Drawing men for fashion illustration and menswear fashion design sketching is an easy transition if you are comfortable drawing women already. ( I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE TIMELAPSE VIDEOS I’VE PROVIDED FOR YOU ON THIS PAGE!)
I host live practice sessions every week on zoom in Fashion Sketch Group!
It just requires a few key adjustment to your basic routine of proportions, which I’ll cover below.
BUT IF YOU’VE NEVER DRAWN AT ALL, it’s still not out of reach.
Practice is everything, and my Model Drawing Magic online course teaches targeted exercises for model drawing that you apply to any size, shape, or category of figure!
First, for your convenience, here’s my MENSWEAR FASHION pinterest board.
BUT… since I always recommend mastering the FIGURE first, I would suggest working from my MENSWEAR FIGURES pinterest board FIRST to get you started studying and practicing the nuances of men’s figures for men’s fashion design and fashion illustration.—-
Understanding the Men's Fashion Figure
The most important adjustments that stand out to me when sketching men become very obvious compared to women.
I still use the plumbline/ balance line to balance my menswear fashion figure on his feet, and maximize the flow and feeling of movement without feeling like my figure is stiff or “tipping over”.
Other super useful tips /difference to look for in the menswear model’s proportions for fashion illustration:
- men often have bulkier CALF muscles
- Men often have bulkier bicep muscles and / or forearms.
- men’s figures often have a wider neck, extending like a straight line down from the ear rather than tapering in from the ears like women’s figures
- Men have n often squarer face
- Figures for menwear design almost always have a lower crotch and shorter leg compared to the upper body length.
Menswear fashion design figure croquis
My menswear croquis on this resource page (or search for your own: Pret a Template has a nice basic menswear croquis. Or try this pin for a menswear croquis.
When you have a basic menswear croquis template, you can either use it inside an art app like Tayasui sketches, Procreate or Adobe Fresco for digital fashion illustration or design sketching, OR you an lay a piece of lightweight paper over the pre-drawn basic figure and then use THAT BODY to design on.
This croquis template design process can be so useful and quick because the body is already done, and you can focus purely on design details, shapes, silhouettes and proportions.
An UNPOSED menswear croquis template is best for flat sketching and really FOCUSED designing
a POSED FIGURE is better used for menswear fashion illustration and showing the mood, telling a story about the design you are creating or describing..
Posed figures are so expressive! That’s another reason why i create Model Drawing Magic course.
Menswear fashion design croquis book illustrations
When I was a student at Parsons School of Design ,( where I’ve been teaching fashion design since 1997), I created this sketchbook/ “croquis book” (view below) for developing one of my menswear fashion design projects. ( I later freelanced in design at Banana Republic and London Fog, among others).
No, I didn’t use a template in my menswear sketchbook, I sketched each figure by hand, and you can see that below.
I hope that inspires you to dive deep into fashion drawing and fashion illustration! The schools are replacing these essential courses with computer courses, which don’t hold the same physical, tactile experience and joyful freedom of exploring your ideas (without clicking a mouse all day glued to a screen).
I hope this has helped you get started on your way. Visit the COURSES tab in the header menu to view courses open now, all dedicated to the arts of fashion design for men, women and children…. of all sizes, shapes and styles.
Based on 30 years teaching at Parsons and working in the NYC fashion industry, I love to pass on the skills and craftsmanship that have brought me so much joy, expression, creativity and livelihood in my life, so that you can do the same.
You love fashion for a reason!
Let me know how it’s going!
Love,
Laura Volpintesta, founder, Fashion Illustration Tribe. since 2013
