It's day 3 in this Draw All The Things adventure and we are ready to put clothing on humans!
Yesterday,
Anneke showed you how to draw humans & make sure they are somewhat in typically human proportions.
Today we shine a light on the thing us sewists want to know how to draw, in order to be able to sketch out our own outfits: clothes!
First, if you sew, you have a huge advantage when it comes to drawing clothing. You don't believe me? I assure you it's true!
If you sew your own clothes, you know how clothes are constructed. This is a plus, since you know exactly where seams and other details are supposed to fall in your drawing.
Now, let's get started drawing!
Flat garment drawings
Flat garment drawings are used in production but you might also recognise them from pattern envelopes. These drawing, also called 'flats' are great to make sure you know all the details you want to incorporate into your garment. Details are usually the things you start your sewing with, so you can use this type of drawings to plan them out.
Welt pockets, seamlines, necklines, button placement, the way the yoke is shaped...
The best tip for drawing these flats is carefully examine and study the garments you already own. You'll see tons of different details, stitching, pockets... Let those inspire you!
Here are some flats I did.
A great resource for inspiration is
"The Fashion Source Book" by Kathryn McKelvey. Example images below are taken from that book. These drawings already show a great range of details you can incorporate into your own flats!
Putting clothes on humans
When you want to put clothes on a human, there's one thing you have to take into account. Humans are three-dimensional. This means that if you draw clothing, you have to make sure it goes around the body instead of staying flat. So, if you draw a collar, it has to go around the neck instead of ending at the neck.
Below are some drawings I did when I was studying costume design.
These types of drawing feel very forced to me, but they are great to bring clarity to designs!
Below are examples from last year's Draw All The Things: these two methods are my favorite way to draw designs now! You can find out how to do these
in this post.
One last thing...
I truly believe that everyone can draw. Are we all the best artists: no. Some people happen to have more talent than others. But if you practice and put your mind to it, I truly believe anyone can do it. I see it with my students in costume design and with the pupils in art class. Being able to draw comes from being able to study the world around you and being curious. As a sewer you're probably studying garments in stores already, so you're halfway there on your path of being able to draw all the things!
So don't give up when something doesn't look the way you want it too. I have a big stack of drawings I like and an even bigger stack of drawings I dislike. Practice makes things possible!
Tomorrow we're back with cool techniques to print your own fabrics (like a pro & the budget way). We'll also touch upon the subject of adding textures & prints to your drawings!
Let me know if you have any more questions!