Fashion Illustration
What the exam tests
Fashion Illustration tests figure drawing, garment representation and rendering of fabric and colour. Expect questions on croquis proportions, technical flats, balance lines and suitable media.
Core rules and concepts
- A fashion croquis is elongated, commonly 9 heads tall. Mark the balance line, centre front, shoulder, bust, waist, hip, knee and ankle before drawing garments.
- A technical flat shows the garment flat with construction details, topstitching, buttons, zips and callouts. It is not the same as an illustrated figure.
- Use a consistent light source. Render sheen on satin, texture on tweed, transparency on chiffon with layering, and stitching on denim.
- Keep the pose simple enough to show the garment. Hands and feet can be simplified, but garment proportions must remain accurate.
- Work from light to dark and test colours on scrap paper before applying them.
Worked example
On an A3 sheet, a 9-head croquis uses a 3 cm head. Total figure height is 27 cm. If the top margin is 1.5 cm, the waist at 3.5 heads is 10.5 cm below the top of the head, and the hip at 4.5 heads is 13.5 cm below. Mark these levels before drawing the garment. The reasoning is that a fixed head unit keeps the figure balanced and prevents the torso from becoming too short when the garment is added.
Traps that cost marks
Drawing a realistic 7.5-head figure for fashion, omitting the centre line, rendering every fabric the same way, and hiding construction details behind dramatic poses lose marks.