Start Sketching Basic Fashion Sketches

It does not matter if you want to be a fashion designer or if you just want to draw some cool clothing for fun but the place to start is practicing sketching. Many people have great, original, and innovative designs for clothing and different outfits in their head but do not know how to express them on paper. Before you start trying to draw your own clothing it is a good idea to realize that drawing clothing is an acquired skill! Trust me I know personally that you learn how to draw with practice! I used to be a firm believer that drawing was something you where born with (and believe me I was NOT born with it or any other artistic ability) but now I know that is false. I now do beautiful sketches and illustrations. Now you might think you don't even need to get to that point...and you are right but just know you can develop the skill and if you do a few sketches a week you will notice a vast improvement over time! When I flip through my first sketchbook I can clearly see how I refined my skill and my drawings improved over time.

http://www.style.com has a great selection of images from fashion shows.


For your first I would start out with something simple, and print it out. If you are feeling committed buy a sketchbook or just use computer paper. Start out with a basic pose wearing a simple silhouette, and Try to look for garments that are tight to the body so you can become familiar with the human figure. hold off on ruffles or complicated prints for now...you will get there. Just don't become overwhelmed if it does not turn out perfect or "good". It takes some time and practice to develop this skill. and draw what you see...don't make things up. there is nothing you can mess up


I will provide some great starter pieces to sketch at the bottom of this how to. but feel free to look for your own. just always look for full body straight on poses to start with. Then move on to side and back poses.

begin to draw...My personal favorite part to start is with the head. From there I move on to the shoulders...I think it helps keep the rest of the drawing in proportion but you can start where you feel comfortable. The part I struggled with at first and still do sometimes is the positioning of arms...yes even I have my off days where I cannot seem to get it just right...everyone experiences this. One tip is to look for the positive and negative space. Negative space helps a lot! (the girl posing would be the positive space and the space between legs, arms, and e.t.c. would be negative space). Just keep in mind you are just starting out and that you will get better! Who knows maybe your first piece will be pretty good. The point of this is to get a feeling for clothing and how to interpret them onto paper. Drawing the fine details of a garment that you have a visual of in front of you to reference will help when you want to draw your own clothing. Pretty soon you will be drawing your own clothing without any issues. My next how to is going to be a detailed step by step on drawing your own full figure fashion pose called a Croquis. These are more involved so I will post every slight detail.  Once you have a croquis you just trace the figure put your own clothing designs on it and re-use it for multiple pieces!