I am working on the finishing touches to Croquis Part III-Drawing your custom croquis. I hope to post it next week. In the meantime, in tribute to the Tango here is my Fashion Illustration Taurus Tango (still a work in progress) and some fabulous Tango movie clips. Enjoy!

Cell Block Tango-Chicago
 
 

Antonio Banderas-Take the Lead-Tango Scene
 
 

Shall We Dance Tango
 
 

Scent of a Woman-Al Pacino-Tango

So I have yet to finish the how-to on drawing your personalized croquis. In the interim I thought I would post some rough croquis pairs. When sketching designs we often need to show the front and back details of the garments. So I made these pairs with that in mind.

A little over a year ago I found my way to the Simply Luxurious Life written by Shannon Ables. I was hooked. It quickly became one of my daily reads.

I was so excited when Shannon agreed to be featured in Tuesday Talent. When sketching her I thought it fitting to feature her in my design idea for a simply luxurious embroidered coat inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Without further ado I bring you Shannon Ables of The Simply Luxurious Life in her own words.

The Simply Luxurious Life blog is an extension of how I genuinely feel about living life.  No matter where one lives, living our best life is possible and by living in both metropolitan and rural areas, I have come realize that it is simply a matter how one approaches each day with regards to the decisions they make, the attitude the incorporate into each interaction and the people and things they surround themselves with that determines how fulfilled they will be.

By sharing my thoughts, ideas and experiences on the blog I hope to inspire other people and especially women to live a life that is beyond their expectations and is by their design, not society’s. Whether it be found in wine, food, fashion, home decor, gardening, or entertainment, contentment, pleasure and a stylishly fulfilling life can be cultivated with careful attention. Here’s to the good life!

Who inspires Shannon

I am continually inspired by women (and men) who think for themselves, have an insatiable curiosity and love for life and who refused to be told how to live if it doesn’t feel right.

What Shannon does

I am a writer who contributes to three different online magazines, a blogger and founder of The Simply Luxurious Life, a stylist and lover of fashion, and an English high school teacher.

What Shannon Does best

I am an optimist that as of yet is incapable of accepting no.  I have an eye for beauty in all different facets and appreciate the simple things in life.  Oh, and I also can mix it up in the kitchen and throw a fabulous dinner party without too many hiccups.

What other profession Shannon would like to attempt

Being a journalist and having to on a daily basis learn more about a certain subject or topic would be a dream come true. Being required to sit and watch runway show after runway show as each new collection was revealed would be bliss.

What turns Shannon on creatively, spiritually or emotionally

Anything that exudes thoughtfulness, insightfulness, creativity, beauty, or something that begs me to ask the question, why?  I consider myself a detective of life and I love to learn constantly.  It is in always being curious that opens up opportunities to be inspired.

Where to find Shannon

Sitting behind my laptop, walking my dogs, traveling to any destination that presents itself as an opportunity, laughing at my boyfriend’s intoxicating sense of humor, teaching AP and honors English courses at public high school in rural Oregon, or losing all track of time while shopping in my favorite shops and boutiques.

Where Shannon got her Talent/Education

From the love of all things beautiful.  If something is beautiful, it speaks to me and since beauty is subjective to the beholder, beauty can be found everywhere if only we choose to look for it.  So I look for it in magazines, books, newspapers, the news, dramas, comedies, documentaries, interactions with people throughout the day, nature, animals and simply anything that captures my attention.

Finally borrowing from Bernard Pivot- If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

“You finally now have the opportunity to converse with the many historical greats you’ve admired – Chanel, Amelia Earhart, Jane Austen, etc. Enjoy!”

Image: (1) Portrait by DCTdesigns

***This is  a regular feature on my blog. Tuesday Talent Interviews are designed to introduce you to a myriad of incredible artisans. Make sure to check out the others. Enjoy!

When I began throwing around sketch ideas for my updated fairytales I began with this pencil sketch of Miss Muffit. Then I changed directions and sketched each one in croquis fashion. This sketch never made it from the pencil phase. As you can see she still needs work. Her bowl of whey is just an akward mess. What do you think?

So when I sat down to sketch this very talented lady I wanted something that encapsulated Material + Movement, her company name. As an artist and dancer Heather Kraft embodies both. Even her Art captures the essense of fluidity.

Heather explains ,”Being of this generation as an artist, I’m driven to re-invent our idea of the heirloom. To take disregarded objects and re invent them in a contemporary and dynamic form, makes them once again accessible; to help people regain a consciousness of the objects in their lives.

I have created a line of simple and elegant jewelry composed of vintage and contemporary porcelain tableware. Using the composition on the plate, elements are cut out and carved into simple shapes. These shapes are then arranged into compositions informed not only by each element but the imagery on their surface. The pieces are fabricated using gold and silver findings.”

Who inspires Heather

Innovative designers such as Ram Dieter, and Bruce Mau, and anyone who strives for excellence in all that they do and encourages others to do so.

What Heather does

I blow glass, teach dance, drink scotch, listen to blues, practice yoga, ride my bike, and make jewelry!

What Heather Does best

I look at ways to make things better, or rather make more sense. Also I think I’m pretty good at dancing in my living room when nobody is looking.

What other profession Heather would like to attempt

I’d love to be a human rights lobbyist and fight “the man”.

What turns Heather on creatively, spiritually or emotionally

I love to study the way the human body moves, and its interaction with other bodies. Dance is huge for me, I’d love to get a dance history degree someday. I’m also attracted to compositions of similar objects, like the work of sculptors Tom Friedman and Tara Donovan.

Where to find Heather

Most nights I’m practicing dance at various venues around Seattle, or in my new art studio in the Salty Dog Building in the Ballard neighborhood. You can find more of me at www.materialandmovement.com

Where Heather got her Talent/Education

I think my talent found me before I could walk; I’ve always been an artist. I received my BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta.

Finally borrowing from Bernard Pivot- If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

I’m not sure exactly but I think he’d have some explaining to do.

Image: (1) Portrait by DCTdesigns (2) Necklace-Material + Movement

***This is  a regular feature on my blog. Tuesday Talent Interviews are designed to introduce you to a myriad of incredible artisans. Make sure to check out the others. Enjoy!

Heading into the weekend as usual I am full of good intentions, all the things I want to accomplish, all the articles I have continually promised to finish. At some point I need to stop repeating myself or else become a wolf crier.

Work has taken off at an unbelievable pace.  My stress levels are maxed. My plan is to give myself a break this weekend and find a moment or two of peace and quiet. Beyond the reprieve we shall see what else if anything I can accomplish. Rest would be enough.

So with this in mind I will make no promises. I still have more croquis posts in the works and hands down these are your favorite posts or so the stats say. First the Croquis, next Paper Craft. I see I’m not the only one fascinated by the incredible things artists can do with paper. 

If you are a paper loving friend you should definitely take time and check out the blog Printmatter. And from the blog of a husband and wife team you have to see Yen’s Parisian Rocco limited edition prints. Wow!

Until Next Week……
 

Weekend Reading List:

• Remember The Summer We Didn’t Eat? ~ Thought Catalog
• Swallow Your Feelings ~ Julie Beck for Thought Catalog
• Color Psychology for Ecommerce ~ Mark Hayes (Shopify)
• 5 Ways to Increase Your Willpower ~ Real Simple
• Why not…Recognize the Stages of Making a Lifestyle Change? ~ SLL
• The Art of Happiness for 2012 ~ Huffington Post

 

Images: Tumblr


Filed under: Weekend Tagged: art of happiness, color psychology, Croquis, lifestyle change, Papercraft

I came across a video on quickly hashing out a croquis pose from a photograph. I wanted to make sure to share it with you but have managed to lose the link. Ugh!…the dangers of blogging and idea storage mishaps. Once I rediscover it I will post the link.

Since this is the method I use for quick sketches I will do my best to reiterate the idea. First I have created a Croquis drawing guidline sheet for you to use. I draw by eye on a blank sheet of paper keeping mindful of the body proportions. But the template helps in the beginning.

In Croquis II I went over the basics to creating the croquis figure. I talked about the average person being 8 heads tall. My tutorial talked about creating a 10 head figure. But as this illustration by Aciele shows you can make your croquis as small or tall as you desire. The process is the same so create them at your whim.

But for the purpose of this exercise you can use my new 10 head figure template. I made it a little lighter so it won’t compete with your pencil lines. I suggest you start with a simple pose like this one.

The center line on the template now serves as the plum line. Start by defining the angle of the shoulders, waist and hips. Then connect the shapes creating an outline for torso and hips and draw in the crotch. Next you will draw circles in for the elbows, wrists, breasts, knees, and ankles. Then connect these dots.

From here you can add in the neck, head and feet and flush out the figure. Once you are happy with how it looks ink the lines you want to keep and erase the pencil.

Like everything practice, practice, practice. Then you can move on to more challenging poses like this one of Veruschka by Richard Avedon, 1967

Hope this tutorial was helpful. Enjoy!

Images: Aciele / Frida Gustavson for Neiman Marcus / DCTdesigns

This is the Image I used to create the banner for my Etsy Store. I orignally drew her with pen and paper and then mocked her up and colored her in Illustrator. I need to hone my AI skills or hire someone to trace out all my croquis. That or take a week off work and plow through them all. Live trace in CS5 doesn’t quite do the trick but again it may be a skill level issue.

I still have only a few things posted in my store. Again needing to find more time in my weekly schedule. But if there is an image you see on the blog that you want for a print or card please contact me. I would be glad to create one and post the item to the store for you.

In Croquis Part II I showed how fashion illustrations distort and elongate the human figure. This creates a great visual effect but when it comes to actual designs we draw to scale. So, what if you drew true-to-life scaled drawings of your clients. Perhaps many of you already do.

I’ve found it especially helpful when doing custom work. I’m able to communicate my ideas more clearly and the client can visualize the design more accurately. Often understanding changes I’ve suggested tackfully pulling them out of their comfort zone/regular fashion choices.

One of the most important elements in design is proportion. By drawing a custom croquis you are able to create a harmony between the design and your individual body proportions. Ultimately producing more flattering designs

In theater school the Costume Design teacher use to draw sketches of the students as their characters. I enjoyed the realism in the details.  I could visualize each of my fellow actors as the characters they were playing.  Here are illustrated examples of drawings by Jacqueline West for Water for Elephants. You get the idea.

Most of us are 8 heads tall. In Croquis Part II, I shared the rules for drawing the average proportions of the eight head figure: the chin falls at 1, the bust line at 2, the elbow & waist at 3, hipline at 4, fingers tips at 5, knee at 6 and heel at 8.  The shoulders are 1 ½- 2 heads wide, waist is 1 head, and hips 1.5 heads.  Now this is the ideal or the average. Most of us don’t have the ideal proportions or even distributions of models. You’ll find that every person is unique.

Carl Jung wrote “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”  This is personified in this day and age where the ideal beauty is so far from the reality of the average. So today let’s apply the principles of drawing a person true to scale.
 

How to Draw A Custom Croquis:

First, to create our template we must take some measurements. Using a tape measure I start at the crown of the head. First I measure the head (the basic building block).

Next I note where the pivotal points of the body fall. I.e. where do the shoulders break, high point of the bust, bust point, waist, belly button, high hip, hip, knees, ankles, etc.? Then I measure the width of the shoulders, bust, waist and hips.

Once I have all my measurements noted I begin drawing my scaled template. When drawing a custom croquis I use a scale of 1/8” to represent 1”. As a working example I drew a scaled figure of fellow designer and NYFA student Gina Moorehead.

Gina is 5’ 4” or 64”. So using the only ruler I can’t live without  I draw a line 8 inches long (math review 64”/ 8 = 8”). If I were drawing myself at 6’ 1” or 73” I would draw a line 9 & 1/8” long. These measurements are true to scale and barefoot. Later I can adjust my figure to add heels as high as I would like them to be.

So once I have my 8” line I go back and mark the important points from the measurements I took on the template. These are indicated in Red. Notice that I draw the shoulders, bust, waist and hip lines indicating their width. For the other areas I make small tick marks. Once these are in place I begin to flesh out the figure.

*note you can always draw one half of the figure then fold the paper on the centerline and trace the other side so they are identical to one another. Placing tracing paper over your template makes this even easier.

Once the front view is completed place another piece of paper over top and trace the outline of your figure. From here you can draw the back view.

Now I like to ink them and add various design lines to the croquis figure. I also created a side view and added heels. Here are some other peoples custom croquis images/tutorials  I came across online Here & here & here & here & here & here . I think you get the picture.

Finally you are ready to draw your designs. You will get a much more accurate idea of what styles work for your body type. So go forth and draw yourself, your friends, and your family. Enjoy!

Image: (1) Acceptable  (2) Fabulous Doodles  (3) Simply Luxurious Life (4-7) DCTdesigns

So the Wooden Mannequin never worked for me as a visual reference for fashion illustration. I constantly fall back to my trusty friend the Croquis. Lately, I have been playing around with my travel design kit ideas and decided to create a magnetic croquis to use on a magnetic white board and eventually on the magnetic cutting board in my travel design kit.

Here is my latest How to project for the budding Fashion Designer.

First up you’ll need some supplies:

Magnetic Sheets

Magnetic White Board

Exacto Knife

Pencil & Pen

Croquis Image

Now the Steps:

1. First you’ll need to break out the croquis parts in sections so you can reticulate the figure. You’ll need Head, neck, Torso, Hips, Arms and Legs sectioned upper and lower, hands and feet.

I hand drew these parts directly onto the magnetic sheet using a black permanent ink marker. I will have templates you can to print out on a magnetic printer sheet (One Male, the other Female Croquis parts) soon. In the meantime you can always use my croquis templates from Croquis Part II or any croquis figure you want. I would encourage you to create a custom Croquis template and then create your own personal magnetic wardrobe consultant.

2. Next you will need to cut out the shapes.

3. Now begin to play with poses.

Here is a quick Doodle of poses for inspiration.

4. Now trace out your image.

First I tried using the dry Eraser pen. Once I had the image defined I would trace it onto paper. This would have worked if I had a white Dry Erase Board. Since mine is Purple it wouldn’t work.

Next I tried to place a piece of paper beneath my croquis parts. I found that the magnetic sheets that go into your printer are not strong enough to hold a piece of paper to the White Board. You could always try purchasing the thicker magnetic sheets available at most art supply stores or use thick cardstock and glue heavier duty magnets to the back.

It all depends on which method you want to use for transferring your pose. I just placed my paper on top of the croquis and traced the shape. Since my lines are black it still worked. I just had to be careful not to bump the pieces.

But make sure to decide which method you would prefer as this will inform how to create your own custom croquis project.

5. Last but not least Draw your Design. I chose an outfit featured in Flare Magazine May 2012 Issue ‘Beyond the Sea’ worn by model Bekah Jenkins and photographed by Chris Nicholas.

I only hope you have as much fun as I did with this project. Good Luck!

Last Friday I shared my rant on some men’s view of height to which a fellow writer replied with a  quote by Johnny Depp in Don Juan DeMarco:

“One must see beyond what is visible to the eye…When I say that all my woman are dazzling beauties, they object. The nose of this one is too large; the hips of another, they are too wide; perhaps the breasts of a third, they are too small. But I see these women for how they truly are… glorious, radiant, spectacular, and perfect… because I am not limited by my eyesight… I search out the beauty that lies within until it overwhelms everything else.”

So I decide that next time I am confronted with such ignorance I plan to say “Oh, I see your limited by you’re eyesight. That’s a shame.” This rebut can and should be liberally applied.

That goes for you too Gals. If the quote above show anything we as women need to quit judging ourselves by the skin we wear. Let your beauty radiate.

So as promised I have finished new basic croquis templates. My Wacom Tablet decided now would be the time to go on the fritz. i.e. quit working all together. So these babies are hand drawn. I had promised…. so there was no letting you down for the umpteenth time.

After posting my curvaceous croquis I got numerous requests for a back view. And Croquis Part II still remains my most read blog post. Of course revisit it if you want to know how to draw your own 10 head fashion figure. Recently Justine Limpusparish created a fabulous template showing you how to pivot your fashion figure. This will help you vary poses on the basics. And give you much more flexibility in your designs.

So I thought it only fitting that curvaceous be the first of my new and improved Basics revealed, perfect for all your plus size or curvy fashion designs. I’ve elongated her, fashion style, but this lady is still curvaceously delicious. Most people do not realize the average woman in the North America wears a size 14 and the average height is 5′ 4″. So most women would be considered plus size. That certainly is not reflected in our magazine images. However this week Canada’s first plus size magazine was released. Check out Dare- Thanks to Diana Di Poce. So without further ado here’s Curvaceous.

I have also redone the Basic Male and Female croquis I posted earlier. Hope you get good use of them. Please share your creations. I would love to see what you design.

 

This will no doubt keep you busy over the weekend. See you next week on the blog!
 

Blast from This Blogs Past

• Vogue’s Influence on Fashion Illustration

 

The Weekend Reading List

• You, Passive Aggressive, I Would Have Never Thought ~ This one speaks for itself. From the blog When Pigs Fly.
• How To Communicate Your Needs in a Relationship ~ Wisdom from the Art of Manliness
• 6 Ways To Find Your Authentic Path ~ So if you actually read my blog you know I have pointed you Shannon’s way many times. Because honestly this woman is the bees knees. I can never get enough of her writes.
• The Greatest Fictional Feminist Icons~ ““I have a head for business and a bod for sin,”-Tess McGill (Working Girl)

 

Something Extra

If you can watch this video and not want to dive in then I don’t know what to say to you. It’s just not possible. Makes me want to partially paint my croquis. hmmm…….

Maroon 5- Love Somebody

Filed under: Croquis, Weekend Tagged: beauty, Croquis, croquis templates, drawing croquis, Fashion, Fashion Illustration, illustration, Plus Size Fashion Croquis, plus size models