A beginners guide to fashion illustration.

So I've been away for a bit and you need a post to get you back in the mood! So get comfortable because this post is going to be long. By the way guys it's my Birthday on Monday! 

Disclaimer: 

Before we start can I just say I'm not judging anyone. I've been doing fashion illustration for about 4-5 years meaning that I'm educated on it and I know quite a lot about it however my drawings are not the best yet and I'm still developing them but I wouldn't count myself as a beginner. I don't want you to take this like I'm looking down on beginners and blah blah blah because I'm not, I'm trying to help because we've all been there. (:  

Let's get started. 

1. Make a few decisions. 

Do you want to start fashion illustration? It it something you are interested in? There is no point picking something you don't like because you'll never put 100% into it because you don't like it. 

3. Educate yourself. 

To draw fashion, you must know fashion. All the drawing makes you a wonderful artist however it helps to have knowledge too. Read blogs and a lot of information and learn new things. With these things collect them and make mood boards or mind maps. If you know how to make moodboards already skip the next step.. If you don't listen up. 

3. Create moodboards. 

(I'm going to whizz through this really quickly because I need to get onto the next step an don't want to make this post too long. 

• Firstly you need to collect inspiration about what you like and what you think is inspiring. The first thing some people do is head to google images. When I can't be bothered that's exactly what I do... Head to google images. However to make a good moodboard it's important that you look beyond that and look in the outside world. For example a certain leaf might inspire you to create something or a quote from a book? Gather all of this info. A good idea is also to take pictures outside so that If you see something you like your not struggling to remember it. 

• Then get a large piece of paper or in my circumstance stick a lot of A4 printer paper together lol. Arrange all your pictures with a little space around them just so you can jot down anymore ideas or things about the images you've stuck down. 

• Annotate the moodboard and add words and quotes and sentences. For example next to a picture you might want to say what it inspired you to create or why you chose it. 

3. Your ready to draw. 

You may want to jump right into it but I recommend you take your time and just follow these steps. Collect some fashion magazines and then trace models. This will give you an idea of how a body is meant to be drawn and where all the Curves and straight lines belong. After that type into google images 'fashion croquis' you'll find loads and just pick a few and practice copying them and drawing them. Remember practice makes perfect and if you get it wrong the first time don't give up just try again because even the top artists started where you are. After add basic clothes. Don't worry about creases and things like that on the clothes because that's actually my next tutorial. You may want to be self taught or you can use YouTube channels like; Zyra Banez, FashionArtventures, Fsketcher and many more. You can also visit www.idrawfashion.com to Learn how to draw clothes and accessories. 

Lauren xo