Another Fashion Sketch Group ZOOM session wrapped up yesterday,.
I thought that today I share mini videos all over this page to peer into the close up of the random studies that came out of this week’s session.
Each week on zoom I curate warmup poses for quick studies during the first half hour or so. I also curate great Jazz, world and Brazilian Music to bring us into a flow state and emotive, imaginative world where expression naturally flows.
Fashion Sketch Group is designed to be a “free “, open -ended, studio-art course space.
A CONSISTENT date where you can always count on a fashion and figure drawing / sketching oasis in the middle of your week-
and feel the effects of this cumulative momentum building your experience and confidence as you PLAY , EXPLORE, and FLOW with your art supplies!
For me and for the members of our cozy mini-mastermind, this is some serious FOOD FOR THE SOUL!
Art Supplies
Today I’ll focus on the art supplies I used.
THERE ARE NO RULES regarding the use of art supplies! I’ll just be sharing what I used on a random Fashion Sketch Group date.
The goal for sharing today is to share tips and spark inspirations for art supplies you may want to bring!
Fashion Sketch #1:
For the fashion sketch above I started with an oversized round , pointed watercolor brush in this Model Drawing Session. I used this with a diluted brown gouache wash so that I could “feel out the figure” loosely in a casual, relaxed way.
My intention was to then get more specific and detailed by coming in with a soft artist quality colored pencil. (Prismacolor Premier are the softest I’ve found)
I felt into the contours and volume of the curly hair, added facial features to bring the “character” to life, and crystallized the contours of the garments.
Smooth satin ribbons on toe- shoes (I love sketching dancers for the expressions in the figure!), the stretchy soft jersey top, twist arm positioning, and the draped gathers (or were they pleats?) across the hips (is that a belt?? A skirt? An accessory?
Finally I felt everything was blurring together so I quickly added a sheer layer of blue to her shirt using the side of my colored pencil, and white for the tights and belt, to be true to the original fashion image we worked from.
Examples of ESSENTIAL INFORMATION:
proportion, size, movement and flow, gesture, balancing figure on feet, “attitude”, feeling.
As time in a real-time fashion sketch, allows my next priorities are features (face hair nose and mouth), clothing silhouettes and seamlines, finishes and garment details, shadows, separate layers, and contour lines that show texture of the fabric or the fit of it.
And of course color and print – these all come out later in longer poses.
Digital Fashion Sketch
This Timelapse takes a longer pose and speeds it up into 30 seconds using freehand sketching app on my iPad Pro. I used AdobeFresco in this example which I do teach in my iPad Illustration and design course.
Notice how I still begin with a soft quick gesture “map” , slowly building in details layer by layer.
It seems like magic , but it’s just one true mark and observation at a time.
This is why I am AlWAYS encouraging you to draw from observation to always be growing your “vocabulary” of fashion design detail and texture , etc
Gouache and pencil warmups
Here I used dark blue which has more presence on the page being darker. This means my line has to be dark enough to still have contrast with the base or it will just disappear into oblivion.
Paper for fashion sketching
This paper wrinkles when wet, but I use SKETCH paper because it’s informal and affordable, keeping me in a spirit of “practice” and play.
if I’m taking a longer pose more seriously, I’ll use Bristol, Multimedia, or watercolor paper for sure.
Even then, when I use thicker paper, I’ll tape it down on all four sides to keep it from wrinkling or needing when I work wet.
I won’t release the tape until my work has dried completely.
Charcoal pencil for fashion sketching
Charcoal pencils aren’t all the same so don’t give up too quickly!
Allow yourself to try a few if you can.
I always opt for a very soft one. They smudge very easily, but just look how responsive , sensitive and bold they are!
Giving charcoal a chance in any form will DEFINITELY extend the range of your expressions and abilities in drawing. TRUST me, Even if you “don’t like it”, it’s because it’s stretching you.
As you use charcoal pencil, ask yourself what is going on for you and notice what new feelings and experiences it is revealing to you!
“Charcoal is a teacher”.
I used charcoal in this fashion sketch study OVER a yellow ochre Prismacolor pencil that I used to lightly sketch and map the pose and garments FIRST.
Then I gave crisper form via the pencil.
Prismacolor Colored Pencils for Fashion Sketches
I can’t say enough how much I love the texture, softness and sensitivity of – especially- Prismacolor premier colored pencils (even though they break so much).
I wish I had a video of the creation of the image below.
Because of the camera angle, there is a strong FORESHORTENING effect: for example how the foot appears much larger than the head/ face.
In order to approach a drawing like this, especially this one, I made a map of circles and ellipses— rather vague, soft shapes, head, forearm, knee, foot, in order to capture the PROPORTION (relative size) and PLACEMENT of the major masses and pieces…. BEFORE GETTING SPECIFIC about ANYTHING.
The model was wearing a knit top and a ruffled tulle skirt- I love how I was able to capture the fine ruffles on the yellow skirt.
I used much softer colors than the actual fashion photo I worked from, which also gave an enjoyable sense of fresh feeling, personal interpretation , and transformation of what I saw originally.
HOW TO BEGIN
I shared courses on this page that are currently open for you to dive into the pool of self discovery, adventure, confidence and satisfaction that comes from taking your love of fashion– design, craftsmanship and art– and pouring it into developing and refining these skills.
Whether you use for your career or simply for the profound gift that cultivating art and beauty brings to your life…
This experience is transforming and ripples out.
To me the greatest richness of life comes through this deep listening to what is within us, and bringing it outward, communicating, sharing, growing, noticing where our fears are and growing beyond them lovingly, and….
Most important of all, creating beauty with love and humanity in a world that is increasingly offering us flat, square, uninspired industrial fashion design and architecture.
ART and BEAUTY and TRUTH are alive WITHIN US.
let’s begin!
love
Laura
