Markers for fashion illustration?

Thinking about using Fashion Markers for illustration and design sketching?

–For sure!

Why not? They are the cornerstone of super quick and smooth work when that’s what you need.

Traditionally recognized, portable, and excellent for live sketching events, markers dry fast (sometimes too fast), are rich with pigment, are blendable and layerable, and come in so many tips, formulations and shapes.

…and they don’t have to cost a fortune either!

For many many years I resisted markers for fashion illustration and design sketching. I thought they felt thin and flat. They dried up too fast and didn’t match the colors in my fabric swatches. Little by little I discovered how and why they could be valuable.

Art markers were sheer, weightless. Marker paper was bright-white, thin and smooth.

Personally, I preferred the velvety look and feel, thickness and textural capabilities of gouache for fashion illustrations. How I loved the richness and total color-mixablity of gouache too. I even liked the slowness of working with watercolors.

Gouache is what I teach in my signature Soulful Fashion Foundation Immersion Program.

UNTIL… I needed them for a live sketching event at Lord and Taylor in New York.

That’s when Fashion Art and Design Markers saved me!

I armed myself with a range of water-based and alcohol based art and design markers, colored pencils, brush tip/ ball tip/ and felt tip pens. I collected a range of skin tones, greys, blacks, and basic colors.

So since then, I’ve added marker techniques into FABRIC FORM AND FLOW online course!

Though I’d been a staunch gouache snob, when I started doing live fashion sketching events at Lord and Taylor, there was no time for mixing and drying colors. I had to get comfy with markers FAST>

In a few weeks, learning and mastering MARKERS on the job led me to create FABRIC FORM AND FLOW to unlock the mysteries of this medium for you and help you find your voice in the process.

fashion illustration by laura volpintesta of a dress by Adriana Barros. I added china marker pencil for highlightson the face. — I added china marker pencil for highlights on the face of this marker illustration

What do I need?

Not all of these, buta ny of the following:

1.CHUNKY, CHEMICAL, COLORFUL ART MARKERS:

Prismacolor Design Markers, Chartpak Art Markers. Copics, Winsor and Newtown,

I recommend all sorts of skin colors, a range of greys plus black, and a basic rainbow of colors (or choose colors to match your fabric tastes)

2. FELT TIPPED AND/or ROLLER BALL PENS IN BLACK

these suggestions are WATERPROOF

Micron, Pitt Pens, Sharpies (felt tipped)

Uniball Deluxe, Precise (ball point pens)

3. WHITE JELLY PENS and WHITE CHINA MARKER

for highlights and shine effects. Also try white chalk, pastel pencil, oil pastel, acrylic, etc.

4. ARTIST QUALITY COLORED PENCILS

like Prismacolor Premier for rich color.

Also there are:

4. WATERSOLUBLE MARKERS

Tombow Brush Tip markers, Crayola, generic brands …..

Markers like these bleed when they get wet, which can be desirable….. or NOT. You decide what you want!

5. MARKER PAPER

Marker Paper is extremely important, it will make your markers last infinitely longer and will reduce bleed-through on your fashion illustrations and sketches.

You can make sense of all this with some guidance. I’ll point you in the right direction.

As I got better and better and I made more and more discoveries that I knew I could not WAIT to share with you. Experimenting and finding my soul inside those markers continues to be a source of great joy and creativity for me.

It’s YOUR TURN now!

In order to get you experienced, we’ll explore model drawing exercises and full-outfit renderings (shadow, texture, pattern, highlights) inside FABRIC FORM AND FLOW course.

Well, what do you think?

What do you think of markers? You can share your work, ask specific questions in the course too where I offer feedback and support in the sharing areas.

So, I can’t wait to see you there!

Laura

Also: you can learn more about sketching and design skills for a fashion portfolio using GOUACHE in my complete fashion semester course with lifetime access- OR a comprehensive fashion design program with access to ALL OF MY COURSES here.

Pace yourself.

Discover yourself and what you are capable of.

Amaze your self.

Make your mark!

Love
Laura

Fabric Form and Flow course includes a foundation in fabrics, and designing and illustration for special fabrics across markers, gouache, and freehand digital techniques on ipad , PC or tablet. This Digital Course includes creative design projects as well as illustration technique tutorials and studies.