Lisa Arnold

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.

Articles & Books From Lisa Arnold

Step by Step / Updated 05-17-2021
The powerful stance is in, and arms can convey such a powerful feel in fashion drawing. The popular hands-on-the-waist look really brings out the fierceness of a pose.To create fierce bent arms, draw two trapezoids to represent an angled torso.Add armholes on either side. Mark the figure’s center front line with a dashed line to keep the body even.
Step by Step / Updated 05-17-2021
Spring jackets are fun to draw because they’re not as heavy and bulky as winter wear; you can actually see clothes peeking out beneath some spring jackets. Outerwear really lightens up in the spring. Spring also brings rain in many parts of the country, so you need to know how to draw raincoats as well. You can have a lot of fun with these jackets.
Step by Step / Updated 11-09-2021
Drawing the waistband and belt loops on a pair of fashion pants takes just a few simple steps. The complication factor comes from the variety of ways you can design the look. You can alter the number of belt loops, the location of the topstitching, the placement of the button, how many buttons you use — the options are endless!
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-28-2022
Fashion drawing is all about attitude, exaggeration, and style. As you develop your fashion illustration skills, infuse your work with personal flair — your signature — to create a look unlike any other. Start by observing the golden rules of fashion drawing, mastering the S curve and other figure drawing techniques, and putting a creative spin on the fashion drawings you create.
Step by Step / Updated 11-10-2021
When drawing fashion illustrations, you first create a rough sketch of the body, also referred to as a croquis. Then you draw the clothes that go on top.Grab your pencil, a black pen, some tracing paper, sketch paper, and a fashion magazine if you have one handy. Here’s how to begin drawing a front view croquis:Lay tracing paper over a full-body picture of a model from a magazine.
Step by Step / Updated 11-09-2021
When you’re drawing a dude’s arms, don’t aim for muscle beach in fashion drawing. Male arms can look toned and terrific without making people’s heads swivel in disbelief at their size and shape. Keep in mind that men’s shoulders are wider.To draw attention-getting arms on a man, follow these easy steps:Lightly sketch a torso with armholes.
Step by Step / Updated 11-10-2021
Drawing a stick figure, or line figure, is a perfect way for beginners to get comfortable with basic figures for fashion drawing, and it serves as a refresher for people who’ve done figure drawing before.Draw an oval to represent the figure’s head and then draw a dashed line of symmetry.The line of symmetry, or balance line, runs down right through the center of the stick figure’s head and continues to the bottom of the stick feet.
Step by Step / Updated 05-18-2021
The drama and interplay between the line of the shoulders and the line of the hips really bring fashion illustration to life. You can create a terrific torso by following a simple fashion formula that includes the S curve. Or you can make the basic shape even more simple by just sketching the opposite hip and shoulder angles.
Step by Step / Updated 05-17-2021
Keep noses under control in a fashion illustration. The idea is to create a great-looking nose without going overboard with too many shapes and shadows. You’re not illustrating an anatomy textbook, and the nose isn’t an area you want to stress. Oh, and realistic-looking nostrils aren’t at all fashion forward!Draw a simple fashion nose from the front view.
Step by Step / Updated 05-17-2021
A mini golden rule is that you must know what a foot looks like before you can even begin to draw a shoe. After you know the basic shape of a foot, you can draw everything from classic sandals and loafers to outlandish boots and heels.Draw tiny fashion feet.Let’s face it: Real fashion models have big feet. They’re super tall and couldn’t possibly walk, run, or leap with tiny ones.