Fashion Illustration Service

Communicating Your Fashion Design Ideas.

59. Many of our startup clients are completely new to the fashion business, with no idea how to create  fashion technical drawings, or illustrations.  Or  how  to draw a design – Full stop.

You do not need to be able to sketch professionally  in order to be a fashion designer – But you do need to be able to provide a working drawing, and to communicate your design ideas effectively for others to bring  to life.  Usually that would be the pattern cutter, sample machinist, or clothing factory.

Help And Advice.

We are happy to  provide our clients  with any help required – Whether it is giving you  the drawing skills to do it yourself, or drawing or redrawing your designs with our experienced fashion design illustrators,  or our own fashion illustration and tech pack design services.

A Picture Says A Thousand Words. 

As a picture says a thousand words, the best way to convey your design ideas is through existing garments and  a technical  sketch, with minimal text. A pattern cutter will use your technical drawing to interpret your design.

By all means use text separately to convey a general idea of what you are trying to achieve, or what your brand stands for. But for the design itself, use images as far as possible, along with concise text. Even a bad sketch is worth a thousand words.

Hand Drawn Sketch.

Even on a badly drawn hand sketch, everything in that sketch is put there for a purpose. Even if it is a bad representation of the design, it still gives an idea of what the design is intended to be.

Sometimes It may be just an iconic image, like a child’s interpretation of a house. If a certain detail is important to you, then you would naturally include it in your sketch.  If you are not fussed about the detail,then you may not include it.

If we need more detail from you, then we can always ask.  We may ask for some extra detail to ensure that we get it right first time.

With a hand drawn design it is pretty evident whether the designer is new to fashion design, or an experienced professional. This gives the pattern cutter a clue as to how seriously to take the rest of the information.

If  a sketch looks poorly drawn, the pattern cutter will be less inclined to  follow the instructions faithfully. If you know that a fashion illustration was created by a professional, you would assume that all the information was more or less correct, and that the terminology used was correct.

Using Fashion Figure Templates.

If drawing fashion figures and clothing designs does not come naturally to you, consider using fashion templates. Or you could create your own. You will need to learn how to create a fashion figure.

There are many books on fashion figure drawing, and many with templates using  figures in different poses. If you just want to illustrate your designs for the pattern cutter or the factory, you only need a very basic pose.

To create your own template you dont need to have anything complicated or fancy. You just need a straight forward pose that shows clear front and back views.

Computer Aided Design. CAD.

These days it is all too easy for untrained people to generate  design flats using CAD and Adobe Illustrator. CAD fashion design software is so easy to use today.

The trouble with computer generated images is that in the hands of inexperienced designers  generic computer images tend not to convey what the designer really wants.

One of the problems with  computer generated design images is that they can look too professional, meaning that you cant see who is behind the veneer of professionalism.

Consequently we may give too much trust to the accuracy of the information contained in the working drawings. If we know that the design was not illustrated by a professional, then we would tend to question the information more.

While we try very hard to make sure that we get the sampling right first time round, there have been a few occasions where we have got it wrong. In most cases this is due to this very problem. Misinformation. Gerber

Tech Pack Illustration.

The technical drawing forms the major part of any tech pack that you would provide to a factory in order for them to make your design correctly. Not all factories need a tech pack, but many do. You can use either a computer aided drawing or a hand drawn sketch.

What Is Fashion Illustration ?

Fashion illustration is the communication of fashion design ideas in a visual form, either in order to create the design, or to sell or promote it.

There are many different types of fashion illustration, but basically they are either exagerated images for artistic interpretation, or they are realistic drawings.

In order to be a fashion designer it is important that you are  able to illustrate your designs so that the people creating the design know exactly what you want, and also to persuade the customer to buy your designs.

Two Forms Of Fashion Illustration.

There are two distinct types of fashion illustration – Artistic interpretation, and  realistic drawing. An artistic drawing may give an indication for the feel of the design, but the realistic drawing will provide more useful information regarding proportion, dimensions,  and fit.

Freelance Fashion Illustrator Services.

While London has many of the very best freelance fashion illustrators in the UK, they are not cheap. If you are looking to hire a freelance fashion illustrator, it would probably be cheaper to find one that specialises in technical flats, or tech packs.

You need someone who can interpret your designs in a realistic way, rather than an exaggerated artistic interpretation. While they are related skills, they are not the same.

Technical  Flats.

Technical flats, or fashion flats are 2d sketches, or line drawings.  used in Tech packs to give a realistic interpretation of your designs.

Templates.

You can create your own custom fashion templates to import into Adobe Illustrator to use over and over again for all similar styles in your collection.

How Much Does Fashion Illustration Cost ? 

Like everything else, the cost depends on various factors, such as the difficulty of the job at hand, and the experience and skill of the fashion illustrator. Some illustrators will work on a per job basis,  while others will charge by the day or by the hour.

A daily rate could be £150 – £600, while an hourly rate could be £30 – £120.

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