Fashion sketching not only involves the act of drawing an initial idea but also the process of considering and developing the idea across the pages of a sketchbook. It is always best to have an idea of what you want to draw. This may sound obvious, but fashion sketching should be purposeful, not random or too abstract. In many respects a fashion sketch is a problem-solving process, which brings together the visual elements of articulating an idea in its purest form. This can mean recording a sudden idea before it is lost or forgotten, or capturing a moment in time, such as observing a detail on someone’s garment.
A fashion sketch should seek to record and make sense of an idea. This is largely achieved with any one or more of three components: establishing the overall silhouette of a garment or outfit; conveying the style lines of a garment such as a princess seam or the positioning of a dart; and representing details on a garment such as a pocket shape, top stitching or embellishment. Some sketches may appear spontaneous or similar to mark making but they should all be linked by a common understanding of the human form and an end use. (Mark making is a general term used to describe a variety of lines and marks that may be applied by different media to enhance or add an expressive quality to a drawing. In fashion drawing it is synonymous with line quality.)
Graphite or drawing pencils are ideal for shading and creating variations of line quality. While this is a good way to get started, it is also well worth developing the confidence to sketch with a pen. Sketching in pen requires a more linear approach to drawing, which can often enhance the clarity of a design idea, and it is no less spontaneous than using pencil.
