Model templates will help you realize your sketches in proportion.
Sketching your fashion ideas is enables you to realize and record your work -- once on paper you can refer back and forth to your original ideas without forgetting any of the finer details. Sketching fashion also brings it to life; from the page you can make alterations and adjustments without wasting time on the finished garment. Some ideas and improvements for your own fashion sketches include drawing older models, using a theme and sketching with templates.
Models from History
Sketching models from the early decades of the 20th century not only adds a little individuality to your work but can also inspire your finished product. Costume silhouettes from the 1920s and 1930s were extremely tall and thin and rarely had any arms or legs protruding from the sketched figure. Incorporate this into your fashion sketching by running a theme of fashion figures in history -- you could sketch a timeline of figures for each decade, beginning with the stick-thin silhouettes from the early century to the flamboyant and angular models of the 2000s. You can also use the historical silhouettes to inspire your work by creating a line based on the 1920s or 1940s figure.
Using Themes
From catwalk to clotheshorse, fashion is created and inspired by themes. Any runway designer will tell you that her seasonal collection is influenced or inspired by something. This should be evident in your fashion sketches. For example, sketch a collection based on the elements-- fire, water, wind, earth -- or one that plays with a certain texture -- perhaps fur, or color -- maybe earthy tones. Sketch each figure with a series of garments that represent and embody these themes and don't be afraid to reuse accessories or garments across other sketches -- experiment on the page instead of finding out before the fashion show that it's too late.
Using Templates
If you are ever pushed for time and need to sketch a fashion garment quickly, use templates to make your life easier. Templates are also known as croquis and are the outlines of fashion models on which you can draw your clothes -- for example a standing woman facing forward or a man with a cocked leg. It takes time to accurately draw the human form and by the time you are ready to draw your clothes, you may have forgotten the finer details of your idea. Combat this by using templates: download a set online and print off a series of pages with the figure silhouettes. Each time you need to sketch some new fashion ideas, pull out the templates and draw directly onto them.
Editorial Sketching
Fashion sketching is not always about the catwalk clothes and collection ideas; sometimes it's about drawing advertorial and editorial pieces that include backgrounds, props and models in certain poses. The Drawing Coach website mentions that you should never have models in static poses for editorial work -- instead, focus the sketch or drawing on the fashion product that's being sold or featured. For example, an editorial sketch for sunglasses might focus on the model's head or upper body. Similarly, be abstract with your environment; an advertisement sketch for an office suit could be set in a country field so that it grabs a customer's attention and allows some creative freedom for the copywriters.
