixing other colors. The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. They are equidistant on the color wheel.
Secondary colors
The secondary colors are orange, green, and violet. They are produced by mixing two primary colors. When mixed, red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green, and red and blue make violet. The secondary colors are also equidistant on the color wheel, in between the primary colors.
Tertiary colors
Mixing a primary color with its adjacent secondary color on the wheel produces a tertiary color. For example, mixing red with orange creates red-orange and red with violet creates red-violet. Again, these are equidistant on the wheel.
Warm and cool colors
All colors have associations. Warm colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows are associated with sunlight and fire. They tend to stand out in an illustration and seem closer than cool colors, which recede into the background. Cool colors include the blues of the sky and water, and the greens of rolling hills and landscape. Bearing in mind how warm and cool colors affect the viewer enables you to enhance the atmosphere of your artwork.
Complementary colors
The opposite colors on the color wheel are contrasting partners called complementary colors. The partners consist of one primary and one secondary color. The pairings are red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and violet.
They appear brightest when placed next to each other. When mixed together complementary colors produce a gray, neutral tone. To make a color darker, add its complementary partner rather than shading with black. For example, if you would like a darker yellow, add a hint of violet.
Using color-wheel theories
Mixing colors yourself in your chosen medium is the best way to discover how the color-wheel theories work. Start with three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue. When the primaries are mixed together they produce a muddy black. Now experiment by mixing the secondary colors, and then the tertiary colors. The amount of any one color added to the mix affects the shade that is produced. Make notes on how you mix the colors so that you can recreate them in the future.
Three distinct characteristics account for the appearance of colors: hue, value, and saturation. Each of these can be manipulated by color mixing or, more subtly, by altering the context in which a color appears. Hue is the name of a color—for example, red, green, or blue—that identifies it in the color spectrum. Value is the relative quality of lightness or darkness in a color. This varies on a scale of black to white. Saturation, also known as intensity, is the relative purity of hue present in a color. A highly saturated color will give a strong sense of hue, and a low saturation will have a weaker presence.
The result of mixing a color with white is known as a tint. Mixing gray with a color is known as a tone. Mixing a color with black creates a shade.
Color forecasting
Have you ever wondered how the colors for fashion, interiors, cosmetics, and even cars seem to complement each other every season? How do fashion designers all decide that, say, green is this summer’s color? Or that our homes will be decorated in brown? The answer is that there are teams of professionals—known as “colour forecasters” —analyzing data to provide color predictions for up to two years ahead. Chapter Seven contains an interview with Promostyl, a fashion- and color-prediction house. The company has a series of agents that travel the world to research upcoming trends. Promostyl then produces seasonal books recording their predictions, which are sold as reference sources to designers and businesses worldwide.
Using color in fashion illustration
In the fashion industry color palettes for clothing change from season to season. When designers produce new collections they are aware of the season’s predicted colors through attending trade shows and seeking advice from fashion and color-prediction agencies. However, the illustrator is free to select a personal palette for fashion artwork. Although it is important to describe the garments, using color confidently is preferable to paying too much attention to the seasonal color trend. Be bold with color, keeping in mind the way that children splash color onto a page and experiment with bold brushstrokes and strong shades. Not adding color for fear of ruining a perfectly drawn figure is self-limiting for an illustrator.
Think about the viewer and what you want the eye to be drawn to in your illustration. Limiting your color palette, then using an accent color cleverly is one way of controlling what the viewer notices. By adding a few, carefully placed accessories in the accent color, you can create a flow across the page from top to bottom, left to right. In this way the accent color guides the viewer’s eyes over the illustration. For example, think of an illustration of a man in a black suit wearing a red belt, red hat, and red shoes. The red would draw the viewer’s eyes to follow it over the ensemble but without detracting from the predominant black suit.
The palette (top) shows how paints are mixed together to create the background colors for the embroidered illustration “Glamour Girls” by Louise Gardiner (above).
Max Gregor uses various shades of blue to create his “Blue Girl.” Don’t be afraid to stick to one color. Sometimes using a variety of tonal shades works better than mixing many contrasting colors.
Yuko Shimizu shows how a monotone palette can be enhanced by introducing a hint of red.
Max Gregor also uses a mono palette but he uses pattern to differentiate between the garments and make them the main focus of the fashion illustration.
The illustrations on this page are also made up from a monotone palette. The interest is added, by clever use of pattern and line by the illustrators, In Shimizu’s “Now Hear Stripe” (above) the fashion figure blends into the black and white environment that she lays in. However, the red shoes and lipstick allow the figure to stand out from a background that is as striped as her clothes. Gregor’s “Meeeee” (above right) has been created digitally with patterns of various shapes and sizes. This build-up of pattern and therefore color (even though it is only black on a white background) allows the garments to be the main focus of the illustration.
Louise Gardiner creates her intricate embroidered illustrations by drawing and painting the figure onto fabric first. In “Glamour Girls” and the corresponding paint palette (opposite), you can see how she has a natural flair for balancing the colors in the illustration. See more of how Louise works with color in her tutorial in Chapter Four
The subtle palette in Max Gregor’s “Blue Girl” (opposite below) is a striking contrast to some of the other illustrations in this book. Gregor uses various shades of blue to create this play-on-words for his fairly miserable “Blue Girl.” The expanse of plain blue background draws the viewer to focus on the character. The shadows are also applied with the same tonal qualities as the rest of the illustration style.
For further inspiration, look at how other artists and illustrators use color in their work, for example the contemporary illustrations in Chapter Six use color in many imaginative ways. Try similar techniques yourself, adding your own fresh, individual response.
Cecilia Carlstedt illustrates this checked shirt by Sophie Hulme with a flat-headed, thick Priscolor Premier marker pen. The tights are painted with Cretacolor calligraphy ink. The brush Cecilia uses is Beckers 440 synthetic acrylic, Cecilia likes working in marker pen because “... it gives a sketchy look and since every line you draw is permanent you have to make more considerate lines, that creates a certain confident style,”
Fabric rendering and pattern reproduction
Depicting the qualities of fabric accurately brings authenticity to a fashion illustration. To achieve a professional standard of fabric representation, develop an understanding of different fabrics and observe the way in which they drape and fall on the body. The best way to gain this knowledge is to sketch clothed figures. Notice the shapes the fabric makes around the body, rarely lying flat but molding itself around the contours of the figure. Observe the way that looser garments hang while tighter fabrics stretch on the body, and practice drawing the effects. It would be useful to collect a range of fabric samples and practice drawing them, observing the way they fold and fall.
Always keep in mind that, although your fashion illustrations may be highly creative and individual, the intention of the artwork is to convey a garment or outfit. The representation of the fabric from which the clothing is constructed must play a significant role in your artwork.
Stripes and checks
When drawing stripes, keep in mind that they move with the body. Stripes run across, down, or around the body, regardless of their width or the direction of the print. A common mistake in fashion illustration is to render stripes using straight, parallel lines. If you look at a horizontal-striped jumper off the body, then the lines of the stripes are indeed straight. However, imagine a person wearing that jumper. The stripes will wrap around the torso and arms so must be drawn with curved lines.
The correct way to draw stripes is to begin at the center of a garment, then follow the lines of the stripes over the curves of the body, up to the shoulder and down over the hips to the hem. It is a mistake to start from the top or bottom, as the direction of the stripes will become confused with the shift in hip and shoulder positions of the figure. When you plot your stripes from the centre of the garment, ensure they are of equal proportion if that is true of the fabric. Some striped fabrics have uneven stripes that are not symmetrical. Stripes may run in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal direction.
Checks, or plaids, are stripes running in two directions. Like stripes they can be drawn straight or on the bias (diagonally) to form either repeated ‘+’ or ‘x’ shapes, Again, checks are made up of straight lines that will curve with the body. These lines usually run down the center front of a garment and are equidistant from each other.
Plan your drawings with faint pencil lines before you begin to render striped and checked fabrics. Accuracy at this stage is vital if the finished artwork is to look professional.
A mix of pencil and paper collaged together in Adobe Photoshop.
A mix of colored and lead pencil adjusted in Adobe Photoshop.
Wool
Woolen fabrics are generally woven in a variety of weights, and include flannel, gabardine, fleece, and mohair. They can also be patterned—for example, tweeds, pinstripes, and herringbone. Wools are best rendered in a soft medium that will produce one base color and a darker shadow because, unless it is textured, a drawn woolen surface often appears flat. Markers are excellent for drawing flat fabrics, and you can soften the edges with a non-permanent fineliner, sweeping a wet brush over the outline. Other art materials that work well for rendering wool are pencils, inks, watercolor, and gouache. Try applying the base colors with paint and the highlights or shadows in pencil.
Textures and weaves can be rendered with a dry-brush technique, in which a fairly limited amount of almost-dry paint is applied, leaving part of the page white. You could also try scratching directional lines into the surface of wet paint. Tweeds and herringbones can be represented with inks and markers, which convey the fluidity of the pattern, To create the intricacies of the weave, crosshatch with two or more colors,
The illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt of an Iben Høj design is all drawn in pencils (HB and 2H) by building up the rough sketch and filling in the more detailed parts of the knit. On finalization the illustration was slightly color adjusted in Photoshop using the Adjust Color/Balance tool.
Pencil drawing to capture hand-knitted stitches,
The woven qualities of denim are rendered in pencil.
Here denim has been depicted with blue paint screenprinted on to rough paper so that the paper mimics the texture of denim.
Knit
This fabric has a texture created by its looping and twining threads. Knit differs from woven fabric in its stretch as well as its texture. Knitted garments are either constructed by hand or machine, and produced in various wools and yarns, such as angora, cashmere, mohair, chenille, bouclé, and metallic. Gain awareness of knitwear variations, because they demand very different rendering techniques.
To render knitwear differently from a woven fabric you need to draw in the rib. Rib, or ribbing, is the term used to describe a series of raised rows in knitted fabric. Ribbing is often found around the neck, cuffs, and edges of a garment and can be indicated with repetitive line. You will also need to master authentic representation of the stitches used in knit. For example, cable and braiding can be indicated with a combination of curved and straight lines in a rope pattern, while purl and garter can be rendered with a series of loops and ellipses. Knit patterns often include geometric shapes, raised textures, and flowers. These are usually known as Fair Isle or Argyle and are best shown by blocking in the patterns before adding texture and color.
Woven
Denim, a heavy, woven fabric, is often adorned with topstitching, rivets, and prominent seams, all of which can be rendered by the illustrator. If you look carefully at a piece of denim, you will see that it is made up of a series of diagonal lines broken up by the weave. Copy this effect using sharp, watersoluble pencils of varying shades of blue, Use darker shades for the diagonal lines and paler ones for the weave. For areas where the denim is worn, dilute the pencil marks with water to create the effect. Denim rivets are often metallic and can be rendered effectively with a metallic pen or paint. Highlight the topstitching in areas where it is prominent, using a simple, broken line. Today, denim is often customized to include embroidery, rips, print, and jeweled accessories, all of which the fashion illustrator must draw attention to.
The illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt of a Bolongaro Trevor dress is a collage where transparent tissue papers are layered to create the sheer, multi-layered dress. It has been stuck down with a small amount of spray adhesive. The collage was then scanned into Photoshop to add extra details.
Sheers
Sheer fabrics are so fine that a single layer is transparent, and you can see skin tone through it, With the exception of lingerie, most garments in sheer fabrics are made up of many layers, or include undergarments.
Sheers can be categorized into two groups: the softer sheers, such as chiffon, voile, georgette, and some laces, and the stiffer types, including organza, tulle, net, and organdie. To render transparent fabrics, begin by applying skin tones to your fashion illustration. Add the color of the fabric over the top of the skin with a light touch in either pencil or marker, avoiding heavy outlines. The skin must be visible under the fabric, so be careful not to choose too dark a color.
Where sheer fabric touches the body, shading should be darker. Where it floats freely, use lighter tones. This technique also applies if you are rendering many layers of chiffon—the more layers, the denser the shading, For lace or net, the appearance of the fabric as it lies over the skin must, likewise, be rendered sensitively. These mesh-like fabrics can be represented with fine crosshatching that becomes darker where the fabric folds. For lace, you can build up the floral patterns and embroidery by using a fineliner to indicate the details. Your drawing lines for such a delicate fabric should be fluid and without sharp corners. The edges of lace may be scalloped and heavily patterned, but it will be impossible to draw every intricate detail. Simply suggesting the style is perfectly acceptable in fashion illustration.
Organza and organdie have a stiffer consistency than the sheers discussed above. Garments made from these fabrics stand out from the body and create a sense of drama. They can be rendered with the same techniques used for other sheers, but there is a difference in the way that they fall and catch the light. When sketching them, try overlapping blocks of color to show where one fold of fabric lies on top of another. The deeper shading conveys the double thickness of the fabric.
Embellished and embroidered fabrics
Not all fabrics are the same through their length; some vary in texture. Handmade fabrics are often embroidered or otherwise embellished, and you will need to change your rendering style accordingly. Embellished fabrics are often manipulated through stitching. For example some are raised with padding or wadding, then decorated with hand- or machine-stitched patterns. To capture such techniques on paper, the fabric must look raised from its background. Embellishments will appear closer to the viewer if worked in light colors on a darker background, Embroidery thread also catches the light, so again this should be rendered with highlights. It is impossible to record every detail, but draw in elements every now and again to indicate the presence of decorative stitching.
Transparent petals made in Illustrator overlaying each other in gradient shades of red.
Pencil sketch scanned into Photoshop with tones of yellow overlaid to create a deeper pattern.
Vector pattern made in Illustrator to create a lace effect.
This completely sequinned hooded jacket by Sophie Hulme is painted with different shades of black Luma Brilliant concentrated watercolor by Cecilia Carlstedt. The colors were built up in layers, lighter shades first and darker on top. Carlstedt then inverted the colors in Photoshop, so that the dark patches became light, to give the shimmering feeling of glistening sequins.
Shiny fabrics
To illustrate shiny fabrics, observe where the light source falls on the garment. Clever rendering will create the illusion of reflected light. To add a highlight to the garment, draw on a white shimmer line or leave the white of the page to shine through.
Shiny fabrics divide into three categories. First, there are the light-reflective types, including firm fabrics such as taffeta, satin, and leather, and softer velvet and velour. Secondly, there are the decorative fabrics with a sheen, which are usually beaded, and sequinned lamés. The third category includes heavily patterned reptile skins and brocades.
Shiny fabrics are usually rendered in three shades. The darkest shade is for the folds and shadows, a medium shade is for the general garment color and the lightest for the highlights. The lightest shade, usually white, often surrounds the dark shadows, and touches of it should be added to the edges of the garment. Add highlights where the body juts out from the fabric, at the chest, arms, or legs, for example. Choose any art material for these three shades, but focus on imitating shine.
Softer sheens such as that on velvet should be approached in the same way, only without areas of solid color or solid outlines, Instead, create feathery edges. A soft, dry medium such as pastel is ideal for creating a velvety smooth surface to your fashion illustration. Treat the shimmer of lamé, sequins, and beads as a pattern, stippling with a hard brush using fairly dry paint and creating sharp white highlights, Alternatively, tap all over the drawing with a medium-nibbed marker. To give your illustration extra sparkle, use metallic pens.
Feathers and fur
Both natural and imitation feathers and fur are difficult to render realistically. It is a common error to overwork these parts of an illustration by sketching in too many lines. The best method is to use watercolor paper, dampening the page then adding ink or paint in light touches. This creates fuzzy, soft lines that represent the delicacy of feathers and fur well. For white feathers or fur, paint a dark background then use bleach to add fine lines.
Pencil drawing, scanned and inverted in Photoshop to create long fur.
Ink on wet paper blurs to give the effect of short-haired animal fur.
Pink watercolor on wet paper spreads out featherlike to mimic a boa.
This illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt of the dress shown left is made up of various mixed media. The base is watercolor and the golden pattern is drawn with the real fabric layered on top using the Lasso tool in Photoshop. The Fill tool has been used to color the fabric appropriately. This gives an interesting mix of the flowing fabric in watercolor and the more graphic, computer-generated print.
Garment by Bolongaro Trevor,
Pattern and print
Fashion fabrics can be printed with almost any design or motif, including floral, abstract, animal, and polka dot. A design that is duplicated or copied is called a repeat pattern. In addition to the repeat, you need to bear in mind scale, For example, a life-size floral fabric must be reduced to fit into the proportions of a drawn figure. The simplest way to calculate this is to hold the fabric up to the center of your body and count the repeat in the directions of the side seam and along the waist. To achieve the scale, fit the same count into your drawn figure.
When you reduce a fussy print, remove some of the detail as it can look overworked on a smaller scale. Render some of the pattern and disguise areas with soft shadows, using a limited color palette.
A small repeated pattern created in Illustrator.
A repeated pattern created using Photoshop with different colors overlaying each other.
Collage of colored paper created in Photoshop.
Drape
Examining the way clothing drapes, hangs, falls, and clings to the body is of the utmost importance when illustrating. The previous pages have looked at how various fabrics can be illustrated in order for them to be realistically represented. However, an illustrator must also be aware that the body is a moving three-dimensional being, and fabrics will take on different forms depending on the body size and shape and the part of the body it is next to. Sometimes a fabric will fall in loose folds, rest limply, or cling tightly to the body, Fabric sometimes bunches up, is tied or gathered together. The direction a fabric is being pulled in can often be due to gravity, while at other times it can be stretched tightly across an arm or torso.
It is necessary to look closely at how clothing fits the body as patterned fabrics will change directions, areas of light and dark shade will be visible, and hem lengths will alter accordingly. The illustrated example of check fabric right clearly shows the drape in the clothing. The lines move in different directions and it is possible to see how the garment hangs and folds. Remember to use shading to give the illustration more form. Generally, you should shade along a fold line or any places that you think a shadow would be cast. Don’t forget no two folds are ever the same when it comes to fashion. Take a further look at the fashion illustrations by Laura Laine for Iben Høj (p.135). Laine has a remarkable skill at capturing the drape and folds in fabric.
This vector illustration created in Adobe Illustrator by Cecilia Carlstedt, shows how fabrics drape and fall. A checked fabric is a good example to demonstrate how directions change as the fabric falls and how light and shade hit different areas of the fabric to create depth of color.
Fabric reference exercise
To make the most of the information discussed in this section, experiment by rendering fabrics yourself to create a set of reference illustrations. Divide a sheet of plain paper into a grid of blank squares, Place a viewfinder with a square view over various fabric samples. Try to create the same effects that you can see through the viewfinder in your squares. Experiment with a range of media until you find the best way to represent each of the fabrics, Make notes next to your accurate renderings to remind you how to create similar effects again. Building up a library of authentic rendering techniques is certain to be a useful aid when creating fashion illustrations in the future.