Fashion Drawing For Dummies
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Women’s pants are fun to draw, and the varieties are endless. The waistlines, length, and fit are constantly changing. Designing pants can be such fun when you think about the placement of pockets and topstitching, along with the height of the waistline and length of the hem.

Don't forget the pants staple — jeans!

Don't forget the pants staple — jeans!

What woman doesn’t own a pair of jeans? The range of styles goes from tighter-than-tight to baggy-beyond-belief. Skinny jeans are aptly named: They’re tight and tapered down to the ankle. High-waisted, low-rise, and boyfriend jeans (which have few curves and often have some holes and a rolled-up cuff) are also well-named descriptions of hot styles for jeans.

The creative details make the differences in jeans. When you’re drawing jeans, pay attention to the front fly opening, and be sure to include tons of topstitching.

Draw a great pair of skinny jeans.

Draw a great pair of skinny jeans.

Draw the lower half of your figure using a front grounded pose. Add the center front line and waistline of the pants. For skinny jeans, draw lines for the side seams and inseams by following the shape of the legs exactly.

Skinny jeans need to be tight. If one leg is bent at all, add in a few bendy lines to show the fabric bunching. These lines communicate how tight the jeans are.

Draw the hem of the jeans by wrapping the hemline around the ankle. Add in the topstitching lines following the hemline. Skinny jeans can be different lengths. Some styles end right below the ankle, and some are very long and bunch or gather below the ankle at the top of the foot.

Draw the waistband, including the center front button, belt loops, topstitching, and pockets. Draw the front fly by using at least two rows of topstitching in the J shape, starting at the waistband and going down the center front line.

Draw a pair of jeans with a yoke.

Draw a pair of jeans with a yoke.

Start by drawing a back view of your fashion figure. Draw the waistband, belt loops, and center back line.

Choose the style of your jeans, pants, or shorts. How high do you want the waist? How many belt loops?

To create the yoke, draw a wide, shallow V below the waistband. Directly above the V, draw a row of topstitching. Finish the pant legs and complete the hem. The row of topstitching is part of the yoke seam most of the time, although you can break this fashion rule, too, if you want.

Add the back pockets (with topstitching) and draw some creases to indicate the knee bends. The pockets are placed on the derrière below the yoke. Add creases in the pant legs to indicate the knee bends.

Draw a pair of dress pants.

Draw a pair of dress pants.

To achieve an elegant high-waisted look in pants, begin with a front or three-quarter pose and draw a basic pair of pants, but make some modifications.

Higher waistlines: Elegant pants usually have waistlines that begin around the belly button or higher.

Wider waistbands without belt loops: Of course, like anything in fashion design, there are exceptions to this rule.

The pant legs: Dress pants usually feature wide legs, which often have wide cuffs. Elegant pants tend to have a flowy feel because they’re usually made out of lighter weight material than pants such as jeans or khakis. They may be pressed with creases down the center front of each leg; sometimes the crease is only pressed around the hem, and other times it goes all the way up to the thighs.

The zipper: Many elegant pants have a side opening and zipper. For this look, simply draw the center front line without a fly, and if you’re using a three-quarter view, show some topstitching around the side seam for the length of the zipper.

Use the side or three-quarter view when you want to show the side zipper.

Draw a comfy pair of sweatpants with open legs.

Draw a comfy pair of sweatpants with open legs.

Draw a fashion figure from the back view. Remember to include a center back line.

For the elastic waistband, draw a pair of matching curved, squiggly lines. Add short vertical lines to indicate gathering. Draw the side seams and inseams of the legs down to the top of the foot.

For the hem, draw a line connecting the side seam and inseam. Don’t bother with topstitching. Sweatpants fabric doesn’t usually unravel, so the hems of the pants aren’t finished.

For a trendy look, add a short word across the derrière or down the leg. If you’re showing the front of a pair of sweats, you can add a drawstring at the waistband.

Draw sweats with elastic bottoms.

Draw sweats with elastic bottoms.

Draw a fashion figure from a side view and give her an elastic waistband. Draw the pant legs, side seams, and inseams of the legs, keeping the pant legs loose and bubbling out a little before being tightened at the calf or ankle.

At the bottom of each pant leg, draw a wide cuff with squiggly vertical lines to show the elastic of the cuff. Add some lines that come up from the cuff to show the fabric bunching slightly.

Add letters going down the leg for a varsity look. The side of the leg is a good place for a long word, like a school or team name.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Marianne Egan teaches fashion illustration and design, apparel construction, and more. Lisa Smith Arnold teaches art and drawing, including fashion illustration, at Norwalk Community College.?She has also served as creative coordinator and fashion editor at several major publications.

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